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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
 Posted - 07/26/2011 : 08:12:11
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I absolutely must quit smoking. It costs too damn much and it is affecting my endurance. I've been poking around trying to decide on the best aid to help me. I found something kind of humorous here. This comment made me giggle.
I am trying a formula called SeMax. It is a homeopathic that you use through out the day and can continue to smoke until it starts to work. I will let you know how it works. I looked into Final Smoke and it seems over priced and complicated. But if it works than that is all that matters. I have herd good things about Lobelia tincture under the tongue every time you are craving one, and it helps curb the craving a lot and you can continue to smoke until your body responds to that one also. Both are safe and no side effects.
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This has no bearing on my question, it was just kind of funny.
Has anyone used any type of stop smoking aid? If so how did it work for you?
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Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 08:57:12 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Ebone4rock
I absolutely must quit smoking. It costs too damn much and it is affecting my endurance. I've been poking around trying to decide on the best aid to help me. I found something kind of humorous here. This comment made me giggle.
I am trying a formula called SeMax. It is a homeopathic that you use through out the day and can continue to smoke until it starts to work. I will let you know how it works. I looked into Final Smoke and it seems over priced and complicated. But if it works than that is all that matters. I have herd good things about Lobelia tincture under the tongue every time you are craving one, and it helps curb the craving a lot and you can continue to smoke until your body responds to that one also. Both are safe and no side effects.
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This has no bearing on my question, it was just kind of funny.
Has anyone used any type of stop smoking aid? If so how did it work for you?
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I used nicotine gum to stop smoking. Then I used the patch to get off the gum. Five years later, I started smoking again. Go figure... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Hal
Skeptic Friend
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 09:34:53 [Permalink]
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It's a good thing I'm not a smoker, as I've never managed to sustain the effort required to break any of my other irrational bad habits.
It seems to me the homeopathic "remedies" described here are simple substitution exercises. You could probably obtain similar results by chewing a stick of ordinary chewing gum every time you have a cigarette craving. Of course, that only addresses the behavioral component of the addiction. Nicotine withdrawal is a different beast.
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Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Martin Luther King Jr.
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 10:04:03 [Permalink]
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I have quit smoking. I had a 7 cigar a day habit at one point. I've been quit for over 5 years now.
I quit cold turkey.
Since I have an addictive personality (father is an alcoholic, currently dry for over 5 years), I look very closely at habits I have. I ask myself periodically whether I want something or I need it. I stopped wanting the cigars and started needing them. (Antinio & Clopatra Grenadiers 32 guage, 6" long)
At that point, I quit after smoking the last of them.
Critisms of the various techniques I have heard are
patch - doesn't hold much tobacco and won't stay lit
gum - won't stay lit
accupuncture - too many holes
The patch and gum rely on weaning yourself off nicotine. That works for some people. I had to quit cold turkey.
You have to hack the nicotine withdrawls. The physical component can be replaced with vegatable sticks. (carrot or celery, unimproved. Improvement via your favorite addative such as ranch dip or salsa leads to the weight gain aspect.)
Accupuncture relies on the dog-and-pony show aspect that some people need. |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 10:27:48 [Permalink]
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Kil,
What is your opinion on how the patch worked for you? That is the route I am leaning towards.
Val,
I have tried cold turkey before. I think if I did that again I'd be spending a lot of money on a divorce. 
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Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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alienist
Skeptic Friend
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 11:26:41 [Permalink]
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There are a couple of behavioral techniques that can be helpful:
1. Each week, take the money you would have spent on cigarettes and buy something you want (gives you a relatively immediate reward)
2. Delay smoking for 1/2 hour and do something else.
Medications
1. Wellbutrin - works well for some people. Usually, someone only has to take it for 8-12 weeks. Sometimes 150 mg a day is enough. Some people need 300 mg a day. For most people, there are no side effects or mild side effects
2. Chantix - works well for some people, Usually a person takes this for 4-12 weeks. The side effect people usually complain about is nausea. However, there was a report recently that it may increase risk of heart attacks
3. nicotine patches - if you smoke a pack a day or more, you probably need 21 mg/hour patch - apply once a day
YOu can then taper to 14 mg/hr after a week or so
Then 7 mg/hr patch once a day
then stop
4. ONe of my patients used a nicotine inhaler. After a while she just used the inhaler without the nicotine to satisfy that oral fixation. Eventually, she was able to stop the inhaler |
The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well! - Joe Ancis |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13477 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 11:50:41 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Ebone4rock
Kil,
What is your opinion on how the patch worked for you? That is the route I am leaning towards.
