Cristi, are we still on for Monday? Anyone else want to quit with us?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Well, I’ve been taking this Zyban stuff since Monday and I haven’t noticed my desire to smoke diminish one bit. I feel like I have cottonballs in my mouth, but other than that it’s had no effect on my smoking at all.

And I’m a nervous wreck. I made sure I didn’t have any more cigarettes than would get me through the weekend, and now I’m smoking like a fiend - probably won’t even last me until the end of the night tonight. I don’t want to buy another pack of these nasty cancer sticks!!

Waaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!! I don’t know if I can do this. I am going to need a ton of support and a quitting partner would be really inspirational. So are you still up for doing this with me?

Anyone else?

2

Shayna, I’m going to try. I don’t know if it will be Monday, but it will definitely be soon. I’m on Wellbutrin, but I just started taking it on Thursday, and my dosage is very low.

My doctor gave me Wellbutrin for anti-depressant reasons, not to help me quit smoking. He gave me two weeks worth, just to see how I do. The dosage is really low, because I’m epileptic, and the risk of seizure with Wellbutrin & Zyban is a little on the high side. But I’ve been seizure-free for over two years now, so my doctor thinks this actually might work.

I will keep you posted, though! I think I’ll go sit down, put my head between my knees, and start trying to psyche myself up for this. Yaaaaaaagh…

3

some years ago my girlfriend tried to quit and tried everything and failed. I have never been addicted to the stuff but I know it is very difficult. I think more than any drugs what you need is the strongest will. With that you will succeed, without it you will not. So brace yourself, get ready and do it! You will be so glad when you succeed! But it won’t be easy.

4

Oh thank goodness you’re still up for doing this, Cristi. I was hoping you’d be able to quit completely on the same day as I did because I just know those first few days are going to be the toughest. But I understand about wanting to follow the process with the Wellbutrin.

And speaking of which, I have a few questions about that. My brother is a doctor, so I just got my prescription from him. The pharmacist showed me both the Wellbutrin and the Zyban bottles and they were both exactly the same drug – 150mg bupropion hydrochloride. He said there is no difference whatsoever. Do you know if that’s right?

And as for the dosage, I’m just following the instructions from the pamphlet that came with the Zyban. I took 1 tablet in the morning only for the first 3 days, then increased it to 2 tablets a day, eight hours apart since then. It said to pick a quit day sometime during your second week on it. Monday will be exactly 1 week from when I started taking it. Hopefully that’ll be enough time. Is that how your doctor’s having you do it?

I don’t know how long I’m supposed to continue taking it though, and I have a bottle of 60 tablets so it should last me about a month. Has anyone else here taken Zyban or Wellbutrin to stop smoking? How long did you have to take it?

Aaaaaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh I sure hope I can do this!!!

5

Thanks for your support, sailor. I’m going to need all of it I can get.

[side note] This is why I hate the # of views thing. 16 people have viewed my plea here and only 2 people bother to reply with any support. I’m already in a bad mood and I haven’t even quit yet. Yeah, I’ll probably be pissing and moaning a lot in the next few weeks, so PFTH! [/side note]

6

According to my doctor, Wellbutrin & Zyban are pretty much the same drug. I read the insert that goes along with it, and it says that W & Z (don’t feel like typing the names out) have the same active ingredient.

I’m not going to be upping my dosage. The risk of seizure goes up with an increase in dosage, so I’m going to keep it nice & low. What I might do, though, is call my doctor if I notice no decrease in my desire to smoke, and see if it’s okay to maybe add the patch. The last time I tried to quit, I used the patch, and it did work, for two months. Then I wimped out.

Since I’m primarily taking this to combat mild depression, a decreased desire to smoke is just icing, to me anyway. I figure it’ll be easier to quit if I’m a little happier, ya know? :slight_smile:

7

Shayna,

I just started on Wellbutrin SR today. For depression and ADD.

You may want to ask Satan for a run down of his use of Zyban and how long he was on it before he quit completely.

I may be wrong, but it is a gradual thing. You will loose a great deal of desire for smokes over a period of time.

Good luck and if I notice a difference over the next few weeks, I will post back on it.

8

I wish you all the luck possible Shayna, I’ve tried the patch(found out I was allergic to it(lowest dose)), never tried the drug(main reason is because it is an anti-depressent). Finally quit cold turkey in February, it was one of the hardest things to do(shows how damn addicting they are). Been smoke free since the beginning of February now. :):):):slight_smile: I hope you can do it also, good luck to you, and may you never pick up another one of those coffin nails again.

9

Come on girls YOU CAN DO IT!!! I did. I know how hard it is, but you can do it. Take it one day at a time. At the end of the day just say to yourselves…by god I went all day without smoking ain’t I something!! Make sure that your lil minds don’t say back to you that you deserve a reward for that in the way of a cigarette. Reward yourselves with something good like chocolate ice cream or whatever your favorite thing is ( sex maybe? )

If all else fails just chew that friggin nicotine gum…it’s better than smoking ok?

Go girls… kick that nicotine in the teeth!

10

Shayna and Cristi, I have nothing but admiration for you both for quitting, and for telling all of us about it. You will be in my prayers, and whatever support I can offer, it’s yours for the asking. I don’t know enough about Zyban and Wellbutrin to comment on them, I’ve heard both good and bad about them.
I also can only sympathize with you, but you may feel that I don’t completely understand what you’re both going to be going through, since I have never smoked in my life. I do know how very difficult it is to quit, I have only to look at both of my parents, as well as my husband, to know how hard it must be to do.
Take care, both of you, and may God bless you and watch over you as you struggle with this. Let me know if I can help in any way, and if you feel the need to vent on someone, my email is in my profile, please use it. Or just use it to say hi!! :slight_smile:

I’m in your corner. Pulling for you both.

