Champix aka Chantix/Varenicline

CooCullIn

Hello all,
I hope everyone had a great holiday and are ready to face into the New
Year. Hopefully you are still staying away from the cigarettes. Looking forward to updates. DonnieL, when exactly is your cigarette free year up?

DonnieL

Coocullin, that last cigarette to touch these lips was on JANUARY 11, 2009. January 12th was the quit date. I actually stopped having cravings around my 3rd day but smoked anyway because I thought it might put more stress on being able to quit. As I had mentioned before I was one of the few fortunate ones that didn't suffer any of the possible side effects. I always took the medication with food and drank a lot of water (among other things)

Keep up the great work and thanks for joining this thread!!

dubsgirl

Hi All

Am new here jsut started with my first Champix this morning.
Most people say the desire to smoke begins to decrease after 3 days or so?
What would your experience be?

Thanks

CooCullIn

Congrats DonnieL: Less than a week away from your first anniversary.
Welcome Dubsgirl. Sorry I cannot give you any advice, as I didn't use any aids when I quit, but I'm sure you will get all the information you will require here.

Spongebob2

Hi!!

I honestly have to say they sound like a total waste of money!! But I know people will pay any price to stop smoking.
I became pregnant and needed to stop smoking.....needed .....but didnt want to.....so I just put it off day by day.

I smoked for the first 3 months of my pregnancy.....which makes me sick.
I then came across the Alan Carr book.....Read 24 pages and never touched a cigarette since....my boyfriend smokes all my family also smoke and It dosnt bother me one bit.....!

I agree that the book may not work for everyone, maybe uv tried it....but personally I think it is fantastic!

I hope something works for you....

gpjordanf1

Hi everyone,

Havent been on in a while, but am happy to report that I'm still smoke free.

Here's my stats and if your just starting believe me I tried everything with little success, champix though was amazing, and trust me If I can do it, so can you!

Six months, 7 hours, 47 minutes and 55 seconds.

4608 cigarettes not smoked,

saving €1,958.89.

Life saved: 2 weeks, 2 days, 0 minutes.

Roll on 12 months!

DonnieL

What great news to log into. Sorry, I've been down and out with Bronchitis since the New Year! Yes, one year ago today I smoked my last cigarette and tomorrow is one year absolutely smoke free!:D Yesss!!!

gpjordanf1, Congratulations! Great accomplishment! Be Proud!!!;)

Spongebob2 & Coocullin Congratulations on an "Amazing" accomplishment quiting without the Champix!! That's great!!:D

dubsgirl, Welcome to the group! The only advice I can give you is to follow the instructions to the letter and take the Champix with food and a lot of water. You should be in absolute positive mind set and I pray you make it without some of the listed side effects as I did! Good Luck!!!;)

gpjordanf1

DonnieL wrote: »

What great news to log into. Sorry, I've been down and out with Bronchitis since the New Year! Yes, one year ago today I smoked my last cigarette and tomorrow is one year absolutely smoke free!:D Yesss!!!

gpjordanf1, Congratulations! Great accomplishment! Be Proud!!!;)

Spongebob2 & Coocullin Congratulations on an "Amazing" accomplishment quiting without the Champix!! That's great!!:D

dubsgirl, Welcome to the group! The only advice I can give you is to follow the instructions to the letter and take the Champix with food and a lot of water. You should be in absolute positive mind set and I pray you make it without some of the listed side effects as I did! Good Luck!!!;)

May I be the first to congratulate you on your amazing achievement! Well done DonnieL and also a big thank you for all you support over the last 6 months.

Your a true gent.

Start the clock for year 2

CooCullIn

Congrats DonnieL. Great milestone.

Tip

Donniel congrats on being one year quit. Well done you. I am heading for my 8 th month quit and I found your positive comments great when I started on Champix. Hope you are feeling better .

4976340

Hi
Third Day on the Campix. Having the dreams at night so glad to hear it might only last the first few days. Gave up twice before and without Champix and giving up is never as bad as you imagine. Why do I keep going back on them after 6-8 months? Any clues?

DonnieL

4976340, Welcome aboard... Well, all I can say is, maybe this time, with the help of Champix, it will be your last try, and you'll achieve a new smoke free lifestyle!!;)

At the risk of being redundant, I'll just say, as before, take the Champix precisely as prescribed and with MEALs and plenty of water!
and THE BEST OF LUCK TO YA!!!:D

loopsoffury

hi all congratulations on been smoke free.

i have tried many times to quit but with no success. i always found the first few days to be the hardest but this time around with the help of champix i have no cravings at all, these pills are great the thought of a cigrette never entered my head all day.

i hope the side effects will be at a minimum i did feel a little sick this morning but when i stepped outside for fresh air i felt better so i put it down to the smell of smoke in the house

DonnieL

At the risk of being redundant, I'll just say, as before, take the Champix precisely as prescribed and with MEALs and plenty of water!
and THE BEST OF LUCK TO YA!!!

