quote:

I think generic Wellbutrin is available. It is the same drug as Zyban.

The other thing you might try is fighting with the insurance co given that the over all costs of them providing care to him will statistically go down.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth

this slave has tried, under MD supervision:

the gum + Xanax in 1985 for 8 weeks
the patch + Welbutrin in 2003 for 8 weeks
Chantix + Ativan in 2007 for 12 weeks
Chantix + Ativan in 2008 for 8 weeks
 
none have been effective.

quote:

ORIGINAL: lusciouslips19

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth

this slave has tried, under MD supervision:

the gum + Xanax in 1985 for 8 weeks
the patch + Welbutrin in 2003 for 8 weeks
Chantix + Ativan in 2007 for 12 weeks
Chantix + Ativan in 2008 for 8 weeks
 
none have been effective.

Although I have had relapses. The last one being in may. They have lasted for about a month. But the quiting is still hard. But I have sucesfully quit many times. So if you have quit for 8 weeks or 12 weeks you were sucessful for that long. I had an easier time quiting when it wasnt around. So that can be a challenge to many having other smokers around. I was able to have an occasional cigarette when out with friends for many years, But last summer was the first pack I had bought in 15 years.

With all this being said its been 4 weeks since my last quit. I used lozenges for about a week as needed. The first 4 days are the hardest. The second was the worse. The thing that has kept me from grabbing a cigarette, other than liking breathing without asthmatic symptoms and constant headaches and taste and smell is, I would rather go through the pain of withdrawal ONCE than dealing with withdrawal symptoms and anxiety every 20 minutes. I dont like having symptoms and needing a cigarette and the panic that goes with. That is the worse for me. Guess I am not willing to be a slave to eveything. Some things a person is best free of and freedom in this case is really good.

Dont give up. Keep trying.

thanks for the support!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth

quote:

ORIGINAL: lusciouslips19

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth

this slave has tried, under MD supervision:

the gum + Xanax in 1985 for 8 weeks
the patch + Welbutrin in 2003 for 8 weeks
Chantix + Ativan in 2007 for 12 weeks
Chantix + Ativan in 2008 for 8 weeks
 
none have been effective.

Although I have had relapses. The last one being in may. They have lasted for about a month. But the quiting is still hard. But I have sucesfully quit many times. So if you have quit for 8 weeks or 12 weeks you were sucessful for that long. I had an easier time quiting when it wasnt around. So that can be a challenge to many having other smokers around. I was able to have an occasional cigarette when out with friends for many years, But last summer was the first pack I had bought in 15 years.

With all this being said its been 4 weeks since my last quit. I used lozenges for about a week as needed. The first 4 days are the hardest. The second was the worse. The thing that has kept me from grabbing a cigarette, other than liking breathing without asthmatic symptoms and constant headaches and taste and smell is, I would rather go through the pain of withdrawal ONCE than dealing with withdrawal symptoms and anxiety every 20 minutes. I dont like having symptoms and needing a cigarette and the panic that goes with. That is the worse for me. Guess I am not willing to be a slave to eveything. Some things a person is best free of and freedom in this case is really good.

Dont give up. Keep trying.

thanks for the support!
this slave didn't actually quit SMOKING for those long periods of time, though.  those are the things she obtained from the MD and took as prescribed to aid in the quitting, not as a substitute for going cold turkey with nothing.
the longest stretch she has been able to manage without a cigarette...at least one during the day...during all those attempts at quitting...was 4 days.
none of the things the MD prescribed helped her to take it past the point of the withdrawal.  she could scale it down to 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 cigarettes per day, but when the withdrawal got to be too much, she couldn't take enough Xanax or Ativan to combat it.
the Welbutrin crap jacked this slave up so bad she couldn't eat ( lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks) and wanted to smoke 5 times as much as NOT taking it.  the Chantix was nauseating...this slave struggles enough with nausea issues already. 
it'll happen someday...by choice or by force...and this slave will give it another try, but not with Chantix or Welbutrin.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SassySarijane

Thanks for the feedback everyone. The Chantix is almost a last ditch effort to help him quit. Other methods like patches, gum and lozenges haven't done anything to help him quit and he is desperate to do so.

Doctors said his lungs could give out in a year if he doesn't get off the smokes. Last week he went into the hospital with a collapsed lung and had been just fine the day before. It was a total shocker. He is fighting smoking but just can't do it on his own or by the methods he's tried before. I really hope this works for him.

I've already lost one brother. I don't want to lose my stepbrother too. I really don't.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SassySarijane

Doctors said his lungs could give out in a year if he doesn't get off the smokes.

quote:

ORIGINAL: sirsholly

i have often wondered if snowing yourself with a medication such as Xanax for 3-4 days would help...

quote:

ORIGINAL: SassySarijane

For those who've used pill methods to stop smoking, is there an average time one needs to take it such as 3 months, 6 months, etc. to get past the craving stage, to not have cravings when you go off of it?

I am curious because I have a family member who has to quit or die basically and his insurance will not cover the pill, nor can he afford the $130 it costs for a month's supply so family is going to pay to fill the prescription each month until he doesn't need it anymore. I'd like to get an idea of how long it may be necessary.