"to quit or not to quit" that is the question

Ok I have a wee problem. I am a smoker!!!!! I want to quit!!!!!!!
Problem is I'm already plus size and cant afford to gain anymore weight. I have been small my teenage and early 20's. I'm currently taking Paxil. Apparently, that's the reason for gaining all the weight. I have a hard time dealing with the weight issue. If I quit smoking I'm sure to gain more and this is very upsetting for me. My daughter is hounding me to quit and I really think I'm ready. I already set a date to quit and may talk to my doc about aides to help me. I really really dont want to gain. HELP ME. This may sound trivial but to ME It isn't.

"you only have one chance to make a first impression"

is paxil for anxiety or depression (sorry i can't remember)

i'm taking wellbutrin for depression, but the wellbutrin med (sorry i can't remember the name of that either) is the same thing they sell under a different name (sorry i can't remember that either) to help people quit smoking.

so maybe wellbutrin as something that might help with both? however wellbutrin can cause anxiety so if that is a problem for you maybe not a good idea. they gave it to me for my depression and to help improve my energy level because i had been sleeping all day. i don't have anxiety attacks but my general anxiety that goes along with my depression got a bit worse so the doc has me on celexa to counteract the wellbutrin.

don't know if it is appropriate or safe or an option in your case just something to ask the doc.

just don't take it to improve your memory though

setting an appt with your doc about this is probably the best thing you did, instead of trying just on your own or with over the counter stuff (he may recommend something over the counter but at least you'll know it is safe and a good idea for you)

good luck

-- The world is what we make of it --
-- Dave
-- <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.idexter.com>http://www.idexter.com</A>

thanks Dex
I take Paxil for anxiety and depression. Mostly for anxiety. And your right about the wellbutrin and zyban. They both have that drug ibupropion (something like that) to help with quitting smoking. I'm smoking as I type ironic or what. I'll have to ask if I can take the Zyban with the paxil. But that wasn't the problem. It's the weight. Ozzie quit and only gained 8lbs. But I'm bigger than Ozzie I assume since he/she can get into yoga positions. I haven't been in lotus since my 20's. lol he/she is right though about replacing one habit with another. Hopefully a positive one.

"you only have one chance to make a first impression"

Yep! What Dexter said!

I also heard something on the news a day or two ago about some med they have developed to keep a smoker that quits from gaining weight. Believe me, I know exactly what you mean! I've tried quitting several times and have yet to shed the weight I gained while trying. I gave up! I enjoy my "ciggy butts" too much.

Good luck!

<font color=blue>"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt" --Shakespeare</font color=blue>

It's funny you say that septembermorn cause I love to smoke. I like holding it, inhaling it everything about it. BUUUUUUUTTTTT I hate the smell and my daughter really wants me to quit. Also at 36 you start to think about your health. And I'm getting to that point. I will miss it. I set a reasonable date for Aug 2. I have a family reunion the week before. Its' a week long party. I'll be having a few drinks and seeing family and I'll need a cigg or two. I wish I could be like those people who leave the pack in the cabinate and only pull it out during a party. I envy those people. That is my goal first and then hopefully to quit totally. I'm a worrier though and when I worry I smoke. It calms me.
WHICH IS WORSE HAVING EXTRA WEIGHT OR CONTINUING TO SMOKE. WHERE IS THE DOC JOHN WHEN YOU NEED HIM.

"you only have one chance to make a first impression"

Willoughby,
I might be wrong, and if anyone knows different then please correct me, but supposedly most of the weight gain that comes from quitting smoking is due to increased eating. Some of it is because of the drop of metabolic rates but I really think that most of it is just because people who are quitting need to keep things in there mouth.
As far as metabolism goes Green Tea Extract, or Green Tea itself, helps speed up metabolism. Maybe you can give that a try.

Good luck,
Jessica

<font color=blue> You are in this snowglobe. It is encovered in glass and secure. But one day someone comes and shakes the globe and the pieces go flying everywhere. Now they will eventually settle but they won't be the way they were before and they can never be that way again. </font color=blue>

Thanks Jessica
I too heard of the green tea increasing metabolism. I will look into it.
Smoking has become socially unexceptable now. Where I live you cant smoke in restaurants, bars, any public place. Which is great for the non smoker. It makes it difficult for the smoker. Also 12 midnight tonight cigg are going to be 10.65 a pack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I smoke 3 packs a week. I'm not a big smoker but that adds up to a lot of money. If anybody else has info or suggestions I would more than appreciate them. This is a very difficult thing to do. I wish I never started. But oh how cool I looked when I was 13. Somebody should have kicked me in the A__ __

"you only have one chance to make a first impression"

I'm a smoker, and I know I'll have to quit at some point and that it will be hard. Like you, I love it.