As you can probably tell, I copied and pasted this from my previous post. But, it is crucial that you take the Champix with food and drink a lot of water.. Most importantly, keep a positive attitude and don't dwell on "possible":rolleyes: side effects.;)

PaddyW

Just taken my first Champix. My tummy's all over the place, but it felt like that beforehand with nervous excitement I'm guessing. Please God let this work

dubsgirl

PaddyW wrote: »

Just taken my first Champix. My tummy's all over the place, but it felt like that beforehand with nervous excitement I'm guessing. Please God let this work

Best of luck Paddy, make sure you take it with food and a big glass of water and your tummy should be grand. Don't expect too much from it too soon. I found when the Champix really worked was when my quit day came around and I stopped smoking. Up til then I didn't cut down at all although a lot of people cut down drastically and even bring forward their quit dates...

Have you set your date yet? Good luck!

PaddyW

Thanks Dubsgirl. The stomach settled down, think it was just entering the unknown that got it going! No date set yet, although thinking Monday / Tuesday next week. Not expecting too much thankfully, although the cigarettes do taste different. Just excited at giving them up after 17 years. Worst thing is, I'm only 28!!:eek:

PaddyW

Well, was definitely just butterflies in the stomach yesterday. Took second one a while ago and no bother at all. I could get used to this!

DonnieL

Hey PaddyW here's wishing you the best on the quitting! I just completed my 1st year off the smokes on the 12th of January. I'd been a smoker just a few years more than you have..;) As Dubsgirl said, just remember to take it with food and drink a lots of water. My desire to smoke actually deminished on the 3rd day but I continued to smoke for the full week anyway so as not to create any kind of unneeded anguish. Keep in mind, #1 the Health Benefit, and #2 the money you save. I had new dual pane windows installed in my house with my "quit savings"!! Good Luck and Hang In There!!!:D

arle

i got the champix bout two weeks ago and this is day 3 without any tobacco !! so proud of myself.the way it works (for me anyway) is that you just dont want the smoke( and makes you feel really quite sick if you do.)so all you have to do is break the habit.like i'v been getting up a little later so i have no time even if i did want one ,glass of water at the sink and i just take a drink when two weeks ago id have been out there for a ciggie.litttle changes and i hope just to forget i ever smoked..
we'll see.....:)

babylon111

hi all
Im on day 21 of champix and i had my last cig last sunday. I have to say i havent found it easy i was totataly phycotic the second week up and down angry and upset but it was made harder by the fact my partner was taking them too and we couldent even look at each other without fighting he didint quit when we agreed and has now stopped taking champix and smokes outside (he smells horrible)
im so glad i stuck with it i have been smoking for 18 years and for the last 15 at least 20 a day (more like 30) and up to 80 at the weekend.
it seems to be getting easier and im so proud of myself. i had a blip on wensday after another argument with himself and bought 20 smokes by the time i had bought them and opened them up the craving had passed but i still lit one up before throwing it away in disgust and tearing up the rest of the pack with glee (very freeing) anyway i hope i can continue this way. here is to a new smoke free life. Best of luck everyone dont let them win.

terenc

Wishing you all the best in gavin up the smokes its not easy.

Slinks

Hi All,

I am on Day 2 of my .5mg tablet of Champix. I have been looking up the internet tonight to find a forum about Champix, and came across a very depressing one. I was very relieved to find this one. I have read the first couple of Pages and the last 3 pages (would be here all night if I read through them all...Lol). You guys seem to have a great support network set up here.

I have been smoking for about 25 years at 20+ cigs a day. I have tried everything from patches, gum, inhaler, Zyban, Hypnotism, cold turkey and Alan Carrs book. The patches worked the best for me in the past but the longest I stayed of the cigs was about 2 weeks, ending up smoking with the patches on me. I didn't give Zyban a decent enough try as I was only on them a couple of weeks when I read an article about a girl dying from them (combination of other medication she was on), but I got nervous and stopped taking them. I don't intend to make that mistake on the champix. I am not too worried about the headaches, nausea, vivid dreams etc. as they are side affects of giving up cigarettes no matter what way you do it. Even depression can be a side effect when giving up cold turkey.

