Quitting smoking: Easy-Peasy with the right drug management...

[sbrettt]

I was talking to a doctor about smoking. He explained to me that smokers are very picky about the amount of nicotine in their system. When monitored, smokers will smoke another cigarette when their nicotine level drops to their minimum level -- inhaling more deeply until it's on target again, then finishing the cigarette with shallower inhales.

Chantix and other smokers' quitting medications deliver a set dosage of nicotine to one's system, dropping it down gradually until one is weaned from the physical addiction. But it's one-size-fits-all.

Why isn't this medication tailored to the individual? That would seem to be a no-brainer. Your thoughts?

Chantix Side Effects | Drugs.com

 

[MMC]

Why give up coffee - it's good for you - even the decaf kind has healthy plant phenols/flavonoids and the antioxidant effects are quit beneficial. You just have to find a way to break the connection between coffee and smoking - maybe a cinnamon stick or a skinny biscotti with the coffee would be a good mental substitute.

Yeah.....I am with you on that already. These are what I picked up. But not this brand. Wafer Rolls.

Hazelnut and Chocolate Fudge Wafers are the ones I have now. They are not bad and I hold them like a Cigarette at times too.

 

[Gipper]

Wow, I thought the whole "suicide and jacked-up dreams" side effect was a bit far-fetched before this thread.

I don't want any pill or patch that stops me from dreaming about rescuing Zelda from Gannon.

 

[MMC]

Wow, I thought the whole "suicide and jacked-up dreams" side effect was a bit far-fetched before this thread.

I don't want any pill or patch that stops me from dreaming about rescuing Zelda from Gannon.

Yeah.....but what if it is someone who would be like the last person you would want to think of. Then turning like into a bad trip.

 

[Jango]

Cold turkey is the best way to quit for me. It helps that I go longer and longer in-between cigarettes, as well as convincing myself that they taste nasty. Within a few days, I can barely take a drag or two before I have to put it out in disgust. Sure, the cravings are still there, but like with anything else: mind over matter.

 

[Lord of Planar]

I quite cold turkey on 8/21/2000. I had cravings for about 3 years, but never let them control me.

 

[Lord of Planar]

Why isn't this medication tailored to the individual? That would seem to be a no-brainer. Your thoughts?

LOL...

I don't know if I want to admit to you all what my medication was when I went "cold turkey."

It was so easy though...

 

[Manc Skipper]

I used my natural gift for procrastination, and I've been meaning to get around to having another cigarette for ten years now. The nicotine addiction is more of less gone in ten to fourteen days, but the psychological need takes longer. There are probably millions of internet tips, but the socialist universal NHS is pretty reliable.

Stop smoking - Live Well - NHS Choices

 

[joko104]

I easily gave up every drug I ever used including some considered very addictive - except nicotine. I made it almost a month with Chantix. The only thing I've successfully done - if it can be called success - is to shift to ultra lights and with tar reducing tips on those and limit how many per day - and stick with that. That's probably about an 80% reduction, but I haven't gotten past that.

 

[GottaGo]

I did the Chantix route when I quit 6+ years ago. The doc suggested a half dose (taking a 1/2 pill twice a day) because of other health concerns.

My only 'side effect' was some pretty wild dreams. Well, actually, they leaned more towards the erotic side. *blush*

I only stayed on it for 2 months, and did fine otherwise.

Several people who I know that tried it, it made them sick to their stomach so they found various alternate routes, or didn't end up quitting.

 

[Gipper]

I like to help women quit smoking by explaining to them that much of it is oral fixation, and offering alternatives to cigarettes.

 

[JC Callender]

I smoked, then dipped, then quit cold turkey about 5 years ago. Imo, the best method is to quit cold turkey, start eating well and exercising. Running helps get rid of the anxious feeling and the endorphins help feel a little more hopeful.

 

[Goshin]

I couple people I know who used Chantix had some bad things to say about the drug. Just do it cold turkey.

Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.


(I am not joking. I know five people who have used it, four had bad reactions, one almost killed someone.)

 

[specklebang]

E-cigs are the way to go. They come in different doses including nicotine-free. While not a panacea, they sure are less dangerous than tobacco and the 12000 chemicals they add to it..

 

[JayGatsby]

E-cigs are the way to go. They come in different doses including nicotine-free. While not a panacea, they sure are less dangerous than tobacco and the 12000 chemicals they add to it..

I quit cold turkey but now I use a nicotine-free ecig, definitely the way to go, if you can suffer for a week your in the clear, the ecig still gives you some what of a feeling you are actually smoking a cig.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.
Chantix makes John a dangerous boy.


(I am not joking. I know five people who have used it, four had bad reactions, one almost killed someone.)

The same here

A friends brother was on it, then one day beat his girlfriend very heavily for the first and only time. Enough to leave blood on the walls.

