Anyone Else Using Chantix to Quit Smoking?

[Patch'sD]

I am preparing to start Chantix next week. I have joined Free and Clear, which provides support and allows for me to have my Health Insurance cover the cost of the Meds. I will try to keep you informed of the dreams. For the past week I have been reducing my cigarettes to 1 per hour before I start the Meds. So far I have been able to handle that, and I am having Vivid Dreams without the Chantix. I was wondering if any of the Posters on this thread have any updates.

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

I have read many of the threads and all seem positive and successful for those who have taken Chantix. I just failed AGAIN after 8 weeks trying cold turkey to quit smoking, so my doctor prescribed Chantix. I have to be honest I am terrified about taking this medicine and I have been delaying it. I restarted smoking due to depression and mood swings, that although temporary I began to get really guilty that my husband and son were suffering the backlash. It always seems to get worse after the 6 week period. Any way as you can imagine I am now even more depressed at failing again. I was wondering how bad these dreams Chantix causes are, and are they controllable. I avoid medication at all costs if I can more due to past history and to be honest my fears of the side effects of Chantix are my biggest fear more so then the medication not working for me. I so want to quit, my husband did 6 years ago, my age and my son are my biggest reasons. If anyone can advise me or just reassure me so I can somehow out way my very real fears I would be more then thankful.

What's is nice about Chantix is that you do not have to quit smoking when you begin taking it. Give chantix a chance, and if for some reason you are unhappy with it, just stop taking it! I enjoyed the dreams, they were not bad for me, just a little more vivid, kind of fun actually. Most people I talked to did not actually have a change with dreams. I know a lot of people who have quit by using this medication. I do suggest eating before taking it. Some people experience being a little queasy for just a little while right after they take it. Some people (including me) cut them in half to reduce the queasy feeling and that worked great. It won't hurt to try!! Good luck to you!!
-mary

I am preparing to start Chantix next week. I have joined Free and Clear, which provides support and allows for me to have my Health Insurance cover the cost of the Meds. I will try to keep you informed of the dreams. For the past week I have been reducing my cigarettes to 1 per hour before I start the Meds. So far I have been able to handle that, and I am having Vivid Dreams without the Chantix. I was wondering if any of the Posters on this thread have any updates.

Go for it!! Let chantix help you reduce smoking, it's kind of automatic! Not disney "magic" - but kind of sort of "magic"!! Good luck to you too!

I hope you both check in and let us know how you are doing!
-mary

 

[poohandwendy]

I don't have any Chantix stuff to share, I just wanted to wish everyone luck quitting!

I know how hard it is, keep up the good work! Don't beat yourself up if you have a set back, but don't allow it to make you feel defeated. Get back up on the horse and try again. It's worth it.

 

[disney kid at heart]

I had quit using Chantix and I was so proud of myself. And my family was really happy, but I started going thru a bad time in December and just wanted 1 cigarette. It really is like a drug. After that I started smoking again. I'm going to start taking again and hope it I will be able to stop for good. Don't forget anyone that is taking Chantix, when you go off it, you must wean yourself off because that can cause some serious side effects if you abruptly stop them. It is a miracle drug and I was just to weak at the time. Hopefully I will succeed this time. Good luck to all trying Chantix for the 1st time and all that have been so successful in quiting this horrible addiction.

 

[Patch'sD]

My Quit Date was April 13th. I Have been Smoke Free for just over 100 Hours (4 Days) now. I have had no side effects from the Chantix and am taking the full dosage, 2 Mg per day. I am having a lot of triggers. Getting up in the morning, after meals, getting in the car, Phone Meetings at Work. My wife still smokes and seeing the cigarettes around the house makes it hard. I am starting to notice the smell of smoke now and can feel my breathing improving. I have spoken with my Quit Coach twice, and get the feeling that if I told them if I was going to jump off a building without smoking they would say " Great and We are behind you all of the way" I have had a couple of days of some anxiety and can some times be cranky. So far I have saved $ 20.00 in not buying cigarettes. Looking forward to starting my second week. Also this is the longest I have gone without smoking Cigrattes in 35 years.

