MoneySavers don't smoke!

baby_frogmella

dibdab wrote:

In my early 40's and am desperate to quit, mainly health but hey the money ....

I have attempted to quit a several times in a number of ways i.e. cold turkey, patches, gum, books etc. all without success. today my GP offered me Zyban, apparently you take 1 tablet a day for a week and then 2 per day thereafter for up to 8 weeks. From what I understand so far you should in the 2nd week not be smoking but still dealing with the cravings etc.

I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has tried/succeeded quitting using Zyban as reading the leaftlet enclosed in the tablets is pretty scary.

Thanks

Hi

I tried Zyban a few years ago when i was about 25, cost me a fortune (about £110 for an 8 week course) and what did i think of it? Well i did stop smoking whilst taking the tablets, HOWEVER after the first week, as soon as the started 2 tablets a day, i started getting heart palpitations....i felt like i was going to have a heart attack any minute!!!!! And no, i was a quite healthy person at the time, i wasn't overweight or anything...remember Zyban INCREASES your heart beart therefore its not suitable for people with heart problems or high blood pressure.....this is clearly mentioned on the instructions. Anyway i stopped using Zyban cos i couldn't stand the palpitations (even though my GP said they're normal if you're taking Zyban) and then i kind of got back to my normal habit of 2 packs of B&H a day.

I tried quitting again last year by reading "Allan Carr;easy way to stop smoking", that worked for about 3 weeks until i started again. Shortly afterwards i read "The Nicotine Trick: The Totally New Way To Stop Smoking" by Neil Casey (available from Amazon @ £5.59) and guess what? that did the trick without any willpower!!!! I haven't smoked for about 6 months and i'm actually ENJOYING it. I don't get any withdrawal pangs and I will NEVER smoke again in my life. I had smoked for about 15 years between 2-3 packets day but i didn't give up for financial reasons (i used to get my beloved B&H duty free from overseas)....i purely wanted to stop this filthy habit cos the thought of getting lung cancer was too scary for me. So go ahead and buy that book by Neil Casey...what have you got to lose? hell of a lot cheaper than a pack of nicotine patches.

Hope this helps

SnowyOwl_2

Sorry in advance but this is rather long winded...

I gave up about five years ago, and like so many other people I was a truly dedicated smoker...loved every puff, loved the taste, loved the feel of them in my hands.... etc etc etc.

However it was my hacking cough which got to me in the end.

My method to give up was a combination of acquiring willpower and a physical prop.

Acquiring willpower involved reading up on what ciggies actually do to the body. Yeah, all the gross stuff about causing lung cancer, heart disease, loss of circulation etc etc etc. Also about why it is so addictive, and why the body craves this thing which ultimately has a high chance of destroying the body.

So that was the education thing. Next was to go and assess the props out there - patches, inhaler job thingy, chewing gum etc etc. It's a personal thing in my opinion. I had a chat with the pharmacist and he recommended patches, and he based this on my smoking habits/patterns etc...again an individual thing.

Then it was a matter of pulling everything together. I picked a day, not too far in advance and actively planned my cigarette consumption. So on the day I quit I had my last remaining cigarette that night, then because the bins were being collected the next day (see planned it well!) put all ashtrays, matches, and so on into the bin and out of the house. Then I put on my first patch and went to bed, and woke up the next day in the knowledge that I was "now an ex-smoker".

Yes the cravings were still there though dulled by the patch. But in the phase of educating myself I discovered that these cigarettes trick you into making you think you cannot get by without one as soon as the thought pops into your head. Well, you can! Cravings don't last forever, they go away if you sit/sweat them out. Do something to distract yourself eg go for a quick walk, chat to someone, take a good long whiff of strong perfume or smelly cheese or something else pungent. I developed a breathing technique (which I still use) - imagine if you smoke a cigarette that this dirty dusty grey smoke is going into your lungs. It fills ever sac in your lung, every pore. Your blood comes by and picks up the grey dirt from your dusty lungs and the dirt is flowing around your whole entire body polluting it. But you don't have a cigarette in your hand. Instead take a long slow deep breath of clean air. All that oxygen going into your lungs, cleansing, soothing and nourising every sac and every pore. Then your blood comes along and it too is nourished and enriched. The healthy blood pumps through your heart, through every artery and every capillary delivering clean life sustaining oxygen from your scalp to the ends of your toes. Keep breathing slowly, imagining this clean air cleansing your whole body. Keep doing this...the craving for the dirty smelly cigarette will go away.

Yes, the craving will return a while later...just breathe slowly and visualise again.

I found that given time the cravings started to become shorter. Then they started to be further apart. What was happening was that I was controlling the cravings just by breathing and visualising, rather than the cravings control me.

Then one day...maybe about eight or nine months after becoming a non-smoker I realised I had gone an entire day without thinking about cigarettes.

