Re: just lonely & smoking
From: karen kaplan (kkaplan@eclipse.net)
Tue Mar 7 17:18:51 2000
Karla: I did get your first email about smoking. I understand there is an Indian
reservation very near to Syracuse where you can buy cigs without the tax. The
other smokers in my office building share their sources now that New York is
up to $4.40/pack+
Nicotine is a great drug - it calms you when you are tense and energizes you
when you feel slow. (I used to work for Philip Morris and RJR Nabisco)
Have you tried the patch? It's now cheaper than a pack of cigs in New york.
(CVS drugstores have a private label brand) Works really well, except I am perverse
about smoking. It relates to depression and death wish, but it is also linked
to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Welbutrin is an antidepressant, similar to
Zyban, that works on the dopamine neurotransmitters. I found Welbutrin really
helped and wish I could get back to full dosage for a few months, but the insomnia
and constipation are not needed right now.
I researched this after years of struggling with depression and trying Prozac
and others, but they weren't working. On the basis that both my parents had
Parkinson's disease, which relates to a dopamine deficiency, I thought welbutrin
might help. I took it for six months Jan-July, 1999 and it worked great! Even
when I was told I had cancer, I still wasn't depressed. It was the benzodiazepines
that the sadist gave me that brought the depression back a few weeks afer the
surgery.
I've been taking one Welbutrin per day since Dec and it helped me cut back my
smoking, but i still struggle with depression. 6 months at 2/day is what I
need - I almost took #2 today to try it, but decided I better wait until i can
take it with prune juice!
Look on the bright side: smokers have a greatly reduced risk of Parkinson's
disease and Alzheimer's disease. Of course, they also have a greatly reduced
risk of endometrial cancer, which didn't help me one bit. Smoking lowers your
estrogen level & it triggers hot flashes, so shame on me for starting again
after the surgery.
Am writing this from work - can access my email on the internet and it's tme
to get back to work.
Best,
Karen
>I'm sorry, Karen, meant to include you in my last post along w/Toni. The
>more lonely & depressed I get, the more I smoke. I had a psychiatrist tell
>me not even to try to quit at this stage in my life, what with all the othjer
>problems & such. But it's getting VERY expensive to smoke. Think8ing of
>quitting again, but is it worth it? I do feel calmer after/during a smoke.
>Blessed Be. Karla B.
>