Naked Science Forum
General Science => General Science => Topic started by: Laith on 12/05/2006 18:16:36
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There will be a smoking ban in my city 'Montreal' starting the 31st of may, so I thought since I won't be able to smoke at bars or restaurants I might as well do what I have been trying to do for years (stop smoking!)
Nicotine patches are offered for free on Medicare so I got them last week, but didn’t start applying them, I’m thinking of waiting till the 31st.
So the question is do they work??
Laith
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quote:
Originally posted by Laith
So the question is do they work??
Nope! Not for me. But nicotine chewing gum *did* work. The 'hit' is more tangible. Unfortunately, I'm still addicted to the bloody gum -- 12-years later!
Still, I've got the dose down to only one 4mg pellet per day. I chop it into eight pieces and mix those pieces with ordinary gum.
If *I* can give up smoking, *anyone* can. Thirty-five years of roll-ups using licorice paper -- 30-per day. It was a way of life, and giving up was like cutting off a limb. Once I managed a month of abstinence I was past the trough, and started the long climb back to normality.
Good luck, Laith. You'll need it -- along with will power of course.
Roy P
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Roy....nicely done !!
Laith...of course patches work, just roll em up, stick some baccy in them, apply flame and off you go !! [:D]
Do they help you stop smoking ?...I haven't a clue but I suppose the fact that after all this time they still sell well then there must be something in them....of course, as Roy said...you need a liberal dose of will-power too !!
GOOD LUCK !!
what about your mates ?...I hope they'll be supportive of you too !!..especially as they all smoke also eh ?
Men are the same as women, just inside out !
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a friend of mine who had smoked for years used the patches and they worked very well. the only time he had cravings and mood swings was when he got to using the lower step patches [obviously]. but it took him about three months on them, and now he isn't on anything and says he stopped having cravings for them cigs.
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Thank you guys
Roy I thought nicotine gum tasted really bad, I never tried it but that’s what I heard so I thought patches would be better for me
Yes Neal I think my friends will be supportive, actually one of them stopped smoking a week ago, and he's doing fine, he says it's really easy for him, for me that just shows how better his will power is compared to me :)
I asked a pharmacist today and he said it works with 1 out of 4 people only! so its all about will power again, but I guess it could help me, at least by motivating me more I guess
Thanks again, I’ll keep you posted on what happens, now I will keep smoking for 2 more weeks [:D]
Laith
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I stopped smoking when it was a full moon. I am not usually superstitious but for some reason the only time I thought about a cigarette was to think about how long it had been since I thought about it. If that makes any sense! My parents tried the patch and they said that it made them have weird dreams.
Faith
I live in my own little world, but that's ok....they know me here!
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Hi Laith - I smoked 2-3 packs a day for years. Tried the gum and the patch. Neither worked for me. My parents used both. They still smoke. My dad now smokes and chews the gum. My mom isn't doing either now, but she is down to about 1 or 2 a day.
November 4, 2004 was my last cigarette. I went in the hospital and stayed for 8 days. When I got out, I wanted one soooo badly. I decided that if I could go 8 days, then I could quit for good, and I did. It really did get easier every day. Both of my parents use a nebulizer. My mom can't walk from one end of the house to the other without needing that nebulizer. That's what I kept thinking about. I don't want that to ever happen to me. My husband, parents and lots of friends smoke. I can be around it and it doesn't bother me. Every now and then, I want one. That feeling comes when I'm outside and get a whiff of one, but it only lasts a few seconds. I know if I ever take a drag off one, it's all over.
I think that these "stop smoking" products are alot like the weight loss aids. They only work when you've made up your mind to do it. I don't want to imply that this was easy for me and that I had no effects from it. While in the hospital I was a real B***H, even after I got out I wasn't very nice (I know, it's hard to imagine) and I gained 70 pounds. Perhaps if I'd used the smoking aids I wouldn't have gained weight.
I have made another short story long. Good luck Laith.
