Guest guest Posted September 19, 2002 Report Share Posted September 19, 2002 Congratulations on quitting smoking, Kitty! Thanks very much for sharing your tips for success with the group. [ ] quitting smoking > I am smoke free for two years and a week now! What worked for me was taking > a flying leap of faith into the Lord's arms, using Zyban, and tons of > nicotine gum. I had tried to quit many times in my 14 years of smoking. > This finally worked! > Kitty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 Thats great Kitty!!!!!! I am finding out how hard and easy it can be. Also how gratifying that it is to do something good for myself. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the inspiration. Love and Hugs Stacey in PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 i just had a woman have success with tincture of lobelia i made for her. if you can get the person to try licorice, it's a much better alternative, and i agree, the taste of the root is NOTHING like the taste of the candy, which i also dislike. (i love the root though) if she goes with a lobelia tincture, make sure to take it really easy. with a good potency tincture, three drops under the tongue should be enough. lobelia is also called puke weed, for good reason. -katja At 12:48 PM 10/12/2004, you wrote: >I'm trying to help a friend quit smoking, and was wondering if anyone >might have some advice on any natural ways to help... Another friend >mentioned chewing licorice root (my smoker claims to hate licorice, >but I doubt she's had the real thing...we'll see), and I've seen a lot >on the web about lobelia. Has anyone had experience with a natural >approach to this problem? Any particular producers of extracts/etc >that are trustworthy? Maybe there are other dietary methods of easing >addiction? > >Any advice would be much appreciated! I'd love to get her off of >those nasty lozenges, which she's now as addicted to as cigarettes. > >Thanks, > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 At 04:48 PM 10/12/04 -0000, you wrote: > > >I'm trying to help a friend quit smoking, and was wondering if anyone >might have some advice on any natural ways to help... Another friend >mentioned chewing licorice root (my smoker claims to hate licorice, >but I doubt she's had the real thing...we'll see), and I've seen a lot >on the web about lobelia. Has anyone had experience with a natural >approach to this problem? Any particular producers of extracts/etc >that are trustworthy? Maybe there are other dietary methods of easing >addiction? > >Any advice would be much appreciated! I'd love to get her off of >those nasty lozenges, which she's now as addicted to as cigarettes. > >Thanks, > 1) If you hate the taste of licorice, you hate the taste of licorice, it doesn't matter what form it's in. I, also, hate the taste of licorice. 2) As far as lobelia, I heard as many cautions as recommendations about it (especially researching on the web). While I asked my ND about it and he gave me a " recommended dosage " , I never did it because I was just too nervous about it. 3) I would love to know the answer to that as well. Quitting is the easiest thing, done it dozens of times. Many years ago I used to try it with the patch, etc., and it never worked, the mental/emotional thing was too tough - it just dragged it out, I was constantly thinking about having a cigarette but still had that nicotine crutch. My most successful attempts were going cold turkey - spend a week or so prepping, making sure I had lots of " ready " snacks/food to get over the oral thing, and then locking myself in the house for three days with lots of books, magazines, movies, etc., then taking as much as a week before I trusted myself to do " all " the " normal " things - i.e. trying not to put myself in a position where it would be easy to bum a cigarette or go buy a pack. My most successful attempt was using the above method, and I made it for about three weeks (I had an external motivation at the time, also) without too much pain. Then I got pissed off one day and did the usual mistake of " one won't hurt me " . HAH! Nutritionally? I wish I knew. I've tried again, three or four times, after I switched to WAP/NT diet, and have failed miserably every time. The longest I made it was 52 hours. The last try I didn't even make it to 24 hours (and I still had an external motivation at the time). I'd love to know if there's any, oh, what do I call it? ... chemical? difference for that. I have a box of patches sitting on my table that I've almost worked up my courage to open. The other way hasn't worked, so ... *sigh* Yours in Curiousity, MF " DAMMIT I'm GOING to DO this!!! " Jewett MFJ Everything connects. The Universe is not THAT chaotic. Beauty can still be found in the most amazing places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 It's not natural but what's working for my husband right now is " the Canadian Plan " : Wear a patch and when you get a