I Went to Urgent Care Today - Page 4

Allegheny · ‎03-19-2010

I congratulate you on your desire and motivation to quit smoking. Please don't even think that your attempt was a failure, view it as a start. I have heard that nicotine is as addictive to the body as heroin. Yes, there are some people who can quit at will, I have known several of them. They are few.

DH & I were both long time heavy smokers, and if you don't mind, I wish to share our experiences.

When we decided it was time to stop, we decided to give group hypnoses a try. I didn't have much confidence in it, but it did work. I think it worked because we both really wanted to quit. I remember getting into the car after our session, and we both took our remaining pack of cigarettes and threw them the trash can with no hesitation.

My husband has had no relapses. After about a year I felt I might relapse, so I started using a nicotine Inhaler. These are issued by prescription in varying dosages and helps the body wean itself off of nicotine and also is helpful dealing with the "something in mouth" issue many former smokers experience problem with. By managing the level of nicotine your body gets it helps prevent the withdrawal and anxiety the body goes through.

Most insurance companies no longer cover the cost of nicotine inhalers and they can be pricey, so a lot of individuals have turned to using a e-cigarette which also have different levels of nicotine.

These methods may be something you wish to discuss with your physician. Whether using a prescription controlled dose inhaler or an e-cigarette method, you still must be cautious as one can accidentally intake too much nicotine.

I am proud of you. Taking the first step is sometimes the hardest, but the most important.

brii · ‎06-20-2010

I suspect you have an underyling issue with anxiety. Abruptly quitting smoking is not the wisest move.

Until you take care of the anxiety issue, the smoking issue isn't going to resolve itself. You need to be under the care of a doctor.

kdgn · ‎03-09-2010

It's okay, Plaid Pants, it's okay.....

(((hugs)))

Suziepeach · ‎03-10-2010

@Moonchilde wrote:
I will be interested in what, if any, mood-elevator the doctor might prescribe. There are medications that are sometimes used for "anti-anxiety" that are actually traditional anti-depressants. These include both Buspar and Wellbutrin. But both take a while (anywhere from a week to a month) to build up in your bloodstream, which isn't going to be helpful for acute anxiety and withdrawal.

I would think that for acute anxiety like the OP is feeling right now, a short but immediate-acting medication like Ativan or Valium (as example) might help more in the short run. Maybe they will suggest both. Most doctors refuse to prescribe Valium now because of all the addiction hysteria, but it's no more addicting than the other drugs in its class.

@Moonchilde, the Wellbutrin helped me tremendously and that was the only thing I took. That was the very first suggestion came out my Doctor's mouth, it took a few days but by golly it helped and worked for me.

Go VOLS
Rocky Top you'll always be home sweet home to me.. Good ole Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee... Rocky Top Tennessee

MaggieMack · ‎10-01-2014

@Plaid Pants2, only a person who has never tried to quit smoking would chastise you for your relapse. It is a long and winding road this journey to becoming smoke free.

I can't even tell you how many times I tried to quit before I was successful. Ten or fifteen for sure. I remember one time I felt like my mind and body weren't connected, and I probably would have sold my soul for just one more cigarette that day. What finally worked for me was Nicorette gum, chewed a piece of that every time I wanted a cigarette. You do eventually have to wean yourself off that nicotine, too, but it is much easier than giving up both the behaviors associated with smoking and the drug at the same time. And it is much kinder to your lungs.

Good luck on your next attempt, just don't quit at quitting!

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. - Aesop

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@SuzieGarnet wrote:
@Moonchilde wrote:
I will be interested in what, if any, mood-elevator the doctor might prescribe. There are medications that are sometimes used for "anti-anxiety" that are actually traditional anti-depressants. These include both Buspar and Wellbutrin. But both take a while (anywhere from a week to a month) to build up in your bloodstream, which isn't going to be helpful for acute anxiety and withdrawal.