Carolyn
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Laith. Can I give you a tip if you're going to give up: If you use gum (which, by the way, has a nice minty taste), or patches, give up and don't use either substitute for two or three days. Then start to use gum or patches. You'll notice the difference and recognise the advantage of the substitute.
Roy P
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quote:
Originally posted by Roy P
If *I* can give up smoking, *anyone* can. Thirty-five years of roll-ups using licorice paper -- 30-per day.
It was a way of life, and giving up was like cutting off a limb.
Roy P
There is a medical condition called "Smoker's Leg" which often necessitates amputation of toes/feet/legs.
http://bilddatenbank.medicalpicture.de/servlet/collectioning?password=gast&user=gast&r=3&script=t&c=4&p=1&order=name&po=1&col=11277&button=startsearch&simpleValue=smokers%20leg&oid=0&lng=en
If you visualze/associate the black ash on the end of a cigarette with the blackened (gangrenous) feet and toes in the above medical images, it may help you give up smoking.
A relative of mine had "smoker's leg", they were reluctant to have their first leg amputated, but a couple of years later they were enthusiastic about having their second leg removed, (it is an excruciating condition).
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quote:
Originally posted by fmj1179
My parents tried the patch and they said that it made them have weird dreams.
Yes, my boyfriend said that the box told him that if you sleep with the patch on you will have "vivid dreams". He did fall asleep with it on the second night he was on the patch, and said he woke up freaked out with a racing heart. After that he just took it off before bed, and put it on as soon as he woke up and he was fine.
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Hi Robert - Those pictures were disturbing and nauseating.
I've never heard of "smokers leg". Is that actually caused by
smoking?
Carolyn
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" Smoker’s leg is a trivial designation for the manifestation of a severe peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) or an endarteritis obliterans in the leg arteries.
Causes:-
The arterial occlusive disease develops through inflammatory alterations in the arterial walls (arteriosclerosis), which leads to the adsorption of thrombi and eventually to vascular obliteration. Mainly affected are the medium and small arteries of the extremities.
Cigarette smoking (nicotine abuse) is one of the most significant risk factors for the development of arteriosclerosis and is to be regarded as the main cause of PAOD in many patients. However, a PAOD can also occur in non-smokers, and therefore the designation “smoker’s leg” is not always applicable. "
http://www.flexikon.com/Smoker's_leg?PHPSESSID=242a7deb280467af8cf2584549e37dfb
Smoking is the most common cause of this condition, poorly regulated diabetes can also cause it.
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Thanks Robert. I'm going to pass this info along to my dad, who is a heavy smoker, and has type 2 diabetes.
Carolyn
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Some more info for your Father, Carolyn:-
" Factsheet no:6
Smoking, the heart
and circulation
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD)
Smokers have a 16 times greater risk of developing peripheral vascular disease (blocked blood vessels in the legs or feet) than people who have never smoked. Smokers who ignore the warning of early symptoms and continue to smoke are more likely to develop gangrene of a leg. Cigarette smoking combines with other factors to multiply the risks of atherosclerosis. Patients who continue to smoke after surgery for PVD are more likely to relapse, leading to amputation, and are more likely to die earlier....
The benefits of stopping smoking
Whatever a person’s age, it is never too late to give up smoking. Blood is less likely to clot, and the heart can pump more blood (and therefore oxygen) around the body with less effort. Giving up smoking reduces the risk of a heart attack and is particularly important for those who have other risk factors such as high blood pressure, raised blood cholesterol levels, are overweight or diabetic. Some studies have shown that, within five years of giving up, the risk is reduced almost to that of a non-smoker. Giving up smoking after a coronary attack can halve the chance of a recurrence. Stroke risk also decreases after smoking cessation. A 12 year study of female nurses found that the elevated risk in smokers disappeared within 5 years of quitting and that the decline in risk was independent of age, highlighting that it is never too late to quit. "
http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact06.html
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So Today was the day!
