Let me preface this by saying that I am not looking for prayers or medical advice. Just wanted to get some input/hear some peoples experience on the following situations. So anyway, I have been a smoker on and off since my teens. I have always been able to stop when I wanted to though. A few years ago, when I met my wife, I quit cold turkey and was fine for about 1 year or so. I started back up again 2 years ago but ended up starting back up when we were trying to close on our house (I am sure that many of you will sympathize with me when I say that buying a house is a very stressful experience). Since then I have been about a 1/2 pack a day smoker. I find out, unexepectedly, about 6 mos ago, that the wife is carrying. Since then she has been on to me about stopping smoking for the baby and all. I made her a promise that I would. I have tried and tried but despite past successes, I haven't been able to do it. Patches don't work nor does the gum. So I go to the family Dr. last week and asked him about prescribing me something that might help me kick the habit. My Dr. is very old school and basically said that he doesn't believe in using drugs to kick a smoking habit. He recommended going cold turkey. During my visit, we talk about another problem I am having. Without going into detail, he ends up refering me to a urologist. I go to the urologist today and talk to him about my "problem". Two fingers and some clinching later, he says that he feels something on my prostate that should not be there. FUDGE!!!! I am 28 years old and with a kiddo on the way, this is the last thing in the world I want to worry about. So now hes talking about doing a biopsy which I will have done next week probably. In the meantime, during my visit with him I talk about my smoking problem and he was quite supprised that my Dr. didn't believe in using drugs to kick a smoking habit. He offers to prescribe some Wellbutron for me, which I accept. I am one of those type of people that HATES going to the Dr. or taking medication. Even when I have had the flu or a resperatory infection, I will usually go to the Dr. just to make my wife happy but will usually not take the medication he prescribes to me. I have always been a believer in "let your body heal itself naturally". So the though of having to take Wellburton for 6 or 7 mos does not make me happy. Yeah yeah, I know that nicotine is like a drug and I have obviously dependent on that. So I was hoping some of you might be able to share your experiences with me on stopping smoking and using drugs to help. Has anyone ever taken Wellbutron? Does it work? Any side affects?? Any other methods to stop smoking??? Anyone had prostate troubles??? (I hear that if your prostate is removed then you won't be able to ....ummm .....well ya know) Anything that any of you would like to share would be appreciated!
The only thing I really love about my ex-girlfriend Shanna was that she said she'd break up with me if I didn't stop smoking. I was pretty much forced to go cold turkey. Maybe something life-threatening will help you to be able to stop without the use of drugs. I personally believe that a lot of that stuff is more mental than physical. Regardless of your caveat, I will put you in my prayers though. You've always been one of my favorite posters, and I was upset I didn't get a chance to meet you during the SmeggySmeg stuff. I'm sure you'll pull through this just fine. Good luck, buddy.
not that it matters right now....right? anywho...Good luck to ya bud...hope it turns out to be nothing to worry about.. on the drug v cold turkey bit.. my brother quit with the drugs, my wife with the patches.. I know very few that have beeen long-term successful cold turkey. I say take whatever crutch you can get to help...especially with the stress of the pregnancy and the stress of quiting...you are going to need help. Prayin for ya bud, take it easy.
<b>codell</b>: I wanted to send you an email but your email is disabled through the board. Send me an email through the board so that I can reply back to you, please!
RM95, That is what kind of got me to quit the 1st time. We were dating and she basically conveyed to me her feelings on not wanting to marry a smoker. I dropped the habit the next day and aside from a cig or two while out drinking in a bar, I stayed away from them for a lil over a year, year 1/2. Now, she is telling me that if I don't stop, then she doesn't want me holding the baby because she doesn't want the smoke smell to rub off on the baby's clothes. Man, that hit me right where it counts. I am a moron for not letting that be enough of a reason to stop. I agree with it being mental. I have always considered myself to be mentally strong which is why me not being able to quit now is suprising. R2K, It doesn't matter now, but it will matter after the baby is here (this would be a permanent disability ). I will probably try the Wellbutron. I dunno, just something bothers me about having to take an anti depresant. The patches make me too wired all the time. I am used to burst of nicotines when I desire them, not a constant stream of it. The gum makes my mouth flood with saliva. I feel like I just left the dentist when I chew that gum. lol Thanks to the both of you (and Giddyup for his email) for yalls input.
