Current and former Wellbutrin users.....Please check in!

[Scout1071]

I've been on for 10 days now. I'm waiting for it to start working it's magic. I've been fighting a sinus infection, so smoking has been very, very minimal. However, it seems that all of the sudden even if I want to smoke and try...I just lose interest and put it out after a puff or two.

Does it come on slowly like that?

I feel like I'm waiting for the mushrooms to kick in!

Mods - I'm not asking for any medical advice.

[RebelOne]

1. I took it and gave up on it. Didn't work for me. n/t

[xchrom]

2. yes -- it does work slowly.

which if you're hard core smoker like me -- is great.

i've had my best results using the patch and wellbutrin together.

can make you feel a little speedy.

[Maddy McCall]

3. Can also dangerously elevate your blood pressure.

:scared:

[trogdor]

11. I'll confirm that.

The jury is still out as to whether the stuff really worked. I think removal of the cause of my depression (my former career in the U.S. Army) helped more than the drugs.

The Army sucks. I'd rather work at Wal*Mart. Yes, it's that bad. Ever been to a PX? It's like a Wal*Mart, only smaller. Same MADE IN CHINA junk on the shelves, same patriotic-themed bullshit hanging from the ceiling, same shitty customer service (actually, it's worse, kinda like K-Mart). That and a flag and ribbon magnet festooned SUV (many of which also sport multiple Jesus fish) in every parking space. Imagine being at a Free Republic convention. That's what the Army is like. Now imagine doing that for 15 years full-time.

FWIW, the Reserves aren't anywhere near as bad, but thank God I'm retired.

[Scout1071]

12. Well in that case....welcome back to civilian life! nt.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

17. My dad and I came up with the idea

of making magnetic 'legs' that you could put on someones car who had a jesus fish

[Scout1071]

18. .

:rofl:

[LaraMN]

4. It did very little for me.

I just weaned myself off it last month. It didn't seem to have any effect on my smoking. I added the patch and quit, eventually, anyway. It didn't see to "level me out," either.

I noticed increased energy and libido, but that was about it.

[matcom]

5. question about the patch

do you smoke at all with it on or once you put it on are you going 'cold turkey' so to speak. does the patch make you not WANT to smoke?

[LaraMN]

7. You're not supposed to smoke with it on- you'll get too much nicotine.

I didn't think it really helped with the cravings a ton, but then, NOTHING ever made me want to NOT smoke; when I was wretchedly sick, I'd take the big leap and switch to menthols. :P I felt like the patch was more of a mental crutch for me than anything. I didn't sleep with it on (it gave me crazy nightmares) and on days I forgot to put a new one on in the morning, I often didn't notice any physical effects, or realize I had no patch on, for hours.

[Scout1071]

10. Do not smoke while wearing the patch - can cause a heart attack.

I've tried using the patch with moderate success. It helps take away the physical cravings, but did nothing for the mental aspect - which has been the hardest for me to overcome.

[xchrom]

31. the patch really works.

i'm a hard core smoker -- it's one of the few things that can get me from a to b.

and i use it if i'm going on long flights.

[japple]

32. You're not supposed to smoke while you're wearing a patch.

I used Nicoderm CQ and quit 4-1/2 years ago after smoking for about 30 years. After my mother died from cancer (she never smoked a cigarette in her life) and I witnessed the wretchedness that cancer can cause, I was pretty motivated. But I was greatly surprised and very pleased with how Nicoderm CQ worked. It was almost too easy and I don't crave cigarettes now. We took my niece out for a batchelorette party the weekend before her wedding and I smoked a whole pack of unfiltered Camels that night, but didn't crave one when I got up the next day. 'Course I was too hungover to remember.


I'm wondering, though, if the addiction to the other chemicals in cigarettes is worse than the addiction to nicotene. My brother, his wife, and their daughter, have all quit smoking using the patch, then started back, and back and forth several times. The only difference between them and me is that I smoked American Spirits or unfiltered Camels before I quit, and they smoke lights or "low tar" cigarettes. I've read that the burn-enhancers and other chemicals are really the most noxious substances.

[seaglass]

6. It didn't work for me at all but I only lasted 4 days on it because

it made me feel suicidal (which is a side effect in about 2% of the population) and I had to stop. I had a co-worker who had the same reaction as I did but another co-worker and my mom who both took it and it worked for them (though it's not a cure-all, you need to be really motivated because they both eventually went back to smoking).

Good luck, I hope it works for you.

[Scout1071]

9. I had bad experience with it when it first came on the market.

Severe depression, rage, anxiety attacks, etc. But, that was when it first came on the market and was only available in one dosage - which was obviously too high for me.

My doctor has convinced me now, almost 10 years later, to give it another go on a much, much lower dosage. It's been almost 2 wks and I'm having none of the side effects that I did on the first go round.

