Smoking and AN's

[susier]

I have been a smoker for around 25 years.  I have been trying to quit for some time now, but haven't really had to motivation.  When my symptoms started about 2 months ago, I found that when I smoked it seemed to trigger dizziness and if I was already dizzy, it made it worse.  Ofcourse, this has helped tremendously in my quest to quit.  If there are any other smokers out there, you know that stress is a trigger for smoking more.  The last few months hae been extremely stressful which has made the quitting process that much more difficult.  Does anyone know of something to help with the process.  A friend told me of a new drug call Chantix that is supposed to be very good.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[sgerrard]

Hi Susie,
  That is a tough one. Been there, etc. Don't expect it to happen over night; pat yourself on the back for every small step you take toward the goal; don't be hard on yourself for not succeeding right away. Nicotine addiction is a tough addiction to beat. One Yale psychologist calls nicotine "the finest drug".
  Chantix is a nicotine blocker, preventing it from triggering dopamine release, or so they think. Dopamine release is what you are actually addicted to. Zyban has been around a while. It is a mood enhancer, developed as an anti-depressant I think. It makes you feel good without nicotine/dopamine, so you don't care so much that you are in withdrawal. Patches, gums, and lozenges are just nicotine without the smoke.
  Most doctors are quite happy to help someone quit. Talk it over with a doctor you like, try some things out, see if there is a support group you like. It may take a while, but you can find a way to do it if you work at it. Kind of like getting your AN treated, come to think of it.
  Nicotine is also a vaso-constrictor, meaning it makes small veins and capillaries shrink, reducing blood supply. Doing this to nerves in your head that are already challenged by the presence of a tumor can increase a range of symptoms. So it will be worth it if you can pull it off, and if you can't quite do it, every little bit of reduction will help.
  Good luck. If you give in, smoke one for me, I miss 'em still.

Steve

[nancyann]

Hi Susie - I started using Chantix this July, & quit (almost) smoking July 21st - I was a 1 1/2 - 2 pack a day smoker & actually had no intention of quitting until I learned most plastic surgeions won't operate on me if I smoke.  The past 2 weekends I bought a pack & it lasts Fri thru Sun, (I don't smoke during the week) - I don't know why because I get no pleasure from smoking anymore & the smoke burns my throat.   I've tried every other method & the Chantix is working the best.  If I was more motivated I wouldn't need the cigs on the weekend.   It isn't cheap - the insurance cos. don't pay.  The first month cost me $115., the second month (now) is about $125. (higher dose).   I know the smoking has not helped my facial nerve coming back one bit, that is my fault.  I've been smoking for 37 years.   Good luck,  Nancy

[ppearl214]

Hi all,

*shyly raises hand*

Smoker here as well.... I don't find enhanced dizziness from smoking in my case but dr did note Chantix to me as well.  Primary care physician also pushing me to quit.  Will be curious to hear other's stories about Chantix as it may be a choice for me as well.

Thanks for bringing up this topic.... all too important.  Will follow along to hear other's inputs.

Phyl

[nancyann]

Oh - a few weeks ago I read in the news where Chantix is also being used for alcohol cessation - Steve is right - for nicotine & alcohol it blocks the dopamine, so you don't get the 'pleasure' from either of these vices.  But for me cigs & wine went together hand in hand - stop one & I stop the other.   (You don't drink you don't smoke, what do you do...don't know the name of THAT song !).
ps:  One of my co-workers asked if it would work for food....unfortunately not;( but if she had an AN removed & lost her taste like I did, she wouldn't care about eating either.)

[Cheryl R]

Just as I was reading the post last night about the Chantix,our tv news had a story about a lady who wanted to be put in jail in Des Moines so she could quit smoking.    She is on the Chantix now and says it has been wonderful and she has not smoked for several days with no urge to try.       
    I have seen some patients where I work taking it also.
                                                    Cheryl R

[Joef]

I smoked since I was a teenager... and quit in 2001 .. using the patch ... but it was not easy! 

But I did want to quit .. and that's the key... but I realize now.. some of the issues I had... mainly fatigue ,, where AN related !!

[susier]

Thanks everyone.  I was a bit skeptical at first about posting a question regarding smoking, but am now glad I did.  To the people on Chantix now, does it hurt if you do smoke while taking it?  I know that it is very dangerous to smoke with the patch, but don't know anything about Chantix or Zyban.

[satman]

i have tried staples in the ear,patches.gum,almost  everything out there.
joef said it, you have to want to quit or it will not work,period.
i got hypnotized on march10th/07 and have not smoked a cigarette since.
this took place in hotel with at least 200 people in the room.

[satman]

i smoked for over 20 years,2 packs a day.

[Jim Scott]

I smoked since I was a teenager... and quit in 2001 .. using the patch ... but it was not easy! 

But I did want to quit .. and that's the key... but I realize now.. some of the issues I had... mainly fatigue ,, where AN related !

It never is, Joe.

I smoked for over 30 years (a little less than a pack a day at the time I stopped) and quit 'cold turkey' in 1989.  I had a multitude of reasons, including having a then-9-year-old son who was worried about my smoking (they teach kids about the health dangers of smoking in elementary school).  I was also concerned about smoking affecting my voice (I was a radio announcer and did audio commercials) as well as the usual cancer worries.  The most important motivation was that I simply didn't enjoy smoking much anymore.  It had become a habit - and nothing more.  I decided to quit but didn't say anything to my non-smoking wife (she quit after a bout with bronchitis in 1973) just in case I didn't succeed.  I went from smoking about 15-18 cigarettes a day to 5 per day for two days, then 3 per day for two days.  By the final day, my last cigarette of that day 'tasted' hot, dry and totally unpleasant, which is exactly what I had hoped would happen.  I put it out, (the pack was finished) marked the date on my mental calendar (May 5th, 1989), threw my trusty Zippo lighter in the dumpster and put away all the ashtrays in the house.  I made no announcement.