Codell, I would recommend you do not take Welbutrin (or however it is spelled). Actually, I was a little shocked to hear it being recommended to stop smoking. I have a brother who had been on it for a while and, in my opinion, that **** is worse than any smoking habit. He said the initial side-effect was skin sensations that feels like insects crawling all over you. He had trouble sleeping initially because he always thought something was crawling on him. That faded. He said, more long term, it messed with his emotions (which is what it was meant to do, afterall). He couldn't cry, was never happy or sad, never got an adrenaline rush from fear. He just felt detached from everything. Plus, when he started he had to ramp up to his dosage and, when he quit, had to take a couple of weeks to ramp down off it again. You might not get at all the same experience. From my understanding, there is a wide range of reactions to Welbutrin from person to person. I know that when a person doesn't like their reaction to one anti-depressant, their doctor will change their dosage or switch to a different one hoping for better results. It's also possible that, given the different goals, they'll give you a much lower dosage and less pronounced side-effects. My own feeling is that Welbutrin and all anti-depressants are some scary ****. I don't think I'd take it at all except maybe under the most extreme circumstances (so, there's my bias). I certainly wouldn't take it to quit a pretty minor (1/2 pack a day) smoking problem.
Thank your Doctor for not prescribing Zyban, which is the exact same medicine as Wellbutrin, but marketed under a different name. People who want to quit smoking don't want the undeserved stigma of taking an anti-depressant, so they renamed it. At least he was honest about what you are taking.
JV, What you just said is my exact concern. Thats why I rarely use prescription medication. The side affects. It's one thing to feel weird cause you are sick but its another to feel weird because of a drug. The good news is, I haven't smoked since the Dr. visit yesterday. I am going to try and go cold turkey. Even if the Wellbutron makes me emotionless, like it did to your brother, it certainly won't change a damn thing about me according to my wife (she says I am the most unemotional person she has ever met).
Codell -- How's your diet? I'm a firm believer that what you eat can drastically affect your over-all health, even if you've already been diagnosed with (insert problem here). I'm 27 and I have high chlorestoral with a family history of heart disease. And I smoke, but not much during the week....but I'm a damn chimney when I'm drinking. Anyway, the doc prescribed Lipitor, but I figured I'm young enough to at least see what changing my diet and various vitamin supplements can do for me before I start with the Lipitor (I asked the Doc about this, and he agreed it was worth a shot). Now I know that prostate trouble is nothing to put off like I'm doing with my own problem. My point here is that since then, I've become a regular vitamin nut, and I've also consulted a nutritionist. I still cheat probably more than I should, but I've gained a great understanding as how certian foods and supplements can help with certain health problems. Granted, most of what I know has to do with chlorestoral and triglycerides. But I'd recommend that you might be wise to consider a nutritionist to gain a greater understanding of how certain foods affect your health (if you don't already know, of course). Its a good place to start, at least, because what you fuel your body with obviously affects how your body reacts to damn near everything. Shoot me an email through the bbs if you want to know more. I can recommend a nutritionist if you think it'd be a good idea. Its $80 for the first visit, and $40 for each following visit. For me, that's a good price for the knowledge I gained.
Wow, codell... I would be in quite a state from hearing that news. And it's on top of fantastic news about being a father (if you're not already). Talk about a roller coaster. And to top it off, your trying to quit the devil, nicotine. Hang in there, buddy. I have a good friend who was helped with Wellbutrin. He was able to quit, for a very long time. He stopped taking it and was fine. Then his wife filed for divorce. Now he smokes like crazy. I'm sure it depends on the person, but very low doses on a regular basis might do you some good. Once you've quit for awhile, you gradually stop taking it. Personally, I planned about a year in advance to quit on my birthday... many years ago. I enjoyed it up until then and never thought about it, went cold turkey the next day when I woke up with an awful hangover, and haven't smoked since. I think my sub-conscious prepared me to stop. It was strange, because I really thought I'd have hell quitting. Different things work for different people, I guess. I'm sure you won't have to, but my brother-in-law had to have his prostate removed. This was in the past year. And he was flipped out about it ahead of time, of course. Things were awkward for awhile, but now he says, with a wink, that things are fine. And he's in his 50's. I believe he uses Viagra occasionally, but he doesn't have to have it. I think he just likes using it. Have my fingers crossed for you. It's probably going to be nothing.
