Costs More To Quit Smoking!

[Guest gnappies]

Complete stab in the dark, but have you tried any UK or European websites. I don't know if the product you are after is sould over the pond, or if you could import it.

Mst health services in the UK, you can get quit smoking stuff on perscription for £7.60 a month, so over the counter stuff needs to compete. Mind you the "price of a pack of fags", (that's a carton of twenty, stop sniggering at the back), and the fact you can't smoke anywhere helps.

[Horndog]

What about switching to e-cigarettes? You smoke those, but they have little to no nicotine.

[sarah_ab]

I want the nicotine. I don't want the cigarette.... i want to keep getting the same steady amount of nicotine into my body i just don't want to do it by smoking cigarettes.. thats my whole issue.... not smoking cigarettes, but continuing to get the nicotine.... I will have to talk to my dr. about the e cigarette, but mostly likely i am just going to suck it up and spend the $200 for the inhaler.

[Horndog]

I want the nicotine. I don't want the cigarette.... i want to keep getting the same steady amount of nicotine into my body i just don't want to do it by smoking cigarettes.. thats my whole issue.... not smoking cigarettes, but continuing to get the nicotine.... I will have to talk to my dr. about the e cigarette, but mostly likely i am just going to suck it up and spend the $200 for the inhaler.

I understand you want the nicotine, but e-cigs could help you with the transitional process from cigarettes to no cigarettes. Because e-cigs produce an artificial nicotine flavor, your mind will be conditioned to move away from cigarettes, and focus on consuming non-cigarette nicotine products for that nicotine fix.

[sarah_ab]

sorry, the way you said e cigs have less nicotine... thats not my issue thats why i responded the way i did... must have misunderstood.

i called my insurance company today to ask why they didn't cover the nicotrol inhaler... hahahah the lady just kept talking in circles... couldn't tell me clearly why.. i asked her if it was because it had studies to show its effectiveness and maybe because it wasn't funded by the tobacco companies hahahah she could barely talk !!!!!

oh well .... i'll just be $200 less rich

[sarah_ab]

i started smoking at age 13, quit for a few years from 18-22 or something where upon i smoked a lot of pot. then started smoking again. There are many pharmaceuticals out there, and in fact i take prescription medication and a natural supplement along with the nicotine to help control my anxiety. all three combined allow me to function and not be so lethargic and in a cognitive fog from prescription medication alone.

[Horndog]

Sorry if these seems like an invasive question, but how often do you exercise? I find that if I exercise, I reduce my anxiety -- and I was treated for anxiety at one time. Still have episodes here and there, but they tend to fade when I go on walks, hikes, and the like.

[sarah_ab]

i got to the gym 3-4 x weekly, meet with apersonal trainer 1-2x weekly. I was born with a neurological movement disorder which has an 80% of a person having 1 or more co occuring conditions, the most common anxiety, ocd and/or ADHD. I got all three. I have had anxiety/panic attacks since i was around 5-6 years old. This is not something that can just go away for me, its completely a chemical imbalance in my brain.... thre was no traumatic experience or anything that caused it....

so for me, after spending pretty much my entire life trying to find the right mix... the supplements, nicotine and anti anxiety medication couple w/ controlled caffeine diet and some other behavioral things.. such as working out.... has given me the best control i've had before... which is great....

except i don't like the smell of cigarettes or the taste.... i used to... but don't anymore... which is why i want to quit smoking... but really don't want to quit having such great control over my anxiety/ocd symptoms... *sigh* such is my life lol.... oh well.

[Horndog]

Okay, thank you for the explanation. That gives me more perspective.

Keep in mind that this is an AB/DL fetish-based forum so you can take what I have to say with a grain of salt. I think you need to drop cigarettes and nicotine all together, and make no compromises. It's nice that you haven't gone through any traumatizing experiences, but if you have a neurological movement disorder that naturally gives rise to anxiety, OCD and/or ADHD, nicotine is the last thing you want to put in your body. That just over-stimulates what you're already dealing with on a daily basis. Caffeine and sugar can also do you in.

I'm glad you're having good control over your symptoms -- and I'm not being sarcastic about that either. I just believe nicotine is not something worth adding to your brain's chemical imbalance.

[bbgirlmichelle]

Okay, thank you for the explanation. That gives me more perspective.