Val,
I have tried cold turkey before. I think if I did that again I'd be spending a lot of money on a divorce.
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The patch works for some people. I used the gum because it kept me busy. And it kept me on nicotine until I was used to not lighting up. So if I were to do it again, and I will, I'll probably do the gum first. Just me... And yeah, as alienist said, there are pharmaceuticals that have been shown to have some efficacy in stopping smoking. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 12:22:17 [Permalink]
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Just keep trying. Different methods work for different people. I quit being a pack a day smoker when I moved to Korea to teach ESL - the change in surroundings made it easier. But smokes were so cheap there I did smoke occasionally, though never returning to the pack a day habit. I've struggled with being an occasional smoker for years, although getting pregnant with my first kid and then nursing her exclusively for the first 6 months of her life definitely kept me away from the things.
It seems from my limited observations that most smokers are either pack a day or have quit (even if they will start up again in the future.) There are few who manage the in-between like I can. My brother is like that. He's managed to quit for many months at a time, sometimes using the patch, sometimes starting a rigorous yoga/exercise/dieting regime. My cousin quit with the help of Smokers Anonymous; although he was especially motivated by the death of his father at the age of 56 due to lung cancer. I have a few friends who quit cold turkey and after years never went back. I also know one couple who quit together and maintained it for over 20 years; they set a date together, and in the weeks building up to that day, they did hypnosis and therapy to develop a mindset that after that date they would be "nonsmokers". I think identity has something to do with it. I am often able to push away the desire to smoke with thoughts like, "Smokers, especially at my age, are so pathetic. All those parents who quit smoking when they have a baby but then start up again after the kid becomes a toddler are such a cliche. I'm better than that!" It helps that my husband has never been a smoker and has frequently referred to smoking as "a sign of weakness." While intellectually I do not actually think smokers are any more weak-willed than non-smokers (since my husband has never smoked, and thus has never experienced the temptation that comes along with nicotene addiction, he really has no idea what he's talking about.) but it helps me in cultivating a certain smoking-resistant mentality to hear him say such things.
I will say, the first few days are hardest. The first three months are harder than what comes after that, and if you start up again, no matter how long it has been, you are likely to quickly fall right back into the old, bad, habits. So if you manage to get past the 3 month mark, remain vigilant always! |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular
Norway
1273 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 14:34:05 [Permalink]
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| Get a girlfriend who hates smoking. That worked for me. |
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 14:51:28 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by On fire for Christ
Get a girlfriend who hates smoking. That worked for me.
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I don't think my wife would like me having a girlfriend.....I wouldn't mind....but.......
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Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular
Norway
1273 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 15:06:12 [Permalink]
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| It doesn't sound like you are prepared to make sacrifices. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2011 : 05:15:45 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
I haven't smoked in my new car, yet. I had a four-cigarette commute (each way).
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What did you end up getting? |
Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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The Rat
SFN Regular
Canada
1370 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2011 : 05:45:07 [Permalink]
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Homeopathy worked for me. I went away fishing with a buddy for a weekend and completely forgot to pick up smokes before we left, and it was a bit of a trip in to town to get them from where we were. So instead I had nothing, which is technically homeopathy. Figured I had lasted the weekend so why not keep it up, and the rest is smoke-free history. |
Bailey's second law; There is no relationship between the three virtues of intelligence, education, and wisdom.
You fiend! Never have I encountered such corrupt and foul-minded perversity! Have you ever considered a career in the Church? - The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Blackadder II
Baculum's page: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=3947338590 |
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular
Norway
1273 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2011 : 05:52:45 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by The Rat
Homeopathy worked for me. I went away fishing with a buddy for a weekend and completely forgot to pick up smokes before we left, and it was a bit of a trip in to town to get them from where we were. So instead I had nothing, which is technically homeopathy.
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Equivocation? |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2011 : 06:07:03 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Ebone4rock
Originally posted by On fire for Christ
Get a girlfriend who hates smoking. That worked for me.
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I don't think my wife would like me having a girlfriend.....I wouldn't mind....but.......
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See his comment to me concerning the radical cashectomy via divorce.
There are also some ways to step yourself down. Start by cutting out one cigarette per day and then cut out another one every two weeks. Once you get down to one per day, you can try to quit.
It is hard. Especially since the stress of the day will sometimes have your body screaming for a cigarette. (I still have those days.) |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Skeptically quitting
