bab Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 So, the title says most of it. My Dad has smoked for 40 years and just got a prescription for Chantix. I'm very excited that he is actually taking this seriously and want to be as helpful as possible. I want to be supportive and helpful. One idea I had was to call daily (we live far away from each other) to see how he was handling it. Then I started thinking that this might be focusing on smoking to much, making him think about it more, and possibly make him want to smoke more. Hmmm.... For those of you that have quit smoking, what type of support did you appreciate, and do you think it would be good for me to call, or just a reminder that he can't have a cig? Link to post Share on other sites
magichands Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Well... I would get in his face about it. I know you can't do that literally, but remember all the times your parents clamped down on you. Time to get your own back. Link to post Share on other sites
Author bab Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 Well... I would get in his face about it. I know you can't do that literally, but remember all the times your parents clamped down on you. Time to get your own back. Good point. Maybe I'll ground him for every cig after the 8th day. Apparently you get one week to keep smoking with this medicine before you have a quit day. Link to post Share on other sites
blind_otter Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 I really like it when people tell me that they are proud of me, or they say "WOW, good JOB." I guess positive affirmations would be good. Keep calling him and reminding him of how proud you are and how great you think he is for taking such a big step. Link to post Share on other sites
Craig Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Bab from what I've read Chantix is a pretty cool new drug and should provide him with a lot of what he needs to quit and stay quit. He could slip occasionally and take a puff or even resume smoking and maybe it's important to be ready emotionally for that. Smoking is an addiction and part of the addiction recovery process for many addicts involves the slip back into use of their drug of choice. Even if he fails it is not the end of the world because he can combine Chantix with Zyban and if my memory serves me correctly expect significantly better results. Significantly in this case translates into ten or fifteen percent more of the people studied were able to quit when using Chantix and Zyban concurrently vs the Chantix alone group. I don't know what would work for your dad in terms of support but if he has any love what-so-ever for you and other family members or even a hobby a reminder that quitting smoking will allow him to enjoy those things longer could help. There's a reason he's quitting smoking now after forty years and it isn't his health alone it's for someone or something other than himself. If you can figure out what that is maybe you can give him even stronger support. And if the Chantix and Zyban don't work then there are in-patient treatments that range in price from just under a thousand dollars to just under five thousand dollars for a five to ten day treatment programs. One of the best I've heard about and cheapest too is the Schick-Shadel Hospital program. It's aversion therapy and they claim a 93% success rate after just one week of treatment. Good luck to you and your father. Link to post Share on other sites
Author bab Posted January 12, 2007 Author Share Posted January 12, 2007 I don't know what would work for your dad in terms of support but if he has any love what-so-ever for you and other family members or even a hobby a reminder that quitting smoking will allow him to enjoy those things longer could help. There's a reason he's quitting smoking now after forty years and it isn't his health alone it's for someone or something other than himself. If you can figure out what that is maybe you can give him even stronger support. Well, he spent Christmas with my sister and her two boys, so it could be the grandkids. I think my oldest nephew (who is all of 3 years old) kept telling him that he smelled funny. The other thing could be money and the ever rising cost of a pack of smokes. He's somewhat of a miser. Anyway, I will try and call him at least every other day to see how he is doing. Thanks for all the advice. Link to post Share on other sites
magichands Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 I think my oldest nephew (who is all of 3 years old) kept telling him that he smelled funny. Haha. I love kids! Well, other people's kids, to be more specific. Link to post Share on other sites
Craig Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Well, he spent Christmas with my sister and her two boys, so it could be the grandkids. I think my oldest nephew (who is all of 3 years old) kept telling him that he smelled funny. The other thing could be money and the ever rising cost of a pack of smokes. He's somewhat of a miser. Grandkids and money sound like strong motivating factors... Link to post Share on other sites
littlekitty Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 I really like it when people tell me that they are proud of me, or they say "WOW, good JOB." I guess positive affirmations would be good. Keep calling him and reminding him of how proud you are and how great you think he is for taking such a big step. I agree with BO. As someone became a non smoker 9 days ago (I'm using patches), the most helpful thing for me is positive affirmation. Link to post Share on other sites
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