Quitting Smoking--Patches? Pills?

In My Humble Opinion
41

Again with the ditto, to Brewha’s whole post, but the above in particular.

Sadly, Allan Carr died in 2007 of lung cancer becuase he was a 100 cigarettes a day smoker for something like 35 years.

Willpower doesn’t work. It didn’t work for me. Neither did cutting back, the book works.

An anecdote from my day yesterday. My Grandfather is sick and in the hospital with lung cancer. He hasn’t smoked for 20 some years, but these things happen. I went to visit him yesterday and when I got there I asked where his wife (not my grandmother, but his second wife. He remarried 15 years ago.) had gone. She had gone to have a smoke. I said, but she quit smoking 10 years ago! He said, I know but with the stress of my illness she couldn’t handle it and needed a cigarette.

It’s sad. It had me in freaking tears (not that I’m not kind of a wreck anyway) but it kills me that she is smoking again because he has lung cancer. Smoking doesn’t releive stress, it causes stress. Her habbit that she “needed” because her husband was dying is making things worse and is hurrying her rush to the grave. But people are convinced that they need the crutch to get them through tough times. She had quit for 10 years, she was no longer physically dependant on the cigarettes, but she never freed herself from the brainwashing that told her that she needed them. That’s where the book helps.

42

For what it’s worth…

If you are prone to insomnia (like me), Zyban (Wellbutrin) may not be the best option for you.

I tried quitting that using Zyban, and I quit sleeping altogether. Three days in a row with not one minute of sleep. Huge suckitude. Made studying problematic.

YMMV, or course.

My method? Cold turkey with the occasional valium assist. Worked for me.

43

Getting pregnant worked for me. Twice.

I’ve tried cold turkey a few times, but I’m so miserable and cranky and tense that around about hour 8 my husband is ordering me to the convenience store for a pack of smokes. Longest I’ve lasted with that is about 2 days.

I read Carr’s book and it made a lot of sense, but it didn’t “take”. I was just as miserable as I was when I tried to quit cold turkey. I think I lasted 4 days once and 3 days once.

I tried the gum and found it yucky.

I’ve had the best success with the patch - I quit for 6 months a few years ago using it, and I’m on day 13 with it now and any cravings I have are mild and easily dismissed. I think, maybe, I might just make it this time. The freaky dreams are a bonus.

I thought work was going to be hard to get through; I’m used to going outside for a smoke break every 2 hours, it breaks up the night quite nicely. It took me a while to figure out, “Hey, stupid, you can still go outside! Only now you don’t have to go outside when it’s raining and crappy out!” So now I go out a couple of times just to walk around the parking lot and get some fresh air.

44

The gum worked for me. I felt like it was providing just enough nicotine to get by, not smoking still sucked but it wasn’t unbearable, and the idea of getting hooked on the gum was laughable. It’s not that good.

I also found that I did the best when I wasn’t thinking about smoking or cigarettes at all … even if I was talking about not smoking, it was still making me think of cigarettes. I couldn’t “focus on all the money I saved by not buying cigarettes” because that sentence has the word “cigarette” in it. I didn’t tell many people because it was too maddening when someone would say “hey, congratulations on not smoking!” I know they meant well, but in my head, I could only hear “wah wah wah SMOKING.” So no quit buddy, support group, anything like that. For me, it was unpleasant enough to do it, I didn’t want to talk about it.

45

Monday will be one year smoke free for me.

I smoked for over 30 years, and I was smoking between a pack and a half to two packs a day. I actually started smoking in HS and smoked thru college, then quit for almost 4 years then started up again. The first time I quit, back in the 70s, was a gradual thing plus I was exercising regularly and I think that helped motivate me.

This time, after over 30 years, I knew I needed some level of assistance. I asked for medication, and my doctor put me on the Zyban, which is the antidepressant wellbutrin. You take it for a week, set a quit date, and that’s what I did. That last week of smoking, though, the cigarettes started to not taste good to me, even though I was still smoking at my usual level. I would end up putting them out half-smoked. But when quit day came, I didn’t smoke another one, and I haven’t had one since.

For me, the hardest times were with my triggers, such as coffee in the morning, after eating, etc. (lol) For a while, I was actually going outside at work, to where the smokers congregated and smoked and sniffing the smoke! I know, I shouldn’t have been doing that, but at that point, I was craving a bit, and it still smelled good to me. Fortunately, it is gradually starting to smell -bad- to me. I can smell tobacco smoke on a smoker, it’s like an aura around them, now. And it is not that nice of a smell, to be frank. I think, “geeze, did I smell like that?!”

So yes, it’s possible to quit. What works for one person, though, might not work for someone else. I think the most important part of the equation is that you have to really want to quit. If you don’t, you’ll find it very hard to do so. I hope that I’ll never take another puff ever, because I’m afraid that I’d start back up again if I did.

46

One year on May 7 for me.

I used the lozenges. YMMV.

47

Shit.

RIP, Mr. Carr.

This is the first I heard of it.

48

I found out when they did a write up of the book in Mental Floss a couple of months back. Sad isn’t it?

49

Me too. Haven’t smoked a single cigarette since September of last years and I had smoked for the previous 11 years. :slight_smile:

Good luck! It’s great being a non-smoker - honestly.

50

Add me to the list of patch fans. I didn’t get addicted, nor did I find that it just drew out the agony. It made it easier to quit because I only had to fight the battle on the psychological front, not the physical front too.

Allen Carr’s book worked for me - for a few days. No longer than my average cold turkey attempt, in other words.

