So I decided it was time to quit smoking. I saw my Doctor (actually his PA) a couple of weeks ago for an unrelated issue. Of course while there, she suggested I need to quit smoking.
I said that I would really like to quit. What do you have that could help me with this endeavor. She suggested Zyban.
Last Sunday I started taking this stuff with a projected quit day of today. I woke up 4 hours ago.
I think this Zyban shit is fucking worthless. I think it’s a big ol’ psychological head game to make you think it should be easier, and to make you think to yourself “I’ve been taking this shit for a week. I don’t want to blow it now”.
Well, I don’t think it’s doing a lick of good. But I’m going to try and tough it out. After all, I’ve made it through 4 hours, and I * have * been taking this shit for a week.
(as an aside…has anyone ever tried Zyban to quit, & did it work?)
Well, isn’t this a small world. Go see my thread in the Pit here if you like, about Wellbutrin (which is Zyban under a different name - both are bupropion). I’ve just started taking Celexa for my anxiety, and I’m pretty much counting the hours until it starts working, too. After this last bout with anxiety, I have a whole new respect for people who do quit smoking.
For what it’s worth, you might look into some anxiety self-help books to help with quitting - they’re full of suggestions for taking your mind off things, relaxation exercises, etc.
Funny you should mention that ** featherlou **. Just after I posted my thread, I saw your thread. After reading through it I thought “Oh Great! It doesn’t seem to be helping much at all and now it will turn me into a basket case too.”
Took it and quit in a remarkably short time. And said at the time that it was kinda creepy how easy it was to quit while taking the stuff. Didn’t eliminate all cravings, but made them a hell of a lot less strong.
And I had come to the conclusion that I might be a lifetime smoker as recently as a few months before I decided to try the meds.
Dunno what the difference is, but you did say that you wanted to quit, and I have come to believe that simple desire to stop is half the battle. YMODV.
Congratulations to you. A few tips from a friend of mine who went from a very heavy smoker to a non-smoker using Zyban:
Try to keep busy, above all else. Find something to occupy 100% of your time during the first few days. Focus your mind elsewhere, especially on something physical (like exercising, cleaning, etc. rather than reading a book).
Don’t put yourself in positions where you’ll be tempted. Stay away from other smokers or places where you can buy cigarettes.
Hang around with friends who will encourage you. You’ll be miserable, but at least you’ll be busy.
Can you take Zyban with Nicotine gum? If so, that would help a lot.
Carrot sticks and mint gum seem to also help.
Also, change your routine a bit. If you always have a cig with your morning coffee, then switch to something else with caffiene for that breakfast- then get yourself an expresso as a well deserved treat later.
I used Zyban to quit. Can’t compare it to quitting without drugs, because it was the one and only time I quit.
What I found about it was that it didn’t cut down on the cravings at all I mean damn but I wanted a smoke. What it did do though was help me manage my reaction to those cravings. Kept me sane enough to realize that no actually I wasn’t going to physically die, it just felt like it.
It worked wonders for one of my aunts - she’d been trying to kick her two-packets-a-day routine for years, and always failed within weeks. She’s now not smoked for some three years.
They didn’t have Zyban back when I quit my too-many-cigs-a-day habit; I had to do it basically cold turkey (cut down from 3-ish packs a day to 1.5 or so, then just toughed it out for a week or so). It’s the first few days that are hardest.
Accept the fact that you’ll be certifiable for 3-4 days, but also realize that cravings don’t last forever, they peak and fade away again within half an hour or so. So if you can make it through that 15-30 minutes, you’re probably good for a while again.
Like DrDeth said, change your routine. Avoid situations where you used to have a cig out of habit. And don’t have any around to prevent exactly the situation that happened to a friend of mine, who picked one up from someone else’s pack lying on the table and had it lit and half smoked before she even realized what she’d done.
Stay physically busy. Get lots of exercise. It will also help your lungs clear out some of that gunk. It’ll take them a while, but no time like the present to start.
I haven’t had a cigarette now in quite a few years, and can safely say that after the first couple of months I have never missed them. Good luck!
I quit cold turkey over 5 years ago. The one thing I remember about it was having dreams that I was smoking and being so mad at myself in my dream. I think it was my body’s way of telling me not to start again.
I don’t know your financial situation, or if monetary rewards inspire you, but my brother finally managed to quit by putting the cost of a pack of cigarettes every day (his usual rate of smoking) into a clear glass jar, and then that money was used for ‘toys’ he might not otherwise have justified buying.
“Trading” pleasures, like a couple days worth of smokes for a new DVD, was a lot more encouraging to him than just seeing it as denying himself a pleasure in return for the kind-of-nebulous idea of better health in the long run.
The evidence based medicine on Zyban, IIRC, is pretty shaky. I mean, it works great for some people, but for others it works like holes in socks. The parameter that they calculate, number needed to treat (NNT), is something like 9; for every 9 people you give Zyban to, 1 of them will quit.
That said, it is certainly worth a course because quitting smoking is a bitch and if it helps then it is a wonderful thing. Good luck with everything, though.
If you really feel like you’re going to blow it, why not slap a patch on, too? I quit after 19 years (first try) on something like Zyban and a patch I kept making incrementally smaller. I wore a sliver everyday for a month, LOL, but it worked. I haven’t smoked in over 2 years. I had thought I’d smoke forever.
Are you sure a week was long enough for it to take effect before you tried to quit? Antidepressants can take 2 - 4 weeks to work…
Well, I made it to 12 hours & my children are still alive to boot. I still don’t think the Zyban is doing much good. I’ve tried quitting before and this doesn’t seem any easier. I’ll keep with it though, maybe I’m wrong and it is easier this time & I’ve forgotten how hard it was before.
Thanks for the words of encouragement all. Posting this here has given me just that little bit of extra incentive. Having all these people know I’m trying to quit, I don’t want to let them all down.
I guess I really shouldn’t have put this in the pit, but I wanted to do a little swearing and ranting at the Zyban.
I didn’t mean to scare you, Fugazi. I don’t know for sure that my anxiety was from the anti-depressant; I’ve had an anxiety disorder for 14 years, and huge stress for the last year, so if anyone’s going to get anxious, it would be me. And anti-depressants do take a couple weeks to start working; don’t give up, man. When you’re through with your cravings, you’ll be an ex-smoker. I’m taking it one day at a time, too.
If you’re ever having misgivings about the effects of your medication, please do call your doctor right away and describe what you’re going through. It may give him or her insight into which meds will or will not help you, and your doctor might prescribe a change.
Your symptoms could simply be common to those quitting smoking. Then again, maybe not . So call. Don’t worry about making a pest of yourself. That’s what the doctor is there for.
My cousin had been a smoker for over 25 years when she started taking Zyban. She quit taking it after 2 weeks, and hasn’t smoked since. That was at least two funerals, a graduation and a wedding ago (probably three years in human time) I hope it works as well for you.
No matter how you stop smoking, do it. You will never regret it and think of the money you’ll be able to spend buying your children nice things. Best of luck to you.
I still don’t think the Zyban is doing much good. I’ve tried quitting before and this doesn’t seem any easier. I’ll keep with it though, maybe I’m wrong and it is easier this time & I’ve forgotten how hard it was before.