Patch Advice Please

[nsd_user663_57829]

Hi,

Not many posts from me, my quit has been boring in practice. The initial buzz of "hey, I don't smoke" has gone, but I am happy to be not smoking and really don't miss it. Got to be honest I can't feel the health benefits, never felt bad luckily. Oh, apart from my yellow finger which has disappeared (the yellow not the finger!).

No great cravings, which I put down to the Patch & Inhalator. Talking of which, I have been on Step 2 (14mg) for 5 weeks after 1 week on 21mg. Stopped cutting them up, just wear them for up to 3 days at a time now; still my little aversion to what I fear as patch addiction. Similarly an Inhalator cartridge lasts 3 days.

What's the experience on doing the full 12 weeks of NRT? Would I be foolish to not do it, I feel like I don't need it but don't want to jeopardise my quitting for a few weeks of NRT. How is the final quit from NRT, will it be the Cold Turkey I have so far avoided?

Your experiences would be appreciated for me to think about.

[nsd_user663_57259]

Hi there

I don't think there is a "one size fits all" approach here. I am doing my own form of NRT with an e cig and gum. My plan is to continue to do it for 12 weeks (i have 4 weeks to go) but to lower the nicotine strength in my e cig to nicotine free during this time. At this stage I will also stop the gum. So I guess it will be cold turkey from then, but I am a little nervous about it. I plan to take gum and my e cig on holiday in August though as I am worried about caving on holiday and I really do not want to but I'm not sure how I will cope yet!!!

Do what feels right for you.

Sorry I can't help more.

Sarah

[nsd_user663_56237]

Unless there's a reason not to and you're happy on the patches, I would complete the full course if I were you. Even on a more mental/emotional scale I think it prepares you and makes you feel "ready" when you follow it through and you know roughly when the time comes to remove the NRT from your life.

It is, however, different for everyone. I'm sure you'd be absolutely fine if you chose to stop. You seem confident and comfortable in your quit

[nsd_user663_54332]

Unless there's a reason not to and you're happy on the patches, I would complete the full course if I were you. Even on a more mental/emotional scale I think it prepares you and makes you feel "ready" when you follow it through and you know roughly when the time comes to remove the NRT from your life.

What she said!!

[hellerscatch]

Am 48 years old and had smoked since I was 8, so 40 years of smoking!

Knew I couldn't do it by myself (have had 2 pregnancies and not done it), started on patches from smoking cessation clinic, was fine with them, kept it up for 12 weeks, then went CT.

Am now nearly 6 months on, so can honestly say, patches did the job for me! x

[Unah]

I used patches for 8 weeks. For the last 2 weeks I gradually cut bits off them. Didn't have any problem coming off them at all. I had an inhalator but got so I didn't put a new cartridge in at all. For me it was the hand thing. We're all different so whatever feels right for you is best.

[nsd_user663_56712]

Hi there, everyone is so very different, I did 10 days on full strength patches, then about 5-6 on half a full strength patch, I was going to carry on longer and then cut them into 1/4(-just me saving money as they are all the same price) but I forgot to put them on one day and then thought s0d it I wont bother so kind of went CT from around the 2 week mark. I haven't had any problems but that is because I think this is my time to quit:)

However, I still carry one in my bag just in case I cave and want a cig in a stressful situation or something(YUK to the thought of it though)

It's your quit and your body so only you can decide.

Just a thought though, if you are wearing a patch for 3 days, wont the nicotine have all been released after the first 24 hours, so you are probably going nearly 2 days without NRT anyway

[nsd_user663_57829]

Just a thought though, if you are wearing a patch for 3 days, wont the nicotine have all been released after the first 24 hours, so you are probably going nearly 2 days without NRT anyway

Not sure about this. The patches I use (NiQuitin Clear) contain 78mg of nicotine and deliver 14mg in 24 hours. What happens to the other 64mg isn't clear but I have a theory that it just gets delivered increasingly slowly.

Information from the web is that "The plasma concentrations of nicotine reach a plateau within 2-4 hours after initial application of NiQuitin with relatively constant plasma concentrations persisting for 24 hours or until the patch is removed". I figure it would not be delivered quickly as that would be a safety concern (nicotine being a poison), as this is a licensed medicine that would not be permissible.

If I tell myself it comes out slowly I can ease down on the nicotine supply - admittedly it goes back up with the next patch. Well, overall it cycles down in ever decreasing amounts (if I keep wearing the patches longer).

Yes, that's all perfectly clear to me now and is what I'll do!!!:D:confused:

Thanks for your thoughts, I agree this isn't a precise science, we are all different shapes and sizes, smoked different amounts etc. Even the patch manufacturers cannot agree, I started on Nicorette patches (21mg if you smoke 20 or more) then changed to NiQuitin (21mg if you smoke 10 or more).

So having a plan and being happy with it is all we need. And thinking about this stopped me thinking about smoking at the start!!