Approaching the third day....can't say I am looking forward to it, I know how bad that can be, done it several times before.... but not with a nicotine patch...

Just read an article that says that nicotine replacement therapy NRT is useless, and the quit doesn't actually start til I am taking in NO nicotine..

Now... is tomorrow going to be bad? Am I gonna have to go thru another day 3 when I finally get rid of the patch????

Can anyone tell me how it worked for them..... please.....


One day, 21 hours, 38 minutes and 32 seconds. 47 cigarettes not smoked, saving $19.01. Life saved: 3 hours, 55 minutes.

Hi Pam

From personal experience I'd say whoever said that was talking nonsense!

I gave up around two years ago (yes, well enough that I've actually long since lost count of how long! ) using patches having been smoking for 15 years before that. I honestly couldn't have done it without them.

I used the three stage patches and, after the inevitable initial withdrawal symptoms, found it a pretty much painless experience. Lots of exercise and even more water than Atkins suggests really helped too...

Just like Atkins (and think how many articles you've seen telling you that doesn't work!), I took it all in my own sweet time, and only went down a step when I felt absolutely ready. For the in-between steps, I would alternate days on the higher level patch and the next one down to make it a smoother transition. By the time I came off the patches, I was craving free.

Also, I put what cigarettes I had left (typical; I'd just bought a 100 box! ) in a big paper envelope, selotaped it shut, and wrote all over the envelope all the reasons I didn't want to open it! From cost, to health, to family and friends, to my cat's lungs, to the environment... you name it, I wrote it on there! That way I had cigarettes to hand and didn't have that panic feeling of being without...

...but I also had a guilt trip even my mother would've been proud of to stop me from having one!

Very best of luck with it! I can hand on heart say it was worth the initial suffering... but also remember to be kind to yourself. I gave myself lots of mini milestone treats along the way to tell my body and brain it was worth it...

Above all, remember your tagline, and remember its true. Believe you can do this. Believe you want to do it. Believe its the right time. More than anything... believe in your self.

Thanks Urban Gypsy...

Needed that.... yes... I spend a lot of my time telling people that if they haven't done Atkins, how can they possibly know.... and just picking up a single line out of a whole book... is skewing facts badly... yet here am I worrying about something similar.....

So far it has been easier....not easy, but at least I am still mostly in control lol... not climbing walls yet... and well into day 3 and counting... but I know I can go 4 or 5 days... then wham back... so I am not relaxing yet....

Two days, 7 hours, 34 minutes and 8 seconds. 57 cigarettes not smoked, saving $23.15. Life saved: 4 hours, 45 minutes.

I also used the patch. One important thing which you need to keep in mind (my believe):

The patch is to help you kick the smoking habbit. Keep using them until your constant need to light up stops. Took me 2.5 weeks on a 15mg patch. After that i just stopped using them.

The quitting nicotine part is all will power, I found quitting habbit alot harder than quitting nicotine.

Another important practice is to keep an extra patch in your handbag or wallet, just in case you are in a hurry to work and forget to put one at home.

Ran across this and just had to post of my experience with the patch. I quit over 3 years ago using the patch. I quit at a time when I didn't particularly want to - I was being supportive of my husband who wanted to quit (he didn't but I did...).

Use the patch for the full 6 weeks like they say! My husband came off it after 3 weeks when he thought it was useless, I stayed the course. He smoked, I didn't. Don't try to cut the corners and stop the patch quicker. Regardless of what anyone says, nicotine absorbed through the skin is harmless contained to nicotine inhaled in the lungs.

Keep it up and congratulations for your success so far!
Lori

It's your choice how you quit, but don't let articles dictate your own method. Which is worse, nicotine alone, or nicotine,tar carbon monoxide, carcinogens,formaldyhye etc... I use nicotine replacement and I figure that I could either do this, or continue to get my nic (and those poisons) in the traditional way. There are those who will always differ in opinion. That's fine. But, I'm working on SAVING my life here.

Just signed in today! My advice would be do whatever works!!! I quit smoking Sept 1 while using the patch. I didn't follow the program exactly as I never bought anything but the 21 mg. strength. However what I did do is cut the patch a little at a time ( fully covering it with cellophane tape so as to not let it lose its ingredient exposed to air). I found that doing it this way cut back any cravings whatsoever as I downgraded more and more. I had tried the patch before and I found there was too much of a jump between 21mg. and 14mg. which made me crave all over again with each step. I'm presently down to 3/8 of a patch (Roughly 7 mgs.) and I cut back an eighth at a time every week now. It took a lot longer at first. I'm not worried if it takes me more than three months to quit as I have been smoking for 37 years so a few more months of pure nicotine certainly can't hurt. They say on the instructions not to cut the patch but I found that you can provided you cover the cut with tape. Hope this helps someone!

I used the patches and i think they are the biggest waste of money and effort ever.

Except of course smoking itself

I hate the patch sooooooooooooo much - awful experience ever.

Each to their own I think. I have had moderate success in the past with gum but it's a long drawn out road to quitting. The nicotine wasn't out of my body for 3 months and craving continued all that time.

I have now quit cold turkey (with the help of vitamin and herbal supplements). For me it's so much better. I need to be free of nicotine within 72 hours and now I am. The cravings this time have been so mild compared to the gum and the way I feel now, I feel like I gave up a year ago, not just a few short weeks.

I really think I've done it this time.

I have no problem with those who need gum and patches. I've just discovered now that they are not for me. Cold turkey rules!

For me the patch worked for a while but I wound up allergic to the latex, so I stopped it after 2 weeks, so I used gum for many weeks. Yes, you are not fully weaned until you stop these crutches, but it's one of those individual choices: some prefer stopping cold turkey, but for me it helped.