I woke up feeling good, I put the patch after I showered, but 3 hours after I wasn’t feeling good at all, I ended up taking the patch off and bought a pack [:I]
Ill try again tomorrow and see what happens, I started smoking since I was 13 so I'm guessing it's not going to be easy [:(]
Laith
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Another item to consider, although men don't seem to thonk about it at all, even though they should - Smoking is the leading cause of bone decalcification or OSTEOPOROSIS.
My rhumitologist says it is worse than any medication, including prednisone, a cartico-steroid. Men do suffer from this, too.
In my problems with smoking, nothing helped. I had to make up my mind I was going to go through it and stop, feeling like a tiger with a sore tooth and acting like a babbon on amphetamines. Quiting isn't easy, so do yourself a favor and only do it once, WHILE you are young.
The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open. -- A. Einstein
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Laith, in line with the serious advice you are being furnished with here , you should try sewing up your mouth and arranging to be fed intravenously...that has a high success rate.
Men are the same as women, just inside out !
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quote:
Originally posted by neilep
Laith, in line with the serious advice you are being furnished with here , you should try sewing up your mouth and arranging to be fed intravenously...that has a high success rate.
Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Haha thanks for the advice Neil, I'll probably end up smoking from my nose though! [:D]
what about will power? how do you develop that? could it be genetic by the way?
Laith
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Now that is a great question about willpower.
Some people have it in abundance but I strongly believe the more you try the easier it is to obtain good willpower. I know this from experience when losing weight many years ago...however, regarding a genetic predisposition to have willpower ?..I'm sure that's true...just like any human behaviour.
Good luck chum.
Men are the same as women, just inside out !
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Have you thought about hypnosis - It really helps, although you might still want back-up. It isn't cheap but it does treat the 'desire' to smoke rather than just the physiological 'need' to smoke.
It worked for a while for me -although I did start again after a few weeks it was mainly because my original incentive to stop had gone. Worth a shot?
good luck[:)]
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Thanks optics, sounds like a good idea, I'll try it oneday if this doesnt work :)
Laith
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Vote on yukky ciggy piccys:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5017616.stm
http://www.packwarnings.nhs.uk/
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi24.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc23%2FSUEDONIM%2Fimage29.jpg&hash=0e5454a6e206aafc2f0cc018cf621e3c)
(Personally I think that the "smoker's leg" images posted above are a more powerful deterrent)
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I stopped smoking 8 weeks ago - with the patches. I'm now on the last couple of weeks of a 10 week course - currently on the lowest strength of 7mg.
I still crave a ciggy. Its habitual craving though. Each time I stopped an activity, or changed activity, I used to smoke. These situations still bring the urge to smoke to mind, but its not too bad.
Vivid dreams? - You betcha!!!! Wierd, wonderful, creative, entertaining, but unfortunately none of the smutty kind.
And I crave sugar from time to time too - despite usually preferring savoury tastes.
and i've put on loads of weight - so next mountain to climb will likely include weightwatchers.
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Laith. I'm most disappointed in you! When I gave up, I didn't have the help of the internet. You had all these people looking to you to give it up.
Having said that, you have to *want* to give up. You obviously didn't. After all you're young, so death and disease is far into the future -- so you think. I suggest you visit a hospital ward with patients suffering from lung cancer and emphysema!
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Roy P
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Laith I am proud of you for starting the patches, I might suggest you only use the patches, as both seem to make it harder to Quit. My mother did both and could not quit, then she swithed to the patches and worked her way down and finally quit. I must say She had already developed lung Cancer so her efforts were too late to keep her alive, but they did give her strenghth in herself and quiting made her more aware of others and the damage that the cigerrettes do do yourself and others. I am glad for you to be able to give it a go, I think like Neil said, you will build your will power over time, just hang in there and get on the computer when you want a smoke! That's what I do when I want to eat something I should not! Quitting anything requires alot of will power and stamina to keep going! I know you can do it! Good Luck and forward Ho!....Karen
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Thank you guys, and thanks for the morivation Karen, i must admit i feel ashamed that i didnt quit yet, not even for 1 day, my dad is visiting me for 5 days and hes not making it easier, i thought it would be easier with him around but i was wrong, it's still on my mind everyday though.
okay im gonna start tomorrow for sure, i really have to quit i know its bad and i even started feeling the effects, i know im still young but that worries me more, i wonder if i feel like that now how would i feel 10 years from now! like begonia said i'm used to smoking before and after each activity, whether its eating, drinking, working or many other things
thanks much for the support, ill keep you posted with my progress.
