Nicotine patch

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Duffyjr

Duffyjr

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For you guys that have quit smoking did you use a patch and did it help, if not how did you quit? I'm finally to the point that I"m answering all the right questions on their site that I'm going to give it a try.

Some history, been smoking for more years than I care to admit to. I tried a mind altering drug quite a few years ago, it had a special name back then but was just wellbutrin, it actually made me smoke more. I've tried cold turkey a hundred times and never made it past a week or two. Most recently tried vaping but that made me cough to where I don't have a constant cough like you think I should for smoking that long.

I've always believed it was a mind set that you have to really want to quit but I also think I've been smoking for so long I need help.

What is motivating me this time is I just had pneumonia, I caught it in time I didn't end up in the hospital, couple shots in the but and a couple z packs and I'm doing much better but [censored] that is some scary stuff.

Right now I"m having my coffee and have three cigs left in the pack and after that I'm putting on a patch.

All suggestions welcome. Maybe even turn this into a support page for us guys that want to quit.
 
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Get ready to snack a lot. My wife quit this past Spring and she says the urge to snack is very strong.
 
I wish I could help, best I can do is say keep trying and hang in there. As for vaping, latest news I'm seeing about that is it's perhaps worse for the lungs. Good Luck.
 
Just decide that you are going to stop smoking and do it with out substituting one vice for another. Self control and discipline. The basics of life.
 
The hard part in the beginning is the replacing the actual act of smoking. You can overcome that. They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, so be prepared to use that willpower to get through all the times in the day when you are accustomed to handling a cigarette for the next three weeks. Avoid the triggers if you can. Drink lots of water. It gets easier each day.

I was able to quit (I dipped snuff, wasn't really a smoker) many times without nicotine.replacement, but after months, even as long as a year, my brain would sometimes play tricks on me... I would think that I could have a chew now and then but that's a lie... Would fall back into my old ways immediately. So I chew the lowest dose of the nicotine gum. I never, ever get the urge to touch tobacco of any kind now. (been over ten years since the last time) In fact, I find any type of tobacco to be pretty repulsive now.

You have made an excellent choice to quit, and I wish you the best of luck!
 
I have a friend that is an alky, 38 years clean and sober and still on occasion craving the booze but he is smart enough to know he can't have just one. Self control and discipline !
 
I smoked 40+ years and quit May 28th. I went cold turkey as any use of nicotine patch or otherwise just starts the cycle over again. You need to get off of it completely. Get it out of your system and your cravings will go away quicker. A patch or gum is like an alcoholic just having a shot to keep his cravings at bay. Yeah the first few weeks was [censored] and I still have a few cravings now and then but I am over it. No more smoking for me. Good Luck!
 
Self discipline is key or having your life flash before your eyes.

I never smoked but my folks did. The WW2 generation were heavy smokers. Dad had smoked since he was a young teen but a heart attack gave him a ultimatum. He never smoked after that. He resorted to lemon drops as he had to have something in his mouth. You might find something similar.

Don't forget exercise and clean living.
 
I quit in 1980 or 1981 , can not remember which . ( Do not think there were patches available , at that time ? ) Dad had just had vascular surgery of one of his legs . Of course , he was told to quit smoking . I told Dad , I would quit if he did .

I quit cold turkey . Lay it down & do not pick it back up . Not so bad at work , I was busy . I was still single , at that time , so when I went home , I was by myself . I was like a caged lion , get up , sit down , over & over .

Now , I just think cigarette smoke stinks & prefer not to be around it .

But , you are correct , it is all about will power . You have to find a reason to quit , that is greater that your reason to smoke / addiction .

And , if you fall off the wagon , forgive yourself and jump right back on the wagon . After all , you are only human and the human body was never designed to consume tobacco or tobacco products .

Best of luck , :)
 
13 years of smoking and after many attempts to quit the patch was successful for me. May 12th, 2004 so that makes it 15 years.

