[La lamy]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

No, but it was thanks to a Chantix ad on TV that I was finally able to quit smoking years ago after it became widely available.

I didn't tell my doctor that was what I wanted. It was the other way around. He told me he needed me to quit smoking in order to continue to be my doctor, and he would help me do whatever was necessary to accomplish it. He gave me a list of options, from hypnotism (tried it, failed), nicotine gum (tried it, hated it), behavioral modification (homey don't play that), cold turkey, cutting down, antidepressants, some other med, and Chantix.

I had heard about Chantix from the ad on TV, and it was the only one that seemed to fit my needs. It basically deactivates signals to your nicotine receptors and makes your mind forget that it's addicted. You still have a habit to get over, but you can work on the habit with zero nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

I remembered the risks, most of them involved sleep disorders. Since I was already taking prescription sleep meds that ALSO had those side effects, and had never experienced any of them, I was willing to give it a shot.

Two weeks later, I had quit smoking. The end of that second week, I threw the rest of the Chantix in the trash (even though I was supposed to keep taking it for 3 months) That was 12 years ago. I haven't even been tempted to smoke since.

Well that's a great story! Happy to hear prescription meds worked so well for such an insidiously unhealthy habit. A 3 week behaviour modification course from the Lung Association in Canada helped me quit 19 years ago. Best thing I ever gave up, that's for sure.