Laith
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i would love to quite but its the ones after a drink a meal or the chocolate cornetto which i just finish i cant do without.
Michael
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quote:
Originally posted by Laith
Thank you guys, and thanks for the morivation Karen, i must admit i feel ashamed that i didnt quit yet, not even for 1 day, my dad is visiting me for 5 days and hes not making it easier, i thought it would be easier with him around but i was wrong, it's still on my mind everyday though.
okay im gonna start tomorrow for sure, i really have to quit i know its bad and i even started feeling the effects, i know im still young but that worries me more, i wonder if i feel like that now how would i feel 10 years from now! like begonia said i'm used to smoking before and after each activity, whether its eating, drinking, working or many other things
thanks much for the support, ill keep you posted with my progress.
Laith
I have to say that although I did not wish to say anything when you posted your first post on this thread, just in case I was wrong, and I did not want to undermine your motivation, but I am not surprised that you have not given up.
When someone says they are thinking about doing something at some time in the future, then one suspects they will not get around to doing it at all.
Until you are ready to say that from this moment on, there is no more thinking about it, but you will be acting from a conviction verging on religious zeal, I don't see it happening.
OK, I say this from the privileged position of never having taken up the habit at all; but nonetheless from an understanding of how I am about making other difficult changes in my life, even if tobacco is not one of them, I think what I say does (at least for me) hold true.
George
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Don't give up Laith. You can do it. I never thought I could, but I did. Unfortunately, I still think about them everyday. It usually only lasts a few seconds, then I'm fine. I've even had dreams about lighting up again. Good luck and keep trying.
I am happy to report that my Dad has gone 12 days now without smoking. He's chewing the gum like crazy, but not smoking. My Mom has been cutting back now for several months. She has now gone 11 days without smoking. She's not using the patch or the gum.
Now if Hubby will quit, I'll be a happy camper. I'm not gonna push the issue with him for a while. He used to drink at least a 12 pack of beer a night. He quit drinking 7 months ago, so I'll leave him alone on the smoking issue. For now.
Carolyn
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Bravo Carolyn sounds like a great family of fighters. Good luck to them all.
Laith,
I wanted to add " Don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today!" It is best to just start. Don't worry about how hard it is with your dad! You are in control, and you are going to have to deal with others that make it hard too! So lets go! No offence to you at all, I am so in your boat it is not funny! For the last 30 years I thought I will loose this weight I really need to I really do. I waited and let things get in my way, like the holidays, like a party, or I was pregnant, or any little thing I could to not have to do the deed!
Like another someone said, and Pardon me another someone, I don't know your first name; but, you do have to take it up and be completely ready for the change or it is not going to happen.
I almost died putting off. I weighed 351lbs and had a bad heart! I could hardly move around without pain in my chest my arms my hips, my feet and my ankles. I was a complete mess! I wanted to just stop living I was never out of pain both mentally and physically. I have since lost 81 lbs and am feeling like a new person. I was not waiting another day for anything. I really believe my days were numbered as are all of our days, but I was weeks away from a fatal heart attack my Doctor said my blood pressure was sky high and there was nothing more for me she could do except the bypass. I researched the heck out of it and was very scared of not making it through it either, so was the doctor, But she said that was the only alternative for me. I found this site in my research of the bypass that led to the zetacaps, then here. I decided to try them in Oct. of 05' now 7 months later I weigh 81 lbs less and I can breath walk jump climb stairs and my blood pressure has gone down. I feel like a new person. I am going to continue cutting back my portions and moving and walking more to get my weight down to a more acceptable place for my heart. I am determined to live to see my grand children who are not even thought of yet! I want to meet all my new friends on this site and I intend to enjoy my life, I would like to help you enjoy yours a bit longer if you would allow me too. Please feel free to email me when you need to smoke, jabber on about nothing if you like, but I know you can do this! You don't want to smoke those things another day!
