Champix - anyone tried it?

pink4eva6

SMK wrote: »

If you have a card for the Drug Payment Scheme then it's €100 a month, if you don't I believe it's about €125 a month. Either way, don't forget to claim tax relief on the cost of the prescription in your Med1 form

Hey, if you have a medical card, you can get them prescribed from your doctor and the medical card covers it. I lost my job recently and just got my medical card so am using it to its full potential! Started on Champix today and I am amazed at how little I am craving a fag..i think im just smoking it out of habit at the moment!!

Going to get myself in tip top shape while im off work, give up smoking, get my eyes tested, get my teeth done...all on the medical card! Wuhoo!

Hope this works, cant stand smoking anymore, cant afford them either to be honest!

Mrsbananas

I'm on day 9 of the champix course and I must say I have found them brilliant.

I was smoking 30 a day, first day on them I dropped to 10 by day 4 I was on 8 and have not smoked since. I just stopped wanting them and didn't want to keep smoking just because I wasn't at my quit date which should have been day 11. It hasn't been easy, I did crave them during the week and there were times I thought I might crumble but will power got me through.
I've only had one mental dream, no other side effects as yet, ok some things taste funny but I'm gussing that's my taste buds returning.

For those trying to give up- Best of Luck
For those who have- Well done.

b28

I felt suicidal on it!

b28

jackncoke wrote: »

Im off the cigs a year in a few weeks time,all thanks to Champix :D
Ive saved a small fortune..

I'm really envious of you right now!:mad:

Tip

Can I join in - on Champix just my 2nd day. I really need support to kick this smoking. I have serious health problems and smoking is not a choice I can have anymore. Last time I gave up cigs I found it sooooooooo hard and ending up putting on about 3 stone in one yr. I am even now thinking of going to a hypnotist as well as Champix . Would I be mad to do this ??? I cannot return to dr in 2 wks without being off cigs.:eek:

SMK

Hi Tip,

Best of luck with Champix - it worked for me and I'm off the cigarettes just over two years now. I started a diet the same day I gave up the cigarettes and lost two stone. Just try your best to relax and let the Champix do it's job! Even with Champix you will still get cravings but they will be much easier to handle. Try and distract yourself if you get a craving or drink a glass of cold water. And when you do stop smoking, keep telling yourself you don't want to have to start at Day 1 again!!

And maybe get a tracker like the one below! At the start it helped me seeing the days, then weeks, then months add up!!

I have not smoked in..........

Two years, three weeks, three days, 14 hours, 53 minutes and 8 seconds. 18890 cigarettes not smoked, saving €6,658.90. Life saved: 9 weeks, 2 days, 14 hours, 10 minutes.

Tip

Day 3 on Campix no diff on my smoking, would like to smoke even more than I was before I started (20 a day). No probs with sleeping have a dry mouth. SMK thanks so much. You said u went on diet same day as giving up cigs !!!!! how did you manage that ?. Last time I gave up with willpower and signed up for gym. I was hungry all the time put on about a stone in the first month and refused to be seen at gym. I became such a bessy bunter that after a yr I though giving up smoking was easier than dieting !!!!!. That was many years ago and I have lost the weight ( but I had to diet or should I say starve it off ) cigs did not help me lose it. I never gave up the cigs since. Now I dont have a choice :o.

SMK

Hi Tip,

You are only on Day 3 of Champix so don't expect too much yet. Relax and try not over analyse how you are feeling/if the Champix is working/are you smoking less, etc.

I'm not 100% sure how I managed to lose weight and give up cigarettes at the same time - I wonder if the Champix helped me with both? Anyway, when I was giving up cigarettes I didn't want to get to the stage where I had given up cigarettes but still had a weight problem to deal with!! Some of the weight has gone back on but not because I'm not smoking!!

Tip

Day 4 just taking my second .5mg now. Still smoking like a demon. To be honest I think even my appetite has increased !!!!!. I so want these to work for me or make it easy to quit. I've read so many success stories. I'm afraid that they may not work for a long time addict like me .