I actually hate water in general, but funnily enough in the past, I have craved water when I have given up the cigarettes. It is weird, whether it is my brain telling me that it will help flush the nicotine out of my system faster, I really don't know. Another tip for people just starting on the giving up process is to eat plenty of Fruit high in acid eg. oranges. This is also supposed to help rid your body of the nicotine faster. Not sure if I read that in Alan Carrs book or not.

I have set my quit date to 16th Feb. I didn't want to pressure myself to give up at the weekend and a Monday is never a good idea. So roll on Tuesday week, when I can finally start to call myself a non-smoker.

Good luck to everyone who is starting out like myself....And well done to all of you that have already started your smoke free life!!!!

PaddyW

Well tomorrow will be my first day without smokes. And I have to say, so far looking like it's going to be easy. I was on 20+ a day, so far today I have had 4 and that's good going considering I often had 4 smoked by 7.30.a.m. alone! Not sure if I've had any side effects from the tablets, I've slept like a log since taking them, tummy felt a bit funny a few times, but that was more the thought of smoking sickening me than anything. I've even taken the tablets on an empty stomach and have had no nauseous feeling.

I'm so excited about not smoking anymore. Bike is first on my list, then weight training, then God knows what, but I'm so happy Life is looking wonderful!! Good luck to everyone!

Slinks

Best of luck for tomorrow PaddyW. I am on my first day of the .5mg twice a day. Still no nausea or any other symptoms. I have noticed that I have been smoking more than usual over last few days. I reckon that is probably down to the fact that subconsciously I know I wont be smoking for much longer. Either that or I will be the first person to suffer the side affect of smoking over 60 a day with the champix...Lol! Well its not gotten that bad yet, but I have definitely gone up 10 extra ciggies a day.

Its a great idea to plan what you are going to spend with your ciggie money. I booked a holiday last night for myself and the kids for the summer. I have to save now and stay of the cigs, plus it will give us all something to look forward to. Whenever I get a craving I just have to picture lying by a pool in the sun....That should soon cheer me up!

Can't wait for next week to join the non-smoking gang!

dubsgirl

Well done slinks and Paddy your going to be delighted with yourselves very soon!! It's such a good feeling to get through that 1st week without a smoke. Seriously I had never really thought about the money while I was smoking but now that I'm not I can't actually believe how much extra cash I have!!

I think it's not only the smoke money I'm just not going to the shops as much at all. Every time i went in to buy 20 smokes I would spend 20 euro on just stuff - so all great stuff to look forward to

PaddyW

So it's now a day and a half since my last smoke. Feeling pretty good. There are still a few cravings, but nothing I can't cope with. It still requires a little willpower and amazinging, I've found that I do have some now! Can't wait to see the benefits this time next week. Looking good!!

RangeR

PaddyW wrote: »

So it's now a day and a half since my last smoke. Feeling pretty good. There are still a few cravings, but nothing I can't cope with. It still requires a little willpower and amazinging, I've found that I do have some now! Can't wait to see the benefits this time next week. Looking good!!

It will never go away but it will get much easier. Stick with it, you're body will thank you.

8 months and counting.

PaddyW

RangeR wrote: »

It will never go away but it will get much easier. Stick with it, you're body will thank you.

8 months and counting.

Hi Range.. can you tell me how much better you feel now after 8 months? Big physical changes?

RangeR

PaddyW wrote: »

Hi Range.. can you tell me how much better you feel now after 8 months? Big physical changes?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm not the most active person anyway, so I don't know if I can run faster and for longer

The cravings are almost gone but still there, if you get me. Most days I don't think about smoking but there is the odd day where I REALLY want one. I don't know why this is but it's also not a craving in so far as what you are feeling at them moment. It's a different sort of "craving" but with absolutely no need to light up.

The feeling comes into my head and goes within minutes with me doing pretty much nothing.

However.... I recently got a viral bug, maybe around week 2 in January. I've been out of work ever since. It's nothing major. A normal healthy person [non smoker] probably would have gotten over it in days or a week or so. The doctor said that because I'm a recently reformed smoker, my immune system is still learning on how to fight different infections.

My infection is pretty much gone but my immune system hasn't fixed my balance and co-ordination yet. The bug went to my ears, which is your balance center.

The end result of this, is that I get VERY tired by about 1 or 2pm EVERY DAY. I have to lie down for an hour or two, then I'm sort of ok for another few hours but not really. Because my co-ordination has been compromised, I'm not safe to drive. The driving thing is what is keeping me out of work. If I could drive, I'd go into work, even for half days at a time. But I'm able to work from home and boss is very understanding.

It will fix itself but doc said it could take months.

Don't want to scare you but most smokers get very sick, one way or another, within the first year or so.