Help For Your Addiction To Cigarettes
You can resolve your addiction to cigarettes and quit smoking and stay quit. Research shows
that you can increase the chances of quitting this time if you use a combination
of the techniques available. Dr. Darvin Hege can show you how to break the psychological and physical addiction to cigarettes! He can prescribe Chantix, buproprion (Zyban/Wellbutrin)
and/or other medications. These can be taken in combination with over-the-counter
medications for nicotine replacement treatments (nicotine patches, gum, inhaler,
nasal spray). Adding mental and/or psychological support such as
motivational therapy, cognitive therapy, and/or other individual intensive
therapy can further increase your chance of success. Smokeless tobacco (snuff,
chewing, dip, spit) has equal the addictive power, health risk, and withdrawal
problems of smoked tobacco. Success for quitting smokeless tobacco can be increased
with the same medications as smoked tobacco with some special considerations.
Dr. Hege's successful strategy on how to overcome addiction to cigarettes requires that your physical, as
well as psychological, withdrawal from nicotine be addressed. Physical
cravings can be reduced with "prescription only" (buproprion, Zyban, Wellbutrin) and/or other
brain chemical rebalancing agents. These prescription medications are
administered in addition to over-the-counter nicotine replacement medications.
Dr. Hege
can help the psychological symptoms with brief talk-therapy techniques of a
motivational nature and cognitive behavioral therapy. You are evaluated for
co-morbid conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADD, bipolar traits, PTSD, OCD,
and other disorders. If any of these are present and treated, it can reduce
withdrawal severity and increase the likelihood of success. If you have
particular psychological blocks that have caused you repeated failures to quit,
Dr. Hege works with a network of collaborating therapists in the community to whom you
can be referred to help resolve these blocks. They use more intensive, longer session
therapies and/or other special psychological technical skills.
Yes! Chantix has higher success rates of helping you to end your addiction to cigarettes then any other
medicines we have. The FDA has just approved it, and Chantix is widely available in pharmacies
now. It is a prescription pill that has three month abstinence rates of up to 50% (versus 30%
for Wellbutrin/Zyban) and one year abstinence rates are up to 23% (versus 14-16% for Wellbutrin).
The medicine requires a physician to prescribe it. The most
common side effect is nausea that can be minimized by taking the pill after
meals with a glass of water twice each day. You set a quit date for when you
plan to stop smoking cigarettes and start the Chantix one week before quitting
cigarettes.
As with all nicotine dependence treatment options, combining cognitive behavioral therapy
increases success rates. Dr. Hege has trained for Chantix usage with
complementary treatments by the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Depression: If you have depression, you have a
higher risk of relapse. If your depression is relieved, you have higher
likelihood of quitting smoking. Studies show patients with pre-existing depression have
higher rates of becoming addicted to nicotine in the beginning. Also patients
with a prior history of depression are more apt to have an onset of depression
when trying to stop smoking.
What can be done? Bupropion treats depression as well as
nicotine withdrawal symptoms. If you get side effects from bupropion or it does
not help, we have many other medicines that will help. As a psychiatrist, Dr.
Hege's background and experience with
choosing and using these options means he can quickly and accurately prescribe
the right medication for you.
Anxiety: 88% of all people have anxiety when they
withdraw from nicotine. If you have a pre-existing disorder (panic, GAD, social
anxiety, OCD, PTSD), you are at risk of worsening your anxiety disorder
during withdrawal. Special attention to medication adjustments, change, or
additional medication and psychological treatment can relieve this problem and
increase your chance of success.
Other psychiatric disorders: ADD and bipolar are
commonly accompanied by impulsiveness, anxiety, and moodiness. If these symptoms
are uncontrolled, they lower success rates for weathering nicotine withdrawal.
Maximum control of these symptoms with proper medication management can reduce the
anguish of cravings and increases the chances of success in quitting cigarettes
permanently.
Because Dr. Hege is a psychiatrist and an addictionist certified by each medical
specialty certifying organization, his skills with these situations can
contribute to your success.
Addiction to nicotine shares many characteristics with other
substance dependencies. Chronic use causes 1) Tolerance (the need for higher
doses and/or more frequent doses to get the same euphoric or stimulating
effects) and 2) withdrawal (unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms when
the substance is stopped or reduced in dose or frequency of doses). Skillful use
of medications for these unpleasant physical and psychological withdrawal
symptoms is the centerpiece of the addictionist's tools.
The accompanying habitual behaviors of nicotine dependence need
to be changed. "Taking a break", the hand to mouth motions, "dragging" on the
cigarette, and mental mechanisms of denial and rationalization regarding the
health risks ("I won't get cancer", "I will quit when my stress lets up") are
examples. Techniques to cope with these habits are within the realm of the addictionist's psychological skills.
Nicotine recovery may not be achieved if a co-existing substance
abuse disorder is present. Commonly, people with alcohol use or abuse relapse on
nicotine while under the influence of alcohol. Intoxication on other substances
such
as marijuana, narcotics, tranquilizers, cocaine, or hallucinogens lowers impulse
control and relapse on nicotine occurs. An addictionist addresses these other
addictive substance issues with you and can help your nicotine recovery.
Get help for your addiction to cigarettes --call Dr. Hege today for the
expertise and relief you need!
Self-Pay Patients--Mention this website for 10%
off your first visit!
Darvin Hege MD, PC
2150 Peachford Road, Suite P
Atlanta, GA 30338-6521
770-458-0007
Map and Directions To Dr. Darvin Hege
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