Keep in mind that this is an AB/DL fetish-based forum so you can take what I have to say with a grain of salt. I think you need to drop cigarettes and nicotine all together, and make no compromises. It's nice that you haven't gone through any traumatizing experiences, but if you have a neurological movement disorder that naturally gives rise to anxiety, OCD and/or ADHD, nicotine is the last thing you want to put in your body. That just over-stimulates what you're already dealing with on a daily basis. Caffeine and sugar can also do you in.

I'm glad you're having good control over your symptoms -- and I'm not being sarcastic about that either. I just believe nicotine is not something worth adding to your brain's chemical imbalance.

Actually, Nicotine is being studied for a number of brain chemistry problems, believe it or not it actually can have beneficial effects. Examples include ADHD, OCD, Epilepsy, Parkinsons and schizophrenia. Nicotine is demonized because of it's main form of delivery, the cigarette which kill 50% of it's users. Nicotine used by itself, in proper doses is actually pretty harmless.

[sarah_ab]

thanks michelle thats what i have been saying and recent studies are showing and my own annectodal evidence shows nicotine helps supress the symptoms of my movement disorder .... i just cant get into the clinical trials because the nih is using the nicotine patch for the studies and i have too mich psoriasis to do it

[Horndog]

Actually, Nicotine is being studied for a number of brain chemistry problems, believe it or not it actually can have beneficial effects.

Really? Can I see some of those studies?

[sarah_ab]

well i have access to them thru databases but by copyright i cannot postthem .... when i have time i will post the apa citation so you can look them up or google search may be able to find some for free

[bbgirlmichelle]

Really? Can I see some of those studies?

Like Sarah said, it's hard to get ahold of the full studies without paid access, but here are some that I've found (Google is good )

Schizophrenia: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15100704

Parkinsons: http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/news/20060811/nicotine-slows-parkinsons-disease

ADHD: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/11/12/nicotine_studied_as_treatment_for_brain_disorders/?page=full

OCD: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15610960

Epilepsy: http://www.cnsforum.com/commenteditem/3c5dccdc-27fb-4b80-9516-ab81e3e4ea6c/default.aspx

I've been following research on Nicotine for years since before I started to use the e-cigarette and came across a number of articles and studies on the subject. I don't have a list of them because I don't suffer from any of the above other than occasional panic attacks (YAY ATIVAN). I know of the beneficial studies of nicotine just by coming across them while following the research.

That's all I'm going to dig up, if you want to find more, google: nicotine therapeutic uses

*huggles*

Michelle

[bbgirlmichelle]

thanks michelle thats what i have been saying and recent studies are showing and my own annectodal evidence shows nicotine helps supress the symptoms of my movement disorder .... i just cant get into the clinical trials because the nih is using the nicotine patch for the studies and i have too mich psoriasis to do it

That sucks about the studies, I'm sure it's probably because they can ensure a consistent level of delivery with the patch. Another option would probably be a lozenge or sublingual (I haven't yet heard of sublingual nicotine delivery yet though) nicotine dosage, but either of those would cause spikes and lulls of the blood levels of nicotine vs the patch due to the body's fairly quick metabolization of the nicotine.

[sarah_ab]

yeah my guess it has to do with ensuring a steady dose and compliance with the study...

i have access to medical databases and when i have time will post citations to studies and your local library may have access to them

[Horndog]

Like Sarah said, it's hard to get ahold of the full studies without paid access, but here are some that I've found (Google is good )

Schizophrenia: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/15100704

Parkinsons: http://www.webmd.com...kinsons-disease

ADHD: http://www.boston.co...ders/?page=full

OCD: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/15610960

Epilepsy: http://www.cnsforum....6c/default.aspx

I've been following research on Nicotine for years since before I started to use the e-cigarette and came across a number of articles and studies on the subject. I don't have a list of them because I don't suffer from any of the above other than occasional panic attacks (YAY ATIVAN). I know of the beneficial studies of nicotine just by coming across them while following the research.

