Being Addicted to nrt gum...

[TwiceOver]

On Friday night we had our company Christmas party. Unlike previous years we had to cut back a bit and had have the party is a cheaper location. The "room" wasn't completely private and there was a lot of noise from the bar and such while our owner gave the speech. Our owner has been "quit" for several years (10+). I went to the coat closet to get my camera out of my coat and he came rushing in mumbling "damn drunks" and grabbing his pack of Nicorette out of his coat. He was literally shaking like I had seen myself in the past when I really "needed" a smoke. He has been hooked all this time...

My mom also suffers from the same addiction to nicotine gum. She actually pays more for the gum than per pack of smokes. Arguably it is a better solution, but still can lead to serious health problems.

Just a word of caution to those thinking of using the gum. I'm sure it has worked great for some in the past, but it can become just as addictive.

[soul]

I know countless people addicted to the gum or to the lozanges. That is one of the reasons i went cold turkey!

[April]

I think they forgot to read the directions on the box. Yuk they just replaced the way they get their nicotine. But I guess their lungs are much happier without the smoke

[WantToBeFree]

I know someone at work that quit three years ago, but still uses NRT gum.

And as for following directions, I used Nicorette for six years while "trying" to quit.

[katiem]

Hi Twice.....

Here is an article about some of the adverse effects of Nicotine gum, (there are more—but this gives you an idea)

http://whyquit.com/pr/120108.html

You friend being THAT addicted for that long does not surprise me in the least. I will come clean here right now and say that while it is true, I have not had a single solitary puff of anything in 6 plus years---I chewed that nicotine gum for a long, long time. Thinking what the heck—it is far, Far, FAR and away better than smoking (in some respects it might be)....but that gum is sooooooooooooooo highly addictive! PLUS it IS a scam. Those nicotine gum factories BANK on folks becoming addicted and becoming regular customers. NOT to give anyone any ideas, but if you google "discount nicotine gum" you can shop around for the best price. NOT under "nicorette" but under names like habitrol and nicotrol. ALSO at Walgreens there is the "Walgreens" brand and at Walmart there is the "Equate" brand—both significantly less than Nicorette. I am afraid to say, I am familiar with them all. Online one can buy it in bulk and save a ton. I personally would shop around online and buy it--many boxes of it at a time...if I ran out before my next supply came in I would go to either Walgreens or Walmart and get a single box of their cheaper brands to hold me over until my stash came in.

Originally I thought the gum tasted like cr@p, but I did not care, I am a nicotine addict....and then...they came out with the mint flavors and then COATED mint flavors...well...I thought I had died and gone to heaven. So, I chewed and chewed for a long, long time, thinking this is great, my lungs are thanking me and it works great as an appetite suppressant....until I developed elevated blood pressure—pre-hypertention bordering on hypertension. Now—I have always had VERY low blood pressure, so that shocked me. I then looked into and found out that nicotine gum use can cause that. But I was not ready to quit yet....I used every excuse in the book to stay chewing that stuff. And surely MY REASONS were my life is far more stressful than most everyone else's....(I was sounding and acting exactly as I was when I was smoking cigarettes)....and here I was proclaiming how proud I was of my quit to all I could, while in the meantime, completely addicted to nicotine in the form of the gum. Now that I have quit using it, my blood pressure has continued to go down until now, consistantly it is back to normal, back to what it was before I chewed the gum. (who knows what else I was doing to my body chewing that stuff...I know it wreaks havoc on your cardiovascular system among other things—and who KNOWS what kind of cancers it may cause—nicotine IS poisonous—and I kinda wanna stick around for a long time, God-willing.

