My husband has been a smoker since he was 12, he has diabetes. Looking for opinions on safe way to quit.?

Question

Going to doctor, just wanted ideas from others w/ possible experiences.

Answer 1

the patch, the gum, hypnotism

Answer 2

I don't know if it is a good idea to smoke if you are diabetic or not (sorry) but honestly it is a bad habit and a hard one to break. I know I have been told to stop many times and it is hard. Once you do quit you notice how bad the person smells that does smoke but I turn right around and pick up another cigarette. I am trying the new thing though because my lungs are bad and I get pneumonia at least once sometimes twice a year. I am now on the patch and it works pretty well. I started out at 21 mg. then down to 14mg and then down to 7mg. all of them are for 2 weeks a piece. My mom quit using them and a lot of other people I know are having success with them. If you have insurance ask the doctor to write a prescription for them and your insurance should pay for them. Good Luck and I hope that it works out for your husband.

Answer 3

First, he really needs to want to quit for himself, not for someone else. If you have never lived with someone who stops smoking, good luck cause it's a challenge! Nicotine goes to your brain as fast as heroin and is just as hard to quit. Zyban is available in generic form and I would highly recommend it. You should do some research online about how to use this drug to help with quitting and take it with you when you go to see the doctor. Not all doctors really know what dosages and such. I don't know if I would do the patches, gums, etc. You don't wean an alcoholic, they quit cold turkey. Just as you get used to a certain amount of the nicotine, like the patches, you then step down to the next level and go through withdrawal all over again. Just do it once. He'll probably be in a habit of having something in his hand, and there are certain times when the craving to smoke will highest, like after eating or waking. Come up with a plan before he quits on how he's going to handle those times. Replace the hand/mouth habit with something too...maybe some cinnamon or mint tooth picks. During those times when the cravings will be strongest, like in the morning or after meals, exercise is a good outlet. Not only will it be good for his health, but it will also release the stress that comes with fighting the addiction. It's very hard, very stressful not only for him but anyone who has to deal with him. Try to be patient and understand that it's not him that is being mean, it's the addiction. It will get easier with time, don't take it personal. Good luck!

Answer 4

There is no medicine available on earth that can make a person quit smoking. It is the strong will-power that helps to get rid of bad habit. The Nature has given tobacco to mankind for medicinal use but the humans have used it for intoxication. Tobacco even in small quantity consumed is bad for health. For an example, when you smoke, the smoke is thrown out by the body and it is an indication that the body can not tolerate its contents. Same way, when the tobacco is consumed by chewing, the person has to spit many times before gulping the same because the body tells the person that it is not good for health and through it out of the body. Even the animals never ever enter a tobacco field for gazing, whereas humans have consumes uncounted tons of tobacco since generations. If you have decided to quit, your have come to a right place and right person. It would be very nice and wise of you to quit smoking and save lots of money and health. Just imagine, would you prefer to hear the worst news of your life from a doctor explaining you that you have been diagnosed to have cancer or some other serious diseases? Don't allow this to happen. Remember that tobacco kills. I smoked for almost 25 years but gave up the bad habit of smoking seven years ago without turning back, because I have a strong will power. I enjoy a very healthy life now and save lots of money spent on tobacco products. My family is also very proud of me. No one can minimize smoking gradually because it is very difficult in practical and it has to be done once for all. After you quit smoking, you will never gain weight since this is a wrong judgment as regards quitting smoking. Quit smoking if you have decided to and you will never regret. Take care and be in good health.

Answer 5

From what I've seen, the most effective is cold turkey. Set a quit date, and on that date, throw out everything associated with smoking, and have a big celebratory party. Even if the sugars get a little out of whack with the party, smoking cessation is the number one best thing hands down that he can do to improve his health. Cold turkey is also safe.

Answer 6

Cigarette smoking is one of the most difficult addictions to overcome. There are numerous ways to try and stop: behavior modification, nicotine replacement therapy with gum or patches, drug treatments to reduce the craving and all of them require support to get through. Many attempts may have to be made to succeed but in the end it is absolutely worth it. Changes in breathing, improved sense of taste and smell, absence of the horrible tobacco stink and nevermind the other immediate and longer term health benefits.

Answer 7

I was a smoker for 17 years and was really burned out on it! I tried some really crazy things to stop. I would stop for awhile and then for some reason I couldn't help I would just start again. I finally got hipnotized and it has been 13 and a half years since I smoked it worked because I REALLLY wanted it to if he is dead set on stopping it will work. don't worry they don't knock you out you know and have control of everything around you that's why you have to REALLY want it to work.

Answer 8

The only way he can quit is if he really wants to. I know from personal experience that you can't quit any other way.

