I've been smoking cigarettes for over 35 years and figure that it might not be a bad idea to quit. Has anyone, that has smoked and quit, ever tried the patch? How about fake cigarettes? With me, it's all just habit. I have to have 1 with my morning coffee, right after I eat, and several in between. I smoke close to a pack a day. While indoors, I light up between every hour long TV show. When I'm fishing, I light up every time I catch one, sort of to celebrate. If the fish aren't biting, I smoke even more. I know, I'm pathetic. :mad2: At this point, I haven't had any adverse effects from smoking and I don't spend that much on smokes. I order them online from an Indian reservation so they're about 1/3 the price of local brands. However, when I start dozing off while driving, they do wake me back up again. Actually, maybe they've saved my life a few times. :p

Anyway, I'm looking for advice from someone else that didn't have a ton of will power.

Thanks

I smoked for 7 years, and found the patch only semi useful. It helped during the day, but gave me crazy nightmares at night - I suffer from nightmares more than I care to admit, but these were the worst I've ever had. I found that a 9-5 wearing worked best.

I also started with the mid-level patch, rather than the high dosage. I felt that I didn't want to replace my habit, I wanted to reduce it. I stayed on that patch for four weeks, and by then I hadn't smoked in so long that I only wore the weakest patch for 1. At that point, I was ready to be done with it. After that I didn't smoke for four years.

Unfortunately I find myself presently succumbing to urges to smoke. Regardless of how long I stay off the stuff, it always seems to come back like an old acquaintance. It's a tough road ahead for you, friend.

I finally quit about 2 and a half years ago after about 11 years of smoking at least a pack a day. Quitting was one of the hardest things I ever had to go through. Everyone I know that tried any of the patches, gum, etc were never able to quit. The best advice I can give anyone looking to quit is to just suck it up and go cold turkey. All the patches and other quitting aids do is draw out the nicotine addiction. Going cold turkey SUCKS for like 5 or 6 days with day 4 being the worst but, once you're past that, than you are golden. One of the other hard parts is just the habit of having one in hand or in my mouth. To break this, I chewed tons of gum and always carried toothpicks with me. Regardless of which method you choose to quit, none will ever work for you unless you are FULLY ready to quit. Best of luck to you, you will thank yourself later for quitting :thumbsup:

My wife quit smoking a few years ago and she used the patch for about 3 weeks. It gave her crazy dreams as well. Her biggest motivation for quitting was the look of disappointment on my face. It was a tough road, but well worth it.

I wish you all the luck in the world Mike!

Good luck.
I've never smoked.

My Father quit after over 50 years.
It wasn't coughing up blood or the diagnosis of lung cancer, he seemed to smoke more after that.
It was the second bout of pneumonia and 3 weeks in hospital while in remission from the cancer.
He came home and didn't touch a packet after that until he died.

He tried for years with tablets, patches, all kinds of stuff.
Nothing worked for him except being forced to quit on the chest ward.

I hope you have better success with the modern clinical support, Mike.

40+years. Ask your doc about chantix. You'll be glad.

40+years. Ask your doc about chantix. You'll be glad.

I agree with that 100%. I am a Physician Assistant in Interventional Cardiology and have started many patients on Chantix. I can tell you, it really seems to work. Many of these patients have tried and failed to quit using patches gums, wellbutrin etc... and they seem to have more success on Chantix. In my practice, I would estimate about 50-60% of my patients have quit using this medication. I am not sure what the national average is, or what the drug rep would tell me, but this seems pretty good.

Thanks everyone for your advice and well wishes. However, I'm going to try something I found online. It's a smokeless cigarette that is suppose to taste darned near like the real thing. It has a slight amount of nicotine in it, just enough to give that needed "hit". Of course, being smokeless, it has no tar or carcinogens or anything harmful. I think the reason the nicotine patch doesn't work for so many people, is because when a person is used to putting something between their fingers and in their mouth at certain times, several times a day, they miss it immensely. In my case anyway, I believe it's more the habit of physical habit than anything else. When I finish eating, I have to suck on something. Anyway, I'm hoping the combination of a little nicotine and putting something similar to a cigarette in my mouth, will satisfy me.

I did try candy cigarettes many years ago. However, I'd end up eating them too fast. They are pretty good.

I quit many years ago cold turkey. Get rid of all ashtrays and lighters. Drink lots of water, chew gum and stay out of bars and convenant stores and you will be fine. Good luck.

I quit for a couple days about 7 or 8 times....nothing worked for me, I smoked more with the patches.....

JS

Another plus for chantix is my insurance paid for it..no cost to me.
You just quit thinking about smoking at all.

Another plus for chantix is my insurance paid for it..no cost to me.
You just quit thinking about smoking at all.

What is it, an hallucinogen? :D Knowing my luck, I'd get some of the side affects experienced by 5% of the people that takes this drug. :mad:

I wish it was an hallucinogen.
All it did to me was that I just didn't think about smoking or very little and when I did it seemed easy to just shrug and say not now.
My subscription was paired with a program...someone called to see how I was doing.
It didn't cause depression or suicidal thoughts for me but of course all due caution should be followed and anyone experiencing these affects should cease use.