I am a sales assistant, I enjoy music, films, clubbing and sharing my opinions with others!I'm in th...
I am a sales assistant, I enjoy music, films, clubbing and sharing my opinions with others!I'm in the right place!
Member since:11.04.2006
Reviews:15
Members who trust:2
I started smoking when I was 14, I started smoking "properly" when I was 15, and at 19, when smoking 20 a day, I decided it was high time that I quit. For good! I had tried many times before using will power alone, and obviously that hadn't worked. I also tried the gum, by another company, which was horrid and too much to think about, whilst giving me a sore throat.
So I set a quit date of Sunday 19th February-I figured it would be too much pressure to try to quit on a Monday, and didn't have much planned for the following few weeks.
I got my patches on prescription from my doctor, which I would recommend. It works out a lot cheaper, as you pay a regular prescription price for every set of patches you receive, rather than £17.00 per pack of 7 patches. This is pricey, but a typical 20 a day smoker pays £35 a week on smokes, its just paying it all in one go that makes it seem like a shock!
The 15mg patches are huge, but just look like plasters with "nicorette" written on. You apply them first thing in the morning on dry clean skin, with no talc or moisturiser
or oil on, and just leave them on until you go to bed! Easy peasy!You put them on your upper arms, upper chest or hips, taking care not to put them on the same place on two consecutive days, to avoid irritation.
The first patch I applied gave me a sort of Nicotine rush, like having the first fag of the day when tired. But my body soon became accustomed to this and that was the only time it happened.
One time I did fall asleep with the patch on, woke up in the morning and felt terrible the next day, very groggy and irritable, like I had fog in my head lol. So make sure that you follow the instructions to the letter!
After 3 weeks on the 15mg, I went to 4 weeks on the 10mg and am now on my first week out of four on the 5mg.The transitions from the higher dosages to the lower ones have been very easy to make. I have not experienced ANY cravings, and found that going out with my friends who smoke and my fiancé, who is still a smoker, is a lot easier than I had ever imagined it would be.
I have had regular check-ups with the nurse on my blood pressure and carbon monoxide readings, which have both reduced! My fiancé is a lot richer now, as he bought most of my cigarettes. Oh and I can feel my feet again! Smoking had severely affected my circulation, and it has improved dramatically since quitting.
The patches can be a little itchy when first applied, but just be patient and this soon goes away, and when compared to lung cancer, heart disease, etc etc its a small price to pay!
Recommended to every smoker!
I thought I would update and add some tips that helped me along the way to quitting:-
*Choose a realistic quit date and stick to it, by this I mean a time when you know that there wont be too many excuses available! I chose to quit on the Sunday after my birthday, I knew that quitting on a Monday would be too stressful and would be putting too much pressure on myself!I had been researching success stories and all of the smoking "propaganda" until by the time the Sunday had arrived, I was so excited about quitting that it seemed like more of an adventure than a chore!
*Don't try to quit before this quit date, you've set it now stick to it. If you can fail to stick to a date, you can fail at quitting smoking!
*Every time you light up a cigarette before your quit date, inhale really deeply and think of all of the bad effects that it is having on your body- basically brainwash yourself so that you aren't enjoying smoking anymore!
*Book an appointment with your doctor or nurse, whether you're receiving your patches on prescription or not, it's a very good incentive to see your carbon monoxide levels and blood pressure levels dropping.
*Pop into your local chemist and pick up one of the free quitting smoking guides! Fill out any details in there, but the most helpful thing is the timescale. It tells you all of the great things that are happening to you as you quit, like after 8 hours your blood pressure is reducing, etc. It helps you to realise how quickly your body can repair itself!
*Tell your family and friends, ask them to support you and explain that you might be a bit irate at times. They will be glad that you're doing this and be only too pleased to help! This also sort of blackmails you into sticking to your plan, when things got a little bit tough, I could always imagine the disappointed tone in my mom's voice if I were to tell her that I'd fallen off the wagon again!
*Try and take on another project at the same time. I decided to start eating healthily and exercising. This has helped me to completely change the state of my health, but has also helped to take my mind off smoking, as well as stopping me from replacing cigarettes with Snickers bars!
*If you have tried and failed to quit in the past, remember how that first cigarette REALLY tasted and made you feel. Whenever I started smoking again, I would realise how disgusting cigarettes actually tasted and smelt, and feel utterly disappointed in myself.
*Finally, if it all ends up going pear shaped and you have a cigarette, don't see it as the end! You CAN carry on not smoking after that cigarrette has been stubbed out. One cigarette should not erase all of your hard work!
Good luck to all future non-smokers!It is a long road, and it's one of the hardest things you'll ever do, but it is so worth it and you already know that it is! These patches make the journey so much easier!
Oh and the corniest yet most truthful thing that I've ever read about quitting smoking:-
Quitting smoking doesn't take willpower, just patience!
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Hey a good review, ive just started on patches but still finding my self having a cig now and again when the patch is off. im struggling!!!
Foreveryoung 09.07.2006 18:34
Thank you for your informative and inspiring review, and good on you for quitting, I am on my 3rd day of the 15mg patch and so far so good. Only 3 days and the patches are certainly working.
Advantages: get rid of that stinky. filthy, kiler habit without turning into a nervous wreck, no cravings at all, discreet Disadvantages: expensive, smaller patches aren't cheaper
Advantages: get rid of that stinky. filthy, kiler habit without turning into a nervous wreck, no cravings at all, discreet Disadvantages: expensive, smaller patches aren't cheaper
Apr 12th, 2006
(Apr 14th, 2006)
very helpful by (100%):