SMK

Sorry Tip, no negative thoughts allowed while taking Champix!!!!! I was smoking for over 20 years and was smoking about 25 a day - more if I was going out. I had spent a fortune on all sorts of methods to give up smoking! Not many people believed I would succeed! Try not compare yourself too much to other people's stories. Just because X, Y & Z had decreased the amount of cigarettes they smoked by Day 4 and you haven't doesn't mean you are going to fail. Stop over-analysing things. Do your best to eat healthily over the next month but don't dwell on your diet. Your sole project for the next 4 weeks is to stop smoking. In 4 weeks time, then look at your diet!

Tip

SMK thanks for your encouragement. Starting on day 6 and must admit was not craving cigs this morning - but of course I had one !!!!!!!. I suppose I am expecting a miracle, its just I need this to work for me and of course getting afraid as I hope to quit on day 11. I know I will have to put some effort in myself ( not too much I hope). Have not too many side effects as yet they probably dont kick in until day 8 when I progress to 1mg tablets. What side effects did u have ?

SMK

Hi Tip,

The only side effect I remember is an upset tummy for about 30 minutes after I took the tablet but this was solved by taking the tablet with food. Oh, and very vivid dreams - not nightmares, but like seeing the dream in HD! I viewed Champtix as my last resort but I was so afraid it wouldn't work that I took the tablets for 3 months before I stopped! During that three months I was down to 8-9 cigarettes a day but I just didn't believe this little tablet would work! Eventually I was embarressed going back every month to the chemist for more tablets and each time telling the chemist "No, I haven't stopped smoking yet"!! So, I decided to try not to smoke the next day and I haven't smoked since! I continued to take the tablets for I think 4 months after I stopped smoking to be sure, to be sure!!

Mrsbananas

The dreams, omg the dreams, I have never experienced anything like them in my life. Must start taking tablet earlier at night to see if it makes any difference.
I have built houses and woken up sore all over.
I have had days out with chickens.
I woke up crying because I thought my 'hand' was dead.
Last night I held a bbq for all my passed on relatives.
Seriously messed up.

Thoushaltnot

elya765 wrote: »

Hi Guys, well done to all of u who have given up the smokes. Can I just ask, do u have to smoke while on champix or can you stop the smokes as soon as you start using champix?

The instructions on the packet say to quit during the second week but my doc told me that I could quit on day 1, if I wanted.

Whatever you do, see the full course through - I can't remember whether it was 8 weeks or 12. Longer, if you're unsure. Lots of us felt that the job was done by week 3 or 4 or 5 but if you leave the treatment then, there's a good chance that you will go back on. The tablets are gak but it was so worth sticking it out.

Diarm36151

Day 1 of champix . . . Feel normal, if a bit out of touch with reality and a bit tired. Already not feeling the need to smoke as much though. By a happy coincidence I got a persecription for motilium as well. Maybe thats why I dont have nausea? lol

Tip

Welcome Diarm36151 You made the right decision to go on Champix.
Day 29 + 16 th day not smoking for me. Champix seem to effect everyone differently. For me I had few problems, dry mouth, vivid dreams that were not scary, detachment. I too was very tired for the first two weeks.I found that once I quit cigs on day 14 everything settled for a wk, and then came the gas and flatulence but that lasted bad for approx 5 days now I seem to be fine. Champix benefits so outweigh side effects that I had. There is no way that I could have quit cigs without it. It just makes quitting smoking doable and nearly painless. Yes you will require some willpower and want to give up smoking ( its not a miracle ). Its early days for me yet but I never thought I would quit, now I don't see myself ever smoking again

Neil_R

Hi all. Just started yesterday, felt sick all day and head was pounding.Not joking but about an hour after taking the first tab i had to leave the room from the smell of cigs.Anyhow going to keep it up.

