Smoking

[Cork]

Yea, you read the topic right. I'm not trying to cause any contraversy. However, I have a question and this is where I turn to when I have questions. I was wondering if anyone on this forum is or was a smoker. I am a smoker and I am looking to quit. Please spare me the lectures. I've heard them all numerous times. I was wondering for those who is/were if they have smoked since there surgery? If they quit then how long ago and did they have any help (support / gum / pill)? How long were you a smoker for? Do you still crave? and any other additional insight you may offer.

Im sorry if this causes any uproars,

Thanks in advance

Cork

 

[geebee]

I was a "social" smoker up until I was diagnosed and my cardio told me to quit. I quit immediately and never had a problem (that was about 30 years ago and I have not smoked since). However, I know how hard it can be to quit. My sister is a smoker who has many signs of smoking illness like a constant cough, etc. She has no intention of quitting and doesn't even acknowledge the dangers.
You are way ahead of the game in that you are looking for answers to the quitting issue.
I have a friend who tried everything to quit and finally had luck with the nicotene inhaler. I do not know if it is still on the market. I have another friend who managed with nicotene gum and sugar free lollipops.
Best of luck to you.

 

[RandyL]

Yea, you read the topic right. I'm not trying to cause any contraversy. However, I have a question and this is where I turn to when I have questions. I was wondering if anyone on this forum is or was a smoker. I am a smoker and I am looking to quit. Please spare me the lectures. I've heard them all numerous times. I was wondering for those who is/were if they have smoked since there surgery? If they quit then how long ago and did they have any help (support / gum / pill)? How long were you a smoker for? Do you still crave? and any other additional insight you may offer.

Im sorry if this causes any uproars,

Thanks in advance

Cork

I smoked for 38 years and at the end bvefore I quit I was 2 packer plus a day. I quit when I went in for a stress test with a Cardiologist. He said I needed surgery right away and told me to quit smoking. I got the patch and a script for some Ziban and quit smoking. It has been a year now since I quit. Later my Cardio said that smoking had nothing to do with my valve. If I would of known that I wouldn't of quit. Oh well I miss them sometimes but after a year it is not that bad at all. The patch and the Ziban worked great for me, was tough but I was also under the impression that I had no choice but to quit or Die. Damn Doctor.lol. If you are ready you can quit if you want to. I will tell you that when a smoker comes near me now they really stink.haha.

 

[Cork]

thanks you for all of your quick replies. i wanted to add one more thing. if you used the Rx pill to quit, did you insurance company pay for it or did you have to pay for it. If so, how much was it?

 

[RandyL]

thanks you for all of your quick replies. i wanted to add one more thing. if you used the Rx pill to quit, did you insurance company pay for it or did you have to pay for it. If so, how much was it?

Not sure what pill your talking about. Is there a new one out that you take to quit? The Zyban I took acted kind of like Valum, took the edge off so I wasn't so nervous. I took it for 6 weeks along with the patch and it worked great, was not expensive and my insurance company paid for it anyways. Of course the patch is expensive but less than cigerettes.

 

[aussigal]

Congratulations for daring to ask the question...

23 years I smoked,. I quit 8 weeks before my surgery...after being told I couldnt have my aneurysm repaired while I was still smoking.

did it "cold turkey"...didnt want to replace the smokes with gum etc...though did get Valium from Doc and used it for times I was feeling very weak-willed and to help me sleep at night ( managed to not get addicted to Valium as I used it sparingly). I did have a cheer-squad though, that helped heaps 'cos I didnt want to dissapoint them.

it was really hard for the first week or two then became surprisingly easier...

Yes I sometimes crave a smoke , but only for a few minutes., being around smoke now makes my eyes water and my lungs unhappy.

Good Luck in finding your key to quitting.

 

[Blanche]

Cork,
I stopped smoking on June 20, 2005. I didn't have heart surgery that day but did have a small surgery that gave me the running start that I needed. I smoked for nearly 50 years and attempted to quit at least 50 times. When it came time for me to go to surgery, the anesthesiologist had to give me breathing treatments because I was weezing. Then, when the surgery was done, they had trouble waking me up. THis really scared my poor family.

For the first 6 weeks, I went cold turkey....and nearly went crazy. Then, I took the advice of someone on this board (think it was Cris Crawford) and got some Welburtin/Zyban..Burpropion SR 150mg is the generic. I took two per day and they were a big help...really big. But, what really got me through my day was a recommendation by my dentist.....Cinnimon. I had gum, candies, and even sprinkled it on my toast in the morning and baked potato at night.

I also went to several smoking cecession boards that also helped. One person said that there were three things that were vital to stopping smoking...breathing deeply often, walking, and drinking water. That helped me too. I also cut up straws to the length of a cigarette and puffed on them. Helped with the breathing deeply part.

Its been almost 15 months now and I could not be happier. Currently I have been assisting a cashier at a local store with her stopping smoking. She has nearly 4 months under her belt. If you think I might be of assistance to you, please let me know.

I would never put down a smoker. Look how long it took me to stop. It's hard, but the rewards are so great....and at your young age, Cork, you will have so many years to enjoy being smoke free....

With the kindest regards,
Blanche

 

[Ross]

Oooo a chance for a lecture!!!

Here is my lecture that you don't want to hear. It's the toughest thing you'll probably ever do in you life. I had a terrible time and like Blanche, must have tried close to 50 times and really felt like that little guy on tv that says,"Ah it's no use, I'm scum". I tried everything over the counter to stop. Nicorette not only cost a pretty penny, it was the cause of losing many fillings and costing lots in dental visits. The patches were a joke to me. I finally simply walked away from them. I cannot say that to this day, I still don't want one, but all it takes is smelling my wifes and I'm reminded of why I don't.

