Zyban Zee Zmoke from Ya Layfe Bu-Wa-Ha-Haa (Zyban)

Name: Fishbulb

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Product:	Zyban
Date:	01/05/03 (1638 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Convenient, Not NRT - immediate benefits from quitting, Apparantly it makes for better orgasms (I know that this is nothing to do with not-smoking, but never-the-less an advantage ;o) )

Disadvantages: Not suitable for everyone, Have had bad press, Can potentially be lethal where as other smoking cessations aren't!

(You have to say the title in an Eastern European accent otherwise it doesn't work - think the Count from Seseme Street!) Hmmm? actually reading it aloud now goes to show that not only am I terrible at accents in real life I can't even write them down properly LOL

Nicotine administered through a cigarette reaches your brain in 7 seconds, that's less time than if you were taking drugs intravenously - scary thought huh?

I'm a non-smoker. (and feeling happy because of it) I actually thought it would never happen. I've tried everything - the gum; the inhalators; the patches; the Alan Carr book (not to be take orally!! ;o)) and nothing had worked. After a quick visit to my local nurse (and a lot of research I ended up with this medication)


It's a fairly unique product for stopping smoking. For a start, it's not available over the counter only on prescription. And it's not NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) there is no nicotine in it. Originally it was used in the USA as an anti-depressant (under the name of Wellbutrin-SR / bupropion) trials of users found that smokers taking the drug lost the desire to smoke and stopped. Which is why it's marketed today as Zyban as an aid to giving up smoking.


Now, I do hope that I can make this clear without rambling, but the best way to explain how this drug works is to compare it to the other methods of quitting.

When you use NRT you quit then start the treatment. During the course you lower your nicotine input gradually. For example, if you were using patches, you would perhaps use patches with a strength of 15mg for the first 8 weeks then 4 weeks using the patches with 10mg then 4 weeks using the patches with 5mg. The point of this method (and any NRT) is to provide your body with the nicotine it desires so you can concentrate on breaking the physical habit of lighting up and to limit withdrawal symptoms. By using NRT rather than just smo
ki
ng less gradually means that although you're getting nicotine you're not getting any of the other harmful things you'd get from cigarettes. Like benzine, carbon-monoxide, cyanide etc.


Zyban is completely different to this. You start taking it just over a week before you actually give up. This gives your body a chance to start absorbing it so it starts working. For the first 6 days you take one tablet a day with a glass of water after that you progress to two tablets daily. Zyban works by inhibiting the neuronal uptake of norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. In layman's terms, you smoke a cigarette; you get the horrid taste, the horrid smell, everything but the fun bit - no 'hit' from the nicotine. It takes away the enjoyment and highlights the worst things about it - the things you forget when you're a smoker! I'd actually liken it to viewing smoking through the eyes of a child instead of the eyes of a smoker. A very strange experience all things said. When you taste a cigarette and remember that's what they tasted like when you started smoking you really do wonder how you could have been so foolish as to start! I also found that with this drug the cravings/desires for a cigarette were significantly fewer and further between than when I gave up by other methods.


A standard course of these tablets will be 7 - 9 weeks. This will more than likely be given to you in two sets of 60 tablets. Your doctor can take you off of the course if you are taking the medication and have not given up. Also by splitting the prescription, you get to have an update with your doctor/nurse and chat about your progress.


I really like Zyban and it's working amazingly well for me. For me this was the right choice of aid. However, although I make it sound like some sort of miracle drug let me alert you to some of the downsides. As with every silver-lining....


When I first star
ted taking my course of treatment I happened to fall ill at the same time. I was coughing, vomiting and then developed a cold. I found I was feeling nauseous all the time. I felt seasick! Now I cannot say for certain that this was either the drugs or the fact that I was ill, but I felt dizzy for several days. I couldn't stomach any food at all and I certainly couldn't safely drive or even go to the gym. Of course, as with most drugs, taking them on an empty stomach was never the smartest of things to do but there is no warning of this in the enclosed leaflet. I felt distant and a little ditzy. Now joking aside I felt like a dumbass for a while?yes, more so than usual. (This particular side effect is one of the more rare ones it's called Depersonalisation. It can be associated with or lead to drug-induced hallucinations. Seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting things that aren't there) Thankfully for me, it wasn't that extreme. If any of you remember the episode of the Simpsons that was based on the X-Files, you may remember Mr Burns behaving quite strangely after his longevity treatments. That was me for about a week!

The other side effect I suffered from was insomnia. For about two weeks I got little more than 2/3 hours a night sleep. When I did sleep my dreams were so vivid they'd wake me up. This however has stopped.

You have to take your tablets at least 8 hours apart and if possible not too close to bedtime (assuming that you want sleep) this means getting up early and remembering that you have to take your pills. I find that if I leave mine by the kettle there's no chance of me forgetting them. If you do forget your first-thing dose, my recommendation as a user of these is to take your tablet as soon as you remember and omit the second tablet of the day. Remember from the beginning, this drug is going to be in your system constantly throughout the course of your programme so it won't do you any harm at
all missing a single dose. It's particularly important that if you miss your dose you don't take a double dose. This is more likely to bring on a seizure because of the nature of the drug.


There is a programme called 'Right Time' which is basically a website designed for users of this product to track their progress and to learn and understand what's happening to them while giving up. There's also a helpline 1pm - 9pm every day to aid you with your giving up questions and questions about the drug. I personally haven't found either of these services especially helpful. The website is OK, there is an online diary available so you can keep track of if you've taken your pills or not but that's the most helpful thing there.


As with every drug, there's a bundle of possible side effects and lists of reasons you shouldn't take the drug. I know it's a bit dull if I list them all so I'll leave you a URL at the end so you can look directly at the literature produced by GlaxoWellcome (the producing company) this also alleviates any discrepancies I may make in repeating the information. (And saves my fingers from the extra typing!)


I've been lucky as Zyban's worked for me however it doesn't work for everyone. It isn't suitable for all and sundry and some individuals may be more tolerant of its effects than others. As it's only available on prescription you'll need to speak with your GP before taking the drug anyway, but please be sure to do your own research before visiting your GP on the different methods of smoking cessation aids. You may find that there's another more preferable or suitable method for yourself.


http://search.gsk.com/cgi-bin/RS.cgi There's a whole library of information here about Zyban/Wellbutrin/Bupropion. Take a look, do a little research and see what you thin
k. You may find out from this site that you&
#39;re not a suitable candidate for the drug, but if you think you are and want to give up smoking then I'd urge you to have a chat with your nurse. Make sure you say you're booking an appointment to talk about quitting smoking, as the appointments are slightly longer as there's lots of information to be got! What you mustn't forget though at the end of it all you must want to stop smoking. You must understand that it may be difficult and you must have reasons to stop and goals you wish to achieve.

More information on quitting smoking (and support) can also be found at the following websites. Congratulations on even contemplating giving up. It's hard, but it's well worth it.
This isn't a miracle cure, you really have to want to give up to make any method work, I hope that if you do try this it's as helpful to you as it is to me. I wish you all the luck in the world in your quit!

www.quitnet.org/
www.givingupsmoking.co.uk
http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/intro.htm
http://www.quitting-smoking.net/

(The price is the price it has cost me for two prescriptions for the course of tablets)

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