Persevere, it is totally and utterly worth it.

And if you're still reading THANKS! Sorry if it was a bit boring...

Oh BTW the visualising, breathing and education combined were much more effective than the nicotine patch, though that was very useful for the first week. The second and third days of being a new ex-smoker are the most challenging. Get through those and you'll be well on your way. Visualising and breathing are free, so was all the education stuff - look in the library or GP surgeries for books and leaflets.

I hope that this helps someone out there.

jandanjan

Well I will put my hands up from the outset and state clearly I am a Clinical Hypnotherapist so part of my job is to help people stop smoking and yes I do earn money from it so I need to make that clear.

I feel that this issue is not a case of "one size fits all" - what works for one doesnt work for another. As long as people stop then that is the main thing as its so expensive and also a major health threat. All I will do here is put the case as to why Hypnotherapy works for a lot of people.

Hypnotherapy works by helping to break the habit links associated with smoking and the routine involved. It gets rid of the desire to smoke and if someone is committed to stop then it can be incredibly useful to move them away from being a smoker into being a non smoker quickly and effectively. It is not for everyone but is very good for a lot of people. I charge £100 for a 2 hour one off session - you recoup it within 4 weeks based on a normal spend on cigarettes. Should people want to come back for a top up session then it is free for 6 months after the session.

I do not quote statistics because there is no legal definition of what is a cure for smoking. I uunderstand that the NHS bases its stats that if someone has stopped for 14 days then that is a sucess! Then if you go back on day 15 saying your smoking again they start you off as a new smoker so the sucess statistic stands.

What ever method works for you as long as it doesnt compromise your health then thats great.

And just a note - we are now seeing patients coming in who have broken the cigarette habit but are now hooked on the nicotine replacement products like gum/sprays.

Hope that helps and to all who try whatever method you use Good Luck!

sudman

I stopped smoking in June last year,, I've had a couple of relapses but haven't bought any fags since June so in my eyes I'm doing quite well.

One thing that that hasn't been metioned is that it is possible to get a better pension if you're a smoker, or at least you used to be able to 7 years ago when I worked in pensions. The reason being is that you not expected to live so long & therefore the annuity rates are better.

So don't smoke when you're young & healthy but start when you're older & about to retire & get a better pension then stop again. You may not live as long but you'll live with more money in your pocket.

(Whilst I believe what i'm saying is true I am obviously jocking, smoking kills, give it up)

sezdav

hehe, you made me giggle sudman, I shall bear that in mind!!

Snowy Owl, Thanks for that lovely post. I gave up smoking 4 days ago. Im a nurse and have spent time recently on a respiritory ward where many patients strggled to suck in every drop of oxygen, and often due to a history of smoking... thats not why i wanted to stop. Never seemed to affect me. I always convinced myself thati may get run over by a bus but that doesnt stop me leaving the house... so carried on!

Ive tried alan carr (worked for 2 1/2 days during which i would have bet my mortgage that i would never smoke again.... then propmtly found some great excuses to continue smoking!). Ive tried cold turkey... and very oftern felt like jumping off on the top of the b and h factory!!) Managed no longer than 3 days with each attempt. But this time its serious and forever (but i have to tell you i miss my little friends so much!)

My reasons are very personal, ive made a deal with my husband to be (in july) and will stick to non smoking (and no im not doing it for him, im doing it for me, it just helps to have him on board).

Im using nicorrete patches which i got on prescription from the nhs stop smoking lady (£6.50 for 2 weeks).

Day 1: Little difficult but not as bad as i thought i would be... decided i could do this no problems!
Day 2: Ready to throw myself under that bus! Am fine when at work but the second i get in the car the huge assosiation i built up grabs me and at the moment is very difficult to shake off! Husband to be had a rather unconfortable evening!!
Day 3: Now i knew from previous (will power only) attempts that this is my hardest point and on many occassions i have not managed to see day 3 through without one cig, and of course we all know that turns into 20 a day the nex day! But some how I have managed it!!
Day 4: Ive woken up this morning so proud of myself that i got through day 3. For me, just in my mind day 3 was the hardest. I may be proved wrong though..., we'll see what day 4,5,6 ect ect bring! But right now im so determind and will not smoke again!

Sorry for boring you all! Just wanted to tell someone!! Thanks, sez

Ember999

sezdav wrote:

hehe, you made me giggle sudman, I shall bear that in mind!!

Snowy Owl, Thanks for that lovely post. I gave up smoking 4 days ago. Im a nurse and have spent time recently on a respiritory ward where many patients strggled to suck in every drop of oxygen, and often due to a history of smoking... thats not why i wanted to stop. Never seemed to affect me. I always convinced myself thati may get run over by a bus but that doesnt stop me leaving the house... so carried on!

