That’s the daily dose of nicotine supplied by my brand new patch.
Shit, man, I smoke(d) two packs a day of Camel straights. At 1.7 mg/cigarette, that’s 68 mg a Cecil-damned day! Don’t they have a turbo version of this stupid thing? And it itches. And I gotta find a new place to put the patch each day. For 10 weeks. That means 70 patches, which means by the time I’m done I’m going to be sticking them on my ass.
Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go out and punch random people or tip over a bus or something. I want a fucking cigarette.
Manhattan I feel for you. I gave up 10 months ago and yeah it sucks trying, but it does get easier. Hang in there Manhattan and err umm stick it where it fits.
I vote for tipping over the bus. I secretly admire brute strength in men----so primitive! And that would give me two reasons to admire you----strong enough to quit smoking and strong enough to heft a bus. I would think the bus the easier of the two.
Ummm, manny? I’m kinda concerned about the site you linked to. What the hell is that thing? http://www.dubyareport.com After poking around there, I want more than a goddamned cigarette. Several stiff scotches would be more like it.
Manny, have you tried the gum? I quit for 10 months at one point (yes, I am smoking again :mad: ) But I found the gum to be about the best in helping. You can get 2 or 4 mg gum. It hits you all in about 5 minutes, much like smoking would do. Plus, you get the the oral gratification.
Although you won’t (can’t) believe it now, it most definitely does get easier. Until then, use the patch, and try a 2mg Nicorette gum whenever you really get a craving.
[sub]Lest you think I know not of what I speak, I’ll point out that I smoked Export ‘A’ (eh?), Camels and Pall Malls to the tune of two packs per day for twenty-seven years.[/sub]
I’ve quit about a dozen times. Both times when I was pregnant and several times since. It’s been a constant "Ok, I’ll quit after the divorce/move/layoff/divorce/whatever. Always something. I was doing really well after I started back to school but then finals rolled around and I became a raving bitch. The people in my house went and bought me cigarettes. I am a weak, weak woman.
Tell you what, manhattan. You get through this and I’ll quit. There. Incentive.
And this time, I mean it!
[but that after sex cig is going to be the hardest to give up]
Two patches may be better than one: I know it says don’t do this on the package insert but give it a try if your cravings are unbearable. Patches are steady release devices whereas cigs provide immediate high levels of nicotine which decay between smokes. Wearing two, you will get 42 mg/day. If you are consuming 68mg/d currently, 42 should not produce toxicity. In fact, your peak serum nicotine levels will be significantly lower on 2 patches per day than your cig regimen b/c the patches are steady release. Reduce your nicotine dose immediately if you experience any nausea or vomiting.
Since your goal is to quit, however, I wouldn’t stay at this dose for a long time. After a week, cut down to one fresh patch per day (instead of two) while leaving the old patch on. If you experience skin irritation at the site of the 2 day old patch, remove it. The day old patch will continue to release nicotine at somewhat less than 21 mg/d, but it will supplement serum levels. After about another week, cut down to a single 21 mg patch per day.
BTW, you needn’t find a new site for the patches every day. Try not to use the same site two days in a row (with the exception of the day old patch program mentioned above).
Also, avoid ALCOHOL. Avoid it religiously. There’s nothing like a buzz to make you abandon your senses.
Best of luck, Manny. You’ll truly feel like a new man if you can survive the first month
Sounds like the Simpsons treatment of this. Krusty covered in the things.
Seriously though, why not? How big are you? I’m a pretty big guy, and though I’m not condoning disobeying the dosage instructions on medicines, I generally give myself a 50% higher dose on things like headache tablets simply because I’m 50% bigger than many people. Go on mate, stick the second one on. Whatever it takes to give up.
BTW, do you get freaky dreams on those things? A friend of mine said his dreams were really vivid and hallucinatory on nicotine patches.
I’m now going outside for a cigarette in your honour. I’m not doing it to be a smug bastard and make you crave. I’m doing it so that you will know that while I’m out there, I won’t be happy. I’d rather be doing what you’re doing. I feel like a weak bastard when I smoke. Just my attempt at reverse psychology.
Heh. Thought you’d like that. But it’s the first chart I came upon in a search that was reasonably legible.
On gum. I tried it a few years back. What I got for my trouble was cardiac arrest and a lifetime of begging for life insurance policies. It works great for the vast majority of users (or at least there isn’t a bad outcome), but not, sadly, for me.
Arden Ranger, you’re on. If nothing else, I was spending ~$3,500/yr on smokes. How’s that as an incentive? Even if you’re only at one pack/day, half that amount would buy some pretty nice stuff for the little Rangers, no? If I make it one year, I’m going to reward myself by blowing the entire amount on traveling cross-country.
Heh. Those patches itch, and the surface is toxic enough that users are instructed to wash their hands after applying the things so the stuff doesn’t get in your eyes or mouth. They ain’t going anywhere near little manny. But thanks for the suggestion – an alternative for the oral fixation of cigarettes is recommended as part of a comprehensive stop-smoking program.
And I’m sticking to one patch for the same reason I’m not repeating the gum. My days of ignoring the package instructions on medical products are over.
See the story I’m about to recount in Jazzmine’s quitting thread.
I was at Wal-Mart this weekend. The man in front of me bought three cartons of Marlboros. Cost: $100 dollars. I added up the cost of a bunch of DVD’s I bought recently: Rumble in the Bronx, Mr. Nice Guy, The Rock (Criterion Collection edition), and The Abyss, Special Edition, Seven, Platinum Edition. Cost: $100. Movies are my thing, but you can substitute almost anything.
Every time you get the craving, think about what you can buy instead of a carton of cigs. A really nice steak dinner. Two cd’s. A month of internet access time. Five pounds of Jelly Bellys. Several paper back books, or one hard back.
I was up at the Moto Guzzi dealership this morning. They’re trying to find my bike in my color. I told them the custom pipes can wait, but I need the pearl color.
If they can find it (and if the NASDAQ cooperates), I hope to be riding before the end of May. If that timetable holds, I have an ~800 mile trip south scheduled for August.
And then, yeah. I hope to do a smoke-free manny across America next spring.
That of course does not eliminate the possibility of other trips, not on the bike, in the meantime.