I’m off cigarettes for more than six years now and if I can attribute it to any one thing, it’s coming to the absolute realisation that I can never smoke again. My previous attempts had failed because I had tried to convince myself that I could limit my smoking to special occasions, or to when I was drinking, or to before/after work, or to one or two a day, or whatever. This just never worked. I had to finally get it through my head that if I have even one cigarette again I will become a full time smoker again. That may not be true for everyone but it is certainly true for me. Accepting it has made all the difference.

I do still miss it though, I don’t think I’ll ever get past that.

51

I smoked a pack a day for about 10 years. I finally quit with the help of the patch, but it took three tries using the patch before I made it. The reason I failed the first two times is I would think, ok, not really getting cravings, I’ll quit the patch early. Then a couple days later a massive craving would hit and I’d relapse. Follow the directions on the patch, they work you down to lower levels gradually, and I’d use them for as long as they suggest even if you don’t think you need to anymore.

I would still get cravings with the patch, some of them very strong, but nothing like when I tried cold turkey. It’s like a crutch, it just helps take a little bit of the weight off, but for me that little bit made all the difference between quitting and relapsing.

And the dreams can be incredible but there were mornings where I’d wake up still tired because I’d been so involved in my dream it was like I didn’t really get any rest. Definitely worth it though.

Good luck!

52

OK, IT HAS ONLY BEEN SIX FRIKKEN HOURS SINCE I QUIT SMOKING!!!
On that note i am wearing a patch (21mg) and i know im being a wuss,But any idea when i will stop feeling like engaging in violent crime. :wink: please help.

53

I’m on day 4 of not smoking. Cold turkey. I smoked a solid 2+ packs a day for the past 10 years. It was way past time to give it up. My husband and I are quitting together. It really does help to have a quit buddy, I think.

I have tried to quit smoking in the past, but always failed. I’ve tried the patches and the gum.
I never did try any Rx meds, though.
I broke down and bought Alan Carr’s book last year, and just got around to reading it. I am having a much easier time quitting this time.

As for the cravings, well, they are there, but they’re not all that bad. I really haven’t even wanted to slaughter or gouge the eyes out of anyone! I haven’t curled up into the fetal position, bawling my eyes out, either, which is what always happened in the past. Maybe I’m just looking at it logically this time, and I know it’s the right thing to do…Or maybe reading that book has really helped. I don’t know. My husband didn’t read the book, but he’s doing great.

I’m having an easier time of it this time, and it’s working for me. I do hope that I can stay off those damned things for good. I’m sure going to give it a hell of a try, one day at a time.

54

I used the lozenges, too … except I can’t ween myself off of them. For now, that’s OK for me, since the most important thing is that I can run and not smell stinky. But they can be equally addictive (obviously, since they’re still nicotine) and expensive. But it’s nice to be able to sit through an entire movie without wanting to step outside.

55

Just get through the first day. It will get progressively easier. Like they say in AA, just take it one day at a time. :slight_smile:

56

My husband and I quit together two weeks ago. We smoked a last cigarette at 11:30 one night, and then we were out and that was it. He has had an occasional cigarette since that time and I haven’t had one and won’t.

We’re doing this cold turkey, and it’s been hard dealing with the compulsion to smoke, but not as hard as I was afraid it was going to be. I think that’s the key for me; I was so afraid of trying that I never really tried. Now that I’ve done it, it’s not so bad. I still have moments where I really want a cigarette and I have some Tootsie Roll Pops or hard candy instead. I don’t want to smoke, I really don’t, and that’s what’s making the difference.

57

Most of the physical symptoms go away within 48 hours. The patch should help with that. Then it is a matter of breaking the habit and staying away from the triggers. If I could do it so can you. Hell my entire life and career was a trigger.

If I had tried to have an occasional cigarette it never would have worked for me. In seven years I have maybe tried two cigarettes. Both were horrible and I couldn’t finish them. Strangely enough I do not find cigarette smoke unpleasant. I can’t stand the stale smell on clothes or furniture but I never could. Being around someone who is smoking does not bother me.

58

I did it cold turkey, but I’m not a fundamentalist on the subject - whatever works. Obviously, different things work for different people.

But there is one method that just about every smoker tries that simply does not work - and that is ‘gradually cutting down’. Nope, that doesn’t help, not at all. :wink:

From my experence (and I think it is generally, but not universally, true), smokers are basically addicts, as much addicts as any drunk or heroin junky. The difference of course is that (our) drug of choice isn’t going to mess (us) up on a daily basis so much - but alas, it is very likely to kill (us) eventually.

This means that (we) gotta get in the mind-set that taking the occasional smoke is not a good idea, any more than an ex-alcoholic having the occasional drink - because before you know it, that ex-alcoholic will be right back where he started from, and that ex-smoker will be smoking as much as ever.

59

ITA. I wish the OP all the best, but if I had the same attitude of “well, I’ll still have the occasional ciggie every now and again,” I would still be smoking a pack a day. Definitely not the way to quit, if you can even call it that.

60

I have freely admitted that I think I’ll have the occasional smoke in the future–but I’m not planning on it. However, I am aware that sometimes, as it is most easily put, shit happens. If I happen to step in it, I’d like to have a cigarette without berating myself for days on end. If I have more than one, *then *I can hate myself.

It’s been just over twelve hours, and I’m doing okay. Admittedly, I was sleeping for six of them, but I’ve made it almost all the way through the morning. Normally, I’d have had at least six cigarettes by this point in the day. Just in case something goes completely haywire during work, I do have the last of the last pack in my car–four cigarettes that I’m hoping I can stay away from until they taste so bad I can’t even think of smoking them.