 

[Mb]

Hello:

I too want to congratulate you on speaking.writing on THIS board on THIS topic.

I wanted to add a huge piece of advice regading Wellbutrin/Zyban. Before taking it, google buproprion, which is the name of the drug.

Buproprion is prescribed like candy. It has made a lot of money for Glaxo Smith Klein. IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE!

One of the side effects of the drug is suicide ideation/suicide. There is a black box warning for children under the age of 18. The drug is not sold in Great Britian, as their studies have shown that it can cause suicide in any age group.

Our beloved daughter committed suicide on July 3rd of this year. She got a prescription and filled it on June 19th. She was 32 years old. She overdosed on the Wellbutrin. No other drugs found in her system. She was a well educated, beautiful woman who was a registered nurse. There were NO warning signs of depression, at all. She had quit smoking for about 4 years, and started up again a year ago. She smoked about 4-5 cigarettes a day. Because of her work, she really wanted to stop.

Bravo to you for being so commited to quitting. Please do not take Wellbutrin or Zyban.

Marybeth

 

[joy]

I have to day that yes, while Zyban has many different side effects, I took it, I just quit smoking in April of this year...4 years after my OHS. I didn't use the patch, although they were prescribed to me. The one thing to remember about zyban is to be followed closely by your doctor. I quit mid pack in the middle of a carton because they tasted SO bad to me after I started to take the zyban. I never want to smoke another one. The smell of them makes me nautious, I was in the dentist's office a while ago, and there was a guy in there that had just come in from having one, and I almost vomitted, it was so bad.

 

[catwoman]

thanks you for all of your quick replies. i wanted to add one more thing. if you used the Rx pill to quit, did you insurance company pay for it or did you have to pay for it. If so, how much was it?

Cork:
My thoughts: Insurance companies would be STOOOOPID not to cover any Rx for cessation. By covering the Rxes, they would help improve the health of the policyholders, thus reducing $$$ paid for billings related to smoking-related illnesses.
But, then some insurance companies are total ignoramuses.
I'm sure you've checked with your carrier by now.

Good luck on quitting. I'm the only person in my family who never smoked. My dad quit nearly 50 years ago, my mom quit 29 years ago and both sisters quit when they were pregnant (32 and 26 years ago, respectively). It's odd that I never chose to smoke.

 

[Birky]

smoking

smoking

I had my last smoke on 02/27/03-one day before my surgery. In December I found that I was going to have the surgery and started cutting back. Used the patch. I was in hospital for 11 days and then another 5 so I had no desire to smoke. Have not gone near one even though my husband still smokes. He goes outside when I am home. We just got back from vacation and if he smoked in the car, I could hardly stand it even with the windows down.Quitting is a very hard thing to do. Dr. said that it was worse than heroin addiction. I would never go back at this point.

 

[mtkayak]

Yep, I did smoke. Quit before surgery. I used the gum and it works great. You really have to have the will to want to quit, that's what it really boils down too. I have smoked a few since surgery and my heart hates it. I cough and gag and my heart rate speeds up. I can even smell it on other people and it smells horrible. My doctor told, me that I much rather have you chew the nicotine gum for the rest of your life than smoke. At least, the gum doesn't have the carcieongenics (sp) and dioxins in it. I don't plan on chewing it the rest of my life though.

You can get a box of 110 pieces of gum (Equate) at Walmart for $32.00. It will usually last you 3 weeks. Cheaper than a carton of cigarettes

 

[Ross]

Yep, I did smoke. Quit before surgery. I used the gum and it works great. You really have to have the will to want to quit, that's what it really boils down too. I have smoked a few since surgery and my heart hates it. I cough and gag and my heart rate speeds up. I can even smell it on other people and it smells horrible. My doctor told, me that I much rather have you chew the nicotine gum for the rest of your life than smoke. At least, the gum doesn't have the carcieongenics (sp) and dioxins in it. I don't plan on chewing it the rest of my life though.

You can get a box of 110 pieces of gum (Equate) at Walmart for $32.00. It will usually last you 3 weeks. Cheaper than a carton of cigarettes

Yes, but if you have a lot of dental fillings, get ready for many dentist visits as those fillings fall out!

 

[Natanni]

WELLBUTRIN was my wonderful friend that helped me quit smoking in 1998. I also went out and got a golden retriever puppy too which helped in a huge way But that is not always the best choice for everyone. I loved to smoke. I was a higher risk pt in that I had been in a motor vehicle accident with head injury (bad for Wellbutrin/Zyban pts), but the doc felt it was a higher risk for me to smoke. So I used the Wellbutrin for about 5 weeks and quit the mediciation early as I felt pretty confident that I had it in good control by that point. Medication will NOT quit for you. You must have a deep drive to quit. It takes the edge off. For me, it made the act of smoking somehow unappealing. I only smoked outside my home prior, and instead of going out for a smoke, I would take Zane out to "do his thing".....I had the most awesome potty trained golden in MN. Good luck, there is wonderful life after smoking! (I am the wife of a valve pt by the way...so I can offer no input there)

Ann

 

[temp69]

Opened my eyes in ICU, thanked God I was still alive and knew I would never, ever smoke another cigar again. I have smoked cigs on and off for 25 years, quite over and over via so many methods.

now...it just seems so stupid it's unbelievable. You can do it!