I remember the day my Mom came from the Doctor and he had told her she had Cancer! She came in the door and I remember we were playing with a new camera, and I clicked a picture of her comming in the door, and making a comment about smiling for the camera! I remember her face and the pain that spread across it. She came in and sat down and I new something was wrong. She just sat there, then she said, "The doctor said I have Lung Cancer." I said "What?" as if I hadn't heard what she had said. The old brain trying to imagine or bury the unimagineable. Then there wa a terrible silence. I looked at her and saw her hands shaking and my heart was beating so fast, I could not think straight and all I could say was oh Mama, Oh Mama! Our lives changed that day and I found out how very strong my mom was and how very proud I was of her. Thirteen months later, two weeks before she died, I took her to the ER because her pain had gotton so bad, bleed through pain as they called it. She had slept a long time and not taken her Morephine on time and then it was hard to get the pain back under control. While we were there, I went home to get a shower and come back and she had spoken to the doctor again, he had told her something while I was gone, but when I arrived back at her room, she was mumbling and rambling on about something that made no sense, I realized something was wrong and saw that she was in shock. the nurse brought a warm blanket and told me the Doc wanted to talk to me. I demanded to know what he said to her as what ever it was had sent her into shock and they had just left her there alone to deal! I got him on the phone from her room and he told me what he said to her. He told her she was dying right then and that she would not be going home again! By this time I was holding on to her hand as she rambled incoherently. I said less then a week he said maybe tonight, I satrted to cry and I put my head down on the bed and said a prayer and continued to cry. Then I suddenly felt this hand upon my head, and I heard her sweet motherly voice say to me in a completely calm and rational voice, Its going to be alright baby, Everything is going to be alright! She then said you have been the best daughter I could of asked for and I will always love you! It will be alright! At that moment I knew she was strong, she pulled herself out of shock to comfort her own child, not thinking of herself, but of me. I felt so selfish and so undeserving of her love at that moment. Then I realized how strong a mothers love is and how much she loved me and I her! It was so much more then words and so much deeper. She said, "you sit up here, I am going home and you go call all of the family so we can have a big party!" "It will be 4th of July in a couple of days and I want to see my family." "I haven't seen some of them for years!" So I fought the hospital to take her back home where she had around the clock care from us daughters and the son inlaws, it was where she wanted to be and then we planned a party, with fireworks and the whole sha-bang! I even made her a huge early Birthday cake to celebrate her 57th birthday 1 month early! We enjoyed company and she hugged and said goodbye to her family. She said she needed to tell them goodbye herself. She did not want them standing over her casket with regrets. So she did. I will remember that my whole life. She died on July 9th, 2003. I was holding her hand and we were listening to a tape that I purchased for her and I several months before, Eric Claptons Tears in heaven. She spoke to my father that day right before she left us, he died in 1961. She kept saying, "I have to take my medicine, but she said he kept telling her, "You don't need that here!" "You don't need it anymore!" I asked her who she was talking too, and she replied, "its your father, but he won't let me take my medicine." I told her, "he's right, she could go now, because everything would be fine here, and she really did not need it anymore." She said one more time, "Frank honey my medicine," then she said, "ok honey, ok!" The room was quite still and all I had been hearing was very labored breathing in and around her talking with my father, but as we listened to the rest of the song her breathing became clear and soft and the room took on a very soft yellow glow and I looked at her and saw her chest fall and a peacefullness come across her face as never I had seen in my life. Her face suddenly looked years younger and I realized she was leaving us. I began to cry, but I muffled it for fear of making her struggle to hang on for me. My chest hurt so much and I couldn't think straight. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, not cying out to her to hang on. I just held to her hand and watched her chest rise and fall one last time. She was gone. The room remained still and the light remained soft and yellow in those early morning hours. I sat with her for a long time after. A friend of mine came, and then we began to wash her body and clean her up before the coronor came for her. This being something we do, when a loved one passes. I dressed her and had her ready when they arrived.
