Homely Scientist

As you all know I’m in the process of quitting smoking.  I say process on purpose because it isn’t an overnight thing.  Myself, I opted to use the patch, which gives my body the nicotine it craves through my skin.  I had a check up (more like check in for a refill) with my doctor today and he had some really interesting things to say about the patch.

While he thinks the patch is good for starters, there is a flaw in it.  The lowest dose available is 7 mg (miligrams).  I’m on the 14 mg right now (and will be for a couple more weeks I think).  My next step is the 7 and then … whoops nothing.  My doc said that I need to be ready to deal with the total absence of nicotine when I stop my 2 week stint on the 7s.  His suggestion to me was to try the gum as my last bit.

So the patch works to reduce the amount of nicotine I’m getting, but he really thinks that there should be smaller steps.  Because right now my body is getting used to 14 mg.  When I drop that by half, I’m going to have some adjusting to do.  Our figuring together was that there are manufacturing limitations in making lower dose patches, and it’s probably confusing (and maybe economically infeasible) to have more than a few steps in the process.

My doc (who is my age and we actually look a lot a like … well he’s 6 feet + tall and I’m far from that) has done his homework on this and is right up on the latest studies on how some people are more wired to become addicted than others (I’ve read those whose mother’s smoked when pregnant with them are in this group).

Bottom line.  It’s not an easy process for many, it’s going to take time and creativity.  My doc is glad, of course, that I am quitting.

Tags: smoking cessation, quit smoking, the patch

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