I have decided that 34 years of smoking is enough, and I have started on Chantix. This is the latest in my attempts to quit smoking, having tried the patch (a couple of times), nicotine gum (nasty nasty stuff), cold turkey, and Wellbutrin.
This round of treatment is also the single most costly attempt I've made - the "starter" pack cost over $100, and the first month's supply of pills cost around $140. Quite the out of pocket investment, so I'm obviously determined to make this work. My plan is to do this regimen for at least 2 months and then go back on Wellbutrin for a couple of months, until I've managed to break the psychological addiction of smoking.
That's usually ended up being my downfall...I can deal with ending the physical addiction, however inevitably, something happens that triggers me to start smoking again.
Anyway, as of this post, I've been on Chantix for 2 days now. I'll write more about this after I've put down the smokes for the last time, and continue detailing the effort.
(Side note to Andrea: if I **EVER** catch you smoking young lady, you won't be able to sit down for at least a month. I don't care what your mother says, I'll kick your ass.)
The regimen starts with a half dose for the first 3 days (ie 1 pill instead of 2) , then a pill in the morning and a pill in the evening. Apparently, I'm also the guinea pig for the family, since Sheba, Bobby and Grandpa Don are all waiting to see how this works out before they commit to trying it.
On another front, I'm scheduled for an MRI of my shoulder on Thursday the 17th. After undergoing a few months of Chiropractic treatment abetted by massage therapy and still having limited mobility of my left arm (the condition is known as "frozen shoulder"), I went to the Doctor and got a couple of shots in the shoulder - they didn't do much good, so he's now sending me to have the MRI so we can get a better picture of what we're dealing with. I'm honestly not looking forward to a surgical solution to this issue, however I believe that will end up as a last resort.
I'm still on 10 units of subcutaneous insulin daily, however I've lost 11 more pounds - based on what Doctor Springer said when I started the insulin, I've only got about 40 more to go and I should be able to come off the insulin and manage the diabetes through diet alone.
That's all I have for now... you're being stubborn and haven't made your appearance yet, (Grandpa Don was wrong about that, quelle suprise) but I'm still holding out for the 21st/22nd. We'll see.
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