Anyone Else Using Chantix to Quit Smoking?

[PlutoLuvr]

Wow ... your mom's been smoking on Chantix for five months? I guess I misunderstood and thought she'd just begun the med.

Did she not pick a quick date? Was she able to make it any days smoke-free once she picked a date?

I'm so sorry. I guess I really don't have any advice here. I smoked a couple weeks on the med and know lots who smoked almost the first month before picking a quit date, but I'm at a loss.

Is her physician aware she's smoking this long on the med?

I sure hope the best for her (and you and your family!!!!)

 

[rie'smom]

N o,she's never gone 1 day w/out smoking. She has no intention of quitting completely. Is it dangerous for her to smoke while on Chantix? If it is,then I'll ask my dad to call the doctor.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Rie'smom, honestly, I'm not sure if it's dangerous. I know Chantix is to be used for quitting, not cutting down. And everyone I know personally who's quit with it was a monster the days/weeks they were smoking on the med before they picked their quit date.

I know that Pfizer addresses the particular brain receptor 5-HT3 that Chantix targets in its literature for physicians. You can download this at the Pfizer website. Someone I chat with who's very well versed in chemistry, Chantix and brain receptors posted this at the Topix forum I provided a link for at the very beginning of this thread (evidently Suboxone targets the same receptors as Chantix):

"Chantix works like Suboxone. People who go on Suboxone to quit heroin will go into near instant painful withdrawal if they take heroin while on the drug. I would strongly advise NOT SMOKING while on Chantix. They likely did not include much about this in the literature so as not to scare people off but the Chantix molecule binds to nicotine receptor with higher affinity than cigarettes, if you smoke, you're bouncing back and forth with what is binding where. If Chantix isn't binding to the nicotine receptors, it's off to those 5-HT3 which potentially equally really bad side-effects. "

If I were you, I would absolutely suggest your dad call the doctor. This stuff is really different than nicotine replacement therapy. Frankly, I couldn't imagine living months the way I felt on the med and smoking.

I sure wish the best for you all!

 

[preb]

Add me to the list! I'm on day 5 with Cantix and I'm gearing up for my quit date. I'm smoking about 1/2 of what I normally did. I did have a hard time sleeping last night and certainly had some strange dreams! I started a blog to keep my hands busy and my mind focused.

Good luck to all of us!

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Whooo-hoooo, Preb!!!!!!



Sounds like you're right on track to being smoke free! The dreams are wild, aren't they?

Great idea on the blog. Is it quit-related?

Keep us posted on how you make out

 

[preb]

I'll give you the link! If you're new to blogging, you read from the bootom up.

http://exsmokertobe.blogspot.com/

 

[WDWBarb]

Because I am READY to have that title!!

It's been awhile since I've checked in here but I started the Chantix almost 5 weeks ago (I think - I haven't kept the best track of time). I quit after 9 days of smoking (to coincide with my DH's quit date, also on Chantix). I will admit to cheating a bit that first week so I can say that I have been smoke free for 3 weeks (4 weeks this Friday!!!).

That being said ... I also quit the Chantix almost 2 weeks ago now. I was one who suffered many side effects (nightmares, nausea, and I felt completely like the meanest person on Earth). I then read on here about side effects that continue after you stop taking the pills. That was enough to convince me that I was done with taking them.

My experience appears to be very unusual and I don't suggest that anyone take this to mean that you will go through the same things. The net of it is that I did QUIT smoking. I do still crave a smoke every now and then but feel much less likely to pick them up again. After all, that last cigarette when I was on Chantix tasted terrible. It also smelled bad. As long as I remember that I feel very empowered to overcome any cravings.

Chantix was just that boost I needed to be done with tobacco. I am having a few anxiety issues post-medication and I feel a bit depressed from time to time but I know this is only temporary. I can, however, breathe easier the rest of my life.

I was afraid that once I stopped the pills that I'd suddenly crave a smoke. I didn't. It may have been ever-so-slightly worse than during the time I was medicated but really not much. Not enough to make me smoke one.

DH is still on the medication and still not smoking (such a miracle - he was a 2+ pack a day smoker for more than 25 years...). He's had ab-so-lute-ly NO side effects. Sleeps like a baby and never felt better.

Hang in there fellow quitters!!!! I hope everyone is doing well!!!

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Oh, Barb, that is just so exciting! Yes, you are an ex-smoker!!!!

I still find it wild how differently folks respond to this drug. DH had very much the same reaction as you and only took it for about three weeks. He's still smoke-free and, all in all, glad he took Chantix for what traditionally is the hardest part of the quit. I took it for about seven weeks total. My mom took it for a little over two months. All of us are doing fine off the med!

I *think* the anxiety/blues are pretty common after quitting. I've got them, too, and the feelings started weeks after I'd finished Chantix. Some days are great and I'm on top of the world; other days, the slightest thing will set me off. I've read that it can take up to a year for us to adapt as nonsmokers no matter what we used to help us quit, i.e., NRT, cold turkey, meds. When you think about how many puffs our brains got every day and each puff made a direct hit with the "happy centers" of our brains, it makes sense that we almost need to recondition our brains to live without those puffs.