11

The physical symptoms of quitting mostly dissappear in the first 2 weeks, after that it is largely behavioural.

Oddly enough it’s the latter that causes people to kinda drift back into smoking.

Just think of how good that ice-cream will be when you get the full use of your taste buds back.

You’ll feel so much cleaner, that is the only way I can describe it.

Do not worry about temper tantrums, it might even keep the office PITA away .
Freedom has to be won ,don’t be a slave to the baccy barons.

12

Cristi, I am just the opposite of you in that I’m taking it to quit smoking and it’s icing on the cake to me that it’s helping to combat my depression. It’s weird though, because it doesn’t seem to be consistent. Several days this past week I’ve felt truly great, euphoric even, without struggling to make myself feel that way. But one night (I think Wednesday) and all day today I’ve been having anxiety attacks and feeling listless, scared and tearful again. It’s starting to make me think I should be under a doctor’s care with this stuff.

techchick, it’s wonderful to see you back here again! I sure hope the Wellbutrin helps you with your depression. Are you a smoker, too?

pipefitter, you are an inspiration to me in that you could do it on your own with no drugs, patches, etc. Congratulations! I hope some day to be able to post here that I’ve been smoke free for nearly 3 months and counting.

aha, it is so great to have you cheering me from the sidelines. I really will need all the support I can get because nothing else has worked so far. Rewarding myself with sex would be awesome - but I don’t have anyone to do it with. :frowning: Ah, well, the reward will be that if I’m a non-smoker, maybe I’ll get to have sex sooner, as there will be more men interested once I don’t stink like a smokestack!

purplebear, you are so incredibly sweet and kind. You have already helped tremedously by replying with your support and prayers here. I was seriously thinking of scrapping the whole idea until I came back and read this thread and saw that there will be people out there pulling for me. And you can count on the fact that I’ll need to vent - a lot - so the offer of a friendly shoulder to cry on is much appreciated. Thank you!

casdave, you’re right about the first 2 weeks being the battle against the physical addiction. And that’s the part that terrifies me. The behavioural part is pretty easy for me, as I’ve had to adjust to not smoking in all kinds of places and situations (particularly with the no-smoking laws in California) and have adjusted without a problem. I haven’t craved a cigarette in a restaurant in ages, and my friends were shocked when I chose the non-smoking section when I was home visiting this past week where smoking is still allowed.

It’s the physical withdrawal that gets me every time. I get light-headed, disoriented, angry, short-tempered, frustrated, I get the shakes and I can’t sit still for 5 seconds. Makes me wish I could afford to spend a week at a rehab clinic just to get over that part. That’s why I was hoping that the Zyban would help take the edge off, as so many people have said it does.

Thanks again everyone, for all of your encouragement. I think it’s really going to help.

13

O.K. I’ve been putting this off for too long. Time to take my balls in my hands( unless Cristi will give me a hand with that:) )and JUST FUCKING DO IT ALREADY!!/ Monday, I’ll quit with y’all. My Doc gave me the nicotrol inhaler, so I’ll be fighting the cravings with that. I used Wellbutrin in the past, and sensed it COULD have worked, I just didn’t want it enough. Here’s the deal: this thread is for all of us to support each other. If you really, really want to smoke, just come here and bitch. The rest of us need to watch as close as we can, so we can respond to these posts. Do we have a deal?

14

Dave, as much as I hate to admit this publicly, I’m going to have to help you with the balls thing, because I’ve still got your jock, and you left them in there when you loaned it to me.

You really need to keep better track of those things, man. :wink:

15

I’ve never smoked (too asthmatic), but I just wanted to offer my support to all the quitters. I know it isn’t easy, but I’ll be pulling for y’all!

Catrandom

16

I am not a smoker but I wanted to stop by and lend all of you my support. I just started a rather strict diet and I am also suffering at the moment so I feel for you! But I know you can do it! Keep up the good work!

17

Alright, weirddave!!! I’m definitely on board with keeping my eye on this topic to lend you an outlet and offer encouragement when you need it, as I am going to need the same.

Thank you Catrandom and evilbeth for stopping in here to lend support. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and doing it publicly with lots of people pulling for me might be just what it takes to get me past the hardest days.

evilbeth, good luck to you with your diet as well. I can only empathize with what you’re going through, as I’ve never dieted. But it’s got to be tremendously difficult given that food is not something you can give up altogether. If you want to use this thread to post your eating frustrations along with our cigarette frustrations, you’re more than welcome to!

18

Thank you, Shayna. :o
You are entirely welcome. Please do use it.
And pipefitter says that he’ll be keeping an eye out for you also, and offering his support. He also says thanks for the kind words. He is going back home tomorrow, having finished his class. It’s been great having him in the neighborhood for the past 2 weeks.

19

Come on, ladies!

If Wally the Wimp can do it, how hard can it be?

I won’t kid you. It will be tough. You will experience waves of craving that will be almost too much to bear. Almost. If you stand tall, the craving will pass after a few minutes. Until the next wave. And so on.

Don’t think of it as a war. Think of it as a series of small battles. You’ve won many of those already, when you’ve been in situations where you couldn’t smoke.

Don’t neglect the other addictions. Keep your hands occuppied, eat candy, chew gum, nibble on snacks. Don’t worry about the weight gain. One thing at a time.

Above all, don’t beat yourself up if you fail. Learn from it and try again at a later time.

I was smoking two packs a day for 25 years, and it took me five tries, but I did it.

Am I stronger than you? It is to laugh.

Look into my eyes… smoking is dumb… smoking is dangerous… smoking is expensive… smoking is an addiction… You will stop this nonsensical habit now.

Please do your best. You’ll never be sorry if you beat this.

20

Just want everyone to know that y’all have my support also.