Champix aka Chantix/Varenicline

TOMTAC

Hi tmabr, I have just read your post re your dislike for the tabs. I hated them and couldnt wait to be finished with them...which I did a week ago. I fully agree with you...the Champix kills the craving for a smoke, and the craving does not come back..so remember that is the addiction dealt with. The habit requires some willpower to break it but anybody who sticks the course for the 3 mths of tablet taking has the resolve and willpower to do so.
Even though I hated the tablets with a passion I felt that if I stopped taking them before the 3 mth course was up I was putting myself at risk. If you look back over all these posts you will find that a number of people varied the dosage rather than abandon the course e.g. as prescribed for the first two months and half dose for the last month. While I would not advocate any change from the prescribed course, all variations should be considered before abandonment. Stick with it...you are more than half way through your first month and, in my opinion, its the first few days stopped thats' the hardest to get through

tmabr

cheers tomtac - ill finish the course,

on that note what price are people paying for the tabs
my first 4 weeks cost 137 euro, its very expensive(but worth it) i cant help but think the pharmacy is a bit on the dear side, im gonna ring a few places to enquire on prices for second month, reading that they cost 28 euro in south africa and places like that 18 dollars in canada. went onto healthexpress.eu and price is 170 euro.

lil missy

Hi
Im two weeks and two days off the cigs now delighted days are flying by now and its def getting easier for me not having many cravings now at all only think bout the cigs when someone asks me how im getting on there on my mind then and tend to long for one a lil bit but not enough to give in Was even out last weekend for a few drinks and didnt give in
Hope everyones getting on ok

connewitz

lil missy wrote: »

Hi
Im two weeks and two days off the cigs now delighted days are flying by now and its def getting easier for me not having many cravings now at all only think bout the cigs when someone asks me how im getting on there on my mind then and tend to long for one a lil bit but not enough to give in Was even out last weekend for a few drinks and didnt give in
Hope everyones getting on ok

You are on the right way!!! Keep on going!:D:D:D

celticcrash

Day 14 here of not smoking using champix. The sickness is well gone and so are my crazy dreams. Wish I had my crazy dreams back.
I have read through a lot of these posts and a lot of the people halved their
tablets because of the sickness.
Over the last few days I noticed that I am getting strong mental cravings.
I take 2 blue tabs a day but I think my body is getting used of them.
Has anyone had this? Has anyone gone up to 3 tabs a day?

mrswalton

Hi there, well done for getting to 14 days, i wouldn't up your dosage, you could discuss it with your doctor, but don't do it yourself. TBH thats the first time i heard of someone wanting to take more! Not sure what a doctor would say to you.

Dealing with the strong cravings is really good brain excersise. Just think how hard it would have been without the Champix!.

Also, not sure of others experience, but my crazy dreams seem to come and go. I had them the first couple of weeks, then they seemed to stop. Then last week i had a couple more bizarre ones. Enda Kenny appeared in one of them, and a woman i used to work with tried to hug him and was dragged off by security. Very odd.

TOMTAC

Hi, another week gone without the cigs. I'm not experiencing any craving whatsoever for a smoke, but every now and then I think how nice it would be to have one! Indeed today after I had a cup of tea, my hand automatically went to my pocket for cigs and lighter. I dont indulge these thoughts and get on with whatever I'm doing. As I dont expect that these thoughts, out of the blue, will ever cease, I'm trying to come up with some response which I will automatically combat the 'stinking thinking' with. Such consideration of course brought me on to the motivation for stopping smoking and it seem to me now that the motivation for stopping smoking is not the same motivation for staying stopped. In my case I decided to stop smoking because my Dr. simply said to me that I would prolong my life if I gave them up! Right, that is a good reason...indeed I dont know of a better one. However , the 'stinking thinking' says one little smoke wont make any difference...and that is probably the truth! Now, I know that one little smoke will lead to another little smoke and before I would realize it I would be back to my 35 per day! So, to stay stopped I need immediate, tangible , obvious 'reward' to 'justify' not having that one little smoke....and the money I'm saving ...on a daily basis .... fits this requirement perfectly.
So , the next time that it flashes into my mind that it would be nice to have a smoke now, I will say to myself that it is just not worth what I would have to give up immediately for it....remember the pair of boots!
Keep well and keep posting.

lil missy

3 weeks and 1 day ;)off them 2day . Doing good but still get the odd longing for one . Find myself looking at people smoking and nearly envying them lol . And is it weird that when someones smoking near me i like the smell of the fresh smoke was hoping id hate it by now . On the upside cant believe its 3 weeks looking forward to when i can say 3 months .. Well done everyone your all doing great

locater7

39 days here
cigs not smoked is 1202


money saved---money not spent
saved

549.74

thats incentive folks

550 quid-one weeks wages
thank you

connewitz

I have got the best reason to stay off the fags - a one week old grand daughter! So sweet, so fragil and so loved!!! Best reason ever to live longer!!!

mrswalton

CONGRATULATIONS Conniewitz, That is lovely news. I bet she's adorable. I hope all are doing well.