craving, take a piece of nicotine gum. It's working, he's been cig-free about two weeks with minimal pain to him or the rest of us, and he's slowly moving his dosages down. Usually when he quits I end up shoving a pack of cigarettes in his mouth and lighting it. SMOKE, SMOKE DAMMIT! No, not really. But usually it lasts less than a week and then he's crawling the walls. He's pretty calm this time and doing well. He was smoke-free for two years when our first was born and he did it then with heavy motivation (first baby) and the patch. But he insisted he could smoke a cigar twice a year--on New Years and his birthday. I said, oh good, then I can have champagne on New Years and my birthday! (We're both alcoholics.) He said, no that's different! I said, yeah, I probably COULD have champagne twice a year and not go back to drinking! Sure enough, the New Year's cigar turned into a box of cigars turned into a carton of cigarettes turned into 4 years of smoking again...and I'm not drinking champagne... Lynn S. ------ Lynn Siprelle * web developer, writer, mama, fiber junky http://www.siprelle.com * http://www.thenewhomemaker.com http://www.democracyfororegon.com * http://www.wisforwomen.com http://www.knitting911.net * http://www.tomformayor.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 a tincture seems like a nice idea.. i was worried that the little capsules wouldn't be so helpful because of the lack of immediacy. when i quit i found things like patches to be of very little use because you weren't doing something with your hands/mouth to deal RIGHT NOW DAMMIT with the problem. > > > >I'm trying to help a friend quit smoking, and was wondering if anyone > >might have some advice on any natural ways to help... Another friend > >mentioned chewing licorice root (my smoker claims to hate licorice, > >but I doubt she's had the real thing...we'll see), and I've seen a lot > >on the web about lobelia. Has anyone had experience with a natural > >approach to this problem? Any particular producers of extracts/etc > >that are trustworthy? Maybe there are other dietary methods of easing > >addiction? > > > >Any advice would be much appreciated! I'd love to get her off of > >those nasty lozenges, which she's now as addicted to as cigarettes. > > > >Thanks, > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 > when i quit i found things like patches to be of very little use > because you weren't doing something with your hands/mouth to deal > RIGHT NOW DAMMIT with the problem. I should also add that my husband eats a TON of very crisp celery. L ------ Lynn Siprelle * web developer, writer, mama, fiber junky http://www.siprelle.com * http://www.thenewhomemaker.com http://www.democracyfororegon.com * http://www.wisforwomen.com http://www.knitting911.net * http://www.tomformayor.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 > 1) If you hate the taste of licorice, you hate the taste of licorice, it > doesn't matter what form it's in. I, also, hate the taste of licorice. Sure, but I thought it might be worth a shot... for instance, I can't stand anise seeds, I don't mind fennel seeds, I hate licorice candy but I love (read: am becoming addicted to) chewing the root. Who knows what they make that candy from, but it sure doesn't taste a bit like the root to me. > 2) As far as lobelia, I heard as many cautions as recommendations about > it (especially researching on the web). While I asked my ND about it and > he gave me a " recommended dosage " , I never did it because I was just too > nervous about it. Yes, I've seen a lot of warnings about it too. I particularly like Katja's " puke weed " warning, haha. But I guess I'd rather she take organic lobelia tincture than smoke cigarettes and eat lozenges at the same time for, well, close to 2 years now. She's a medical student too, which certainly doesn't help.. but at least the surgery rotation isn't til Spring... > I'd > love to know if there's any, oh, what do I call it? ... chemical? > difference for that. > > I have a box of patches sitting on my table that I've almost worked up my > courage to open. The other way hasn't worked, so ... *sigh* There definitely seems to be something in one's biology that makes this easier or harder.. I quit with very little trouble almost two years ago, but then there was never a moment in my eight years of smoking that I didn't hate it. My body had a very low threshold for nicotine, so I never got much above 1/2 pack per day anyway. So I certainly count myself very lucky! Best of luck with your own attempts.. I doubt any smoker could do any one thing that would improve their health as much as quitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 i think that's why she liked it - it was right there in a dropper bottle in her purse, and still the oral thing. plus, it gave her similar mental effects as the nicotine. i have some still if you can't find any... At 01:41 PM 10/12/2004, you wrote: >a tincture seems like a