Can Food Help Quit Smoking?

[GotGarlic]

Believe me Kayelle. There are many ways to sneak outside when you are in a hospital. And there is always a spot where all the smokers gather. I am always surprised that the security never stopped it. But then I have seen members of security join the patients for a cigarette.

So when you could barely walk because of a leg infection so serious you ended up having the leg removed, and then were recovering from the surgery, you were sneaking outside every day for weeks to smoke? Huh.

Security can't stop people from doing something doesn't break rules or the law.

 

[Addie]

Just.....wow. I certainly wouldn't be putting all that info out here on a public forum, Addie.

Management pretty much leave the smokers alone. And I never ever put my family names out here. I don't even belong to Facebook. I simply do not trust it.

 

[Cheryl J]

Unfortunately, no. My pill list was so long, the doctors were stunned. One doctor alone was given the job of going over the list and crossing off the list of what I really need to fight the infection and what was good for my heart. Chantix went to the wayside.

I get every month, these cards called MOT's. That stands for Medicines on Time. They are color coded. Yellow for morning, orange for afternoon, white for evening and blue for bedtime. I was receiving seven of those cards just for the morning. And the windows on each card was jammed with pills. It finally got to me. And I stopped taking any. And when the hospital ran a blood work on me, it showed I hadn't been taking any. The doctor asked me about it, and I told him the whys. He was in agreement with me and completely understood.

Every time Winthrop saw me, without looking at my medication list, would just add another to it. They never checked my chart to see what I was on or receiving something all ready for my present problem. When I left the hospital and received my next supply of MOT's, There were two yellow cards. None for the afternoon. The hospital really trimmed it down. (Thank you hospital doctor)

I do have a stash of the Chantix. Although if you are following the protocol of the drug, you should take it twice a day. I am trying to stretch what I have and it is partially work. I am smoking a lot less than if I didn't have it.

Addie....you've mentioned this several times before. Just because you didn't actually see the physician reviewing your chart, doesn't mean they didn't. If that were standard practice, the facility and the doctors would have malpractice suits galore and likely be either out of business or in prison. I can guarantee you that they looked at your chart and med history before randomly prescribing more meds - probably before you arrived for your scheduled appointment.

Also, Addie....why in the world would you take it upon yourself to just stop taking prescribed meds? I don't know what meds you take, but I do know that many are very dangerous to just quit cold turkey rather than be weaned off of. I would venture a guess that your doctors know what they are doing.

 

[GotGarlic]

Addie....you've mentioned this several times before. Just because you didn't actually see the physician reviewing your chart, doesn't mean they didn't. If that were standard practice, the facility and the doctors would have malpractice suits galore and likely be either out of business or in prison. I can guarantee you that they looked at your chart and med history before randomly prescribing more meds - probably before you arrived for your scheduled appointment.

Also, Addie....why in the world would you take it upon yourself to just stop taking prescribed meds? I don't know what meds you take, but I do know that many are very dangerous to just quit cold turkey rather than be weaned off of. I would venture a guess that your doctors know what they are doing.

+1

Also, since this seems to be something that bothers you, there's nothing stopping you from asking your doctor to review your meds every time you see one. At every single appointment I go to, for many years now, the medical assistant checks my vitals and reviews my meds, asking if anything has changed since the last time I was seen. I'm pretty sure it's a basic standard of care to at least review the meds along with the medical chart before the patient arrives, as Cheryl said.

 

[taxlady]

So when you could barely walk because of a leg infection so serious you ended up having the leg removed, and then were recovering from the surgery, you were sneaking outside every day for weeks to smoke? Huh.

Security can't stop people from doing something doesn't break rules or the law.

I guess you were never a smoker. It's an incredibly strong addiction.

 

[taxlady]

I'm sorry all of that happened. I know quitting is hard. They say quitting smoking is harder than trying to quit heroin.

I have an acquaintance who managed to quit heroin, but he can't manage to quit smoking.