Geezer1000

Goin to try these miracle tabs. Been smokin since i was 12 (34 now) an im sick at thoughts of all the money i pumped into me lungs over the years. Anyway just one question (yis will think im a man with a problem when ya here this:D), can you drink when youre on the champix?

SMK

Geezer1000 wrote: »

Goin to try these miracle tabs. Been smokin since i was 12 (34 now) an im sick at thoughts of all the money i pumped into me lungs over the years. Anyway just one question (yis will think im a man with a problem when ya here this:D), can you drink when youre on the champix?

As far as I remember there was no mention of not drinking on the information leaflet with the tablets and they didn't bother me when I drank. Just be careful drinking for the first few weeks in case you are tempted to smoke while drinking. I changed my drink from Bacardi to wine when I gave up cos I never drank wine and didn't associate it with smoking! I love wine now Best of luck

MOLLY13

HI,
Have been on champix for 9 days with no side effects which is a good thing,i set my date to stop for day 9 but am still smoking:mad:i was on antidepressants for the last 2 year and had to come off them so i could take champix so as u can imagine im not in the best of form,do you think thats y there is no effect off them??i dont feel any different taking them as i did when i was on the patches, will they work for me??i really want to stop. But dont know how much longer i can stay off my antidepressants,its exausting

Geezer1000

MOLLY13 wrote: »

HI,
Have been on champix for 9 days with no side effects which is a good thing,i set my date to stop for day 9 but am still smoking:mad:i was on antidepressants for the last 2 year and had to come off them so i could take champix so as u can imagine im not in the best of form,do you think thats y there is no effect off them??i dont feel any different taking them as i did when i was on the patches, will they work for me??i really want to stop. But dont know how much longer i can stay off my antidepressants,its exausting

Im on day 3 of them and absolutely no side effects. Im still smoking though. I think i set day 7 as my stop totally day. Having said that I dont seem to crave the cis as much as usual. I only had 2 today (would usually be 5-6).

Tip

MOLLY13 wrote: »

HI,
Have been on champix for 9 days with no side effects which is a good thing,i set my date to stop for day 9 but am still smoking:mad:i was on antidepressants for the last 2 year and had to come off them so i could take champix so as u can imagine im not in the best of form,do you think thats y there is no effect off them??i dont feel any different taking them as i did when i was on the patches, will they work for me??i really want to stop. But dont know how much longer i can stay off my antidepressants,its exausting

I had my quit day set for day 11 but I did not quit until day 14. I was in a panic as I thought they were not working for me as by day 11 I had not even cut down the cigs I smoked. My advice is the Champix will tell you when to quit - you will eventually get nothing from a cigarette. Champix is great and makes quitting doable. It does not matter what day you quit ,some people take longer than others. I am off cigs over 8 wks and doin great and can't really believe I quit cigs.:D

Geezer1000

Tip wrote: »

I had my quit day set for day 11 but I did not quit until day 14. I was in a panic as I thought they were not working for me as by day 11 I had not even cut down the cigs I smoked. My advice is the Champix will tell you when to quit - you will eventually get nothing from a cigarette. Champix is great and makes quitting doable. It does not matter what day you quit ,some people take longer than others. I am off cigs over 8 wks and doin great and can't really believe I quit cigs.:D

Well done, thats a great achievement. My quit date is tomorrow so i better finish this pack of 20 today

FatB

Thanks for the information guys, I'm going to go into my doctor tomorrow and start on them Tuesday hopefully, will let ye know how I get on.

Geezer1000

On day 14 of the Champix, havent had a smoke in 7 days :eek:. Theyve ben making me feel very nauseous since i went onto the 2 tabs a day but its better than smoking. Cravings are more or less gone though.

louise_w

:Dyup and it really does work! Just take the tablet with food and a pint of water to avoid nausea. I did have crazy dreams but they were more like a benefit!!

bjnr0

Having smoked 30 a day for years, all in all I smoked regularly for 25 yrs. I tried champix, and quit after11 days on the tablets, continued the course for 30 days, and now nearly 2 yearslater have not touched a single tobacco product!!!

