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I'm taking Chantix and also have depression, and don't seem to be having terrible side effects. I've got some crazy dreams and my sex drive went out the window, but other than that I've been fine. (Hope the sex drive comes back when I stop taking it!) Wellbutrin is the same thing as Zyban, though, the other stop-smoking drug. My doctor basically gave me the choice between Chantix, the more effective drug that might worsen depression, or Wellbutrin, which doesn't work as well but might improve my depression. I chose the Chantix, and have been taking it for a month as of today. Today is the first day that I've made it through without a cigarette, but it didn't even occur to me that I hadn't had one until about 7:30 p.m. I've just gotten to where I don't really crave them anymore, and if I'm doing something I don't think to go outside and have one. In the past two weeks, I've smoked a total of about two packs' worth of cigarettes compared to smoking a pack a day when I started Chantix. The real issue for me is being in the car - if I'm driving it's really, really hard to not smoke.
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Dec 30, 2009 09:12
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 11:37 |
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Just to chime in a little bit - I was going through about 2 packs a week, which isn't much, but it was enough that I was actually addicted and craving them regularly. I quit after I started dating my girlfriend, mostly because I just got sick of hiding them and took measures to stop buying them and I'd throw a brand new pack out if I caught myself buying them. Now, about 6 months later, I don't crave them at all and honestly they taste pretty nasty which helps too.
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Dec 30, 2009 10:19
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Reporting back. I'm not using any kind of nicotine anymore.
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Dec 31, 2009 01:02
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Mein Eyes! posted:Try doing something you couldn't do as well as a smoker. Especially since your ticker be hosed up tockin, see about cardiovascular exercise, like running or swimming if it isn't too soon after the attack. I didn't stop missing smoking until I started really enjoying the things that not smoking allowed for. At this point, nearly 14 months quit, I like the benefits of not smoking much more than I ever did the benefits of smoking, such as they were. It's snowy cold winter here right now but i still played soccer and rode a mountain bike when i was smoking. I also did a lot of walking. I'm seriously thinking about taking up smoking again just because i already had a pretty bad attitude when i smoked, now i loving hate everyone more than ever. Quitting smoking is going to lead to me getting a divorce because i have no tolerance for people at all, including my wife.
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Dec 31, 2009 01:31
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Using a generic patch, not helping in the least. 21mg shoppers drug mart brand
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Jan 1, 2010 12:19
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Best of luck to all of you. I was able to quit a 2 year long addiction (1.5 packs a day) by getting laid off and moving away from a chain smoking room mate (no money and no one else around who smokes does wonders!!!)
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Jan 1, 2010 13:31
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Smoked a pack a day for 4.5 years. Went cold turkey & been cigarette free since November 1st. Food, sleep, and stamina are all better now. 
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Jan 1, 2010 15:38
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Haven't smoked at all in a month, maybe 15 cigs in the month before that (from ~1 pack a day). Still uptight as gently caress, can't stand cigarettes anywhere around me. Still coughing stuff up - but the stamina (and not sucking on phillip morris' dick) is worth it.
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Jan 1, 2010 16:11
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I started smoking around 18 and slowly built up a pack-a-day habit, I am quitting today. I've always said I wanted to quit while I'm still young and about a year ago I promised a friend (also a goon) I'd stop when I turned 25. That became 2010 (I turned 25 in September) because I'm a sneaky bitch but I turned in what remained of my last pack of cigarettes to him last night. I'm completely unprepared and that's what worries me the most. Will I turn into She-Hulk after a day? Do I need to buy nicotine-gum? Maybe sunflower-seeds or lollipops so I have something to do with my hands? My housemates are quitting as well, this should help with temptation but I'm afraid that if one of us falls off the wagon, everyone will. I'm bookmarking this thread becaus I think I need all the help I can get. 
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Jan 1, 2010 16:24
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Don't buy nicotine replacement. Just get over it. The physical addiction is up after 3 days. Day 3 will suck. After that it is in your head. There was a time in your life you weren't addicted to nicotine, a time when you never thought about cigarettes (unless you had abusive smoking indoors parents). You can feel normal with out a stinking burning cigarette conglomerate suicide device in your hand.
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Jan 1, 2010 17:03
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What website are you guys using to put in your quit date and see how much money you've saved?