I would think that for acute anxiety like the OP is feeling right now, a short but immediate-acting medication like Ativan or Valium (as example) might help more in the short run. Maybe they will suggest both. Most doctors refuse to prescribe Valium now because of all the addiction hysteria, but it's no more addicting than the other drugs in its class.
@Moonchilde, the Wellbutrin helped me tremendously and that was the only thing I took. That was the very first suggestion came out my Doctor's mouth, it took a few days but by golly it helped and worked for me.

Glad to know it helped, @Suziepeach. I know it's trusted, and prescribed for a number of reasons. But as you say it took a few days, and the OP sounds in need of a quicker fix for the very short term.

I have taken both Buspar and Wellbutrin for situational (as opposed to chronic) depression and while the Wellbutrin helped me, kind of, I didn't like the "dosed/medicated" feeling I was aware of, while progressing through a work day where I had to be on my toes. I felt slightly high and slightly "underwater" and I ultimately stopped because of this. I told my doctor that for my body, at least, anti-depressants did not work as situational anti-anxiety help for me, although I did feel an anti-depressant effect.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

I'm confused. In yesterday's thread where it was Day 3 without a cigarette, you said you were going to see "your" doctor tomorrow, which would be today.

Today you went to urgent care and said you have a doctor appointment March 1.

What doctor were you going to see today?

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

@Plaid Pants2 wrote:
because I was having a really bad anxiety/panic attack, and I was looking for something, anything, to calm me down.

I mean, on a scale of 1 -10, my anxiety was a 10+.

I spoke with a doctor, and SHE said that they couldn't prescribe me anything for it, or prescribe anything like Chantix.

She also said that when I get established with a personal physician, that that doctor can work with me on quitting smoking.

She also said that while she doesn't want to discourage me from quitting, it's just that now might not be the right time for me to quit.

So, there you have it. I tried. No one can say that I didn't try.

It was four days of ....

Not everyone can do cold turkey, I can't.

So, I made an appointment to see a doctor on Tues Marc 1.

Maybe then I will finally be able to quit for good.

I hope so.

I am sorry to let you all down, and I know that you were pulling for me, but I just couldn't do it. It just got to be more than I could handle.

I doubt that anyone here feels you let them down. A person can do no more than give something their best try. As you read in many posts rooting you on, some needed some help in accomplishing there goal.

For me personally, "cold turkey" has been my routes to success. That includes: quiting eating/meat/fish fowl/smoking/drinking alcohol/gambling and Auto Racing. For me "tapering" or doing less did not and does not work.

Bank what you learned from this experience of trying you best to quit. Then when you feel ready once again to quit, those may help you to completely succeed.

I can tell you a very personal story that pertains to something I said in 1 of your other threads about you "having a bug". Unless you ask to hear/see it, I will leave it unsaid.

My best to you and DO NOT let this experience get you down,

hckynut(john)

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
I'm confused. In yesterday's thread where it was Day 3 without a cigarette, you said you were going to see "your" doctor tomorrow, which would be today.

Today you went to urgent care and said you have a doctor appointment March 1.

What doctor were you going to see today?

Perhaps she'd just made up her mind to see "a" doctor today if she didn't feel better. People who, for whatever reason (finances, changing jobs, insurance, etc) don't always have a PCP, end up in the ER (as the OP did) and/or at an Urgent Care because that's their only immediate option.

Personal example: I'm moving 350 miles within the next month. I will not have a PCP when I get there, and even if I picked one out of a hat and made an appt immediately, it might well take up to a month to see one. And I might not like them, so start over. During that time, I would not have. PCP.

I doubt the OP intended to mislead or defraud.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

hennypenny · ‎03-10-2010

mr henny and I tried several times to quit. What worked for us was hypnosis. We went to a group session. Neither of us had been hypnotised before. mr henny went as the driver and wasn't going to participate. He thought it was total hog wash.

When we got there he decided to try it. It was a crazy experience. I thought we had been there for about fifteen minutes, but it turns out it was almost two hours. We were at the end told to throw our cigarettes in the aisle and be done with them. We were.

I can't say it would work for everyone, but it did for us and for other friends that saw our sucess and went to the same man.

It wasn't cheap, but neither are cigarettes.

I didn't want to use one drug to get off another so it was perfect for me.

You will be successful, you just need to be ready.