I normally wouldn't bash a branded product right here on my blog, but I have to warn all Aussies trying to quit smoking using the patch that I can. I don't know... I guess I feel that it's my duty and I wouldn't want to meet anyone trying to quit smoking using these patches either.
The first time I quit smoking I used the Nicabate CQ Patches. It honestly helped lots! It killed off most of the withdrawal symptoms and cravings. So obviously, this time, I decided to try the same thing again. (Just hope I have more willpower afterwards this time.) But, I made the mistake of buying the $14 cheaper QuitX patches this time. Oh boy, I'm frugal!
Anyway the first thing you notice about these, are that they are like a funny round band-aid (sticky around the edges with the "stuff" in the middle and made out of similar material) instead of the squarish, sturdy, plasticky Nicabate patches. I figured if they were $20 a box they had to work similarly right?
Sometimes it would pay for me to be a bit cynical towards these things because 7 days of these patches = a week of hell. The first thing I noticed was that they didn't stick well. And I'll tell ya what, the last thing you want on your 2nd day of trying to quit is to wake up with the stupid patch nowhere to be found. Also, I don't know if this was the brand or bad luck or what, but the fun and interesting lucid dreams I had last time I was on a 24 hour patch (half the reason i use the 24 hour one) were mostly nightmares about really weird snakes and spiders and some pretty creepy stuff. The main problem with these was... They just don't kill the cravings as well!
Nowhere near as well. I spent a lot of last week sitting and crying, unable to concentrate and sleeping. I even ended up at the doctor because I had been so upset, my blood sugar wouldn't behave and I ended up with ketones day after day. Also, the stupid things gave me a huge blister on one of my arms. I used the Nicabate plan all the way thru last time and the worst thing that happened was they left some sticky stuff on me. Annoying, but way better than falling off.
So, yesterday I was smart and when I had to get new ones, got Nicabate again this time. I hardly believe how different they are. The headaches that were driving me to tears are gone, I can sort of concentrate, I have very few cravings and feel 100x better than before. Also I dreamt I was at a party with some friends, but I smoked in the dream. At least I got my fix somewhere right? That's happened a couple of times, but somehow I wake up feeling like I've smoked? Anyway, i noticed the difference within a few hours of changing brands. Nobody should be allowed to market something as a "similar product" if it is that crappy in comparison to what it's imitating.
Man, I don't believe I can spend so much text writing about how crappy something is compared to how awesome something is, but cool... I hope I at least got the point across! Really though, if you're serious about quitting and a heavy smoker, just go ahead and get the good brand if you intend to use the patch. If you're in the US they're likely still less costly than your smoking budget. In Australia, they are less than half per week. Don't get conned into thinking you're getting a bargain by buying a drastically inferior product. And if you too are trying to quit, I wholeheartedly wish you the best of luck.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
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1 comment:
wow, i didn't know there were types of patches! i don't think you can get them where i live tho...
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