I tend to be a little depressed and anxious (gee anyone wonder why I smoke?). I'm interested in this med but afraid to try it.
I’ll start, I quit Oct 28, and have not smoked since. This drug might not be right for you, but it was easy for me.....20 Year Smoker.
I spoke to my doctor about this just yesterday, my brother used it and it worked great for him. My doctor and I decided against it for me, I too am anxious and get into funks as well. I don’t believe I am suicidal at all but when I read about these side effects it scares me. I’m going to try hypnotism first.
Since the Wellbutrin fiasco, however, I have been smoking considerably less. Half a pack on a stressful day, but four or five smokes a day is more my norm.
Not an issue. I work as an Engineer in a high stress environment. Before that I was in the Navy for 14 years. I had been smoking for close to 22 years. I followed the Chantix program... 1 week smoking and taking the drug then 3 weeks not smoking and taking the drug. I am married to a smoker with tried to quit with me. I made it she didn’t. I tried to help her but she just isn’t ready to quit. I was. Bottom line it worked for me... almost a year now smoke free. The wife still smokes in the house. I still get cravings I guess I always will. It is a matter of willpower now. I know I don’t “have” to have a cigarette and when the urge does sneak up and blind side me I manage to fight it down. Now all I have to do is loose some weight and I’m all good.
I don’t know if Chantix will be right for you but I do know that If YOU are not ready to quit then nothing will help. So before you set yourself up for failure make sure you ARE ready. Have a supply of trident available and be ready for sore jaw muscles..... chewing gum is hard work if you don’t chew it regularly. You need to change a number of your habits. Identify where and when you blaze up. then change it. Break out of the cycles by doing things differently. I used to smoke on the drive into work. That was the hardest habit to break. I took to chewing gum on the ride in. Driving different routes, doing things like changing the music I listened too.
Bottom line Chantix is a crutch. It was useful to me. BUT YOU HAVE TO WANT TO QUIT!
I took it for about a week and a half before I came down with pnuemonia and was in the hospital for a week. Never took it again. I didn’t smoke while in the hospital, but two days after I got home, I started smoking again. I still have the chantix but I never got back on it.
My husband and I and my parents have been discussing all the stressors that keep me down and my job is #1 on my list. Last week, we had 5 people out with uppper respritory sickness, then some others wouldn’t go home, then the boss’s daughter brought one of her kids who had the stomach flu to work with her because she couldn’t leave him at home - then my boss wonders why I get sick.... Now, we’re in “cedar season” again and what do you know, here I am with another bout of pnuemonia again! Luckily we caught it early enough I didn’t have to stay in the hospital. However, I believe I may have cracked a rib from all the coughing. Going back to the dr. today to see if I’m getting better. I haven’t worked since last Thursday. Not sure I’ll have a job when it’s all said and done, but maybe that’s a good thing.
It sucks being so addicted to something you know is going to kill you eventually. I sat with my granny 2 years ago as she lay in her bed dying from copd - and even in the last hours of her life, she would reach for her Camel’s just to take a puff. I see that in myself and it scares me. As bad as I feel though, I still light one and hold it or draw in just enough to fill my mouth to let the nicotine get in my system just to calm down. I’ve often gone head to head with people over my kids and have said I’d go up against the devil himself for my kids. I feel like I’m up against him now over these damn cigarettes. Ugh.
I wonder if I’ll ever break this addiction and finally get well.
I believe I posted on that thread. Got the Chantix near the end of Feb./beginning of March. They say you’re supposed to take it for a minimum of 3 months, recommended to go 6 months. I took it for a month and a half, and simply started forgetting taking my daily pill. Some of my friends thought the pill itself would be addictive, or that my cravings would come back when I quit taking it. Neither of these occurred. Obviously, I did not commit suicide either.
Happy little buzz when you take the first one. Supposed to make your dreams really vivid, but that never happened to me (kinda disappointing, really...I signed on for vivid dreams).
Bottom line...the stuff works. It doesn’t take all cravings away, it just makes them easier to deal with. They last for a split second instead of minutes and they’re easy to ignore, and get easier as time goes on. That’s the good thing about starting...each day gets easier. Now, over a year later, I get a craving about 1-2 times a month, and I wouldn’t even call it a craving...just my subconsious noticing that I don’t do something that I used to. More like when your favorite TV show gets canceled than getting over an addiciton.
It would be difficult for me to become a smoker now. I tried cigarettes a few times since and they made me physically ill, just like the first one that I ever smoked. It reset my brain to day one.
Biggest problems: none to speak of while taking it. As I said, I never had suicidal thoughts. More along the lines of apathy, at first. Nothing really bothered me much, which is good when you’re trying to quit.
Afterward, I gained weight. That was the biggest problem. I waited until I had the cigarette habit out of my system before I tried to do anything about it, too, and I’d recommend the same for you if you have that problem. You can only tackle one thing at a time. I’ve lost nearly 20 lbs. now, however.
I have recommended this to all my friends, most of whom are not yet ready to quit. My brother tried it, but his stated goal was to smoke less, not stop altogether. He did slow down, but only while he took the medicine. And, he didn’t take it regularly. That won’t work. You have to make it your goal to quit, and use as directed.
And, as I said earlier I only took the starter pack and got one refill, of which I finished half. I don’t recommend this method for everyone, but it worked for me and saved me some $$$.
I hope this helps. I’d recommend the stuff wholeheartedly to anyone interested in quitting.
I took Chantix last year. Went through the starter pack and quit. Then started smoking again. Went through another starter pack, same deal. Looking back, I just wasn’t ready.
I’m married now, and we’re trying to have kids. I really want to quit - the personal stakes are a lot higher now. I’m just about through the starter pack, and I convinced my doc to give me the continuing prescription up front, so I can have those pills on hand before I run out.
I have had a lot of the normal side effects. Some nausea and this time much constipation (sorry for sharing). Don’t remember those last time, but one I have always experienced is the vivid dreams/nightmares and sleep interruption. That’s the hardest to deal with IMHO as I’m often more exhausted when I wake up than when I go to sleep. I also frequently go to bed, wake up three hours later wide awake, and then lay in bed for 3+ hours, then fall asleep an hour or two before I have to wake up. Frustrating, to say the least.
Right now (I’ve been on for three weeks, with two weeks no smoking), I have a craving once every four or five days, and its no big deal. I don’t have the addiction symptoms, but I still have the occassional desire for a smoke because, to be frank, I really liked smoking. However, now its more like the desire to have a huge hot fudge sundae or some other treat - sure, I’d like to have one, but I’m a big boy and can live without it. I really like a nice cold sugar-filled Coke, but I haven’t had one of those in months, so I can live without another smoke.
I’ve committed to myself to stay on for twelve weeks unless the side effects get unbearable. If that happens, I’ll at least try lowering the dosage first, but I want to cement this quit by staying on that long. That’ll take me to June, and I figure that there’s so much to do in the summertime, that I’ll be able to keep busy.
Would be nice to get a good nights’ sleep in the meantime, but I didn’t exactly sleep well when smoking either.
One thing I’ve noticed, and I’ve also seen this on other boards - the Chantix symptoms seem to get worse each time you try it. If you suspect you’ll have a bad reaction, its best to get it over with the first time.