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Jan 1, 2010 20:04
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I started smoking at 14 and stopped smoking last year aged 31. I am still a potential smoker, I think you are always a potential smoker even when you have stopped smoking. I still miss that first smoke of the day, the nicotene infusion warming the bloodstream, that shiver as the fix hits home. A number of things led to me deciding to kick the bastard weed, including: * a desire to save some money - I was spending at least £250 /month on tobacco, 30 or 40 cigarettes a day. * a desire to feel normal again. Once I realised that each cigarette just stops the craving for nicotene temporarily, and sets up the timer until the next craving, the insanity of what I was doing really hit home. * Jesus the loving smell! * I wanted to enjoy a meal, a journey, a film, without craving a smoke like some smacked up junkie. These bastards ruined countless events for me over the years because all I could think about was getting my cig on. Cunts. * I have a son and I want to live long enough to see him grow up. Cold turkey was the way for me. I read the Allan Carr book, and a lot of what he talked about made sense, I can highly recommend it. If you remember you're not quitting anything or giving anything up, you're kicking a drug addiction, the whole process becomes easier. After a year I have noticed that I enjoy food more, I am fitter, considerably richer, and generally a happier person all round. gently caress you, smoking! plecostomus fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Jan 1, 2010 |
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Jan 1, 2010 20:24
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I smoked for 7 years, but just quit about 6 months ago, maybe a little more. I used the patches and they worked wonders, though they made me have the most vivid, outrageous dreams. I actually kinda enjoyed that part as I never really got nightmares. Anyway, the patches really helped me. I only wore them for about a week and didn't need them anymore. One downside (for me) was that the patches made wherever they were stuck unbelievably itchy for the first hour or so. It was horrible, but better than smoking. I was at a friend's house for an hour or so last night whose boyfriend smokes and I wanted a cigarette really badly, but I didn't. Go me. I still get cravings, but at least now I can say no. Also, having a beautiful little girl makes it easier for me to live a better life.
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Jan 1, 2010 20:32
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I quit at 7pm yesterday. I am not using any patches, gum or medicine. I am pretty miserable at the moment, but I am hanging in there. I'm using http://www.quitmeter.com/index.php to keep track. We can do this GBS!
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Jan 1, 2010 21:35
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If you don't already START EXERCISING .. this is one of the best things to keep you off the cigs. When you know that smoking even one cigarette will gently caress up your stamina/ability to breath/cardio/riding bike/lifting you will not want to smoke. Watch and Weight has many people eager to tell you where to start (via sticky threads).
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Jan 2, 2010 01:35
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goatse
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Jan 2, 2010 01:38
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I've been smoking about a pack a day for 9 years. Sometimes it was more, sometimes less. I've also gone through long periods of dipping (long solo road trips) and Snus. I've tried quitting a few times, but about a month ago I realized I was tired of all of it. I've had anxiety and heartburn for a while now and I knew the smoking wasn't helping, but I kept doing it anyway. So anyway, I decided to keep smoking til the new year. Two friends have joined in with me. It's an arbitrary deadline, but it gave me time to prepare mentally. So we're 18 hours in now. Feeling OK...it feels like someone is sitting on my chest (which makes the anxiety flare up), but I'm soldiering through. I figure that in 3 months, I will have saved $1500, at which point I will be treating myself to one of these:  Click here for the full 750x562 image.
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Jan 2, 2010 04:57
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Oh hey, check it out, a quit smoking thread. I smoked for about 10 years and quit cold with no medication or scaling back in mid-September. I have hardly even thought about smoking after the first month but I'm suddenly starting to think about it a lot again. I'm kinda lucky though that I get the strongest cravings when I'm sitting around the computer at night doing nothing. If I had the same level of cravings during the day while out driving then I probably would have bought a pack by now. The original plan was to quit smoking until I was out of debt but that isn't happening as quick as I would have liked(gently caress you steam sales!!!), so maybe I'll just stick with it when everything is paid off. Good luck to everyone that's just quitting with new years. If you just quit then I advise stopping by a gym to burn off energy. That's how I got through the first 2 weeks... and pulled a groin muscle. That reminds me, remember to warm up first if you haven't been to the gym in a while.
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Jan 2, 2010 05:15
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I'll be quitting on the 10th, so everyone expect annoyed, then angry, then absolute rabid posts on the 11th, 12th, and 13th. Forgive me in advance please.
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Jan 2, 2010 05:20
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I've been cutting back the past month. Had my last two cigs on the evening of the 30th. Only green for me from now on! 
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Jan 2, 2010 05:40
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I had smoked 2 packs per day for 13 years. I quit cold turkey about 2.5 years ago. I now no longer have any cravings what-so-ever. Even if I'm hanging out with friends and they are smoking around me, the thought of having a cigarette doesn't even occur to me. To anyone who has quit more recently, and is still having cravings, they do go away almost entirely with time.
