So I've been a smoker for a little over 20 years. I've tried to quit on so many occasions, I can't even count that high any more.
I used the nicotine patches for the longest time. And while they sorta worked, there was always still some serious cravings happening toward the end of the day. Not to mention the absolutely bizarre bruising feeling of first putting the patch on and feeling the nicotine pouring into my system. A nice idea, but not terribly effective as it kept nicotine in my system rather than trying to stem those urges.
I recently asked my doctor about Chantix. I'm normally very anti-pharmaceuticals, but I'd thought about quitting again recently and thought "why not give it a try?" For those of you thinking about it, I will certainly be your biggest cheerleader.
The list of adverse effects that MAY occur is pretty ghastly, to be honest. One of the many reasons I shy away from pills for anything.
"May cause crazy dreams. Patient may awaken as a different gender. Turns penises blue. Women's breasts fall off. You may find yourself susceptible to eating large amounts of uncooked crab meat" - you get the idea. (These are not the real side effects listed)
I'm a month in. I've asked my doc for a second month because it's been so effective at not only curbing my actual smoking, but my legitimate cravings are damn near nil. I'm normally a pack a day smoker; I'm down to two or three a day with absolutely zero side effects and none of the mood changes normally associated with quitting. I've had nothing but a good experience.
Apparently the prescription is normally about $400 without insurance (Chantix also provides a card in their info brochure that knocks off a certain amount as well to help out; it can be used three times), but thankfully my insurance ended up covering the whole prescription, which helps out immensely.
Anyway, if you were thinking about quitting and you're on the fence about giving this stuff a try, apparently more people in my life have used it to quit than I realized and they've all seen some pretty drastic successes.
If you've already quit, what ended up working for you?
My dad managed it with the patch and gum! Everyone is different
yeah, i could never get the gum to take with me. super interesting that it takes a hundred different methods to help people kick the habit.
E-Cig has helped me a lot.. but I do spot the occasional dirty smoke.
It's disgusting.. but I love it.
i REALLY hate that there's something very comforting with a good, long smoke.
This thing right here:
Over the course of the next 12 months, not only was I getting over the disgusting chemicals that are in traditional cigarettes, I also went through an interesting series of phases with the EVOD.I smoked for 22 years, starting when I was 14. Just like most smokers, I wish I never started. After over 2 decades, @jazzyfish and I got a set of the ones you see below, the Kanger Tech EVOD . Incidentally enough, we bought them from @jessamynorchard at the store she manages. That was January 2016.
By the time I was ready to toss it by essentially just becoming annoyed by it, I was already so far past cigarettes that the mere smell of them made me nautious. Jazzy still hits hers, but at least cigarettes are out of our lives.
I'll periodically take a hit from her pen maybe once or twice a week, though. It just tastes good.
i really seriously debated going the vape route, but i kinda wanted to kick the oral fixation part of the habit as well. but doing the chantix and the vape was certainly a thought i entertained.
Check out Allen Carr's The Easy Way to Stop Smoking. He also has a pretty good video on YouTube if you want to check that out first:
Oh man. I've quit so many times, I just picked up a pack of gum instead of smokes today so we'll see how that goes. Chantix ups your risk of depression or suicide, so if you're already at risk it's not really worth it, otherwise I'd be all over that. I tried vaping but found the gadgetry kinda excessive, so I might just have to go it cold turkey. But I'm glad you found something that's working for you, that's awesome.
My new trick is every time I wanna smoke, I read a random fact from this, which I picked up at a library. I'll let you know how it goes.