[seaglass]

29. That's about how long ago I tried it. I'm not sure if I have the

mindset to try to quit smoking again yet, but if I do I'll keep the dosage change in mind. I tried hypnotism and the patch, neither of which worked.

My hairdresser told me she quit 2 years ago by walking, she just started walking and was up to 10 miles per day. She would still smoke one cig a day until she finally weaned herself completely off.

[AlCzervik]

8. i hated it, it made my mouth feel like cotton and it made me light headed

on the plus side i lost 10 pounds in 5 days. Bad stuff for me at least.

[politicat]

13. That's how it worked for me.

When I tried to smoke, it felt like I'd already had too many cigarettes and this one wasn't doing any good.

It's working, so don't stop quitting now!

[Scout1071]

14. Yea! If I try to smoke, I take a few puffs and don't want it anymore.

It's working and I'm getting excited to be a non-smoker.

Thanks for checking in with your experience!

[mdmc]

15. wellbutrin doesn't mix well with herb

what are you smokin?

I used to take this med, but didn't like it...

[Scout1071]

16. I've heard mixed reviews on that front.

But in general, herb doesn't mix that well with anti-depressants.

Then again, I've talked with some people that had no problems.

Guess everyone reacts differently.

[mdmc]

21. pamalor, paxil, and zanex seem to work ok with herb...

[Misunderestimator]

19. I finally quit after many attempts over the years with wellbutrin and...

going cold turkey. I didn't use it the way it was meant to be used, to wean myself off cigarettes. Instead I began taking it and immediately stopped smoking. I have no idea if it helped or not, as I had also just read a book that I think helped even more ("Easyway to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr). I quit Wellbutrin six weeks after I started it... and I had a major panic attack right after quitting, since I didn't know I should have weaned myself off that stuff. (Make sure you wean yourself off of it instead of stopping abruptly, that was NOT fun at all.)

I had quit many, many times using different nicotine replacements, patch, gum, inhalors. The patch was weird for me and irritated my skin, the inhalors suck, and all the gum did was make me addicted to it instead of cigarettes. All of them in the end just made it easier to start smoking again as if I never stopped. Getting the nicotine OUT of your system is the only way to really get rid of the addiction. I've been smoke free for eight months now, and I rarely even have mental cravings... I definitely have no physical ones.

Best part is that I don't cough anymore and I feel great.

Good luck!

[Scout1071]

20. Thanks for the encouragement.

I've tried several different ways in the past, but this time is different. I'm totally convinced I'm going to do it.

And my doc wants me to stay on Wellbutrin for 4 months to make sure I really kick it.

Good luck to you as well!




:hi:

[tishaLA]

22. I thought it was magic!

Well, sorta. They gave it to me when I was hospitalized about 3 1/2 years ago because I had developed viral onset congestive heart failure and they thought they'd need to do a heart transplant very soon. So in addition to the oxygen I was on, the bad food, the lasix, the constant care from nurses, and over two weeks in the CCU, it wasn't that hard to stop.

Good luck to you.

[Scout1071]

23. Being hospitalized with congestive heart failure is a good way to quit.

Hope you are better now!

:hi:

[Deja Q]

24. Former - it caused some problems.

:cry:

Of course, physical evidence suggested a chiropractor caused the problem, but it could go either way - trying it again might be conclusive.

[Oeditpus Rex]

25. Tried it twice

Once for depression, once to quit smoking.

It worked on the depression all right. Made it worse. :evilfrown:

I did have less desire to smoke, but it wasn't worth the trade.

[davsand]

26. It helped me quit.

I will admit, however, that it raised my blood pressure and I went off it very shortly after I quit smoking. It DID help me a lot with the emotional cravings.

If anything, I'd say it makes it almost TOO easy to quit. It allowed me to forget WHY I can never have another smoke again--EVER. About 10 months after I quit, I had a period of heavy stress, and I started back up again. I now, have to quit again.

Had i gone cold turkey the misery of quitting might have loomed larger in my mind and maybe i might have held off smoking again--I dunno. Seems silly to blame a drug for my own lack of willpower, I guess.

I'll maybe use it again for about a month or so--but I do not plan to stay on it for long. I don't like how it numbs me to everything. I LIKE my emotions.



Laura

[Scout1071]

27. I haven't noticed any emotional change.

I was a little more "smiley" the first few days, but that's about it.

I'm watching carefully. And I've asked my friends and family to let me know if they see behavioral change.

[no name no slogan]

28. Was on for a month. Got sicker.

I went off Paxil and onto Wellbutrin. Not only did it curb my smoking appetite, but it made me overly sensitive to many smells. My ex-wife heated up some leftover stir-fry, and the smell made me physically ill. I went off that and onto Effexor, which I took for eight years until last spring, when I went on Cymbalta.

Most psychotropic meds take 2-4 weeks to kick in, so give it some time.

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. It didn't really help me much

Committ lozenges were great!