 

[luvsJack]

Patch's D: Hang in there! My quit date was 1/01/08 and so far so good! I still have a few triggers and a few anxious moments, but I know now I don't want to have to start over so that keeps me from grabbing that smoke! My dh still smokes too so I know just how you feel about having the cigarettes around, it will get easier. Every day you get through without a cigarette, makes the next one a little easier.

 

[Patch'sD]

LuvsJack are you still on the Chantix or off of it now. I notice that you Started back in November. If you are off it now, how was getting off.

 

[luvsJack]

I did start taking Chantix in November, and was trying to quit within a week of starting. I would go a day or so and then smoke one or two again. Dh was home a lot at that time (he drives a truck), so my routine was off a bit and with the stress of the holidays it just wasn't the best time to try and quit, I guess. I kept taking the Chantix the whole time, and truthfully I wasn't "craving" a smoke, just, maybe, more or less satisfying the habit of lighting one up. Anyway, Dh went back on the road on 1/1, and I knew he would be gone for at least a week. So, I set the 1st as my new quit date. And that time seemed to be the charm. I haven't smoked one since.

I took the Chantix for a couple of weeks after that and then stopped taking it. I really couldn't tell a difference when I stopped taking it. I didn't have a lot of side effects from the chanitix, just the vivid dreams; it took those a week or so to really stop.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Patch, you're doing awesome! You're through the roughest time: The time you smoke and take the drug, as well as the first 72 hours without nicotine. Try and stay positive. Enjoy some things that really only a nonsmoker would enjoy. Hopefully your wife will join you after seeing how doable quitting smoking is for you.

I remember starting this thread, gosh, nearly a year ago. I hit my one-year mark on 5/22. If I can do this, I know you can, too. Just stay strong and don't throw away all of your hard work. Every minute is a little easier than the prior minute. The minutes turn into days, days into weeks, weeks into months. Don't jump off a building and don't give in. The worst is behind you. The anxiety and grouchies are totally normal. But just stay positive, strong and reward yourself.

Every time you smoked, your brain interpreted that as a happy spot. You need to figure out new happy spots for your brain so the grouchies and anxiety become less and less. Use that money you're saving for happy spots. Take advantage of your better lung function and do some things physically that you wouldn't have been able to as a smoker. Enjoy foods and drink again (everything will taste different if you've smoked for so long). Take advantage of how wonderful things smell, too.

Unless you've been blessed with Chantix gas. If you're one of the unlucky ones who have "the gas," wait until you're finished with Chantix to enjoy the new smells

Congrats!!!!!!

 

[tiki23]

Just checking in to say to all of us quitters!

It does indeed get easier. Next week I will be 6 mos quit but about 6 weeks ago I went through a horrible couple of weeks where the urges were hitting me like a brick every day - ugh. NO WAY though was I going to smoke and have to start all over again at the bottom of the rope.

I've been feeling great since then though and am working on improving my health, strength and weight.

Huge kudos to you Patch'sD for making the best decision of your life. I know you can do this. You'll never regret quitting smoking, you'll only regret going back to it.

 

[Patch'sD]

Well today is day 10. Urges are getting less frequent and go away quicker now. So far the only thing that tasted different was Spagetti Sauce, I thought it was a little acidic. I am eating more and weighing more. I guess I will have to start taking our westie's Lex and Dex out for their walk and use the basement gym that I built last year. I have no side effects from the Chantix now. I don't even think I am having Vivid dreams, I can't remember any. The hardest part so far is seeing an open pack of smokes and having that trigger the urge to grab one. My wife is trying to keep them out of site but it slips up. I have not been that cranky yet. Best thing is that I have saved $ 50.00 so far by not smoking. My wife is smoking less, her last carton lasted almost 11 days. Chewing a lot of gum, Having Wasbi Peas and Garlic Seasme Sticks. Will Check In again Soon

 

[tiki23]

HUGE pats on the back for you! You are AWESOME!

