I want to stop smoking. I am on patches at the moment but I want to try Zyban. Advice??

Question

i have been smoking for now 8 years or so, and also I am still very young (25) I smoke 20 cigarettes a day. Last January, I decided, a many do for new years resolutions, to stop smoking. I took the patch and made my partner do the same. It work!! I stopped smoking for around 4 months, having sometimes the odd ciggie when I was out for a drink. But apart from that, I really did very well, and so did he. Anyway, life changed and we broke up, which made us both start smoking again. I went back on my 20 a day, felt like a walking ashtray and so on. Now, since begining of October, I really decided, to stop again and put my faith into patches, as they worked before. The thing is that this time, they are not as good. Or I am not as good. i live on my own so don't have the "competition" thing anymore, I sometimes smoke out of boredom, and "treat" myself to a cigarette one too often. I am thinking about ZYBAN, but i am quite wary as it acts on the brain. What do you advice?

Answer 1

I used Zyabn, it worked well. I took two tablets for 11 days, during which time I continued smoking, then on day 12 I quit. The night before I chucked out all the ashtrays and lighters etc and when I woke up on day 12, I got up, showered, had breakfast, did some housework, popped to the shops for milk, came back, played on the PS2, made lunch, and only then realised I hadnt wanted or even thought about having a ciggie.

It definitely worked for me, it stops the brain from receiving the 'craving' signals, and even though I thought about fags after, i didnt get the physical craving I did beforehand. I continued taking the tablets for about 3 months after, i had one slip up when I was drunk, but quit smoking.

In the past ive tried patches, gum, inhalators, lozenges, but they all still contain nicotine, so i was still having the drug in my system.

With Zyban, its not nicotine based at all. It started out as an anti-depressant, but people were still depressed on it, but a lot of people reported that they had packed in smoking. So they did some research and remarketed it is as a giving up smoking aid.

It is a strong drug, and cannot be taken with a lot of other mediciations, it also cannot be taken if you have a history of severe migraines, epilepsy, fits, seizures or head trauma.

Have a good look at the information available online, then go to your GP and talk to him.

You may read some scare stories about people dying after taking it, but the people that died were ill anyway, and the Zyban interacted with their medication, which i why doctors now know to be careful when taking it with other drugs.

All in all, I found it safe, reliable, effective and an absolute life saver.

lozz xx

Answer 2

If you feel that the patches are not helping as much as last time, then you could go and speak to a pharmacist and see if you can have chewing gum as well on top when you feel an urge to smoke as combining NRT products leads to increased compliance however you would need to speak to a pharmacist to see if you could do this depending on what strength of patches you are using. If not then Zyban is another option and you would need to see your GP to see if this would be a suitable option for yourself. Pther options are hypnotherapy and accupuncture.

Answer 3

Hi,
I am 61 yo. I ended up smoking over 80 cigarettes a day from being 14 until 4 years ago when I stopped dead. I read a book called "The Easyway To Give Up Smoking" by a guy called Alan Carr, which I was given by a friend. My friend said he guaranteed that if I read the book properly I would give up the habit. I read it and I gave up. It was so easy I am completely free of that obnoxious expensive habit now.
(I have no interest or reason to promote Alan Carrs products by the way)

Answer 4

I tried Zyban...what it does is give you a SLIGHT feeling of not wanting to smoke , but i broke through this feeling in my mind and carried on smoking...i'm so stubborn , its like it was a challenge - me or the zyban and of course i won - to my detriment!
Next time i give up i am gonna try the patches , and willpower , and ALL THE SUPPORT I CAN GET IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!

Answer 5

Hi, well like you I smoked for 8yrs, I just quit back in April, I had been trying to quit for months on in, and I would only last a day or 2 without them, I tried nicoderm CQ but I still managed to put a whole in my wall because I was so angry that I was being deprived of my stress reliever, so I would go right back to smoking and smoke more, I was up to 35 cigs in a 15 hour day so I was like chain smoking! But I realized when I thought about quiting it was just so scary to me because I didnt know who I was without them, I didnt know how to act or even really how to function without them, and it scared me that I could be so addicted to something, So after contemplating things and considering just how much the second hand smoke was effecting my husband, and it was getting pretty obvious that it was, I decided to give it one last shot, but this time I was determined to have my victory dance, I wrote a list of all the bad things about cigs and put copys of it all over my house, I threw out my ashtrays and I crushed every last cigarette I had in the toilet and as I did that I said aloud the reasons that I no longer wanted them to be in control of my life, and that was it for the first day, the second day was the hardest at first because it was so hard for me to wake up and be alert with out it but I went on with my day and at some point I realized that I had forgotten about the ashtray in the car so I marched straight out there to get it and throw it away just as I had done the others, well just as I was pouring those contents into the trashcan a nice bit of wind caught those ashes and blew them right up my nose and down my throat and I vomited my guts out, it was at that moment when I realized just how awful them cigarettes were and how I had jepardized not only my own health but my own loving husbands and I didnt need anything else but the thought of that to make me never want or crave another cigarette again and I haven't. So now me and my husband enjoy the extra money and I noticed within the first few months the difference in the taste and smells of everything around me and I really enjoy being able to smell my shampoos and perfumes and knowing that if I give someone a hug their not going to want to gag! And I can breath so much easier and I am so happy that I quit. And I pray that you find that will power to do it too and that you break those chains of habit. You'll feel alot better and more confidant in yourself if you do it with will power and not some medication that could harm you in the long run! I wish you the very best of luck, You CAN have victory, You CAN do it. Trust me!!

Answer 6

I gave up smoking 3 years ago I used patches and went on a local NHS. smoking cessation course 'this was arranged by my g.p.' this involved one session of 1-2 hours a week for six weeks in a group session it worked!! I never smoked or wanted to smoke another cigarette again

Answer 7

my mum used zyban to quit and she did stop smoking, but then when the doctor took her off the tablets she went totaly doolaly because she had become so reliant on them, she ended up going through about 2 years with severe depression and still isnt right to this day!!

so my advice would be.........dont do it to yourself!

if you really wanted to give up then you wouldnt need the patches or tablets you would be able to do it on willpower alone!!

Answer 8

i don't know zyban but my boyfriend gave them up instantly after reading the Allen Carr book. Good luck.

Answer 9

i was on zyban for a while did me no harm , but i did not know about side and after affect's until after i finished them

Answer 10

zyban it did not work for me but others it did try it but not 100% garuntee it will work but keep tryiny i am still trying
good luck