Posts Tagged ‘health and beauty’
Nicotine replacement therapy, will it work for me?
The whole idea behind nicotine replacement therapy is that it gives your body a small amount of nicotine to help curb the cravings. This small amount helps to keep the withdrawals to a minimum. Keep in mind though that nicotine replacement therapy will cause you to go through withdrawals twice. First when you quit smoking then when you stop the therapy. You do not need to see a doctor to get this form of therapy.
Many people can find this very difficult, especially the second time around as that old familiar edgy feeling comes back and you basically have to go through a milder form of withdrawals for the next three days. People aren’t really prepared for that second wave of withdrawal and often have a hard time letting go of the nicotine replacement therapy. Those that can, have made a very important step to becoming smoke free and changing their lifestyle.
Nicotine replacement therapy comes in many varieties; the patch is the most common. Usually you will start with a higher dose and steadily decrease the dose over a 6 to 12 week period. Please note that the amount of nicotine delivered over th 24 hours often exceeds what the body can handle and can produce side affects.
The feeling of nausea and breaking out in a cold sweat is one of the side effects associated with using the patch. Often, this is an indication that the dose of the patch you are wearing is too high for your system and you can either try a lower dose patch the next day or it might be wise if you to look into a different form of nicotine replacement therapy. Although many people have used this with great success, everybody’s body chemistry is different and yours may not be adapted to this form of nicotine replacement therapy.
Now there are several forms of nicotine replacement therapy, and things have come a long way from simply just being a patch. There’s nicotine gum, that I must say has improved in flavor immensely, long gone is that pepper taste it is left lingering in your mouth. Today comes in several fruit flavors that you can actually chew without feeling like you’re going to throw up. You set your own dosing schedule, which is based on your own withdrawal symptoms.
Another therapy option is the nicotine lozenge, which you can find in a number of flavors. It delivers a low dose of nicotine to your system as it slowly dissolves in your mouth. You are in control of the dosage which you can adjust according to your withdrawals. Normally you can allow 2 to 4 hours in between tablets. You will experience some type of secondary withdrawal symptoms when you wean yourself off of them, but it’s worth it when you know that in the end you can be smoke free.
Another method of nicotine replacement therapy is the nicotine inhaler. It is a good method for anyone who needs to have something in their hand, a common problem among smokers. The inhaler sends a low dose of nicotine to your system which helps deter the cravings. I do not have first hand experience with the inhaler, but I have heard from several people who have been successful with it.
The majority of nicotine replacement therapy options is available without prescription nowadays and can easily be picked up at your corner drugstore or supermarket. The advantage would be, not having to have the added expense of going to the doctor, but you still have to expect to pay quite a bit even over the counter. And many of the products have an online support system available along with several forums, in which you can receive support from other people who are also using the product and trying to quit.
The side effects of nicotine replacement therapy can vary from insomnia to headache to nausea, diarrhea, or constipation. Some of these side effects can be temporary, but if they are too much for you, you should consider lowering your dosage or changing to another form of nicotine replacement therapy. You might also want to try a non-nicotine based medication.
Popularity: 21% [?]
Things to do when you are sick of smoking
If you have reached the point that you are desperately looking for help to quit smoking, the simplest advice would be to just quit. However, things are not as simple as that. It is easier said than done. And, this advice can come only from non-smokers or who have never successfully quit themselves.
So here is my advice – from a smoker of twenty years and a non-smoker of ten.
It doesn’t matter if you want to quit because you have smoker’s cough; a serious health scare; desire a better environment for your children; or just want to quit for yourself because you know it is the right thing to do – the absolute first thing you must realize is that the desire to quit alone is not strong enough for most people – 97% in fact. I know you are desperate. I know you want to quit right now and at this moment, and I feel your pain. But I beg of you, don’t do it!
The first step you need to take is to try and remove all emotion from the process. You should treat this clinically. Just as a doctor would look at the problem objectively, diagnose it and treat it accordingly without bringing in any emotion, you need to create a distance between your self and your habit. Your anger or desperation will not see you through the quitting process.
You may want to quit because you have smoker’s cough; a serious health scare; desire a better environment for your children; or just want to quit for yourself because you know it is the right thing to do. Look at your reasons and write down all the emotions and reasons you want to quit. These reasons will help you on your journey to becoming a non-smoker.
Use your reasons instead to help you on your journey to becoming a non-smoker; your emotions will only keep you wound up.
Note your reasons for quitting and then strengthen them with information. Search the internet for as much useful information as you can find. The more you know about the task at hand, the less hold the nicotine monster will have over you. Information will prepare you for all the hurdles on the way so that you are strong enough to face them and overcome them.
And, for heaven’s sake, don’t stop here. Once you have got the program, please use it!
Buying a program and then leaving it in the package will do nothing other than keep you smoking because you have a stop smoking kit available that you will ‘get to someday’. Someday is too late. Get the information you need – order a program – and use it. You’ll be glad you did.
You’ll be glad you did because it is the first step that is the most difficult. Once, you have taken the first step you will sail through the rest of the process.
Happy journey,
Darren Warmuth
Popularity: 18% [?]
Chantix, is it really a magic pill?
Chantix has been found to be one medication that has finally helped people to quit smoking when others have failed. Working like a nicotine blocker in the brain, it attaches itself to the nicotine receptors and blocks its absorption. And because there are fewer feel good receptors that the nicotine can freely attach itself to, it lessens the desire you have for a cigarette.
Using this method has helped many people quit without difficulty. Not only that, it has helped a lot of them quit without severe withdrawal symptoms. Even long term, multiple pack a day smokers have found themselves to be successful. One thing you need to do however, is first check to see if your insurance company will cover the cost as many nowadays are reluctant to pay for smoking cessation products.
Over a period of two weeks you are prescribed starter pack that will build up the medication levels in your system. Since Chantix is not nicotine based, it is not necessary for you to quit before taking it.
With this in mind, it is important that you pick a day to quit somewhere towards the end of the two weeks, however there have been some who actually extend this up to three weeks, which allows the medication in their system to build up even further.
Several side effects to Chantix have been recorded. Naturally they vary from person to person, but are normally short-lived. These effects can be anything from headaches, excessive gas, nausea or in some notable cases, extremely vivid dreams.
The support with Chantix is also quite good with a free online system that begins even before you start to take your medication. This includes daily e-mails updates and stop smoking projects designed to help keep your efforts going in the right direction.
Chantix is not for everybody and although it is a very promising medication, some people have more of the psychological addiction to nicotine, than a physical one. In the latter case Chantix could work very well and does offer some behavioral support. However if you have more of the psychological addiction to nicotine Chantax may not be the right medication for you and your doctor may recommend a different medication better suited to your needs.
Whatever you do, do not think that Chantix, or any other stop smoking aid for that matter, is the magic pill that is going to make you quit. Only medications used with a strond desire to quit have a chance of being successful. The medications, Chantix included, are only there to give us an edge in quitting, not do it for us.
Popularity: 20% [?]