TOMTAC

Hi. congrats to Conniewitz on her new status as Grandmother and to the rest of you who are getting on with their lives without the cigs. I get the impression that there has been less posting of late, maybe the start of a new year is the most popular time to make the resolutions of the 'give it up ' variety. However , I am following the progress of the most recent posters who are getting by, day after day, in their quest to give up smoking, and get a nice little lift every time I read a new post stating another week gone by successfully....please keep it up as it is a huge source of support to those who are considering giving them up or who have just commenced the tablet course.
For my part I have not smoked for 13 weeks now and while I'm not fighting off cravings , I do think of cigs every day (to a lesser extent as each week passes), but when such thoughts enter my head I immediately think of the Deck I am going to build with the money I'm saving. Keep well and keep posting!

tmabr

hi tomtac - yea its quiet here lately, but thats a good sign

im 25 days off the smokes now, feel better and that 50 euro note in my pocket usually lasts a hell of a lot longer.

cravings aint too bad, a few seconds rather than minutes. when i get the smell of smoke near it smells nice - i was hoping it would disgust me. just walk on by and deal with it.

i think im a little bit snappy or grumpy - but not too bad.
i havnt put on any weight
the habit is going (its not the first thing that pops into my head when i wake up or have a meal or a cup of tea)
the dreams and nightmares are still nuts
some days i just take 1mg tab but most days i take the 2.

to anyone following the thread good luck - you will get plenty of possitive advice here.
you WONT hear this - i just had 1 smoke today and it was fine. lol
i have to admit - in the first few smoke free days, i was hoping to hear this and it didnt show. so keep visiting and and enjoy

connewitz

for all the good wishes. Yes my little sunshine is healthy and beautiful! I am absolutely sure, that every single one of you has its own reason to prolong their life. What ever it is - GO FOR IT!!!! All the cigs in the world can not beat the feeling you have when quitting for good! Keep it going, you all are doing very well!!!:D

mrswalton

For anyone considering Champix and concerned about weight, i just wanted to say.....i.m off the cigs about 5 weeks now and i've lost 4lbs!!!

celticcrash

4 weeks off the smokes. One day at a at a time. Thanks to all on here.
Heres to a new healthy life. I was one of these smokers that you would hear before you would see me, cough choke cough choke. I am slowly gaining back my health, swimming every second day, 16 laps of a 25m pool. I am naturally eating better food. Tomorrow if the weather is fine, I am going for a long walk in the forest. If the sun is shining through the trees and the fresh air is hitting my lungs, Heaven
I would drive 50 metres to the corner shop when I smoked. Champix helps a lot but I cant wait to dump them at the end of the course. I dont mind the dreams, its the sicky feeling they give me.
A small price to pay for my health. I only have to not smoke today.
If your finding it hard stick with it, it gets easier.
Again thanks to all who posted on here, its been a great help to me.

connewitz

celticcrash wrote: »

4 weeks off the smokes. One day at a at a time. Thanks to all on here.

This is the right attitude! You have already turned minutes to hours, hours to days and days into your first month of non-smoking!!!! Keep on going and this months will turn into years! Healthy and a lot more money in your pocket for the pool.;)

the_god_swan

I started Champix 4 days ago and day 11 is my quit day. On the positive side I already do feel like smoking less, only smoking half a cig before binning it etc. And reading the statistics and my changing physical feelings towards cig, I'm confident that it will stop me smoking also.

But on the negative side... my body feels like crap since I've started it. I feel like I have really bad cold, aching muscles, mucus filled nose, sinus blocked, headaches, loss of overall energy. Friday night I had to go to bed early because I had no energy. Saturday night I had some drinks with my brother whom I had not seen in months, maybe 5 pints, and Sunday morning I was in pain. Adding all the above side effects I actually had a physical pain in my face (I know that sounds funny reading back on it, but it wasn't Sunday morning!!) when I awoke.