Take the tablet with a meal , if you feel ill suffer it,the rewards come after!!

Thankyou champix...lol

FatB

Day 10 - Started getting them dreams and feeling a little nausea - nothing too bad... Still smoking but think I'm not far from the point I will give up. I'm a heavy smoker so I'm not expecting an early miracle!

FatB

Day 14 - First day without smoking. \o/

Tip

FatB I quit on day 14 also now 11 wks quit. First 3 days are the hardest. Chew gum, eat oranges, sugar free sweets, water when you get a crave. Stick with it, you will be so pleased with yourself. It gets easier, and when you see the immediate benefits that your lungs feel so good , that will keep you going. Its the best thing I have ever done in my life for me.

simon tm

Hi all on day 9 have halved my smokes looking forward to the full stop this is my second time on champix first time found them great was off cigs by day 11 lasted about 4 months had stopped taking tabs after 4 weeks though it would be ok to smoke 1 or 2 on hols big mistake will take the tabs for a lot longer this time.

good luck to all

Geezer1000

Geezer1000 wrote: »

On day 14 of the Champix, havent had a smoke in 7 days :eek:. Theyve ben making me feel very nauseous since i went onto the 2 tabs a day but its better than smoking. Cravings are more or less gone though.

take the tablet with a little food and avoid car /bus travel for 1st half hour after taking it (I used to wait until I got into work). also maybe only take 1 of the 1mg tabs a day - that was enough for me in any case.

hellodolly

Hey all. I took my first Champix tablet about an hour ago... i decided to try and stop smoking on Monday last when i went to my doctor cos my tonsils would throb very painfully for a couple of minutes and then be okay until the next day and the same would happen and stop. this was going on for about 10 days. I googled the symptoms and frightened the life outta meself reading about all the different cancers that you can get in your mouth.

The doctor told me i had quite a bad throat infection and i didnt know cos i smoke (10-15 a day). That gave me a fright; i was sick and needed medication but i didnt know it cos the fags were masking the symptoms...

Anyway i bought the Allen Carr book and have been reading it all week (only when i was in a good relaxed mood...not feeling stressed from work or whatever) and as soon as i got paid i bought the Champix....I've been told that this medication blocks the nicotine receptors in your brain and the book taught me that smoking is an addiction not a habit. its the easiest drug to get addicted to but it's also the easiest drug to detox from...between the Champix and the book I hope to be a non-smoker from day 10...or before it ... fingers crossed!!!

san san

hi all day 5 of taking champix,and did not have a cig at all today.feel sick if i put one to my mouth.i was on a 20 pack a day.no bad side effects as yet.i just dont want a cig today,lets hope the feeling lasts.:

Yakult

Just got prescribed these today and will be starting tomorow. They worked for my brother who was smoking 15 years so I have high hopes for these!

Geezer1000

Tis nearly January an I havent smoked since July. No cravings either. Feelin good.

T.C.B.

Day 3 of taking Champix. Slight nausea even though I'm taking with food as recommended but nothing I can't cope with. Target quit-date is next Monday (day 8) so working towards that. Only on a quarter of the dose I'll end up on in a week but already getting less satisfaction out of the smokes. Fingers crossed this will work.... hypnosis, nicotine replacement and cold turkey have all been previously tried to no avail.

hellodolly

Hi everybody

I'm off the fags three months yesterday...I still take half a Champix every evening (I cut them in half). I've had to do this for the last couple of months cos I got fairly bad insomnia as a side effect and even sleeping tablets wouldn't knock me out!! Luckily for everyone else this is a rare one. And it doesnt matter now cos I sleep like a log since I cut back on the dosage.

I was worried about Christmas cos of all the going out and lots of my friends smoke but there was nothing to fret about...I was able to stand (in a druken state ) in the smoking areas and didnt feel one iota of want or jealously as I watched everyone puffing away. The only time i have a craving is when I'm bored and if i go do something or change my track of thought, the craving goes away.