The safest way to quit is to just not smoke anymore. I don't think it's that addictive, if you just use your willpower.

Someone told me he quit by replacing smoke with air. Every time he felt like a cigarette, he'd take a deep breath and slowly let it out.

Answer 9

I've smoked since 14 so I understand how it is. There is a new drug called chantix. I had to print out and give my Dr info on it before he would give it to me. It works like antibuse for alcoholics. Best of luck

Answer 10

I smoked 2packs a day for 30 years.
I tried hypnosis, nicotine gum, and the patch twice.
1year 11months 1week 3days and 10hrs ago I quit cold turkey.

I think that cold turkey has the highest long term success rate.
No matter what method you use,
at some point your going to be craving nicotine.
Continuing to feed your body with small doses of nicotine will prolong the withdrawal cravings. I think it's better try and get it out of your system as soon as possible.

People will tell you that after 72hrs the nicotine is all gone from your body and everything after that is just mental will power.
Well, I'm here to tell you that is total BS.

The real story is that after 72hrs 95% of the nicotine and its long term derivatives are gone. What this really means is that after 72hrs you will be having your max cravings.

I would recommend timing your quit so that your days 4 and 5 are on a weekend, vacation or slow days at work. Days 4 and 5 (post72hrs) will be the worst withdrawal cravings. Do what ever you have to, to get through those days, even if you have to call in sick to work and just curl up in bed.

BTW, if you do go with the patch, put it on at night before you go to bed. It takes several hours for the patch to start working and if you wait till the morning to put on a patch your going to be jonesing for a cig waiting for it to work.

Eventually you will start having moments of clarity where you don't think about cigarettes at all. Then those moments of clarity will start occurring more and more frequently.

People will also tell you that craving only last for 3 to 5 minutes. Well. that's not the whole story either.

In the first few weeks of quitting as your moments of clarity are increasing you'll get to where you'll have an hour at a time where your mind will be clear. Other hours will be mostly consumed with cravings. Individual cravings may last 3-5min each but if you string 10 of them together one right after another you have 50min of cravings and only 10min of clarity in that hour.

If you are really addicted to nicotine now, you are always going to be a nicotine addict. All ex smoking nicotine addicts will have cravings for the rest of their lives. It may only be once a year but during that one annual craving you will want to whip someones tail to have a smoke. You just have to learn how to deal with and beat back that NICO-DEMON.

I would suggest downloading a quit counter to your PC that will track time quit, cigs not smoked, money saved, and time added to your life. http://www.silkquit.org has a pretty good quit counter.

Tell your friends and family that you are quitting and that you may need their emotional support. Another source of emotional support is to participate in an on-line forum of others going through the same thing. http://quitsmoking.about.com has a very active forum with a lot of information.

One battle-cry that has helped me is NOPE !
Not One Puff Ever !
NOPE!

Every time that the nicodemon plays tricks on you trying to get you to have just one more cig, or just one little puff to take the edge off, or maybe a pipe/cigar because you won't really inhale, JUST SAY NOPE ! Not One Puff Ever.

During those spontaneous cravings you will be going cold turkey against it. That's why I think that going cold turkey from the beginning of the quit has the highest long term success rate, you will know that you can overcome those cravings without any kind of patch or gum CRUTCH.

Don't be too surprised if after a week or two you get a sore throat and fever blisters. When you stop smoking, cells in your body will actually start to regenerate themselves and come back to life. Initially these newly awakened cell will be very sensitive and angry. So sore throats and cold sores are very common during the first few weeks of a quit.

Your sense of smell will increase dramatically. I can now smell a smoker two aisles over in a store. And it grosses me out to think that I used to smell like that and i didn't even know it. And do yourself a huge favor, do not cook any chili or beans for at least 3 months. your nose will thank you for avoiding those residual gasses :)

The nicotine stains will disappear from your fingers.
Even the whites of your eyes may get whiter.

And if the only change in your lifestyle is to quit smoking,
then you will gain 40lbs of weight from a slower metabolism.
You will want to address your weight gain as soon as possible. Eliminate bad carbohydrates (sugars and processed flour) and increase your activity level (walk, jog, bike, etc).


Read this post at least twice
and you will know what to expect to be successful.
Quitting is a very difficult thing to do.
But, it is something that everyone goes through
only when they are truly ready to quit.

Good luck To You.

Answer 11

My hubby used patches successfully. He didn't smoke for maybe a year, then one night we went out and I smoked and drank. He saw me doing it and gave in to temptation! But seriously, patches, determination, lots of encouragement, and maybe bribery,( think of what he could buy with the money he saves in cigarettes!) Good luck to both of you.