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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2013 14:43:42 GMT -5
Why wouldn't you recommend it for 1 cig a day? I agree that the psychological addiction is much stronger for DH, and my impression was that Chantix helped treat the psychological cravings. If it was just a nicotine addiction, the patch/gum would be an easy solution. But I'm not a doctor, so I really don't know. Thanks for the e-cig recommendation, Dave - I think the one he was using was N-Joy, I'm sure it was the cheapest brand available. Even so, it was probably the most effective thing he tried - or at least he stuck with it the longest. Oh yeah, Njoy sucks. If he was relying on those, I wouldn't view them as a viable alternative. I think I tried 3 different brands before settling on Logic.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Feb 25, 2013 14:52:03 GMT -5
Well, he usually has an open pack laying on the table in the garage, next to his half-smoked cigarette of the day. The level of cigarettes in that pack is pretty suggestive of a one-a-day habit (and corroborated by the occasional $5 convenience store transaction on the CC statement). I suppose it's possible he has other packs hidden, or is paying cash for them, but I'm not sure why he'd go to the effort when I've told him repeatedly that I don't really care how much he smokes. And he is an exceedingly honest person, often to his detriment. Maybe that makes me sound naive, but we've known each other for almost two-thirds of our lives, I can tell when he's lying (and vice versa). A couple of years ago he broke down and told me he'd gone back up to three a day. I was like, "What the hell are you so upset about? Who cares?" If he were lying about his usage, I'd be VERY surprised, let's put it that way. I do think he's very frustrated and confused as to why it was easy for him to cut back significantly but so much more difficult to just cut out that last one.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Feb 25, 2013 15:58:05 GMT -5
First let me just say that this thread is making me crave a smoke like a son of a bitch.
Now, I was on Chantix for a bit last year. For me it had almost no side effects and seemed to work pretty well. I did my 10 days of smoking while taking the pill and naturally tapered off how many I smoked a day during that time without really trying. The pills made the cigs taste like absolute shit. Then I stopped smoking completely no problem. A few weeks later I stopped taking the pills. A few weeks after that I was smoking again. My insurance only covered 30 days in a calendar year or something like that, so my doc switched me from Chantix to Wellbutrin when I went back in and told her I was an idiot but I still wanted to quit.
The Wellbutrin didn't work as well as the Chantix and made me feel.. off somehow. I can't tell you exactly what I didn't like about taking them but I just didn't like it. I stopped taking them pretty quick. The wife and I both quit though. Technically we both quit with Wellbutrin, but she took hers religiously, and I only took mine every day or three for the first two weeks.
Tell your husband from me, to just quit now. It doesn't get any easier when you have a hormonal pregnant woman to deal with, a new baby that purposely waits until the exact moment your REM sleep cycle has begun to start screaming their head off, a toddler running around, etc., etc., etc. I don't even like to think about how many times I told my girls I wasn't going to quit and then couldn't. I broke promises, pinky swears, everything.
Oh, and I tried to quit before by tapering down to one and then quitting. I could never get rid of that last one. It's easily 10 times harder to drop that one that is to go from 10 a day down to 5, or 20 down to 10.
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Jaguar
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Post by Jaguar on Feb 25, 2013 16:01:34 GMT -5
My sister upstairs is using something to quit smoking [I'll find out what it is] and she has seriously cut back on the smokes. I quit cold turkey in Sept, 1997. Good Luck.
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Queen of Interesting Nuts
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Post by Queen of Interesting Nuts on Feb 25, 2013 18:05:14 GMT -5
Please excuse all I said, I believe I have my medications mixed up. I am going to delete my posts as incorrect.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2013 23:30:11 GMT -5
Low dose patches are a better option than Chantix. If he's down to one per day (that you know about ) then it is more the habit than the addiction at this point. Can he try a replacement activity? ETA - Chantix trashed my stomach & it took almost a year to get my system back to normal. Wellbutrin made me nuts so stopped that a week after trying it.
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finnime
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Post by finnime on Feb 26, 2013 8:38:19 GMT -5
I was a heavy smoker for many years. I quit finally with the patch (wasn't going to waste the $250) and by promising myself I could smoke another cigarette if I really 'needed' to. If someone I loved died a catastrophic death, then I could have one. Or if Thanksgiving came (10 months later) and I really wanted one, then I could have one. Something about the never-ever-ever of quitting was psychologically daunting. In the end I did not want a cigarette at Thanksgiving, or the next year, or after that. It's been 20 years now. If I want to smoke at 75, then I will (in 22 years).
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Mar 8, 2013 14:34:43 GMT -5
Update:
DH has been smoke-free since Monday night! He started the initial dose (0.5mg) on 2/26 and has been up to the full dose (2mg) since 3/4. No noticeable side effects yet - although last night during dinner, he asked me if I thought the spaghetti he was cooking smelled weird. I asked him what exactly plain spaghetti was supposed to smell like? Couldn't figure out if it was a side effect or if his sense of smell is beginning to sharpen. He says he still wants a cigarette, but doesn't feel like he HAS to have one - it doesn't dominate his thoughts, and he isn't twitchy/angry all the time like he has been the other times he's tried to quit. (He's actually been in a really good mood all week.) This is definitely the most successful he's ever been at quitting, although we're not even a week in so I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. So, although the list of side effects is still a little daunting, it seems like so far, so good with Chantix...
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Mar 8, 2013 21:10:04 GMT -5
Good luck to him, Mid! DH just quit again (he's a start/stop smoker). The first week is always rough and then it gets better.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Mar 8, 2013 22:01:51 GMT -5
That's great news mid! Dh quit almost 10 years ago (my gawd we're getting old!) And he says that he still smokes in his dreams almost every night.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Mar 8, 2013 22:48:07 GMT -5
Thanks! Sam, good luck to your DH (and to you too for that first week )
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DVM gone riding
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Post by DVM gone riding on Mar 9, 2013 22:04:50 GMT -5
Yes, he's cut back pretty significantly (was a pack a day smoker from age 16-22 and has gone steadily down since then - has been at ~1 a day for 3-4 years) but he can't completely quit. He has tried at least a dozen times. His parents are the same way, although they've each managed to quit for 2-3 years at a time and then inexplicably start back up. I suppose time will tell whether it works for them. The side effects do concern me, although he has no physical or mental health problems so I'm hoping they wouldn't be too severe. Though of course the health care industry goes crazy on the se of smoking (and of course there are a lot) I don't think they generally referance those that only smoke 1 a day--does he have a set time he does that does he smoke three some days and none others what if it was more of hay I am not going to smoke on sundays and see if I can not smoke for one month or something that might be a lower stress then "today I will not smoke ever again" cause of course then ALL he thinks about is smoking. Chantix does have some high SE ETA: JUST IGNORE me I hadn't read page 2 yet! So glad the Chantix is working for him and busting down that last pychological bridge! I wish my brother could take it but something about "do not take if you have suicidal thoughts or tendencies" tells me a doctor would be brushing up with malpractice to RX it for him.
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