Things I've noticed since giving up: (1) My feet dont get as cold as they used to and when they do, they warm up quicker. (2) Coke tastes like it did when I was a kid, I thought they'd changed the taste all these years!! (3) I don't wake up with a blocked nose anymore (4) I have to blow my nose a lot less (5) I had quite stiff and painful knees and they're completely back to normal...which is great!:)

Champix and the Alan Carr book works...good luck everybody!

DownUnder

Really glad I found this thread...it's Day 11 on Champix and quit day tomorrow but the side effects of nausea, spaciness and tiredness are taking their toll.

I've read a few of you halved your dose...which tablet did you drop and did you notice any decrease in effectiveness?

Foxhound38

Day 21, a week since my quit date and i really don't feel like smoking at all, which is great and i think totally down to the pill as any other time i have tried i am usually irritable and gagging for for one by now. A few side effects though - nausa, mild depression (nothing major, my energy levels are just shot) but totally worth it to be off the fags.

hellodolly

Hi all, Im off the fags 3.5 months now and have saved €630. Because I'm not lying on the couch every evening puffing away with nothing better to do, I'm now doing an Open University course, a digital camera course and I'm on the treadmill every morning before work (did put on weight when I quit ).

If you possibly can at all, try to stay on the full two tablets until you're at least 5-6 weeks off the fags; the longer you can stick them at full dose, the better they work to kill your cravings. If you're feeling sick or not sleeping, ring/go back to your doctor and see what they can give you for these side effects, just for the short-term.

I had to take sleeping tablets for a few weeks but when I started cutting the tablets in half (I reduced from 2 full 1mg tablets to 1 and a half, did that for a few weeks and when I felt I was able to face reducing it again I cut down to 1 tablet for a few weeks and so on), my sleep slowly started coming back. When I got down to just half of the 1mg tablet I no longer needed any sleeping tablets and my sleep pattern returned to normal.

I'm now off the Champix altogether and for the first week or two, I have to say I was thinking about fags quite a bit but I knew it couldn't be a craving because I didn't have any nicotine left in my system so it could only be boredom or stress or whatever that made me want one. The feeling would come and go and it's happening a lot less often so it's totally bearable now. Good Luck To The Brave!

supa_stench

Hi all,

Its great to hear people having so much success with Champix. Im in week four myself and am highly confident that i'll never smoke again.

Im wondering has anyone experienced weird dreams that have actually come true?

I had a most vivid dream recently where I was at the funeral of that Lambert Puppeteer guy. He did a show in my school years and years ago but I have not thought or even heard about him since that day. I told my brother who laughed his ass off and told me I was going crazy.

Neither of us were laughing two days later when the Lambert Puppet guy croaked it for real. Im totally freaked out to be honest.

I am even starting to predict things while awake. Was watching Chelsea v Man city today with my dad and told him Lampard would score minutes before he did. Then told him Tevez would score minutes before he did. Then watched the Ireland Rugby game and predicted Bowe would score first try, a few minutes in Bowe scores first try. My dad then asks me to pick a horse from the paper as he was going to the bookies. Picked an 8/1 winner as easy as that.

I am freaked out bigtime.

Has anyone experienced anything similar?

hellodolly

Hiya Supa Stench....can you predict the Lotto numbers? Cos if i were you i'd give it a go!

I did have some amazingly vivid dreams; nothing that came true really like what's happened to you, but really, really vivid, some were that I was smoking a fag and I would wake up panicking that i had done it, some had kind of like 'i was predicting my own future' feeling to them... Mostly dreamed about how I was being picked on or bullied but I was standing my ground and fighting back and winning (which i never ever dreamed before) (i mean dreamt i won, cos i always dreamt i lost in those sort of dreams before)