That's all I'm going to dig up, if you want to find more, google: nicotine therapeutic uses

*huggles*

Michelle

I am impressed! However, in all of those studies, it says that nicotine should be taken in moderation -- just like everything else. "Low doses." Also, researchers are looking to synthesize nicotine so that people don't have to deal with the negative effects. The chemical still needs to be distilled so that it's ideal for medicinal use. It's like marijuana in a way. Scientists say, "No, don't smoke it," but if you consume it like an edible, it relieves symptoms. Very cool. I learned something new today.

[Andy]

I`d be interested in who did these studies and who paid to do these studies

[sarah_ab]

Ok Update, finally this past week I was able to get the Nicotrol Inhaler (http://www.nicotrol.com/). I got it tuesday night, for a 4 weeks supply it was $204. I discovered it is so expensive because the cartridges you put in the inhaler only come in 6 packs. and an inhaler and the packs are only bought in 4 week supplies, with 1 six packs of cartridges per day for 4 weeks. Each cartridge is around 3-4 cigarettes worth of nicotine, so each 6 pack is around 1 pack of cigarettes.

You get your nicotine by puffing on the inhaler and it is absorbed in your mouth. There are no vapors to exhale, so you can use it inside and no one knows what you are doing. when u inhale the air feels a heavier, because the nicotine is in it, and as the cartridge becomes used, the air feels less and less heavy until it is time to change it.

Based on how much you smoke, thats the average amount of cartridges you start with the first day. I've noticed a few things in the 5 days I've had the inhaler....

the first... quitting cold turkey is stressfull in a couple ways the first being you are constantly thinking about a cigarette, and getting your 'fix' and can be even more stressfull when you are constantly thinking about that fix, and then knowing you don't have anything for it... so then you are fighting two desires, the desire to have a smoke and the desire to go buy smokes... This is pretty stressfull all while trying to concentrate on work.

the second .... when you smoke a cigarette, if you don't 'smoke' it but just let it hang there and burn, you waste it, so you smoke it more so you don't waste it... this i think is an unconscious behavior.... but if you are talking and the cigarette burns out, I know for me, i'd light up another thinking i 'wasted' the first one, even though i had smoked on it.

So, with the inhaler,... i got it tuesday night and allowed myself my last cigarette on the way home (it was dark and I couldn't read how to put it together in the car... but it is super easy)... wednesday, i threw the rest of the pack out, and only had the inhaler. I used it everytime i would normally have a smoke break that first day, which is when i noticed i was only taking 1-2 puffs, and just holding it in my hand the rest of the smoke break as I talked to my friends who were smoking.

Wednesday and thursday I used just under two cartridges a day. Friday I made a conscious point not to use it in the car, because smoking in hte car was always a big thing for me, and I wanted to cut that habbit... But i knew, if i needed that nicotine, it was there in my pocket, so I didn't need to stress out and worked to just let myself enjoy the car ride and not think about smoking (yeah cause its sooo easy hahahahahah but you know, i worked on it)... friday i only used 1 cartridge... but again i still went outside on my smoke breaks, because i enjoy the time to socialize with my coworkers.. and time to just get away from my desk...

Saturday, we were in hte car quite a bit, driving around.... the inhaler was right there in the pocket on the door in case I needed it... I didn't use it at all on saturday despite getting in and out of the car (that was always a big trigger, we'd get in the car and before we were out of the parking lot i'd have lit up) Many times I didn't even think about having one.....

Do I think I am completely quit? No, because work seems to be the second biggest 'trigger' to smoking... because i'd scheduled my day around smoke breaks... But knowing I have gone from smoking half a pack on tuesday to haveing maybe 1 cigarette on friday, to non on saturday and having NO anxiety attacks is awesome.... and makes me that much less stressed.

Also, to help with the anxiety from reducing nicotine, my dr. had me start taking GABA - a natural amino acid that helps w/ dopamine and seratonin production which are known to cause anxiety. Its a supplment lots of times you can find it at rite aid or walgreens in their supplement section... I've taken 1 750mg pill in the morning and 1 at night for about three weeks, and have had to use only half the amount of my anti anxiety medication, and again noticed less anxiety in the quitting smoking process which i attribute to a combination of having the security of the inhaler and knowing ICAN have a nicotine 'fix' and having the gaba helping with my chemical levels....