nice idea.. i was worried that the little >capsules wouldn't be so helpful because of the lack of immediacy. >when i quit i found things like patches to be of very little use >because you weren't doing something with your hands/mouth to deal >RIGHT NOW DAMMIT with the problem. > > > > > > > > >I'm trying to help a friend quit smoking, and was wondering if anyone > > >might have some advice on any natural ways to help... Another friend > > >mentioned chewing licorice root (my smoker claims to hate licorice, > > >but I doubt she's had the real thing...we'll see), and I've seen a lot > > >on the web about lobelia. Has anyone had experience with a natural > > >approach to this problem? Any particular producers of extracts/etc > > >that are trustworthy? Maybe there are other dietary methods of easing > > >addiction? > > > > > >Any advice would be much appreciated! I'd love to get her off of > > >those nasty lozenges, which she's now as addicted to as cigarettes. > > > > > >Thanks, > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 At 02:19 PM 10/12/04 -0400, you wrote: > >i think that's why she liked it - it was right there in a dropper bottle in >her purse, and still the oral thing. plus, it gave her similar mental >effects as the nicotine. i have some still if you can't find any... > Details, Katja, please, on the tincture. How do I make it, dosage yada yada. On another note, I've been meaning for quite some time to go back and find something I put into a journal right after I blew that " most successful " attempt. I put it in there with the specific intent of being able to go back to it someday and REMEMBER ... what it felt like, etc. It's not a complete list of what I noticed at the time, but it was enough that supposedly I'd be able to use it for additional motivation. So now I've finally gone and done it, gone back (oh lordeeeeeeee, that was a long time ago!). FWIW ... " Things that I'd noticed in a happy fashion while I did not smoke ... this little setback has had its value, since it has simply reinforced those lessons. * Not coughing in the middle of the night ... and all morning. * My teeth don't itch. * No more raunch-mouth (no wonder people don't want to kiss smokers). * More energy in the morning - although a good part of that is probably attributable to the joy and yes, pride at no longer being enslaved. * Having the house smell like something pleasant. * Knowing I'll never have to clean nicotine stains off anything ever again. " I also said at the time that I was going to post something about addiction and the nature thereof, but I never did. Now I wish I had. At this particular point, with winter coming on, I have to say that the smell (no more opening of windows!) and the cleaning of nic stains (oh GORSH, LOOK at that lampshade!) are a major motivational factor. Well, okay, the coughing and the other stuff are kinda up there too. :-D MFJ Everything connects. The Universe is not THAT chaotic. Beauty can still be found in the most amazing places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 At 02:36 PM 10/12/2004, you wrote: > >i think that's why she liked it - it was right there in a dropper bottle in > >her purse, and still the oral thing. plus, it gave her similar mental > >effects as the nicotine. i have some still if you can't find any... > > > >Details, Katja, please, on the tincture. How do I make it, dosage yada >yada. making tinctures is easy: just take any jar, fill it 1/3 or so full of the herb in question (dried herbs) and fill the jar most of the way full with good brandy. leave a little head room, cap it, and shake regularly. wait 6-8 weeks and voila! tincture! which is why i mentioned that i have some. the US postal service is still faster than 6-8 weeks. then again, if you're making it for yourself to quit, you have 6-8 weeks to prepare yourself for the task. doseage is as little as you need to get by comfortably. laurie (my client) found that 2-3 drops under the tongue any time she felt a craving did the trick. you might need a little more - just experiment. the worst that can happen is ...puke! if you puke, that dose was too high. if you're dosing in drops, though, even if you're up to 5 or 10, you should be perfectly fine. if you need 5 or 10 to get you through, then as time goes by, consider reducing the number at intervals, whenever you think you're ready, till you get it down to 2-3. -katja Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Check out Emotional Freedom Technique. The founder, Craig, says all addictions are related to anxiety and you need to clear your anxieties or the addiction will come back, or you'll find a new one. www.emofree.com Direct link to a page listing articles on stopping smoking http://209.221.150.70/stop%2Dsmoking.htm EFT is very easy to learn and apply yourself Deb quitting smoking I'm trying to help a friend quit smoking, and was wondering if anyone might have some advice on any natural ways to help... Another friend mentioned chewing licorice root (my smoker claims to hate licorice, but I doubt she's had the real thing...we'll see), and I've seen a lot on the web about lobelia. Has anyone had experience with a natural approach to this problem? Any particular producers of extracts/etc that are trustworthy? Maybe there are other dietary methods of easing addiction? Any advice would be much appreciated! I'd love to get her off of those nasty lozenges, which she's now as addicted to as cigarettes. