Since being on the patch, I dream vividly. In full, living color. Weird stuff.
Last night, for example, I dreamed that Junior and I were gunsmithing in a shack near a creek. I had a broke Mod 94, he had a broke Parker 28 gauge. About the time we got those fixed, his brother shows up with a broken Sako bolt. It had a 24 inch barrel with all sorts of weird holes drilled in it. It looked like a gunsmith had a really bad day trying to mount a scope. Then there were raccoons coming in the back door and we had to run them off. There is probably some deep, dark symbolism attached to the raccoons, or maybe they were just raccoons. Ya never can tell with raccoons.
Night before last, I was deer hunting with my wife's brother. In a rainstorm.
I've read the instructions and you're supposed to wear the patch for a full 24 hours. They even said that wearing the patch at night would help with wanting a cigarette with my morning coffee. Bullshit, I still want a cigarette with my morning coffee.
However, I have footing to dig when I finish my coffee.
Nicotine levels of course, drop overnight for most smokers. Since nicotine is a neurotransmitter enhancer, I'm not at all surprised about the dreams.
ReplyDeleteMy doctor told me at the time (when the patch was Rx only) that if I had trouble sleeping I could take the patch off at bedtime. What they really need to make is a patch that you stick on at bedtime and it does nothing for 8 hours before kicking in a righteous AM buzz.
Sometimes a raccoon is just a raccoon.
I went halfway through the “step down” system before getting the worse case of acne ever. I was advised to quit the patches, and that was the only thing sustaining me on the deathstick cold turkey. 24 hours later I had a bad craving, real bad.
I went to get a pack and lit one up right there in the car on the way home. I've got to tell you, it felt like I was about to cough up a lung! I put out the butt and tossed the rest of the pack out.
That was the last smoke I ever had.
Best of luck beating the coffin nails.
Good luck with your quest. I still have the pack of smokes I was working on when I quit in December of 1997. The last one out of it was in the hospital while waiting for an ambulance ride to the trauma unit 60 miles away. I had just had what turned out to be my second heart attack. I'd turned 47 two days before that.
ReplyDeleteSome of us take more convincing than others. Wish I'd never started.
I found that after wearing them overnight for a couple of nights...a tolerance was built up. As well, the dreams are cool at first, but some real sleep disruption starts happening, so since you are going to be craving that morning cigarette anyway, it's better to just put it on in the morning..it only takes 15 min or so to start taking effect. winning. I hate to say this, but you might have an easier time with that morning cigarette if you gave up the coffee too. I know, I know..but caffeine is a trigger for a nictotine craving.
ReplyDeleteKelly! Love ya, darlin, but I'm ot giving up my morning coffee. A man has to have at least one vice, and coffee is what it is gonna be.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't count lovin Milady and the occasional snort of whiskey, and those don't really count.