Anyway, just wnated to give an update... also I let my coworkers know.. even though i'm not smoking, i still very much want to come out on 'smoke' breaks, so please don't stop asking me... because lots of times, when someone quits... people just assumed they don't want to be included, and slowly that person stops being asked out for breaks.... The smell of the smoke doesn't bother me, nor does seeing someone else smoke... so my coworkers still come get me... and i still get that social outlet and time away from my desk....

But i know its still gonna be hard... thankfully I have a very supportive boyfriend who will help me in not buying any... and good friends and coworkers who have sworn no matter what I say they will not give me a cigarette.... it also means as a non smoker i get a lower rate on life insurance, which i am increasing soon!

[sarah_ab]

Speakling of research, was looking up something totally unrelated on pubmed, and there was a link to this...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines/news/2012-01-10-nicotine-patches-may-ease-mental-decline/

as it says, recent studies are showing hte benefit of nicotine in dementia patients....

[Bettypooh]

Speakling of research, was looking up something totally unrelated on pubmed, and there was a link to this...

http://www.ncbi.nlm....mental-decline/

as it says, recent studies are showing hte benefit of nicotine in dementia patients....

Lol, maybe that's why I like nicotine so much I am most certainly the demented type

Thanks for the detailed report of your progress in life Sarah. This method seems like it might work for me too- I am going to do some research on the GABA- I've never heard of it before! I do know I need to quit- I still have lingering beathing effects of a cold that I should have been over a week ago and I am pretty sure that my smoking so much is the reason for that.

You Go Sarah !!!

Bettypooh

[KittenAB]

Okay, too lazy to read it all, but a few myths:

First, insurance companies lose money when you are unhealthy, that's why they don't insure certain people. The real reason they don't cover it is because there is no way they can negotiate the prices lower so instead of raising their rates through the roof, they simply don't bother.

Second, the e-cigs got in trouble for really stupid things, things other companies never get in trouble for doing. People don't like the e-cigs simply because they are an alternative to smoking, and they don't cost a lot to make. Meaning the FDA can't get bribes from the companies that make them, or that there is no way the government can control them. They are much safer than smoking a real cigarette, though inhaling anything is risky, even inhalers (sorry but they are not less dangerous than the e-cigs). E-cig makers have done their own studies, it's the FDA that won't approve of them for some reason or another (the exact reasons are still a mystery to many).

I would follow Bettypooh's advice though if e-cigs are not for you. There are always risks, so as long as you know the facts it's okay to say no. There is a ton of psychological stuff you have to break if you are a hardcore smoker, not one of those non-inhaler (you know, they puff but don't breathe in) types or the one cigarette a day smokers. Quitting cold turkey is the best method, but really, really hard based on your level of addiction. Those who have no ill effects are just not hardcore smokers.

[sarah_ab]

Well i'm 11 days without a cigarette, like i said i only needed the inhaler the first three days, which i attribute to taking the GABA for about three weeks daily before i was able to get the inhaler, so the gaba has helped reduce my anxiety, and the inhaler was there so my mind wouldn't freak about 'needing' the nicotine for anxiety... because i knew i had it if i needed it.. thus further reducing the anxiety around quitting.

So yeah see the thing is, because nicotine works as an anti anxiety agent if you have an anxiety disorder, quitting cold turkey is disastrous... last time i quit cold turkey i had an hours long panic attack where i wet my pants, almost hyperventilated and had to go to the hospital and get IV medication to stop it... SO... cold turkey, not really medically an option..

but again 11 days without a cigarette, only needed the inhaler for 3.... but another important thing is... if you don't want to quit, its going to be so much harder.. I really wanted to quit, and so am determined to not smoke. There were many times this past week at work that i would normally say "god i'm going for a cigarette" but instead I didn't... I still went outside, but i went for a walk around the building instead....

There are plenty of people at work I could bum a cigarette off of, but i really do not want to smoke... which is initiative to not ask... and I know I have the inhaler with me if i really do need it, but except for those first three days, i haven't needed it at all, and I used less than 1 days supply of cartridges total.... The nice thing about the inhaler is ... there is absolutely no vapor exhaled, when you puff on it, the nicotine is absorbed through your gums and mouth.. not in your lungs... and so if you need to take a puff, you can do it inside any building, and with no vapors, there is no one to be 'offended'...

hahahahah theoretically i could 'smoke' a pack a days worth of nicotine right at my desk!!!