Their is no way I can continue with these side effects for 12 weeks. To be honest I'm already thinking of stopping them and looking for an alternative. I want to be a non-smoker too but at what cost! The only reason I have not already stopped them is because my GP here in London has scheduled weekly appointment updates and I don't want to feel like I've given up so soon.

Next weekend I am going abroad for a long weekend to see some friends I've only seen 1 time in the last 2 years, and yes socialising will be a big factor of the weekend. I do not want to reduce the potential of a great weekend by the side effects of Champix!

I've been scanning (118 pages back through the contents of this thread to look for similar stories and what decision these people made, but I have not found any!

So the big question: Do I stop taking them and look for an alternative (which most I have tried already) and feel strong again Or continue feeling sick for a couple of months in order to associate smoking with this sickly feeling so that I never smoke again?

P.s. as I type this I can barely breath with 2 blocked nostrils and a pain in my head!

locater7

i was like you
i had to stop champix and went cold turkey cigs the same day
just at that stage let my will power pull me through
if you have planned to give up for a while you may also be able to try this
it was hard those first 3 days
but i think the relief of no more champix helped me through the cig withdrawal
am 49 days no smoking
wish you best of luck

the_god_swan

me again

I'm still scanning through the thread and have now seen some posts where people say their side effects reduced over time. Actually in an ideal situation I would continue taking Champix if I could reduce the physical aspect of the side effects, clear my sinus and headaches etc. The rest I can live with

Any suggestions welcome!!

tmabr

the_god_swan wrote: »

me again

I'm still scanning through the thread and have now seen some posts where people say their side effects reduced over time. Actually in an ideal situation I would continue taking Champix if I could reduce the physical aspect of the side effects, clear my sinus and headaches etc. The rest I can live with

Any suggestions welcome!!

stick with it, i hated the tabs more than the smoking at one stage - im still taking them, nothing else works. im 4 weeks off the smokes and feeling better.

the side effects are bad - but they do ease up, i cant wait to finish the 3 months of tabs.

if you are quiting soon, do it with a massive hangover that day - it worked for me , you know them days when you dont really like smoking anyway.

lil missy

Hey everyone
Im 5 weeks smoke free today Im lucky in that i didnt have many side affects with Champix . I did get a cold the first few days if you look back on the thread you'll see i think it was just coincidence maybe its the same for you The god swan . dont give up on them just yet they really do work . I suffered from heart burn for a while 2 but thats gone now too I eat something when i take my tab i find if i eat a banana just before i dont feel sick at all . You should realy give it a go for at least another week see if things get better, its so worth it good luck let us know how your getting on

the_god_swan

Hey thanks tmabr and lil missy, I needed to hear that. This morning I was ready to throw in the towel but this afternoon I'm fully committed again haha could that be Champix, soon I will be blaming everything on the Champix

tmabr wrote: »

if you are quiting soon, do it with a massive hangover that day - it worked for me , you know them days when you dont really like smoking anyway.

Next Monday is my quit day on my last day in Lisbon after a long weekend visiting friends. I have a feeling Monday will be on of those smoking days you described!

lil missy wrote: »

I did get a cold the first few days if you look back on the thread you'll see i think it was just coincidence maybe its the same for you The god swan ... dont give up on them just yet they really do work. You should realy give it a go for at least another week see if things get better, its so worth it good luck let us know how your getting on

Congrat's lil missy, that's really cool. I'm gonna stick it out now and see how I am feeling over the next couple of weeks. I see my GP again on Thursday morning and I'm looking forward to that. My carbon monoxide level is currently 10 so it will be beneficial to see this reducing.

I've been taking the tabs with my lunch time meal each day and I will experiment a little more with fruit as you suggest lil missy. One positive thing right now is the dreams, they are deadly, soooo vivid, so real and I can remember them in the mornings! I have to share; in the last 2 nights I've dreamed 'my nephew was invisible' and 'I was making love to a women that had just asked me for directions'... classic

One thing I have been wondering:
When I get to week 2 and it's 2*1mg tabs. Are you folks talking both pills together or 1 at two different times of the day, lunch and dinner for example?

lil missy

One thing I have been wondering:
When I get to week 2 and it's 2*1mg tabs. Are you folks talking both pills together or 1 at two different times of the day, lunch and dinner for example?