Anyway, Barb, I'm so happy for you and your DH! Isn't it LOVELY having that monkey off your back?

I hope everyone is doing great!!! DH & I are nearing the three-month mark on 8/22. And our four-month mark will be in Orlando!!! Actually, 9/22 is arrival day with the evening seeing Blue Man Group. It's a trip of "firsts" for us, too. We're trying plenty of new things that would have irritated us as smokers, for instance, Blue Man. We're also trying Citricos instead of our beloved Jiko, as well as trying Bistro de Paris for our wedding anniversary dinner.

We're very curious about how much time we'll save in Epcot because of not smoking. Epcot for us used to mean enter country, buy obligatory drink, find DSA, finish drink; head to next country and repeat. Chantix has friggin eliminated my desire to drink. Maybe in September heat in Epcot, I'll feel different, but even if we get a tasty beverage in each country, we'll be walking with it, not sitting in the DSAs. It shall be interesting and refreshing! I feel like we're going to WDW for the first time, lol.

 

[preb]

I just wanted to update that today is my quit date and I have been shocked and amazed that I have made it smoke free all day! Chantix really does work. It's not a walk in the park...I still have cravings, but they are controlable.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Preb, just wanted to let you know I've been checking on your progress via your blog. I don't have a Google blogger account thing to let me say hi over there.

Major congrats to you! And, yes, it does get easier

 

[L107ANGEL]

I just wanted to update that today is my quit date and I have been shocked and amazed that I have made it smoke free all day! Chantix really does work. It's not a walk in the park...I still have cravings, but they are controlable.

Thats great!! Just found this thread and my quit date is Aug 31st. Started the chantix yesterday. I am so ready to not be a smoker!

 

[disney kid at heart]

Great job all on Chantix If there is anyone that doesn't have insurance to cover or can't afford it, I have a phone # for
Pfizer and they have programs to help any age any income, so if you know anyone that has problems getting the Chantix, just let them know It's 1-866-706-2400 Keep up the good work all of you.

 

[preb]

Just bumping up to say that I'm on day 8 smoke free. If you or someone you love really wants to quit smoking, Chantix does help!

 

[irishbosoxfan]

Just wanted to add a quick post that yesterday was my 1 month anniversary of being smoke free!!

This stuff seriously works! If you're thinking about...go for it!!

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

My lifetime-smoking DH has been finished with the Chantix program for about 2 months now and still smoke-free!!!!! This is a miracle!

 

[KingTryton]

I must have missed this thread before. I had been a 2 pack a day smoker until December 6th 2006 for 35 years. Tried a few different times to quit with little success. Then I asked my Dr. about Chantix. Took it while I continued to smoke the first 2 weeks then stopped on my quit date. Very little in the way of urges and cravings were left and passed quickly. No real side effects except for a few wild dreams.
I've been smoke free for 9 months now-yes I still want a smoke. But I don't give in to those desires.
Good luck to all of you trying to quit. You feel so much better in just a few weeks after quitting.

 

[PatsMom]

Congrats to everyone who has quit! I am now up to almost a year. Chantix was so new when I got my prescription that I had to tell my doctor about it. I am off in 9 days to my second Disney vacation as a non-smoker. Unfortunately my DH continues to smoke so I haven't left the DSAs entirely. But he doesn't do a lot of the attractions so we make him go smoke while DD and I are on Space Mountain, etc. Hard to believe that it has also been about nine months since I stopped taking the Chantix. I'd highly recommend giving this drug a try. If you can deal with the side effects, it can really help. The nausea was the worst for me. A woman I work with is now on day 3 following her quit date on Monday. We have been encouraging her. Yesterday we went out to a Chinese restaurant for lunch and reminded her that the cost of lunch was less than she usually spent on cigarettes. I have definitely transitioned to thinking of myself as a former smoker. My doctor has even coded me that way in my medical records! I figure if I have made it almost a year, I can make it the rest of my life.

 

[C.Ann]

Time to bump this back up to page 1..

Congrats to all who have quit..

 

[L107ANGEL]

I must have missed this thread before. I had been a 2 pack a day smoker until December 6th 2006 for 35 years. Tried a few different times to quit with little success. Then I asked my Dr. about Chantix. Took it while I continued to smoke the first 2 weeks then stopped on my quit date. Very little in the way of urges and cravings were left and passed quickly. No real side effects except for a few wild dreams.
I've been smoke free for 9 months now-yes I still want a smoke. But I don't give in to those desires.
Good luck to all of you trying to quit. You feel so much better in just a few weeks after quitting.

How bad is the first 3 days? my quit date is Aug 31st.

 

[preb]

How bad is the first 3 days? my quit date is Aug 31st.

Not bad at all. Keep busy. Switch up your normal routines. Make some plans, like a movie or the mall, where you can't smoke.

I've tried to quit cold turkey, with the patch and hypnosis and failed terribly. I have no willpower. I am two weeks smoke free today with Chantix. That should tell you something!

If you want to quit, you can do this!

I've also sent you a PM.