[KittenAB]

Ah yes, the desire to quit is probably the most important requirement, and the people trying to force us smokers to quit by taxing us need to stop it, it's just making matters worse because it compounds the anxiety, and with "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations ... yeah. But I digress. However, having no vapor exhaled only means it's all going into your lungs and staying there. So while some can be absorbed in your mouth, most is not. The reason inhaling is such an effective method for delivery of nicotine is because the lungs take it straight to the blood stream at the fastest pace. Cigar smokers tend to find it easier to stop for this reason. The vapor from e-cigs is mostly water, actually, but because we are so use to the heavy particulates from smoking tobacco it's really easy to get too much. The only real difference with the inhaler is that the dosage is controled, you are less likely to overdose and that's why there is nothing exhaled. I'm making a slow transition to the e-cig, because I have to train myself not to inhale so much. I tend to try to pull a lot in because I use to really heavy cigarettes.

Note: I am not making thw switch because I want to stop, oddly, it's because then the anti-smoking bullies can't say anything about it.

[sarah_ab]

"When air is inhaled through the device, it is saturated with nicotine, which is then absorbed through the lining of the mouth and upper esophagus." -- http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/inhaler.htm

" You can deeply inhale like you would smoking a cigarette or use more shallow puffs if you are used to smoking cigars. As you do so, nicotine is vaporized and becomes absorbed through the mucus membranes lining the mouth." -- http://www.stopsmokingtoday.com/dyn/195/Nicorette-Inhaler-Is-it-right-for-me-.html

"It releases a controlled dose of nicotine into your mouth each time you inhale or puff through the inhaler. The nicotine is absorbed from your mouth into your body, where it helps replace some of the nicotine your body was used to getting from cigarettes." http://lungs.emedtv.com/nicotrol-inhaler/nicotrol-inhaler.html

"However, most of the nicotine ends up in the person's throat and not the lungs." -- http://www.ehow.com/how_5103817_use-nicotrol-inhaler.html

Anyone, you get the point, it really doesn't go into your lungs.... maybe a tiny bit, but this also depends on if you puff, or inhale.. i puffed, w/out inhaling so it would go to my mouth, not my lungs.... when i smoked, man did i inhale deeply...

This method isn't for everyone, and I am not trying to tell people they must use this method if they wish to quit smoking... but it is a very good alternative for those who are unable to use the patch or the gum.. or do not want to for various reasons....

As for 'cold turkey is the best way" ....

"Presently, there are over 45 million Americans who smoke, 70 percent of whom say they want to quit. However, 95 percent of unaided, "cold turkey" quit attempts end in relapse." http://www.lungusa.org/stop-smoking/tobacco-control-advocacy/federal/cessation-coverage.html (the american lung association website)

Really there is not 'best' way to quit.... and everyone has an annecdote as to why one way is better. My mother in law stopped smoking one day and 15 years later she has yet to have another cigarette. My ex husband has gone cold turkey at least once a year, for at least a week or two and always goes back. I tried cold turkey and ended up in the ER with a horrific panic attack (not to be confused with an anxiety attack which is much less intense.. hence the difference in name). So cold turkey worked for one person I know..

I actually have to meet anyone who was able to quit using the patch or the gum... My boyfriend was also ablet o just quit cold turkey. For me it wasn't so easy, and I didn't eevn smoke more than 8-10 cigarettes a day on average.. so i wasn't even a huge smoker.. and i often only had 2/3 or 1/2 of the cigarette too... but my anxiety had come to depend on that nicotine.. so i needed a little extra help to quit...

and for me the nicotrol inhaler so far has been the way that i found works the best.....

I still go out on 'smoke' breaks with my friends who smoke, and would never think of telling them they should quit, i know if they want to, they will, and not a moment before. Quitting smoking is a personal choice every smoke has to make for themself... I wanted to quit and had wanted to quit for a long time... but just needed some extra help... and I"m so glad i was able to find a way that really truely allowed me to control how much nicotine i was getting, i could puff as much or as little as I wanted... and up to 6 cartridges a day.... so i could set the pace for my nicotine reduction program, and if i felt i was going to fast and not getting enough, then i could self adjust.... Having this control also meant there were no expectations as to when i needed ' step down' or move to another level or dosage.. it was all as I felt I could do it....