Have you tried nico-gum or the patch? I've used those when I've been in the hospital. They're not exactly a miracle solution, but they're better than nothing.

cthonica

I can really understand where your comming from. I'm a smoker but I haven't gotten to that place yet where I want to quit. I can understand is a med. that causes you to gain weight. I was ALWAYS so so thin all my life. When I was about 28 My doc ptu me on Elavil. I started to gain weight for the first time in my life, without being preg. that is. I finally started to look healthy!! I was very exceited about it. Then, about 1and 1/2 years later I took a good look at myself in the mirror and was shocked. I was FAT!! Totally dumb founded me!! I was determined to get off the med. but had no idea how hard it would be until I tried working myself off of it. I guess my body forgot how to put its self to sleep!! It was weird. I'm now off but still take Benidril at night so I don't wake up over and over again. I had alot of sleepless nights before I decided to take the Benadril.

Being over weight or under weight can have the same effect on the brain. I couldn't gain all my life and then I went to the other side of the spectrum and couldn't loose it. I am now down to a normal weight, thank goodness, but I'm not sure what to tell you. There are so many different med.s out there that will work differently on the body and work differently from one person to the next. I would talk at length with your doc. and figure out a game plan the will suit you personally. Don't get me wrong tho. I am not saying to stop your med. the way I did. If you need it to function the way I did at first, DON'T stop. just talk with your doc. and see what he says and figure out what's best for you.

Good luck.

Love,
Wendy

Wellbutrin has been used to help people quit smoking. It is also perscribed for depression....and helps with weight loss!

So there's a couple of good suggestions here that I'd look into...

Talk to you doc about switching meds to something that will continue to help you with the anxiety and depression, but may also help you with the quitting smokling. Remember that not everyone reacts the same way to a medication, so what works for someone else may not work for you.

Quitting smoking is definitely one of the best things you can do for yourself and your body. If you're worried about weight gain, consider joining a support group/weight loss program like Weight Watchers or a gym that specializies in helping women become more fit (in my area we have a chain of workout places that cater only to women).

A support group (whether online or in real life) can also be helpful for more than just the weight loss too. You might consider helping yourself to one for the smoking as well. Studies have shown that in combination with one of the stop-quitting treatments (like the patch), a support group can double the chances you will stay a non-smoker.

Most of all, though, do it when you are ready. While it's fine to take an initiative to please others sometimes, this is something you have to be 100% behind and willing to do whatever it takes to make it stick. If you don't have that resolve to start with or are doing it for someone else, you're not as likely to be as successful as if you're doing it for yourself.

Good luick!!
DocJohn

Well you received your reply you requested from DocJohn... far be it from me to add to his words.

Just recently an acquaintance quit smoking (he's a fireman) and began using the patches, under doctor's care... well to make a very long story short, he ended up in the hospital going through withdrawal big time because the doctor didn't realize how much the guy had been smoking. I know you said you don't smoke that much... please be honest with your doctor about how much you do.

Also, unless someone else knows of research proving otherwise, just quitting doesn't cause weight gain. It's that you replace your hand and mouth movements of smoking with - yep you all know - eating!

So you might need to structure your eating habits into many small meals during the day or such.

Good wishes! I commend you for your efforts! It's one of the best things you can do for yourself, and others like me who are sooooo allergic!

<font color=blue> meditation is a true way to connect to the Source </font color=blue>

Can I add one more thing? Try to find something for your mouth and your hands to do. You could chew gum, and maybe take up a craft like knitting, or just carry around a worry stone that you can play with, or develop some finger exercises. When I was in about second grade I was taught some finger exercises to improve coordination (basically just touching each finger to the thumb, going back and forth) - you could try that. Originally I was supposed to do that because my handwriting was so bad - it was later discovered that my family has a minor form of muscular dystrophy. The finger exercises became a habit for me, and later when I learned sign language I started practicing finger spelling like all the time. I digress, but you get the idea - some people need something to do with their hands, and I think there may be a connection between that and a tendency to be more susceptible to addictions.

<font color=orange>There is an easy answer to your problem that is neat, plausible, and wrong.

</font color=orange>

that's an excellent idea. Have many small meals. That would probably help I'm sure!!! Thank you all. This was like a mini support group. I still am quitting but I'm sticking to my date. Aug 2/04. I know it seems so far away but I know myself, and I need to prepare. I have already started. I have eliminated my morning drive to work cig. I know I can do it. I just pray to god I dont gain to much weight. Thanks everyone including the Doc. I'll fill you in on how I'm doing.

"you only have one chance to make a first impression"