 

[Linda0818]

I have an acquaintance who managed to quit heroin, but he can't manage to quit smoking.

It's a horrible addiction. I know an older lady who literally drags an oxygen tank around with her so she can breathe and still smokes.

 

[Linda0818]

For that matter, I also know someone who has COPD. She still smokes as well.

 

[GotGarlic]

I guess you were never a smoker. It's an incredibly strong addiction.

I smoked for 12 years. Then I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 27. I was told a year later that smoking caused flare-ups and I quit. That was almost 30 years ago.

And I was referring to the logistics of "sneaking" out of the hospital when she was barely able to walk and then recovering from the amputation of her leg. I've spent a lot of time - several months, all told - in hospitals, especially over the last 12 years. She didn't walk out, obviously. So did she push herself out in a wheelchair? How did she get a wheelchair? They're not just sitting around taking up space in the room. Did she ask a nurse to take her out? I don't think so. Come on now.

 

[Just Cooking]

I'm not certain its important why or how a person decides to live his/her life..

Ross

 

[taxlady]

I smoked for 12 years. Then I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 27. I was told a year later that smoking caused flare-ups and I quit. That was almost 30 years ago.

And I was referring to the logistics of "sneaking" out of the hospital when she was barely able to walk and then recovering from the amputation of her leg. I've spent a lot of time - several months, all told - in hospitals, especially over the last 12 years. She didn't walk out, obviously. So did she push herself out in a wheelchair? How did she get a wheelchair? They're not just sitting around taking up space in the room. Did she ask a nurse to take her out? I don't think so. Come on now.

Fair enough

 

[CharlieD]

Definitely food helps quit smoking, just look at me. When I was trying to quit, every time I had an urge for a cigarette I instead took up to eating something. Now 10 years latter I am free of smoking and only, only 40 pounds heavier.

So be careful about eating instead of smoking. I think I was a lot healthier when I smoke.

 

[Kayelle]

One of the things I hated the most when I was a smoker, was being a social outcast.

I felt so stupid and yes, I cared what other people thought about my disgusting stinking habit. Worse than that, I was disgusted with myself. It's a real head trip to be sure. The truth is, people are not addicted to tobacco, they are addicted to nicotine.
In the past, tobacco poison was the only way to get nicotine into the body. That's a thing of the past today.

 

[Addie]

There are days when I will have just a few cigarettes and other days when I could probably go through a whole pack if I didn't control it. That is when I hit the Chantix. Unfortunately it give me a bad case of the dry heaves. Not an activity I relish. Plus I have two kids in the house that are smokers who have no interest in quiting. But every time I light up, I am fully aware of it and usually smoke only half. I then hand off what is left to one of them. The one rule they do stick to is "only one cigarette can be lit at a time.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I guess they changed the way Chantix is taken.
When I was given the prescription it was a blister card with enough tablets to last exactly one month. Kinda like some antibiotics are packaged.
The first two weeks were .5 mg and the following two weeks were 1 mg. I don't remember if it was two a day or one.

But it was not prescribed like Addie is using hers. For me it was a one month thing and it was over. So were the cigarettes.
Seems counter productive to take something that has the side effects this drug has over long periods of time.
I mean a whole month of nightmares and an altered personality was almost more than I/wife could stand. But in the end it was almost the best thing I have ever done.

 

[RPCookin]

Definitely food helps quit smoking, just look at me. When I was trying to quit, every time I had an urge for a cigarette I instead took up to eating something. Now 10 years latter I am free of smoking and only, only 40 pounds heavier.

So be careful about eating instead of smoking. I think I was a lot healthier when I smoke.

This was going to be my comment. A great many people gain weight when they quit smoking, in part because they replace cigarettes with food. I started smoking young at 15, and quit young at 26. I was a heavy smoker - 2 packs a day when I quit cold turkey.