You should take one in the morning and one in the evening when you have to take two tabs a day. Maybe you should try taking the tablet your on now in the morning dont know if it will make any difference to how you feel but worth a try . I take my evening tablet at about 8.00 going on what people said here was better to take it earlier at night . I've had some great dreams 2 actually they were all nice dreams had no nightmares at all . Hopefully you'll be able to stay on them play around with different foods and times till you feel better everyones different

kenobrien

Took champix for 3 months, off the fags 5 months now. Woohoo!

mrswalton

Good luck God Swan. Sounds to me like it could be coincedence that you got a bad dose of cold like virus. (hopefully) anyway most side affects seem to pass for most people.

Believe me, the champix is the easiest way to stop smoking, if you have invested the time, money and headaches into it so far, then you may as well see it through. Good luck with it. Look forward to hearing your journey.

Documenting a bit of the process on this thread does seem to help too. The kind words and encouragement from others is also invaluable.

I had a tough weekend the other week end. OH and DD were away, I had a bit of a hectic day, and that niggly little thought got into my head. No-one would know.......no one would smell it off me.....I was soooooo tempted, but i remember writing on here that it is the 'just one' that would undo all my good work. The first one after not smoking for several months is horrible anyway, i would have had to get through half a packet for it to start to feel 'nice'.

So i went flying past the garage (last stop for cigs 20 mins from home). By the time i got home i was so pleased that i had talked myself out of it.

Anyone else got any close encounters?

the_god_swan

I'm feeling much much better today folks. mrswalton I think you were right it must have been coincidental or kicked off by the Champix, but all symptoms point towards a heavy cold. Last night I made myself a Leon Cold Buster http://www.organico.ie/news/organic-recipes/the-cold-buster to drink at night and I have enough remaining to last the week. This home made medicine is super

Today I have been smoking as much as ever (but I'm only on day 6) but each time I smoke I feel physically worse, headaches and sinus blocked. I'm starting to think the trick behind this all is for us to associate smoking each cig with feeling physically ill and therefore plant the thought in our subconscious! And sure if it works... how bad!!

mrswalton that 'just one' is the reason I'm back on them on a number of occasions. 3 years ago I had a successful read of Allen Carr (and many non-successful reads after) and was off them 100% from day 1. No problems with beer, 3 day festivals, friends smoking, nothing, my smoking mind had been wiped clear, I was free! 1 year later I had begun travelling in South America, 4 weeks into that trip and staying in a hostel with 24 hour underground bar, I remember smoking my 'first' at 7am after being up all night! I've smoked just about every day since!!

Many of my friends smoke but few admit to hating smoking and are only beginning to make attempts to quite (we are in our early 30's) now. In my adult life I have always been vocal about the fact that I hate the fooking things... but once I have a few beers I care less :rolleyes:

jgbyr

Hi all. I have been reading the posts here with great interest.
I have my perscription so will be getting it at the weekend & starting them next Monday. Its great that most of you have found it worthwhile. I'm a bit nervous about starting especially with the side effects you all have mentioned. Still it will be worth it as I do want to stop.You all are very positive. Will keep checking here.
Keep up the good work.

connewitz

Lots of new messages and stories! Thanks lilmissy and mrs.walton for all your support to the struggling community!:D You are doing now, what a lot of us "old" quitters have done before. Nice to see, it still works. All of you have this moments of doubt and hate of the champix. IT WILL GO AWAY!!! PROMISED!!!
Next month I am off the cigs for 2 years!:D Would have been impossible without champix. I went through all the usual stuff, nicotine plaster, spray, inhalers and cold turkey. Nothing beats champix. But be aware of this "one" cigarette! It will kick you back to square one in no time!
Keep on going! You all are doing just fine!:)

celticcrash

The last 2 days I halved my dosage to 1mg a day because of the sicky feeling. Off smokes 34 days now.
I woke up this morning in a bad humor. After an hour I put one of my wifes ciggs in my mouth. I will have a shower first and than I will see.
During the shower I realized that it was the lowering of the dosage that was making me feel this way. I am back up to my 2mg a day and I have no cravings for a smoke. I have read on here that some people halved their dosage because of the sicky feeling and that they have got away with it.
From now on I am sticking to the prescribed dosage as I found out it can be dangerous to mess around with it. I got a lucky escape. Now I dont mind the sicky feeling so much. Better feeling a bit sicky for an another few weeks than pumping nicotine through my system for the rest of my life.
I would rely feel a lot more sick if I woke up in the morning knowing that I was back on the smokes.
Any posters on here thats off them for 2 months or longer I would love to here from them again, to see how they are getting on.
Dont forget us, we need encouragement.