Using Zyban to quit smoking...

[Harry Redknapp]

Hi,
A search of this forum revealed no reults for either Zyban, or its chemical name of Bupropion, so forgive me if I'm going over old ground here.
Has anyone ever used this "Qui smoking" drug before, and did they have any success, or information to pass on?
I have visited a few websites, but all they do is spit forth marketing propoganda stating how wonderfully it works and how there are no side effects.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for some independent advice? How does this shit work anyway?
Many thanks for any help...

 

[Grignard]

Hmmm, well you may want to start here. Just start clicking around on some of the links and hopefully you'll find the information you need, though I must warn you just about all the information is in the form of journal abstracts and so some of the language may be a bit obtuse at times, but you should be able to get the gist of what the articles are saying.
Also, while I have never personally tried Zyban/Wellbutrin from various reports from friends, family members, etc.. it actually works extremely well in reducing desire for cigarettes/nicotine. Though unfortunately, some side effects that have been reported are insomnia, decreased appetite, and the occasional psychosis, which really isn't that surprising considering Bupropion is pretty much just meth with a few functional groups crammed onto to it to reduce it's activity.

 

[morfiendx]

I don't know if this will help you any.. but I figure I'll tell you anyways. I was on Wellbutrin for a few months.. 300mg a day or something. I think Zyban is just a lower dose, something like 50 - 100 mg a day. I'm a non-smoker, but every once in awhile I would smoke a cigarette. Now, normally, being a nonsmoker I would get a tiny buzz or lightheadedness or whatever you want to call it. But being on wellbutrin really intensified this to the point of being really dizzy and feeling really goofy.. It made smoking almost unpleasent.

 

[*TripleX*]

My roomate is on his second try with Zyban. It's not that the first try didn't work, but his script ran out and he started smoking again just outta habit rather than the need. So now he is on it again and I think it really works. When he quit, he was a total bitch but he has definitely mellowed out. He even had a smoke with me one night alst week and he couldn't even finish it because "it tasted so bad". Soooo, I am convinced that it pretty much does what it claims to. However, even though it definitely helps to take the cravings away and negatively rewards a person who cheats while on it, I still think that the biggest part of it's success is the mental aspect and the individual's willingness to not smoke.
Summation: When I quit, I would consider taking this drug.

 

[ChillsH2o]

If you want to get put on Zyban to quit smoking, tell your doctor you're depressed, etc. to try to get Wellbutrin, because although it is chemically the same thing, insurance will cover Wellbutrin, but not Zyban...

 

[Harry Redknapp]

Thanks for all the info - asking for wellbutrin would be kind of irrelevant for me as I am in the UK, and our healthcare system is different here.

 

[Roches]

wellbutrin is probably one of the more insane drugs i've ever heard of.
wellbutrin is very closely related to the amphetamines -- although, of course, it's legal, so it's a "dopamine reuptake antagonist" and not a "evil Nazi stimulant life-destroying substance".
as an antidepressant i believe the logic behind wellbutrin is at least somewhat sound, but i think the concept of it being used as a smoking cessation aid is somewhat... questionable.
the idea that dopamine is responsible for addiction is fairly well-documented, but it's almost definitely not the *whole* cause of addiction. i think Zyban probably works mostly by willpower and placebo effect, with maybe enough ability to help *some* people stop smoking to make it marketable.
personally, i think nicotine replacement would probably be more effective -- though i've tried neither.
it's really just that bupropion is such an incredibly *wack* substance to be sold as a prescription drug.
anyway, the stuff people are saying about Wellbutrin vs. Zyban is valid, though you may have a hard time actually getting Wellbutrin if you say you're depressed. you're far more likely to get your doctor's pet SSRI at first.

 

[Grignard]

Originally posted by Roches:
personally, i think nicotine replacement would probably be more effective -- though i've tried neither.
Hmmm, surprisingly enough I've run across some research a while back that states that even though nicotine replacement therapy should work marvelously well, in a large number of cases it fails to cause cessation of smoking. The research further states that this may be related to the belief that one of the several hundred compounds found in tobacco acts as a weak MAO-B inhibitor, and as such when nicotine is given without this agent it in essence doesn't have the same oomph as it were. It's been awhile since I've looked over this stuff, so I'll try to go find it again sometime soon and post some references, but unfortunately in the meantime the following condition holds true;
if(Grignard != Completed program)
{
Grignard = type code furiously;
}
else
{
cout << references;
}

 

[fairnymph]

This type of question belongs in the Health forum. Could a mod or admin please transfer it?
I have known a handful of smokers who have used bupropion as an antidepressant or specifically to aid in smoking cessation, and in both cases it has been extremely effective. The smokers reported that they "just didn't crave cigarettes" as they once did. I highly recommend it for this purpose.

 

[Snowman Insight]

anyway, the stuff people are saying about Wellbutrin vs. Zyban is valid, though you may have a hard time actually getting Wellbutrin if you say you're depressed. you're far more likely to get your doctor's pet SSRI at first.
Ask for it by name. It's not even a controlled substance.

 

[kristofire]

try your best to quit cold turkey. i did. i havent had a smoke in since tuesday. i have been smoking for 5 years on and off. in those 5 years i have quit once a year for 3 months at a time. well, the last 2 years has been hard to quit.
the other day i woke up and said " im tired of smoking" havent had a cig since. this was tuesday morning. today is sunday. i have been smoke free for 5 days now. im proud of myself. now if i just could get off this methadone i would be a happy camper. im going to start detoxing this week.
good luck buddy. just give it up and find things to do with your time. whenever you wanna a smoke, do something else. take your dog for a walk. anything is better than lighting it up.

 

[Zu]

I used Zyban to help me stop smoking. I had been smoking for 16 years and didn't really want to quit but couldn't justify paying $13 a pack.
I found Zyban to be very effective and haven't had a smoke for over seven months. Although I do still occasionally want one I find that it's quite easy to distract myself and that the cravings disappear fairly quickly.
I was lucky in that I didn't have any really negative side effects but I have heard that it can exacerbate depression in some people.