It is humbling to share this with you all....but I know that one of the things about addiction is...if we keep it secret, it is much easier to go back and do it again, and I am not wanting to do that NO WAY!!!! And I have had much stress in my life, especially lately with trying to take care of my family and the job market and economy-- as addicts we COULD all use the excuse to "try" and quit--- "it costs too much money" (even the discounted nic-gum) but in reality RARELY is money the motivation to stop "using" behavior—we just make cuts ELSEWHERE and spend the money anyway.....And over time, I have become more frustrated and discouraged that I was still chewing the gum. I was a closet nicotine gum user...which is VERY EASY to do! My kids knew it though—and would pester me about how expensive it is—"you could be spending that money on something else" (oh you know—stuff they wanted)....and I would tell them...HEY!!!! At least I am not smoking cigarettes....I am happy to say that my kids were entirely happy to know that I have quit...and this time I AM FOR REAL very proud to say...I am completely clean from nicotine for five months....and honestly at first it was not easy, because you can "use it" anywhere, anytime...but it did not take long, really...and I do not miss it in now in the least. (WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY THAT WAS!!! Good Lord—however, time to look forward and not back). Oh and I forgot to mention I did quit the gum for around 4 and a half months...a few years ago...And then I found a pack of it in one of my camera bag pockets—and I was off and running again...(brother)...THAT is how addictive the stuff can be.

I am sharing this with you all right now because I really wish I would have read something like this way back when—as I was trying to quit smoking and thought the NRT gum might be a good idea as a way to do it.....(I am not saying it can't be) but I have to wonder if I would not have taken better care to follow those directions carefully on the package. And today, knowing what I know about the gum...I would NEVER, EVER recommend it's use it as a quit-smoking aid. No way. I am sure it has worked for some as it is prescribed to do...but not MANY and certainly not me....

Sooooooo glad to be truly clean...and thanks for listening....and I hope someday it might help even one person. And SURELY I will understand if you guys think my posting here is inappropriate now....but I am hoping not....I do care about you all so very much and you all helped me soooooo much in quitting smoking cigarettes!!!

I hope you have a lovely day....

xoxoxo

katiem

6y 10m quit 5m nic-free....

[lolopixie]

Wow, I really didn't think that people became addicted to the gum and other aids. This being my second quit, I have used the patch both times and was able to come off of it fairly easily. I knew that if I went straight cold turkey the first day I would never be able to make it. We are all nicotine addicts, and eventually in order to truly be free we have to quit whatever aid we are using to get over it (of course meaning aids that include nicotine). I think that the aids are a great thing to use, just as long as you either follow directions or take yourself off them before the directions say to. After reading Katie's story, I bet I do know people that are addicted to the aids and are just closeted about it - crazy!

Katie - I'm glad you were finally able to kick your demon. Good job!

[Mountaingirl]

Wow Katie-Thank you for sharing that amazing story. I am sure that you are not alone and your story will be eye opening to many readers here.

[katiem]

Thanks lolo....! It does feel really good to be free from it, yes. And I very much do NOT want to take away from what NRT CAN do to help a person quit smoking...The NRT's have helped a TON of people, as has chantix/champix and good ole cold turkey. Which to be honest, I would likely do cold turkey if I had to do it all over again..or if I used NRT...the patch and follow the timeframe off use on the box carefully....that is just me, though. I am quite certain there are people that have used the nic-gum successfully in the amount of time suggested, or less....but I am also quite sure that just as many likely have not.....it is THOSE ones and the ones that are lurking here, considering using NRT, in particular the nicotine gum that I want to well....warn.

Tim, it does not surprise me at all that you used both the gum and still smoked—I can totally see how folks do that. I did not, but if I were still smoking and had already tried the gum BEFORE...I am quite sure I would have done it too....you smoke when you can and then BECAUSE so many places are smokefree now, you use the gum when you cannot smoke--makes PERFECT sense to me and another reason why I think that gum is so insidious....

and THANK YOU AGAIN....Twice for this thread...

[WantToBeFree]

Tim, it does not surprise me at all that you used both the gum and still smoked—I can totally see how folks do that. I did not, but if I were still smoking and had already tried the gum BEFORE...I am quite sure I would have done it too....you smoke when you can and then BECAUSE so many places are smokefree now, you use the gum when you cannot smoke--makes PERFECT sense to me and another reason why I think that gum is so insidious....

That's why I destroyed the gum I had at the same time I destroyed the cigarettes. After six years, it was pretty obvious that the gum was not helping me quit completely. It may have helped me reduce my cigarette consumption, but really it was just a trade-off; if I didn't use the gum my consumption would go right back up.