Ive tried alan carr (worked for 2 1/2 days during which i would have bet my mortgage that i would never smoke again.... then propmtly found some great excuses to continue smoking!). Ive tried cold turkey... and very oftern felt like jumping off on the top of the b and h factory!!) Managed no longer than 3 days with each attempt. But this time its serious and forever (but i have to tell you i miss my little friends so much!)

My reasons are very personal, ive made a deal with my husband to be (in july) and will stick to non smoking (and no im not doing it for him, im doing it for me, it just helps to have him on board).

Im using nicorrete patches which i got on prescription from the nhs stop smoking lady (£6.50 for 2 weeks).

Day 1: Little difficult but not as bad as i thought i would be... decided i could do this no problems!
Day 2: Ready to throw myself under that bus! Am fine when at work but the second i get in the car the huge assosiation i built up grabs me and at the moment is very difficult to shake off! Husband to be had a rather unconfortable evening!!
Day 3: Now i knew from previous (will power only) attempts that this is my hardest point and on many occassions i have not managed to see day 3 through without one cig, and of course we all know that turns into 20 a day the nex day! But some how I have managed it!!
Day 4: Ive woken up this morning so proud of myself that i got through day 3. For me, just in my mind day 3 was the hardest. I may be proved wrong though..., we'll see what day 4,5,6 ect ect bring! But right now im so determind and will not smoke again!

Sorry for boring you all! Just wanted to tell someone!! Thanks, sez

Well done hon, don't give up now! I'm there with you doing this, feeling the same pain, loss of little friend etc. I am using the Nicorette Nasal Spray and I am STILL NOT SMOKING and I am so proud of myself. Everyone who knows me said there is no way I would ever stop. Cigarettes have been my friend, my crutch, my life up until this point (isn't that sad, but true for so many smokers) I smoked when I was happy, when I was sad, when I had good news and bad...you know the drill. I see today as day 5 of my new year and day 5 of 2006 when I am a non-smoker. I refuse to ever pick up 'just one' cigarette again and I know if I never do that I will never smoke again. I think ciggie addicts are like alcoholics, you CAN NEVER have 'just one' so NEVER EVER touch one again and you will succeed. I have gone through so many emotions since I stopped, fear, pain, anger, loss....at one point I thought about cigarettes every moment of every day. That madness is starting to pass. The fact that so many on here are going through the same thing sustains me and gives me strength. We all can do it and so can you.
Ember xx

RACHIE77

I've made it through to day 5!

Not exactly the longest stretch known to mankind I know but I'm well on the road to being a non smoker me hopes!

I'm fine during the day time as I never really smoked all day anyway but its the evenings I find hard... I am avoiding alcohol at the moment too as I KNOW that will be my downfall if I weaken... Does anyone have any tips for staying non smoking whilst drinking/socialising with smoking friends??

Rachie

p.s. I am going cold turkey on this one.... am also going to weight watchers tonight so my willpower is being tested massively at the moment!!!! AGH!!

elyobelyob

Iguana wrote:

Why is it everyone raves over this book?

I read it and it didn't help at all.

I got through a couple of chapters and ended up quitting reading.

Anyway, in all seriousness, I quit on New Years Day. Cold turkey, quit alcohol for a while as well. And going to spend the money on joining a tennis/squash club nearby. So far I think I've saved £11 on cigarettes and probably £20 on alcohol. (come on, it's £3 a pint where i live. Any tips on that one?!)

silverfoxdude

Great thread, feel we need support to quit, at least its somewhere where someone will be on to get encouragement!

I liked Alan Carrs book, thought there was some interesting things in there, didnt make me stop, but I do think of what he wrote. I have also used Zyban on two occasions, through the NHS. Went to cessastion (however you spell it!), and although I am smoking again, I did stop on both times for about a month. The reason I started again, was the 'excuse' that something bad had happened in my life. I do know that that isnt acceptable, and have chasisted myself ever since!

But on the positive side, OH and I are attending the Stop Smoking Clinic on the 19th Jan, for us both to stop. I may try Zyban again, as I somehow feel that by using patches or gum will only 'feed' my brain with messages that I need nicotine. I DONT!!!!!

I need willpower.

On the cost side, we brought back loads of cigs from abroad so I've been smoking them, at no seeable cost, and OH smokes tobacco, again bought in bulk from abroad.
Healthwise, I have bowel disease that was probably caused by smoking, and will only get worse if I carry on, so I must do it, and stay stopped.

Rebob

silverfoxdude wrote:

Healthwise, I have bowel disease that was probably caused by smoking, and will only get worse if I carry on, so I must do it, and stay stopped.

I was told by my hospital consultant that nicotine can help certain forms of bowel disease such as u/c. that said, he still recommended stopping smoking.