The strongest or most vivid thing thats happened to me is when i was awake, it was an amazing shot of confidence, nothing like ive ever experienced before! Ive spoken to other friends who have given up and they say the same...it's sort of like, i dunno, the 'God's' or something have like 'blessed' you with this 'wonderful gift of self confidence and courage'...I'm really tryin not to sound psychotic but i dont think im winning!! I really dont know how to describe it, maybe you've felt it already...with any luck :-)

Im off the fags 5 months next week and it just gets easier and easier every week that goes by; the want of a fag just features less and less in each day as life goes on...thank God! Best of luck, its totally worth all the weird dreams, lack of sleep etc

...and again.... if you're feeling dem Lotto numbers, show a sister some love & send them on

T.I.P

I have been smoking since i was about 12.
I'm only 20 and have tried to stop smoking twice and failed.
Once on gum, once on patches and the start of champix (i gave up after 2 tabs)

This time i've been told i either give up or my dads gonna throw me out :mad:

I have willpower..but it isn't my choice to smoke so i don't think i have the willpower to stop smoking. I really want to, my girlfriend doesn't like it and is the only one with faith in me. It's the same with college etc also. I can talk to my girlfriend, but sometimes i want to talk to someone in my family and they don't want to know.

I'm on day 9 of my champix, day 11 is my stop date..when i first started on about day 4 i noticed i didn't have the cravings to smoke on breaks at my work, after a meal, before bed..although i still would out of habit when at home. I don't smoke in my new car, which broke a big habit for me because driving and smoking was like..nothing else ha..

But i broke the cycle of tablets on a couple of seperate ocassions, missing my tabs, and i've noticed i'm smoking just as much as i did before i began (Around 15-20 a day).

My question is, have i ruined Champix' "miricure" treatment or can i still go on? Does anyone have any suggestions on how i could better my chances of stopping? Also, i will stop on Day 11, which is monday..but should i continue just now to smoke at my leisure, or ween myself off the smokes whilst on the tabs? Will it be too much of an ask of my willpower to just stop smoking completely?

smelltheglove

I used these and was off smokes for 2 yrs, went back on when my husband lost his job.

anyway I'm using these tablets again and I have to say, I feel sick as a dog, I dont remember feeling like this the last time, my stomach is upside down and I have just had a small dinner and feel awful. Mind I'm only on day 8 of the tabs and have no interest in smokes at all, I had 6 today, usually I'd have about 16 by now and I just dont want another I feel so sick.

shanemort

Keep going! I'm on my last pack, Week 9, And havent had a smoke in 7 Weeks and 3 Days, I find i get a bit sick in the stomach but if i take the morning tab with some food its fine, i then take the late one in the middle of dinner so its mashed up in there with all the food so i dont feel anything, I did feel a bit depressed and grogey for a few weeks in the middle, but stick through it all and i feel great now. So much energy all day even late in the evening.

Stick at it, its worth it €20 out of the ATM on a monday and still ahve some of it on a friday... Your ATM card will love you.

smelltheglove

Ah I'll keep going alright, mind the last time I used them for 3 weeks but only used half the pack, when I quit I took jut one tab a day after a couple of days. The last time I suffered terrible with dreams, which I do anyway but they were even more vivd and scary than usual, now its my tummy and sleeplessness.

I'm onloy smoking again about 6 months and when I did give up the last time my energy levels were so much higher than before, my teeth felt better, my breathing felt better, no chesty flemy coughs so I'm sticking with it, I'll whinge for a few days though about my tummy.

smelltheglove

First no smoking day today, I'm a little frustrated but all the side affects have faded now

shanemort

Yea I'm Starting to despise taking the fecking things, I forgot to take for a day the other day and i felt like a million euro, Think these are bringing me down a bit, but I've my stags at the end of march and i'd prefair to be on champix for that cause if there will be any temptation i know it will be then...

kiwi casper

Hi yas
I googled about champix and found this thread, have read it and found it very interesting so joined up

I am on day 5th day not smoking and using champix and have had similiar effects like alot of what ive read on here.

Today I'm struggling abit, but am determined to get through it cause I know it will be worth it long term