Uh-oh. I've known for a long time that something was missing in my brain. My neurons are mis-firing and my synapsis are not synapsising anymore. Something is amiss..... [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 9/8/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 240 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 12,044 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1920 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 25 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 10 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9

Mercy, Sorry to hear about your bout with depression. Please do take the time to consult your doctor. He/she is the best authority to assist you. Together you'll be able to decide whether or not to continue with St. Johns or to try something else. To my knowledge, dependency has not been noted in those taking bupropion. With regards to the way it works, it is not yet fully understood. We do know, as BFS mentionned, that it changes your brain chemistry resulting in a decreased urge to smoke. At your appointment you can also speak to your doctor about potential side effects and the duration of your treatment. Hope this helps. Danielle _____________________ The SSC Support Team

Mercy, I'm not saying that you're wrong and that I'm right... in fact, I believe that it takes all sides, and I'm glad you posted what you did. As for the 2 out of 10 that seem to not want or like to smoke, I think that relates to the "genetic defect" that Ros talks about... they can either take it or leave it and don't get addicted because they have a genetic defect. As for the Wellbutrin, I'm not totally sure. When I was put on it shortly after I quit, my doctor told me that it doesn't produce anything... it just opens the receptors and helps the brain produce dopamine naturally. I don't know though for sure. It would be interesting to find out. Thanks for posting and I hope I didn't offend you by posting what I did. Crave the Quit! [IMG]http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c177/kissnflirt/littlebutterfly2.gif[/IMG] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/17/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 688 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 17,218 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2841.44 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 49 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 36 [B]Seconds:[/B] 3

oops, I am so sorry. I in no way wanted to discourage anyone. I am not a doctor or medical professional. I read that info years ago during one of my quits. I was so desperate to try and understand why I was so addicted. At that time I was still a closet smoker and couldn't believe the lenghts I was going through to smoke. It sure seemed it would have been much easier to quit.....yet I couldn't. It may very well be old research. The other topics I posted I copied pasted from the websites. This post I was drawing from memory what I had read. I believe it was around the time Zyban was gaining popularity. Question Butterflyswimmwer: If you use wellbutrin.... will your brain depend on that to produce the dopamine? I am trying St Johns Wort...but I can't get enough days behind me using it as it makes me sick to my stomach. I feel ashamed to say that my depression is getting pretty bad. I feel scared about it and don't know what to do. I have never had depresson before and am afraid of getting addicted to the anti-depressants and am afriad of the side effects. Mercy [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/21/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 105 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,112 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $469.35 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 13 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 42 [B]Seconds:[/B] 19

I have a suspicion that both sides are true. The part about the dopamine I have read a lot about and it does seem to be true. It's also part of what makes Chantix work. However, I would not be surprised to learn that there may be genetic markers that make some people less likely to fall into the addiction trap. That is no excuse not to quit or to give up trying. It is just a possible explanation of why some people may never take to smoking or alcohol and others struggle to control/stop it! It is all fascinating to me. And I'm sure we don't hear half of the research because most of it is probably done by the tobacco companies and they don't want us to know! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/29/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 38 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 463 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $155.04 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 41 [B]Seconds:[/B] 19

LOL With the natural ebb and flow of things in this world, it's interesting to find the things (situations and people) that don't change with time... The constants are indeed interesting. Healer [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/5/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 427 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 14,964 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1985.55 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 55 [B]Hrs:[/B] 21 [B]Mins:[/B] 54 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18

The more I think about this, the more I have to respectfully disagree. I'm not meaning to belittle you or anything, but the research I've done on this says differently. So, I just want to put both viewpoints out there and let people decide for themselves. The research I have read indicates that nicotine produces a chemical so similar to dopamine (a chemical that the brain naturally produces that keeps us from being depressed) that when we first start smoking, we are bombarding the dopamine centers in the brain. So, as a defense, the brain stops making dopamine on its own. That's why when we first start smoking, we are lightheaded. But after smoking for a while, we don't get that "lightheaded" sensation anymore. And when we continue to smoke, we are getting SO much dopamine in our brains that our brain's second line of defense is to shut off some of the dopamine centers in the brain, so that essentially, our brains completely stop producing dopamine and have fewer receptive centers for it because we're getting so much dopamine from smoking. So when we quit smoking, most people experience depression. Well duh! Dopamine is a chemical that keeps us from getting depressed. Wellbutrin and Zyban help the brain start making dopamine on its own again and over time, the dopamine receptive centers open back up again and the brain starts making dopamine normally again, and the depression goes away. For more on this, you can read Shevie's Rewards, Nicotine and the Brain in the General Forum. I'll bump it. My fear is that if newer quitters think that from birth, they are missing a chemical in the brain, then they will NEVER be normal again without smoking. That's not true. Our brains WILL start producing dopamine again on their own, but it takes time. As for the daredevils, they aren't missing anything either... they just enjoy the "adrenaline high" or "adrenaline rush" that they get when they do those stunts. In a way, I guess they are addicted to adrenaline, but any one of us would get the same high if we were to do those stunts as well... but for most of us, our fear is greater than the desire for adrenaline. Does that make sense? Mercy, I'm not trying to undermine you here... again, I just don't want newer quitters to think that they are

This is very interesting. It reminds me of Ros' [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?topic=18336&forum=1]The "Social Smoker" - what we need to know[/url] which says that social smokers have a genetic defect, which allows them to break down the nicotine at a slower rate. I don't know if this would be related to what you're saying, which is that we are missing a chemical which allows us to get addicted. I don't know. Personally, I wasn't "hooked" right away. It took about 4 years of smoking and then quitting with very little trouble and then starting smoking again before I was really hooked. It was a "take it or leave it" kinda thing and the only reason I smoked at all was because others did and I wanted to be "cool." But when others weren't smoking, I had no problems not smoking too. But, I didn't understand addiction at all, so when I was 21, I started smoking again (after quitting for about 10 months with no problems whatsoever) and then when I tried to quit later that year, I had all sorts of problems... and that was when I realized I was addicted. So I'm not sure about this. I'd love more information about it though. Crave the Quit! Pam [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 6/17/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 688 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 17,210 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2841.44 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 49 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 10

Mercy Alot of what you say I believe as well...Keeping the mind on the plus side of the ledger is a full time job for me...But it is absolutely necessary if we are to stop this addictive behavior pattern... stay well and strong nonic [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 12/25/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 132 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,175 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $924 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 24 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 1 [B]Seconds:[/B] 34

Thank you Mercy, That's good stuff. There's a natural consistancy to the idea of it. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/15/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 52 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,046 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $218.4 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 32 [B]Seconds:[/B] 49