Zyban

[neen]

I used Zyban to kick the habit. I stayed on it religiously for 5 weeks. Then quit on my birthday...a little present to myself. It's been 10 monthes now. I think the habit has finally left me. It's not the first thing I think about anymore. :wave:

Now the battle of the bulge.......the continuing saga.

[KoKo]

Congrats on the quit, :)

Did you not like taking the Zyban, since you say you quit it as a little present to yourself, I take wellbutrin which is the same as zyban. I quit smoking with the wellbutrin but I was initially taking it for depression, but I find no bad side effects and in fact some studies show that it acts as an appetite suppressant which would you think be helpful in weight reduction. So this is why I wonder how come you would be happy to stop taking it.

:)

[neen]

KOKO

Sorry... I meant that I quit smoking as a little present to myself. The Zyban worked well.



neen

[KoKo]

OK gotcha, congrats again on the quit. 10 Months is great, I'm at 2.5 months myself and look at a 10 month quit in AWE and ADMIRATION!!!!!

[nikkil]

I'm using zyban and my quit date is this Friday, so I'm looking at your 2.5 months with AWE, KoKo.

Congrats on the 10 months as well! I'm terrified of quitting but hope I can say the same as you ladies in the near future!

N.

[luv2dance]

I quit smoking last year with the help of Zyban. It also reduced my appetite and I lost 5 pounds on it (BONUS!). I found myself having some nicotine cravings still and for those times I used the nicotine patch. I heard that using Zyban and the patches are the most effective way to quit smoking and safe too.

[alexa]

Can anyone tell me more about Zyban? Like have you had side effects? Blood pressure problems? My directions say take 1 for 3 days then 2 daily after that? See what I get for ordering them online... instant, expensive gratification but too damned scared to follow through! Also, I quit yesterday, and I am hoping the Zyban will keep that panicky feeling at bay. But the directions say I was supposed to take them in advance of my quit!

[luv2dance]

Alexa:

Yes, start off taking one tablet for the first three days, then increase your dosage to 2 tablets per day (~300mg). You're suppose to take Zyban for 2 weeks and then quit smoking. By that time, the Zyban should be absorbed into your system and lessen your urges to smoke.
As for side effects, I was nauseous and dizzy for the first few days. But after the first week, the side effects went away. I had no blood pressure problems. I think it says in the pamphlet that Zyban can cause seizures but it is rare.
But I've had friends who have tried Zyban and it made them very jittery and anxious. Some people cannot handle the drug because they have a strong reaction to it. But it all depends on the your body.

Good luck quitting! :) The first two weeks are rough but you'll feel great after you get use to it. Also the Zyban supressed my appetite so I didn't gain any weight! :D

[alexa]

Thank you, L2D! In my brave new world I will be skinny and smoke free :) So I went ahead and started the Zyban today. I started with the patch yesterday (did I already say that?) but if it gets to rough, I will lose the patch for a week or 2. You said you still use a patch sometimes? Just the light doseage one? Mine feels like it is burning my arm...will that go away?
I'm so glad to hear it didn't hinder your weight loss. That is still my 1st priority. I was a super sneaky closet smoker for the last year...my b/f thought I quit but he busted me with a packin my glovebox. I would rather take one issue at a time, but hey, I know I will be glad to have all this hard work done a year from now!

[luv2dance]

No, I don't use the patch anymore. I first started with the Zyban and then whenever my urges got bad, I'd stick a patch on. I didn't have a burning feeling when I used the patch. But whereever I had a patch on, I'd get a rash that would go away the next day. My BF ,who quit smoking 2 years before me, gave me some advice. He used the patch alone to quit. He would buy a package of high dosage patches and use them, then when his nicotine urges lessened, he would cut the patches in half and only use those. The patches are still effective when cut in half. Someone also told me that if you smoke a cigarette while on the patch, you'll feel sick because there is to much nicotine in your body. I actually know someone who was on the patch and threw up after he smoked a cigarette. This information prevented me from cheating while I was on the patch.

Well I'm glad I can give advice on quitting smoking! Chew lots of SF gum too (if you don't mind the aspartame in them)! :)

BTW: It helps to have a BF who is a non-smoker!

[alexa]

just a little update, 5 days smoke free :) using zyban & patch, no ill effects. No weight gain, but no more lost yet either. thanks for the info all.

[nikkil]

don't know if this is getting to you too late (probably!) but thought I'd point out a few things, just in case...(maybe something here for somebody else's use, too)

first, you take the zyban (150mg) once a day for 3 days, then up your dosage to 150 x 2 , BUT they have to be at least 8 hours apart and try not to take too close to bedtime. Hope you found this out before you started taking 2/day ;) . I'm surprised that wouldn't be in your info with the prescription, but you could always go the zyban website and there's lots there.

I took the zyban and at around the 2 week mark I had a huge anxiety attack and have been having them (along with depression, lack of appetite, sweats, chills and shakes) ever since. Of course I stopped taking them and am now on anti-anxiety meds, had to take 2 weeks off sick leave and am now just getting back to normal. These meds are scary in that they affect everybody differently and are not for everybody. I had mild dizziness, vivid dreams and loss of appetite at the beginning of taking the meds (nothing terrible, totally manageable), but they did take away my desire to smoke (plus the cigs tasted awful), but in the end, I won't every be taking Zyban again.

ANYWAY, I hope they work for you and I wish you all the best in your quitting smoking and LCing, as well!

N.

[MsMonty]

I, too, quit on my birthday 2 1/2 years ago. I took two a day and they were supposed to be 12 hours apart which meant taking one in the early evening. That was a mistake for me because it caused servere insomnia. Sooooooo, I started taking the first pill the minute my feet hit the floor in the morning and started taking Valerian for insomnia. It worked! I smoked heavily for 27 years and quitting with Zyban seemed to be no big deal.

However, I did put on 25 lbs which is why I am here.

Good luck to all who are quitting.

MsMonty