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 In a message dated 10/12/04 3:36:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time, deb@... quotes: I'm trying to help a friend quit smoking, and was wondering if anyone might have some advice on any natural ways to help... Another friend mentioned chewing licorice root (my smoker claims to hate licorice, but I doubt she's had the real thing...we'll see), and I've seen a lot on the web about lobelia. Has anyone had experience with a natural approach to this problem? Any particular producers of extracts/etc that are trustworthy? Maybe there are other dietary methods of easing addiction? ____ ~~~~> I've quit smoking several times, and I think this is all a bunch of hooie. The only thing that is necessary is the desire to quit smoking-- either the decision that you don't *like* smoking, or to be truly convinced that smoking is so bad for your health it isn't worth the pleasure of doing it. Conventional cigarettes do have major physical dependence and thus withdrawal symptoms, but, having been through them, I don't consider them a major barrier to quitting smoking and I don't believe that they are a significant barrier to other people. The main barrier is that most people smoke because they like it and derive pleasure from it, and quit not because they don't want to smoke, but because there is so much social pressure to do so. My mother has tried all sorts of alternative medicine quit-smoking aids including herbal supplements and acupuncture, and none of them do anything worth spending the money on, primarily because they aren't addressing the reason a person smokes in the first place-- they like it. It took me two times to quit smoking. The first time when I quit Marlboros I fell asleep in the middle of the day randomly, was irritable, had a numb tingly feeling in my muscles, etc. After all this passed, which was the easy part, I decided to start smoking again because I missed it. The only major obstacle I faced was the fact that I liked smoking and didn't want to stop, and only did so because I thought I " should. " I was successful the second time because I was more health-conscious and more convinced that I should stop, and more psychologically prepared to do so. In order to reduce physiological dependence, here's an easy trick: switch to American Spirits. My experience is that these air-cured additive-free smokes have little and almost no physiological dependence associated with them. Quitting AS is much easier with respect to physiological withdrawal than quitting a conventional cigarette. Dr. Mercola, rightly in my opinion, suggests quitting smoking as the LAST thing you do to improve your health. One reason would be that it's certainly not the most harmful thing most SADers do to their health, and, more importantly to Mercola I think, it's much easier to quit once you have quit sugar and refined foods. And, beyond that, quitting smoking could be a net health negative for many people who will binge on junk food to replace the smoking. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 The following site recommends some supplements to take when quitting cigarettes (GABA, Glutamine, zinc, B-complex, and AlkaSelzter Gold). It's about middle of the page. I found them extremely helpful - especially the AlkaSelzer Gold. I cut my smoking in half on them with no trouble but wasn't able to completely quit until I added the Commit smoking lozenges. I used them for a couple of months (they recommend 3 months) and then sailed off of them. I couldn't believe how easy it was when all my other attempts had been dismal failures. I also eat low carb - high fat. Sugar cravings were really bad when quitting. Patches caused heart palpatations for me and were just a horrid experience that left me stuck smoking but others have found them to work. I think you have to search and find what works for you. http://204.147.80.67/~brecovery/nicotine_addiction_relapse.html#anchor230734 quitting smoking I'm trying to help a friend quit smoking, and was wondering if anyone might have some advice on any natural ways to help... Another friend mentioned chewing licorice root (my smoker claims to hate licorice, but I doubt she's had the real thing...we'll see), and I've seen a lot on the web about lobelia. Has anyone had experience with a natural approach to this problem? Any particular producers of extracts/etc that are trustworthy? Maybe there are other dietary methods of easing addiction? Any advice would be much appreciated! I'd love to get her off of those nasty lozenges, which she's now as addicted to as cigarettes. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Chris- >I've quit smoking several times, and I think this is all a bunch of >hooie. The only thing that is necessary is the desire to quit smoking-- >either >the decision that you don't *like* smoking, or to be truly convinced that >smoking is so bad for your health it isn't worth the pleasure of doing it. Right, it couldn't possibly be that different people have different levels of physical addiction and thus have differing levels of difficulty quitting... </SARCOFF> - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 > Chris- > > >I've quit smoking several times, and I think this is all a bunch of > >hooie. The only thing that is necessary is the desire to quit smoking-- > >either > >the decision that you don't *like* smoking, or to be truly convinced that > >smoking is so bad for your health it isn't worth the pleasure of doing it. > > Right, it couldn't possibly be that different people have different levels > of physical addiction and thus have differing levels of difficulty > quitting... </SARCOFF> I did really well with nicotine gum, but I know it doesn't work for everyone. I found it very helpful to separate the chemical aspect from the habit/social aspect. I also made myself lists of the good things about not smoking and the bad things about smoking, and looked at them every day. One good thing about nicotine replacement is that you can experience many of the good things without the distraction of physical withdrawal. It wasn't that hard for me to cut back on nicotine once I was firmly settled into new habits. The hardest part was always resisting that ONE cigarette six months to a year later! Aven > > > > > - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 15, 2004 Report Share Posted October 15, 2004 At 12:51 PM 10/14/04 -0400, you wrote: >>I've quit smoking several times, and I think this is all a bunch of >>hooie. The only thing that is necessary is the desire to quit smoking-- >>either >>the decision that you don't *like* smoking, or to be truly convinced that >>smoking is so bad for your health it isn't worth the pleasure of doing it. > > >Right, it couldn't possibly be that different people have different levels >of physical addiction and thus have differing levels of difficulty >quitting... </SARCOFF> At the risk of supporting sarcasm ... </SARCOFF> One of the things that I found very frightening and very confusing is that before switching to a WAPF/NT diet, the physical addiction was not the biggie, it was the psychological aspects that caused the greatest difficulty. AFTER going WAPF/NT, the physical withdrawals were totally overwhelming, really really fast. There were no other different factors between attempts, just the diet. Hence my difficulty working myself up to trying again. The last time was REALLY painful. Why would that be? If I'm healthier in general, then why .... ??? (Yes, katja, there's another email coming to you.) MFJ Everything connects. The Universe is not THAT chaotic. Beauty can still be found in the most amazing places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2004 Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 In a message dated 10/14/04 12:54:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Idol@... writes: Right, it couldn't possibly be that different people have different levels of physical addiction and thus have differing levels of difficulty quitting... </SARCOFF> _____ ~~~~~> Yes, of course. Although I object to the description of the symptoms as " physical addiction. " It would be more precise and appropriate to label them " withdrawal symptoms " that result from abstaining from a substance on which one is " physically dependent. " Addiction does not have any precise meaning, or, rather, it has a few hundred precise meanings that are all different, but it can only be said to be qualitatively distinct from " tolerance " and " dependence " if it is given a semi-psychological definition, indicating that it is exerting a control of a person's behavior, with which I disagree. However, my physical withdrawal symptoms were very severe, and I made it through them fine, but gave in to the *desire* to smoke after the withdrawal symptoms had waned. So the variation of physical dependence isn't really at issue here, because I'm speaking of whether dependence or desire was more of an obstacle to me, rather than comparing my desire to someone else's, or my dependence to someone else's. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 , I do wish you luck in quitting smoking. I smoked for years myself and feel much better having quit quite a few years ago. I have to imagine with CMT and possible lung and breathing complications that smoking probably is even more harmful for us CMTers. ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.