 

[Goshin]

The same here

A friends brother was on it, then one day beat his girlfriend very heavily for the first and only time. Enough to leave blood on the walls.

Yikes.

I've heard of similar things. Increased tendency to violence.

I only took it for about a week.... it made me feel like a stranger in my own head, and scared me so much I quit taking it.

 

[specklebang]

I haven't gotten to zero but life is so much better just by getting rid of those fumes. I no longer cough. Freedom.

I quit cold turkey but now I use a nicotine-free ecig, definitely the way to go, if you can suffer for a week your in the clear, the ecig still gives you some what of a feeling you are actually smoking a cig.

 

[ChezC3]

it made me feel like a stranger in my own head, and scared me so much I quit taking it.

this is to be considered a bad thing? :unsure13:

 

[rhinefire]

Iv'e been off them for about 15 years. Never, ever did I tkink I would quit. On a Sunday night I told myself my last cigarette will be in the parking lot at work and it was. I then like my father carried a pack in my shirt pocket for seven days then tossed it and the remaining packs I had at home. Ihad only one semi-serious urge and to this day I don't know how I quit, I just did. I was 2 packs a day and carried them to bed with me. At the price of cigs now days I don't know how anyone smokes. A carton was 20 bucks when I quit.

 

[humbolt]

Buy the patch. Put it over your mouth.

 

[Infinite Chaos]

I smoked for 10 years, spent 8 of those trying to quit. Sometimes I used patches, other times I tried nicotene gum or even the 30-day tablets but I often found myself taking them and still smoking.

In the end it was cold hard turkey - and that only worked because my mind was in the right place to do it. (An emotional scene with my first meeting with my eldest child after my ex-wife had taken my kids to live in another city 6 months previously).

That was December 2001, haven't smoked or wanted for nicotene since.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

I was talking to a doctor about smoking. He explained to me that smokers are very picky about the amount of nicotine in their system. When monitored, smokers will smoke another cigarette when their nicotine level drops to their minimum level -- inhaling more deeply until it's on target again, then finishing the cigarette with shallower inhales.

Chantix and other smokers' quitting medications deliver a set dosage of nicotine to one's system, dropping it down gradually until one is weaned from the physical addiction. But it's one-size-fits-all.

Why isn't this medication tailored to the individual? That would seem to be a no-brainer. Your thoughts?

Actually, Chantix doesn't deliver nicotine. It blocks the receptors that find it enjoyable.

It is also probably the most psychologically dangerous drug on the market. When it was released, it immediately began causing episodes of severe depression and psychosis, suicidality, and even homicidal urges.

But back to nicotine release. I don't think it would make any difference, and here's why.

People drastically over-simplify what smoking addiction is. It's not all -- or even mostly -- about nicotine. And this is why nicotine therapy usually fails, even at high doses.

Cigarettes contain MAOI's. Sound familiar? It should. We sell MAOI's commercially as anti-depressants. And they are really, really addictive. Coming off them has to be done slowly, and it's often pretty painful. A lot of people are WAY more addicted to that than they are to nicotine.

Nicotine is addictive, but in truth, MAOI's are much more so.

In addition to that, the entire habit of smoking is almost idyllically relaxing. It's based on breathing. Breathing in toxins, yes, but still -- deep breathing. And occupying your mouth. And being alone for a few minutes. The habit would still be relaxing even if you took the cigarette out of the equation and just performed the same motions. And for some people with compulsive tendencies, the HABIT is what they're most addicted to.

I do NOT recommend e-cigarettes for safety reasons and they've recently been shown to give off metal particles and a lot of other fun stuff, but I have seen some people quit cigarettes using a zero-nicotine e-cigarette, simply because the habit is what they're really addicted to.

So you've got, at a minimum, three things involved here:

You have nicotine. Somewhat addictive, and it's also a concentration enhancer, so some people feel it helps them work and socialize.

You have MAOI's. Profoundly addictive, and an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety med. This is why so many mentally ill people smoke, and this is why so many people have a crisis when they quit.

You have the habit. For some, this is also very addictive. The entire routine is very relaxing. Even a non-smoker might come to enjoy pantomiming smoking.

The truth is that none of the mainstream quit-smoking aids are even BEGINNING to address the real addictions smokers have. It's as if they aren't even trying, honestly. And rather than try harder, they just release a drug that doesn't seem to do anything but make people psychotic and suicidal.

Sometimes the incompetence of it all is so bad that it makes me wonder if they're just trying to kill smokers faster.

 

[calamity]

I quit cold Turkey on a long weekend. I pretty much just curled up into a ball for three days. It was, by far, the worst 72 hours of my life. But, the upside--I never went back to smoking after making it through that stretch.

Friends of mine who quit using gimmicks like hypnosis, drugs, gum, or E-cigs, had to quit many many times. In fact, almost all of them smoke to this day. My cold turkey friends are smoke-free.