5 complete days with no smokes, as of right now. Yesterday was tough, today, a bit better. As stated before, I have had high blood pressure and even with meds, it remained too high. I take my pill at 8:00PM before I rest so I just took my BP before the pill. 138/81 with a resting heart rate of 74. While smoking I was struggling half way through the 24 hour period to see BP at 150/100 and my heart rate was always in the mid to high 80's. Before I took my pill it was sometimes in the 160's. Also to further complicate my situation, my annual blood work in early June revealed a shocking increase in blood glucose. I was on a slippery slope.
June 1 I weighed in at 237 and as of today I weigh 216, mostly thanks to not having my daily island rums but also skipping starches and portion control. Also, there is no polite way to put it but I'm not hocking up phlegm half the night when I am trying to rest. I'm going to start testing blood sugar next week, at least every several days. I'm taking a Metformin tablet before breakfast and dinner to help lower the blood sugar in the meantime.
Do I want a cigarette? The answer is yes but when I compare my improving condition to the stupid pleasure of a smoke, I will not smoke.
I'm not big on telling anyone else what to do but if you are like me with a few extra pounds, alcohol intake and a bad cigarette habit, kick the alcohol, reduce food intake and plaster on a patch. You won't have to wait weeks for some very positive changes. No superman here but for me it was go down in a mess of bad vitals, or bite the bullet and just stop the harmful behavior. Forget everything else, just not coughing all night is payback enough and that has taken only 5 days.
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