At Last!

[Theres-a]

Can I just say how happy I am to find this group?!I quit a week ago tomorrow,so did my husband.We're both using the patch,but I started chewing a little gum,too.Does any one know if I'm going to drop dead from the combination?I figure,I smoked 2 packs a day,so this 21 mg patch is really not cutting it for me.It's hard enough to ward off the heebeegeebee's I get from not lighting up 40 times a day,never mind the creepy-crawly nicotine withdrawl.x(

[Theres-a]

1. I think this penguin just quit smoking..

[etherealtruth]

2. Congratulations ...

Any good pharmacist can help you figure out a safe AND effective dose---they'll do it over the phone.

I quit 15 months ago and am fighting like hell not to start up again. (Wellbutrin helped me and I'm taking it now hoping the strong desire to smoke passes).

You are in the rough part right now ... but, if I could quit (1 1/2 packs everyday for 24 years) it's possible for anyone!

[Theres-a]

3. Hang in there!

15 months,you're out of the woods.Worst case scenario,you could get some gum.I read yesterday some folks chew the gum for years.I also found the nicotine information I was looking for.Apparently,I'm not going to drop dead,but,I will need to taper off over time,because nicotine isn't exactly a vitamin,lol.

[etherealtruth]

4. Thanks

You're in the rough part, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I think after a year or so one starts to forget the "pain" associated with quitting, the coughing while smoking and planning life around the ability to smoke ... I just need to remind myself that it really "sucks" to smoke.

[Enraged_Ape]

5. So good to see you here

My advice to you, though, would be to try to cut the nicotine as much as possible in any way you can, not just to prevent physical symptoms but simply to get that addictive drug out of your system once and for all. That patch you're wearing is specifically designed to help eliminate any physical withdrawal symptoms while also preventing any additional "nicotine buzz". To add gum to the patch is really defeating its purpose--not to mention that you also face the risks of nicotine overdose, and that is just no good.

Here's another option that you may not have considered (and as a 2-pack-a-day smoker, I can see how you wouldn't) but you really should think about cold turkey. I quit smoking three weeks ago, cold turkey, and I can already feel an enormous difference in EVERYTHING in my life.

Cold turkey is hard. It is the worst. But if you can survive FOUR days without nicotine, you won't care for it again. That is guaranteed. You just have to get that drug out of your system, for once and for all. If this means going on a four-day vacation somewhere where you can't get to cigarettes, do it. Whatever it takes, make the effort, because all you have to do is get through four days (96 hours).

Keep posting here. I think this could very well be the most valuable group on DU, for those that need it. There is nothing better for the progressive cause than to choke the tobacco companies to financial death.

[Theres-a]

6. Congratulations to you!

I'm careful about only getting 40 mgs of nicotine a day,(that's what I smoked),because I don't want to overdose on nicotine,like you said.My goal is to be nicotine free within the year.Just breaking the external habit is hard enough for now. I too feel like I'm sticking it to the tobacco companies.I remember in my rebellious,anti-establishment youth I started smoking as a rebellious kind of thing,but quitting feels much more rebellious and fills me with hope that I can unplug from the matrix,as it were. Anybody who profits from my smoking really doesn't want me to quit,do they?Who profits?Big corporations and oh,the taxes!If we continued smoking like we were,our cigarettes actually cost as much as our rent.I can think of better things to do with the money we spend on nicotine replacement,too.

[Theres-a]

7. Smoking dreams

I've had 3 now,all recently.I've quit smoking only 25 days so far.Is this a bad sign?

[Enraged_Ape]

8. Ah, yes. Smoking dreams. Enjoy them while you can.

Congrats on your 25-day quit, by the way.

Don't worry about the smoking dreams. They will eventually go away. In the meantime, you can look at them as a way to enjoy a smoke without actually smoking, or you can just be relieved when you wake up and realize that you didn't backslide. You win either way.

[Theres-a]

9. Wow almost 3 months now.

And I've gained a whole pantsize.UH_OH.