I did what most experts say is the most successful method - I quit for myself. I quit simply because I didn't want to be a smoker any more. I made my last pack last for 4 days. After the last cigarette from that last pack, I never touched another cigarette. That was in 1975, 44 years ago.

After about a month, I had no interest in smoking, because that was perhaps the hardest month in my life, and I never wanted to repeat it. I was a nervous wreck, but I was also determined. After the first couple of weeks, the cravings were brief, and as long as I didn't succumb in the first minute or so, I'd get distracted and the urge would pass. Once I figured out how that sequence worked, the rest was easy.

My "Chantix" was a 3 foot piece of rope that I kept next to my chair in the TV room. When a craving hit, I'd grab that rope and tie knots to keep my hands busy. I got really good at tying a bowline, and I beat the smoking habit in the process.

 

[dragnlaw]

.....something that has the side effects this drug has over long periods of time.
I mean a whole month of nightmares and an altered personality was almost more than I/wife could stand. But in the end it was almost the best thing I have ever done.

Roll Bones - were they side effects from the drug itself? or withdrawal symptoms from the nicotine.

......

I did what most experts say is the most successful method - I quit for myself. I quit simply because I didn't want to be a smoker any more. I made my last pack last for 4 days. After the last cigarette from that last pack, I never touched another cigarette. That was in 1975, 44 years ago.

....... and as long as I didn't succumb in the first minute or so, I'd get distracted and the urge would pass. Once I figured out how that sequence worked, the rest was easy.

......

LOL I also thought I was healthier when I smoked. I never had a smokers cough - to this day I rarely catch a cold but when I do it's a dandy.

I tried a lot of things - in the end it was the patch that worked for me but it was over a long period of time. I went thru heavy withdrawal symptoms every time I dropped the dosage. I was petrified when I was down to my last patch - I wore that patch until it finally fell off in the shower. Must have taken a week - LOL but I drained every last vestige of nicotine from it.

 

[GotGarlic]

I guess they changed the way Chantix is taken.
When I was given the prescription it was a blister card with enough tablets to last exactly one month. Kinda like some antibiotics are packaged.
The first two weeks were .5 mg and the following two weeks were 1 mg. I don't remember if it was two a day or one.

But it was not prescribed like Addie is using hers. For me it was a one month thing and it was over. So were the cigarettes.
Seems counter productive to take something that has the side effects this drug has over long periods of time.
I mean a whole month of nightmares and an altered personality was almost more than I/wife could stand. But in the end it was almost the best thing I have ever done.

That's because Addie isn't following the directions.

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-144470/chantix-oral/details

Btw, Zofran is quite good at stopping nausea.

https://www.goodrx.com/nausea/drugs

 

[Linda0818]

Roll Bones - were they side effects from the drug itself? or withdrawal symptoms from the nicotine.

I don't know what Roll Bones' exact experience was, but I'll hazard a guess and say it was side effects from the drug, simply because I've heard and read of several people over the years who say that, while taking the Chantix, they had horrific nightmares.

LOL I also thought I was healthier when I smoked. I never had a smokers cough - to this day I rarely catch a cold but when I do it's a dandy.

I tried a lot of things - in the end it was the patch that worked for me but it was over a long period of time. I went thru heavy withdrawal symptoms every time I dropped the dosage. I was petrified when I was down to my last patch - I wore that patch until it finally fell off in the shower. Must have taken a week - LOL but I drained every last vestige of nicotine from it.

May I ask you a question? Did you do just the patch without smoking at all? Or did you gradually wean yourself off the cigarettes while using the patch at the same time?

 

[GotGarlic]

I don't know what Roll Bones' exact experience was, but I'll hazard a guess and say it was side effects from the drug, simply because I've heard and read of several people over the years who say that, while taking the Chantix, they had horrific nightmares.

Yes, those are known side effects. I'm sure it's difficult to go through that, but the consequences of smoking are even worse.

https://www.rxlist.com/chantix-side-effects-drug-center.htm#overview