Well today is day 10. Urges are getting less frequent and go away quicker now. So far the only thing that tasted different was Spagetti Sauce, I thought it was a little acidic. I am eating more and weighing more. I guess I will have to start taking our westie's Lex and Dex out for their walk and use the basement gym that I built last year. I have no side effects from the Chantix now. I don't even think I am having Vivid dreams, I can't remember any. The hardest part so far is seeing an open pack of smokes and having that trigger the urge to grab one. My wife is trying to keep them out of site but it slips up. I have not been that cranky yet. Best thing is that I have saved $ 50.00 so far by not smoking. My wife is smoking less, her last carton lasted almost 11 days. Chewing a lot of gum, Having Wasbi Peas and Garlic Seasme Sticks. Will Check In again Soon

 

[Patch'sD]

Well it's now been just over a month 33 days but who's counting. Can see my breathing doing better, lost about 5 lbs of the 15 lbs I gained. Walking two miles a day. Dogs seem to be enjoying the walks also. Urges come and go quickly. I am starting to cut back on the Chantix missing some nights. I sort of miss the Starter Packs, with the days laid out. Savings to date about $ 250.00. Keep you posted

 

[Patch'sD]

Eight Weeks now almost two months and no slip ups. Still trying to lose the weight. I walk about 40 Minutes a Day, Ride the Bike for 20 Minutes and Do weights for about 10. Took myself off the chantix at about seven weeks in. When the FAA said no pilots could use it, I decided that it was time to stop using it. It is a wonder drug as this if furthest I have ever got with quiting smoking. Just in time for the NY State Tax increase.

 

[nobodies36]

Well, that is me nearly a year smoke free. I decided that all the money I saved was going to go to good use and (as you can see from my signature) I put it to excellent use and purchased 220 BCV points and it was all thanks to the Chantix and the love and support I felt from everyone here to succeed this time.

I just wanted to share this for anyone that needs a little boost (or even a reason).

 

[tiki23]

 

[PatsMom]

It is coming up on two years for me now. I started Chantix when it was so new that I had to tell my doctor about it. It hit the market around the end of August or the beginning of September 2006. I quit 9/12/2006 and have been smoke free ever since! I know some are reporting bad side effects from the drug and when DH tried it, he was so depressed that it was awful and had to stop. But I definitely think it should remain a treatment option for people to try. I stopped taking Chantix in December 2006 on a trip to WDW - it always made me a little nauseous and I wanted to be able to enjoy my food!

Patch'sD - the weight does eventualy come off but it is hard. Walking helps. It is also what I do when I get the urge to smoke. And I do still get the urge sometimes. I've talked to others who have the urge to smoke years later. I just take a walk and tell myself that it won't be just one cigarette - I'll be up to a pack a day in no time and will have to start all over again!

 

[tiki23]

It is coming up on two years for me now.... I stopped taking Chantix in December 2006 on a trip to WDW - it always made me a little nauseous and I wanted to be able to enjoy my food!

.....I just take a walk and tell myself that it won't be just one cigarette - I'll be up to a pack a day in no time and will have to start all over again!

Congrats to you PatsMom! 2 years is fantastic.

I quit taking Chantix before our 2007 trip; my goal was to NOT take the "DSA Tour" of WDW ever again, and so far, so good.

I always tell myself to remember that there will never be that one "perfect" smoke like I remember it - that feeling of relief, when finally getting to have a smoke after a long flight, meeting, whatever - that if I choose to smoke that one cigarette I will feel naseous, sick, disgusted, guilty...and that it will lead to many more.

NOPE! is my motto:

Not
One
Puff
Ever!

 

[PatsMom]

Congrats to you PatsMom! 2 years is fantastic.

I quit taking Chantix before our 2007 trip; my goal was to NOT take the "DSA Tour" of WDW ever again, and so far, so good.

I always tell myself to remember that there will never be that one "perfect" smoke like I remember it - that feeling of relief, when finally getting to have a smoke after a long flight, meeting, whatever - that if I choose to smoke that one cigarette I will feel naseous, sick, disgusted, guilty...and that it will lead to many more.

NOPE! is my motto:

Not
One
Puff
Ever!

I love your motto - I think I am going to adopt it. I think one of my greatest feelings of success was when WDW went all non-smoking in the hotels and DVC and my reaction was a big "so what"!

 

[Patch'sD]

yesterday was three months. Had two issues that really put on some heavy duty stress. Still Smoke Free not even a puff. feel better every day. Now I have to get my Weight back down. No more snacks.