PlutoLuvr
KORT RORP/ERS AULS TKPWET T LA*S WORD :)
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2006
- Messages
- 1,555
Wow! So many DISers (or family/friends of DISers) using this!!!!
And to those using other quit aids, keep it up! Whatever help we need gets us to the same goal: Not having to structure our theme park days around the DSAs ... among other things, of course
And thank you once again, C. Anne, for the bumps. I'm surprised even here locally at how few know about this new drug.
FWIW, Chantix seems to have broken one of my other addictions/habits, too. I no longer bite my nails. About a month into my quit, I just looked down and my fingers and nails were beautiful. I thought it was just a quirky thing with me until I looked at my mother's hands, as well as my hubby's (we all started together). All of us have stopped biting and chewing without even realizing it.
Good for you! Check out that link I provided earlier on in this thread for a huge support group. Lots of tips for all sorts of things, ranging from craves/urges to what others have done to make the med work best for them (physicians seem to be in the dark about a lot of stuff about Chantix -- mine told me to check the internet to see what others are doing for nausea!).
Not everyone gets the stomach issues. I had them horrible; DH had them mildly; my mother didn't have them at all.
First, take the med with a meal and at least 12 oz of water. Not a piece of toast or a cracker. A meal. If you're not a breakfast person, you're about to become one. I get constipated if I even think about a piece of cheese, so if you're prone to constipation, think fiber, fruit, daily walks and plenty of water. My breakfast is a rather large bowl of FiberOne, followed by a glass of pure fruit juice. Lunch and dinner I kept the same as I did before the pill.
Even this did not help the nausea. Mind you, the first week, I had no nausea. That was the week on the half doses. Once you start the second week, you're taking a whole 1-milligram pill twice a day. Made me horribly nauseous. I actually turned green. What worked for me like a charm was cutting those 1-milligram pills in half and taking them four times a day instead of twice. So a half with breakfast, a half with lunch, a half with dinner and then a half right when I'm going to bed.
Irritability: The first few days once you put the smokes down are the worst, but NOTHING compared to previous quits, IMO. I slept a lot. And not like during the day. I just went to bed a bit early. You should have a "plan," tho, of how you're going to handle your craves. Will it be gum or something similar? A small straw? A walk? What about in the car or on the phone? After dinner? You'll be able to ease into these situations your first week (s) while you're on the med and smoking and see how irritable you are.
Seriously, I'd liken the cravings/urges to anything you're not physically addicted to and can't have at this moment (don't think long-term -- it's one day at a time for those of us with addiction). What's your most favorite food in the world? If you don't have access to it right now, are you going to go out of your mind until you get that? Probably not. It will be a thought, like, "Man, that would be nice right now." And then, poof, it's gone.
That's been my, DH & my mother's experiences with irritability. Remember, Chantix gives you a continuous feed of dopamine. That's the stuff that makes us "happy" from chocolate, nicotine and an orgasm (watch your desire for chocolate and sex go right out the window for a while). So it really seems to take care of the irritability -- at least substantially decrease it from any other quit I've tried.
Best of luck! You can totally do it.
And to those using other quit aids, keep it up! Whatever help we need gets us to the same goal: Not having to structure our theme park days around the DSAs ... among other things, of course
And thank you once again, C. Anne, for the bumps. I'm surprised even here locally at how few know about this new drug.
FWIW, Chantix seems to have broken one of my other addictions/habits, too. I no longer bite my nails. About a month into my quit, I just looked down and my fingers and nails were beautiful. I thought it was just a quirky thing with me until I looked at my mother's hands, as well as my hubby's (we all started together). All of us have stopped biting and chewing without even realizing it.
Good for you! Check out that link I provided earlier on in this thread for a huge support group. Lots of tips for all sorts of things, ranging from craves/urges to what others have done to make the med work best for them (physicians seem to be in the dark about a lot of stuff about Chantix -- mine told me to check the internet to see what others are doing for nausea!).
Not everyone gets the stomach issues. I had them horrible; DH had them mildly; my mother didn't have them at all.
First, take the med with a meal and at least 12 oz of water. Not a piece of toast or a cracker. A meal. If you're not a breakfast person, you're about to become one. I get constipated if I even think about a piece of cheese, so if you're prone to constipation, think fiber, fruit, daily walks and plenty of water. My breakfast is a rather large bowl of FiberOne, followed by a glass of pure fruit juice. Lunch and dinner I kept the same as I did before the pill.
Even this did not help the nausea. Mind you, the first week, I had no nausea. That was the week on the half doses. Once you start the second week, you're taking a whole 1-milligram pill twice a day. Made me horribly nauseous. I actually turned green. What worked for me like a charm was cutting those 1-milligram pills in half and taking them four times a day instead of twice. So a half with breakfast, a half with lunch, a half with dinner and then a half right when I'm going to bed.
Irritability: The first few days once you put the smokes down are the worst, but NOTHING compared to previous quits, IMO. I slept a lot. And not like during the day. I just went to bed a bit early. You should have a "plan," tho, of how you're going to handle your craves. Will it be gum or something similar? A small straw? A walk? What about in the car or on the phone? After dinner? You'll be able to ease into these situations your first week (s) while you're on the med and smoking and see how irritable you are.
Seriously, I'd liken the cravings/urges to anything you're not physically addicted to and can't have at this moment (don't think long-term -- it's one day at a time for those of us with addiction). What's your most favorite food in the world? If you don't have access to it right now, are you going to go out of your mind until you get that? Probably not. It will be a thought, like, "Man, that would be nice right now." And then, poof, it's gone.
That's been my, DH & my mother's experiences with irritability. Remember, Chantix gives you a continuous feed of dopamine. That's the stuff that makes us "happy" from chocolate, nicotine and an orgasm (watch your desire for chocolate and sex go right out the window for a while). So it really seems to take care of the irritability -- at least substantially decrease it from any other quit I've tried.
Best of luck! You can totally do it.
The online help is kind of silly, but I will take any support I can get.