It's mental. You need a reason to quit for yourself, not someone else. Pay attention to your triggers. That coffee, food, work breaks, a success, a failure, upset, joy, stress, a drink...once you count them up you will see how dependent you are on that crutch.

Enjoy the little things about not smoking. First thing you notice is your sense of smell comes back, a little more time your taste comes back. Your hearing will improve, your skin will look better.

I quit because I wanted something I couldn't have as a smoker. Plus at the time packs were starting to hit $5 which I thought was crazy. I remember after the nicotine left my system having the most vivid, colorful, freaky dreams. The drug leaving my system really messes the mind up but it was interesting and I made it fun by telling people my dreams...I'm sure they thought I was hanging out with Timothy Leary.

I have a cigar in the summer once in a while but don't inhale, just a buzz through the gums. The fact that it takes an hour to have a cigar means it's an end of day relaxation, not habit.
 
Thanks guys I appreciate the support and I know people have just decided to stop cold turkey but I haven't been able to do that in the past. I hope people keep posting so I can come back when I need to.

For snacking I found beef jerky worked well for me when I found out I was type two diabetic and needed to get off the junk food so I going to start making my own jerky again. I have a list of healthy snack foods I need to go get as well as may some not so good stuff but I figure if I gain a few pounds it will be worth it since I've dropped 60 in the last few years so I can do it again.

As for the triggers I started making a list like they suggest and found out that almost every thing I do can be a trigger. Just getting in my car, after dinner, before dinner, coffee, breaks at work taking a break while mowing, sitting down to watch TV or check out the forums I keep up on. That is why I decided to try the patch to take away the cravings so all I have to do is work on the triggers.

Thanks again for the positive feed back.
 
I smoked for around 13 years, anywhere from 1 to 3 packs a day. Quit cold turkey because that is what I chose to do, though, not without first figuring out "why" I was smoking. Ultimately, it's about making the decision and just doing it.

I started smoking because my friends smoked and if I puffed one, their smoke didn't bother me. Puffing lead to inhaling. I actually really enjoyed smoking, everything except for the expense and detrimental health affects.

When I quit, the hardest part was relearning how to be a non-smoker, because you equate so many things around having a smoke, whether it's a break from work, after meal apartif, something you do while drinking, whatever. When you light up a smoke, you equate whatever activity you're engaged in as a reason to light up. When you stop smoking, you then have to relearn doing all those experiences without a cigarette in your hand. For me, the two hardest ones were taking breaks at work and when drinking. Without a smoke, I quit taking breaks. Whenever I'd have a drink I'd also crave a smoke.

It is the inability to work through this "relearning" process that trips up most people, it isn't the nicotine addiction, it's not knowing what to do with yourself when you'd normally be having a smoke. I'm not saying that nicotine doesn't play a small roll, it just has way more to do with your mindset than the nicotine.

I craved a smoke for a number of years after quitting, still get a craving every once in a while, but those cravings are few and far between and I recognize that it's more the state of mind I'm in than an actual desire for a smoke. I quit back in '96 and have been virtually smoke free ever since. I say "virtually" because I did pick it back up again, a couple cigarettes a day, for a few months 5 or 6 years ago, and it was purely due to being in a bad place mentally. Again, I simply decided it wasn't what I wanted to be doing and stopped.

Good luck with your efforts, no matter how you choose to do it.
cool.gif
 
Check out the site whyquit . com . It has some information that may help keep you motivated to stop . Real life examples of how smoking is no good .
 
Wife and I quit almost two years ago. I had taken Zyban (Wellbutrin) and Chantix several times in the past with no success. I read a study where if taken together, they increase your chances of quitting by a slight margin. Guessing it was an 8% or so increase. I had enough of both drugs for us to use up and it worked.
 
Wellbutrin really messed with my head. Glad my wife saw what was going on and made me quit taking it. I had no idea...everything was a fog.
 
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