I have told you this because I want you to know how hard this would be for those who love you, as well as it would be for you. I just want you to care enough about yourself to stay motivated and live a full life with your family give them the gift of yourself, as there is no greater gift you can give them. A healthy you! Don't put off another day, it only takes one day too long to end a life! [:(]
Laith as you said you are young and you can do this. My mom was a chain smoker for of about 42 years or so. If she could stop, and she did, You can stop too! I am pulling for you and know you will do well![:)]....Karen
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Karen - Thank you for sharing such an emotional and important part of your life. You continue to inspire!
Carolyn
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CArolyn You are doing great, and I am sure you will do fine. I hope your hubby does well with his cigarettes. Its so hard to break those habbits isn't it?
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Hey Laith, How are you doing. I havent seen your post so I thought I would stop in and see if you were able to start your patches if you decided to go that way! I sure hope they work good for you. I know they worked good for my mom.
How has your week been? Remember there should be no shame in you. We all do things and have addictions or things that we do or don't do that we could always be ashamed of. It's best to let that go and just live in the presnt! Thats where your future lies. I know you can do it. Well I hope all is well and I will watch for your post and always be pulling for you! I know you can do it.....Karen
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Hey everyone,
I was away for a while for vacation and didn’t have access to the internet. I haven’t smoked in exactly 3 weeks [: D] I quit the day before my birthday and I don’t crave it at all now.
I started feeling much better physically since the first week! No cough at all (which I used to get mostly in the morning especially when I sleep on my back!? Why is that?), I also feel more energetic and less lazy as in I always want to be doing something.
The first week I was holding an unlit cigarette most of the time, I was pretending to be smoking it and even ashing it, it might have helped I don’t know.
Thanks a lot for your posts Karen, Carolyn,... and everyone, you were helpful and I felt I don’t want to disappoint you, I didn’t want my mom to see me smoking too, I know she becomes very sad and I hate that
I'll keep you updated, most my friends bet I won’t last more than 4 months and I always hear that it’s very hard for someone to quit forever, but I feel good now and confident that ill keep it up.
By the way I’m not even using the patches! I put them on 2 times but kept thinking about nicotine then cigarettes then ended up smoking, but maybe I wasn’t determined enough then.
Laith
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Great Job, Laith!!! Congrats. I'm betting you can last longer than 4 months, in fact, my bet is forever. Just remember if you crave one, it only lasts a few seconds. Don't give in to it. Jus think about how sad it would make your mom. You sound like a good son.
Carolyn
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quote:
Originally posted by Laith
I haven’t smoked in exactly 3 weeks
Excellent news, Laith. Keep it up.
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Roy P
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Laith I knew you could do it and am very ecited for you to be able to qiut. I am very proud. Never put off today what you can do tomorrow! I knew you could! You will be fine and the longer you are away from them the easier it will get. Stress can raise the ugly head and be tough, but you will make it just fine. This says alot about your character Laith! You will be Fine!......Karen
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Well done. You've got over the first, and most difficult, hurdle – you've started.
I wish I could offer much more practical advice, but I've not been there. My own observation is that the most difficult thing is to be around other people who smoke, since that is when there is the greatest temptation to join in. If that is the case, try and stay away from those situations (probably a little easier now that you tell us that Montreal has forbidden smoking in most public places).
George
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Laith, well done chap.
Now retract your application for a quality assurance inspector for Malboro !!
Men are the same as women, just inside out !
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your all quitters! what would have happened if churchill quit or rambo or wile coyote eh! what would the world be like if they quit!
oh and by the way laith since the smoking ban came in in scotland smokers are having more sex than ever its an instant icebreaker with the opposite sex when your standing outside a pub
come on laith come back to the dark side