[soul]

Katie,
Thank you for your honesty. It is indeed by telling our stories that we continue to change and heal. I have to be honest and say that whenever i meet people who are on the gum or on the lozanges and who tell me that they have quit smoking, i do see them as "cheaters". All i see is tht they replaced one form of intake with another. Almost as if an alcoholic told me that he quit drinking --beer-- by drinking wine.
One of my friends was with me for Christmas, i knew she has been addicted to the lozanges for TEN years!!!!! and at one point, she took two sheets of those lozanges, punched them out of that sheet, like you would punch out some pills, and put them in her pocket! I could not believe what i was seeing. I tried to bring that topic up later in the evening and she mentioned she was doing so much better, and had not had "one" in an hour and a half!!!!........
I felt so bad for her. I wish i could do something to help her. SHe has countless medical problems, blood pressure, low immune system, unexplainable rashes on her body, eosophageal narrowing and on and on ............
I am glad Katie that you are off that stuff, so glad.
Thanks again for sharing.

[lolopixie]

I just got done reading the link you put up katie and wow that is quite an eye opener. I had no idea that there were no studies about this stuff. What in the world?!?!?!!?!? Makes me ashamed to have grown up where I did. Winston-Salem, NC. AKA RJR Corporate. Take a look at the address on Camels, Winstons, Salems, (clever in the naming aren't they???), Kool, Dorals, Eclipse, Pall Malls...and one other brand I can never remember the name of....anyways, it will list Winston Salem, NC on there. Being the 2nd largest tobacco company in the world, I am pretty sure there are quite a few people in Winston-Salem that are getting some kick backs from these aids. Tisk Tisk. Another fun fact about Winston-Salem, NC is that it has the most millionaires per capita in the US (per capita not the most) all attributed to RJR money.

But yes, after reading that information about people losing their hair and their blood pressue sky rocketing, I am shocked that there have not been studies conducted. That is just crazy to me. I don't know how big business is allowed to get away with what they get away with. At least we now know that smoking is bad for us. I know it wasn't always like that, and for MANY they found out too late. But if you smoke today you are well aware of the side effects. I'm going to have to check my patch box when I get home to see if it has any warnings listed on it....will report back later!

[April]

Wow!!!! It is one thing to be on a quit smoking board and chewing away on nicotine gum for years, but it is another when you get on people for relapsing, and telling them how it is done when you didn't know yourself I really don't get it.

If there are others out there that are still addicted to smoking and or nicotine, when it comes to giving advice please leave that to the ones that are free from the addiction totally.

I have no problem with people using an nrt, and I understand (some) people don't give up the nrt in the recommended time. but to tell others how it is done when they have not done it themselves is a bit ridiculous.

[slocum]

Wow, a paradox Katiem...smokeless but not really free for almost 6 and a half years! Congratulations on your 5 months! Thank you for sharing your experience.

The freedom comes from letting go of the nicotine and whyquit.com has expressed this several times that when we use the word "cigarette" we need to replace it with the word "nicotine".

[katiem]

I know it April....

I do not know what to tell you! I am sorry...NRT IS a different animal than smoking...but in a way the same. But I would justify it in my mind that it was okay....with things like..."well, others here are smoking pot—on-going, so that can be a replacement too" and other things as well...NOT right of me to think that way, but I did over the years do just that....AND would try and quit here and there (the nic-gum).

But I bought into that it wasn't REALLY smoking so...

I am sorry if this does cause anyone any grief...but I felt compelled to speak out about it this one time BECAUSE it truly can, and I think does...but more importantly for folks lurking and not yet quit MIGHT happen to them. Otherwise, I really could have just kept my mouth shut...

At any rate...if most of you all feel strongly that I should step away...PM me and let me know...or you can tell me here, that is fine too...

best wishes and KTQ

katiem

[WantToBeFree]

Personally, I think it took a lot of courage to make that admission, and I am proud of you for doing so, katiem. From what I have seen on this board, no one changes their quit date to the date they stop using NRT, Zyban or Chantix, so I don't think you should have to either.