new to forum. Looking for ideas, tricks, support, "friends"

[daylyn]

I thought that I would just drop a quick line or two to say Hi and that I live in North Carolina, USA. I have been "quitting" for the last 4 years. I have had much success on Chantix, but as soon as I am done with it a couple of months later I am back to smoking. My husband has LOTS to say when I start back smoking, but very little while I am not smoking. I have COPD and really do need to quit once and for all but I don't know why I can't succeed at this...thoughts, ideas, impressions, anything would help me right now.

[jillygirl Administrator LONG TERM WINNER]

Welcome to quit support Daylyn, You have definitely come to the right site for support advice and help. This site is really friendly and we do our best to help each other. First of all Emjay our advisor will most certainly be in touch and will try to help you. What other nrt products have you used, perhaps some other type would suit you. or in conjunction with the chantix. Whatever you do stick at it . You sound very positive. Have a browse through the site or simply join in our daily chat (or evening chat) seeing there is a time dfference.

[monky Administrator 35 Months Winner]

Aup Darlyn whoooooops, I meant Daylyn, sorryyyyy, erm I think the cats got my specks gal

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As Jillygirl has said, a big warm welcome to this lovely quit support site And you sound as if you DO want to stop smoking ! There are quite a few members on here that suffer with COPD too, so hopefully they will get in touch with you too

Rite, chantix ! I think maybe you mean champix, well thats what we call it over here I myself have tried that, and very good too but, I didnt take the full course, therefore I relapsed my own fault entirely !!

Champix sounds as though it works for you sooooo, my advice is to take another course of champix, BUT I mean the FULL course erm, I dont know whether you can get an inhalator over their in USA, its a sort of plastic fag, with a cartridge of nicotine in it If you can get one of those, then you can pop it into you handbag, and when you think you need a smoke, just get that out and have a suck on that eh PLUS, then you know that you have help in your handbag and that will stay lodged in your mind if you see what I mean !!

As for your hubby !! he obviously dosnt know how hard it is to quit smoking does he !! BUT WE DO !! If we can, we will help you get through this

Pete

[Hidden]

Hi Daylyn. Did you ever receive counselling and support when you were taking Chantix. Looking at your profile and the other forums you've joined up to I'd say you have a lot on your plate and no wonder you're struggling with staying quit, I think I would too.

Perhaps you need to look at a different way to quit, as, if you've had more than one course of Chantix and then started smoking again on more than one occasion then in all honesty all you're doing is making money for Pfizer. I notice you say you also feel you need to lose weight. As you suffer COPD then perhaps you should take one step at a time and stop smoking first and foremost. Yes you may put on a little more weight, but.......if you were to diet, lose lots of weight then you might be even more reluctant to stop smoking thinking that you might put all that hard work at risk.

Emjay always advises that planning is important. You need to plan ways to combat your triggers to smoking. You need to identify your triggers ie bad day, feeling down, stressed out along with all the other usual triggers like after a meal etc. Chantix is supposed to dampen the nicotine receptors in the brain so that smoking doesn't give any reward or satisfaction, the idea being that once you've been stopped smoking for 3 months then many of those nicotine receptors will have died off. However in times of trouble and stress or when we're suffering in pain, its difficult to stay focussed. Our subconscious tends to take over, and if you haven't learned an alternative comforter in place of smoking, your subconscious is going to go back to what it knows best - Nicotine.

Is it perhaps that once you've quit and finished your course of Chantix, a couple of months down the line when bad stuff happens you're still reaching for the ciggies thinking one won't do any harm. It does. It reawakens those receptors. Next time you do decide to stop smoking, you must plan for those triggers, learn to recognise them all and think of other ways to get through the bad days instead of using nicotine. I'm sure I haven't told you anything you don't already know, but I can understand how hard it must be for you to stay quit. I wish you luck and hope you feel able to try again, your COPD certainly won't get any better while you continue to smoke.

Hope I've at least understood if not helped.

[daylyn in reply to Hidden]

sinfree, thank you. I have never really thought about how I was going to handle the stressors. I also know that if I lost the weight that I wouldn't worry about weight gain when stop smoking. You are correct in that when I am in pain, having a bad day the only way my subconscious knows how to sate things is through smoking. And yes, I would think that by having just one cig that it wouldn't be a problem but it just leads to more. (also, I don't have to pay for Chantix. My husband is retired military and we get our medications on base at no charge. I just have to wait until May to be able to get another round of Chantix. It has seemed to work the best. I just have to learn my triggers and sort thigns out. It is quite frustrating to say the least, when all I want is to be healthy and pain free and happy. You have understood and helped. Thank you. Please keep being here for me...

[busker 2 YEAR WINNER]

hi have you tried ecigs...i tried to quit over 40+ years,ihavent had a cigarette for 13 months after using ecigs...if i can help, ask away...good luck....busker

[daylyn]

I haven't tried e-cigs yet because I don't know much about them and if they will exacerbate my COPD like smoking does...any info on them, I would appreciate.

[nixy 27 Months Winner]

daylin, I also had a full course of champix, was doing well had stopped smoking for 6 months but started again. Smoked for 4 months but am now back on the champix. Finding it harder this time, but have a lot on my mind healthwise and family wise. I think I will always be addicted to nicotine just the same as an ex alcoholic, nasty nic considered to be a drug. I have given up smoking many times over the years then started again, but we just have to keep on trying, what is the alternative?. I have copd as well, keep going and there are lots of friendly people on here who are always ready to listen and offer help, good luck

[daylyn in reply to nixy]

thank you

[yellowsnowdrop]

Welcome to the site Daylyn.I've been quit for 11 weeks now using my ECig. I know that an ECig will definitely not make your COPD worse and its an awful lot better than smoking.I started on 18mg (!!) Nicotine & am now down to 6mg.It's good that you keep trying to give up I absolutely know that you can do it.

[daylyn in reply to yellowsnowdrop]

thank you