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Jan 2, 2010 06:23
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I quit in May of 2009, and made it all the way to thanksgiving break. I kind of cheated by dipping when stressed last semester (about a can a week) although I was completely tobacco free all summer. Drinking with friends back home is what did me in I think. I smoked all thanksgiving break, then managed only to have a few for the last 3 weeks of school. I broke down and bought a pack before my finals then said gently caress it and I've been smoking all winter break. I haven't had one today because I've been too hungover and at home with my parents. I might keep it up, or I might smoke for the next week and stop when I get back to school. I already have plans to start working out again and not many of my friends at school smoke. Honestly quitting in May was pretty easy. I used the poverty method. Using dip once I got back to school was my big mistake.
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Jan 2, 2010 06:32
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I've been nagging at my girlfriend to quit smoking for about 3 years now... It had gotten really annoying when she was laid off but still wanted to smoke a pack a day, and did so out of my pocket. She has the willpower of a fiending crackhead and when she tried to quit using some herbal product called 'smoke deter' she was able to go all of 24 hours before she started having a nervous breakdown and crying every 20 minutes until I told her to just forget about it and go light up. Then she got on Chantix. I know it doesn't work for everyone, my own mom tried it and said it made her feel borderline suicidal. But my girlfriend has had no side effects besides wicked cool dreams, talking in her sleep, and has gone 3 months now with no cigs and only intermittent controllable cravings. Chantix is the bomb if you can avoid killing yourself.
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Jan 2, 2010 06:50
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Okay, day two without a cigarette and doing fine. I went a little crazy yesterday but in a good way since I cleaned everything, did the dishes and the laundry in an effort to distract myself. I find that the hardest part is foregoing all the little cigarette rituals. Coffee without a cigarette, beer without a cigarette, no cigarette after dinner, that poo poo is killing me. Other than that the cravings aren't too bad, I'm going out to buy sunflower-seeds so I have to something to fiddle with now. I've also sworn off joints for at least a month since I roll them with tobacco, just to be safe.
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Jan 2, 2010 16:05
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I am at 1 day, 17 hours and 1 minute. I want a cigarette very badly. I've been trying to sleep through the worst of the cravings, but I really want to give up. My husband smokes and I can smell it and I want to kick his rear end and steal his cigarettes.
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Jan 2, 2010 19:03
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Congratulations. You're all taking steps in the right direction. I hope you don't have permanent damage to your lungs
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Jan 2, 2010 19:06
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ARGHHHHHHHH I want to kill myself, this is 1000x harder then when I took a break from smoking pot. I have three loving patches on and im still homicidal
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Jan 3, 2010 05:37
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Good luck guys, I usually post encouragement in these threads. It is possible, and anyone can do it. I quit cold turkey, but it sucked balls. Exercise a poo poo ton, I mean like 20 plus bike miles a day, try not to drink, and get your S.O. or best friend, partner, etc to kick your rear end into gear. Ninja edit: you will probably gain weight and you WILL be an intolerable prick for the first week or so.
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Jan 3, 2010 05:41
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Day number three and, honestly, I thought it would be much worse. I've been munching on seeds and fruit and snapped at a housemate once or twice, other than that it's business as usual. I even dreamed I lit a cigarette and immediately put it out after thinking: "Oh no, I've fallen off the wagon!" and "Ew, this tastes like poo poo". Last night I was at a club and when one of my smoker friends leaned in to talk to me she smelled loving foul. Now I just have to keep going and maybe work some kind of exercise into my routine because there is no loving way I'm gaining weight after making a good choice for once. 
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Jan 3, 2010 13:35
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Be strong, my goonbrothers. I quit smoking 11 months ago, and I feel fan-loving-tastic. I don't stink, I can run for four times as long as when I smoked, everything tastes better, I have a lot of money that I would otherwise have spent on deathsticks, and I can enjoy stuff without going out for a smoke every hour or so. It's only hard for a couple of weeks, promise. 
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Jan 3, 2010 14:13
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Smoked 2 packs a day for 13 years, stopped last week. It's really hard sometimes but it's getting easier. I've been taking the money spent on smokes and stuffing it into a shoebox, it's alarming how quickly that fund is growing. First time I've tried to quit and I've been using Nicoderm the entire time. Seems to really help minimize the physical urges. Mental stuff is a different story, I don't think I could have started this without a stress ball and a good attitude. I don't see myself ever smoking again, I think the trick is to get angry about how much money you've spent on basically killing yourself over the years. Worked for me anyways.