Ironically, it was a few days before my wife noticed that I wasn't smoking.  We were at a friend's house (he was a smoker). He noticed that I wasn't 'lighting up', and asked if I had quit smoking.  I answered that I had.  My wife was instantly giddy with elation and I was congratulated all around.  She wondered why I had kept it a secret. I admitted that I was afraid of failing.  It was a moot point anyway, because I had quit and would never smoke again.  That was 18 years ago.  So far, so good.    Oh, I didn't gain weight, either. 

I tell folks who ask that you are your best motivation to quit.  Health concerns, expense, inconvenience, a spouse, your children and/or friends wanting you to quit won't do it.  I simply decided that I wasn't going to smoke anymore, and I quit.  I stopped thinking of myself as a smoker, which was weird, having been one since I was 14.  I just didn't like it anymore and wanted to stop, so I did.  Yes, it was 'will power' but also a voluntary change of self-perception.  I stopped thinking of myself as a smoker.

They didn't have the medicines they have today that help people to quite smoking, so I never got to try them.  It's going on two decades since I last smoked.  I can hardly recall smoking but when I do, I wonder why I did and always think of the bad taste of that last cigarette I smoked, back in 1989.  My adult son (who has never smoked) mentioned that if I make it to age 74, I'll have been a non-smoker as long as I was a smoker.   Well, its a goal.

I sympathize with any smoker trying to quit.  I don't have any definite suggestions to make to help them except to stop thinking of yourself as a smoker, decide to take control of your life and throw away the lighters, ashtrays and any other smoking paraphernalia.  Fight the urge to reach for a cigarette when you answer the phone or feel a bit anxious about something.  The urge for nicotine will pass in a few days.  After that, it's mental.  You're fighting a habit, not a substance.  As I used to tell myself; "it's just cigarettes, not heroin or cocaine". 

My lungs were clean on a pre-op CT scan in '06 and I was pleased about that.  After 18 years as a non-smoker, my risk of having a  heart attack has dropped to that of someone who never smoked and my heart functions are excellent.  My weight (5'6" - 142 lbs.) is in the normal range.  My BP is normal (128/80) and my resting pulse is around 70.  I'm just an ordinary guy and not a fitness fanatic by any stretch of the imagination but I'm in fairly good shape for a man my age who never went out of his way to take special care of his body.  I attribute my good health to my genes (my father lived to age 92) and the grace of God.  Quitting smoking was one of the best things I ever did.  I highly recommend it and encourage smokers to do what is necessary, be it Chantix, hypnosis or will power.  I strongly believe that being in good health was a factor in my successful AN treatment (surgery/radiation) and rapid recovery.  I'm certain it didn't do me any harm.

Jim

[nancyann]

Susie - there's no dangerous side effect if you have a cigarette while taking Chantix.   (When I was trying the patch, I smoked a cigarette & started having palpitations, dizziness - I ripped the patch right off, but didn't put down the cigarette...)

[sgerrard]

I suppose I could claim to be an expert at quitting, since I have done it so many times, but obviously that also means I'm not really very good at it. 

The (hopefully) last time I quit, it was important to me to decide that I was giving up something I liked, not trying to become an anti-smoker. Some how it has helped me to think of it and remember it as a good thing that has come to end, like giving up your teddy bear as a child, or moving on past the care free lifestyle of your twenties.

That helps me when the urge comes on, because I don't fight the desire, and try to pretend that I don't want one. I look on enviously, like a dieter watching someone eating a banana split, when others around me are smoking. Instead, I say "mmm, that looks good - but I'll pass this time", and remember that I have smoked a few in my time, and already had my turn.

Maybe that is no help at all to others, but it has helped me stick to it longer than previous tries. I find all the negativism about smoking kind of depressing, and it makes me want to go do something else - like smoke a cigarette, for instance. Now though, I can say to myself "that's a good idea, but let's just leave it as a pleasant thought", and do something else instead. There are other good things in life to do besides smoke. Hmm, that banana split sounds good...nah, I don't need that either.

Steve

[Jim Scott]

I suppose I could claim to be an expert at quitting, since I have done it so many times, but obviously that also means I'm not really very good at it. 

Quitting smoking is a challenge people were dealing with in the Victorian Age.

Mark Twain  - who died in 1910 - is quoted as saying: "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times.".   

Jim

[Dana]

Good 'ole Mark Twain.  Always right on!

I have a prescription for Chantix, but haven't yet used it.  But I have had a couple friends use it very successfully.  They said that it made cigarettes taste bad, so that helps with the quitting.  My doc says it deals with the nicotine urge (as more precisely described by other posters) so you don't have to use nicotine patches when you're taking Chantix.  It's worth a try.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of California has recently started a program where they pay normal percentage for Chantix and you can get reimbursed a certain amount (I forget if it's $100 or $500) each year for smoking cessation related treatments - acupuncture, etc etc.  So it might be worth double-checking with your insurance to make sure they haven't (or aren't going to) change their policy about smoking cessation expenses.

Puff, puff,
Dana