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Jan 4, 2010 12:36
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So! How are we doing, recent quitters? I'm at 6 days, 23 hours, 26 mins smoke-free. I have NOT smoked 139 cigs and I've saved about 25 bucks so far. I'm still having pretty intense cravings when I just want to chuck it all and go have a smoke. I get through them, but I can be pretty cranky about it still. I haven't cheated even once. I'm very proud of myself, but I really liked smoking. I miss it. I still want cigarettes badly.
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Jan 8, 2010 01:29
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ThreeFish posted:So! How are we doing, recent quitters? I'm at 6 days, 23 hours, 26 mins smoke-free. I have NOT smoked 139 cigs and I've saved about 25 bucks so far. Day 4 for me. (Quit Sunday night). So far, so good. I've been drunk every night though. (I'm substituting, but I'm not smoking, and I can live with that). By the way, does anyone know if there's ever been an update to this list? http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/afterquitting/a/quitting20minut.htm
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Jan 8, 2010 02:06
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I had my last two cigs on the evening of December 30th. Over a week strong and doing fine. The only real struggle was on day 3 when I was at a casino and surrounded by old women chain-smoking while playing slots. I made it through. So far, my new year's resolution to go 'green' has been a success.
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Jan 8, 2010 03:12
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I'm still clean and i still want a cigarette, i'm just too lazy and cheap to buy them.
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Jan 8, 2010 06:56
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I'm at seven days now and doing fine. My housemate did angrily accuse me of being a cranky bitch, I'm not sure where that came from but since he quit too I'm just going to assume he's feeling like a cranky bitch. My cravings are still really light, just like a reflex at the times I normally would have a cigarette like after dinner or when opening a beer. The most annoying thing has been not smoking at work. I work a boring office job where everyone smokes. We used to take smoke-breaks every hour to get away from our desks for a bit and staying behind on your own is no fun. Yesterday I experimented with tagging along to have a coffee in the smoker's lounge and it didn't bother me in the least. I won't be doing it every smoke-break but it's nice to stretch my legs a couple of times a day and chat with my smoker-buddies.
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Jan 8, 2010 07:24
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I've been smoke free for a little over four months now. Here are some things I have noticed along the way. 1. It is nearly impossible to quit while partying. For years I would go through streaks of quitting for 5 or 6 days and then I would break on Friday because I had a beer or two. I finally made it because my friends stopped giving me cigs when I was drunk. After you get past the first weekend its all gravy. 2. Cold turkey is the only way to go. 3. After four months I still get the occasional craving, if you read up on the literature around the net you will realize that these cravings are brought on by certain events (driving, playing golf, etc.) and that once you break the trigger once or twice by not smoking the cravings go away. 4. Smokers smell extremely horrible and all of them have bad breath. 5. After a short period of time you will get your sense of smell back. It's amazing all the smells you can miss as a smoker. 6. Exercise can play a HUGE factor in your success/failure. Think of it like a health snowball, the more good things you do for your body the more you want to keep doing them. I recommend easing into a fitness plan. Not only did I start exercising but I also changed my diet from fast food all the time to vegetables and lean meats. 7. Your teeth will whiten. Buy some whitestrips and watch the magic happen. This combined with my diet and exercise = Bitches Flockin' 7. Second hand smoke affects you more than you think. After your lungs start to clear up and you get some lung capacity back you will notice that a night spent in a smoky room can make you feel like you smoked a pack the next morning. 8. You will enjoy things in a better way. Seriously, you will catch yourself smiling a lot more (need someone to second this.) 9. Your energy levels will SKYROCKET! My bosses at work have commented on my performance increase over the last few months and most of it is because I don't feel like crap all the time any more!
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Jan 8, 2010 08:04
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I'm at 1 week. I'm using Chantix. I feel good, I've only had few problems with Chantix. I only get cravings at night, which kinda sucks when you close at work at 2am. Do not smoke pot and be on Chantix, that hosed me up bad. Also, the nausea sucks, everyday about 20 minutes after taking it, but it's bearable. I've only had 1 weird dream so far. I can breathe, I try to stay away from others who smoke but it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Also, i feel great.
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Jan 9, 2010 09:31
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Question. After smoking a little more than a pack a day for 4.5 years is there any chance I did permanent damage to my lungs? Google isn't helping me right now.  Edit: dumb question, nevermind Devour fucked around with this message at 07:22 on Jan 12, 2010 |
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Jan 9, 2010 09:50
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 11:37 |
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Insomnia posted:Question. After smoking a little more than a pack a day for 4.5 years is there any chance I did permanent damage to my lungs? You might live another 10 years if you're lucky.
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Jan 9, 2010 10:42
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