Champix aka Chantix/Varenicline

SMK

That's brilliant news DonnieL. It's great to see the health results from giving up smoking. I had a dreadful smoker's cough before I gave up and it disappeared within a couple of days of stopping!

DonnieL

Thanks SMK!
Yeah when he told me that, I was stoked!!:D

OK, I'm attaching some more "Points to Ponder" that I received this Morning. More advantages of quiting.. This is for all of you that are "WORKIN' IT"!! :D
By the way, with the money I'm saving by quitting I've had all new dual pane windows put in my townhome and the payments are less than what I was paying for smokes every month..

Tip

Where is everyone - quitting with Champix ???????
Day 20 + 7th day smoke free for me. Its just great to have come this far
I certainly could not have achieved this without Champix and Alan Carr.
Not having too many side effects just the flatulance !!!!!!!!!!!!. The amazing thing is I feel much better on tabs since I quit smoking. Had a really bad craving today lasted long time. pushed it out of my mind but it came back again as strong within hr. Have not relented as it would mean goin to shop to purchase cigs + I ain't doing that.

DonnieL

Great work Tip!! I still have 8 1/2 packs of smokes in my freezer from my quit date on January 12th. Haven't even had any desire to go near them.
Keep up the great work!!:D

Tip

Have to share this
Day 21 + Day 8 off smokes
1 Week off cigs - and NO WEIGHT GAIN . I am so thrilled with myself.
(if ye recall last time I quit cigs I put on 3 stone in less than yr). I must say that I have not felt that awful hunger while on Champix and been ok
to eat my normal meals plus sugar free mints + gum ( lots) I am also walking for 1 hr every day. The walking is great as it reinforces how good it is to breathe free !!!!!!!!.

pinnyoshea

Hey Donnie,

How are things. Im glad to see you are still going strong. Im still off them aswell. Finished my degree and on the hunt for a job while I wait to hear back on my application for a masters course. Got a job interview this afternoon actually so fingers crossed. How are you keeping, any news?

DonnieL

Pinnyoshea, congratulations on finishing your degree!! And I wish you the best of luck on your job interview and job search. Glad to hear that you're still clean too!;):D It's great to hear from you again!

Not much new here except that I turned another year older yesterday!

Tip, That is great news! You walk an hour a day?:eek: Not all at one time I hope. That would be quite a distance. I used to walk 2 miles before my lunch until I started having leg problems.

Keep up the great work! And as I said before, BE PROUD!:)

DonnieL

Poutbutton, Poutbutton, where art thou Poutbutton????!!!:D:rolleyes:;)

Poutbutton

Hi Guys Hi DonnieL I'm back! Going by your posts you sound great.

Sorry for the lapse in posts I've been having trouble logging in. Whenever I tried to log in or post a reply I instantly got logged out again and I got fed up of requesting new passwords and then still getting nowhere but it seems to have worked at last fingers crossed!

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer at last it has arrived and with a bang! 26 degrees today and unfortunately, 30 inside my car ouch!

I've been busy with weekends away and weddings and work and friends all good but my bad news is I'm still smoking. About 3 packs a week.
some days 3 or 4 cigarettes other days a little more depending on the company. I do intend going back on champix but I'm just not in that place right now. I have a big holiday coming up in July so I may go for it then if not before.

I cant get over how many new Champix users have joined the thread, well done and best of luck to you all. How is it going?

Tip

Day 26 Champix - on 13th Day Smoke Free and doing great. Gas and Flatulence have eased off , getting some small cravings but managable. Still taking things one day at a time, but this time I have a feeling in my gut I will never smoke again !!!!!!!!!. I just dont seem to miss them, like last time I quit, when I went into mourning that I could never smoke again. Maybe I am older and wiser now and so glad to breathe free, or is it the Champix ?????.

Poutbutton

Hi Tip well done I was there but stupidly stopped taking champix due to nausea/a housemove and law exams...I vow to return when I get my head back in champix mode. It's a great feeling to be off them is'nt it. Do you have many smokers in your social circle? I find that particularly difficult:(

Tip

Poutbutton I must say that I am chuffed to be Smoke Free. I was a seasoned and confirmed Smoker of 35 yrs . I never thought I would be able to quit. With Champix it made quitting very doable. Along with Allen Carrs Easy way to stop Smoking, it put my thought process in the right place. I never intend to put another fag in my mouth again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Last time I gave up I did my own head in - wishing I could just have 1 cigarette. !!!!!! I so know that I can never have just 1 cig its 20 a day until they kill me :mad:. Poutbutton the good thing for me is that most people in my circle have quit smoking and all will say it was one of their best achievements and decisions .( 2 quit in past 12 mths). This past weekend I was out drinking 3 nights in a row and with Smoking Ban in pubs I found it no trouble at all. I know I will have to be very careful when I have alcohol. You will give up again when time is right for you. Get your head right first and the giving up will be all the easier.

DonnieL

Hey Poutbutton! Great to see you back on! Listen to Tip! LOL. A couple of weeks ago he was beating himself up because he couldn't understand why it was to hard to quit!!

That's ok my dear, you'll know when the time is right and no one can point fingers. We've all been there and done that!!:pac:

Tip, you keep up the great work!!:D

Poutbutton, I don't know if you noticed in one of my earlier posts that my Hematologist finally came out and said that I was the first case of smoking related polycythemia vera that he's seen since practicing medicine. I don't have to go back until September.

Poutbutton

I know DonnieL that is great I read it, you will go down in medical history! :pac: It's amazing really, it should be inspriation enough for me to quit

cgan086

over 5 weeks of fags with champix whoo yeah. just back from a 2 week holiday wasn't even tempted to smoke and enjoyed the holiday much more due to no smokers cough. champix for smokers should be made compulsory:)

DonnieL

Cgan086, that's great! You should give your self a big reward!! I'll be off the smokes 6 months come June 12th.

cgan086

I'm delighted.
The funny thing is if you go back through the comments on this thread you'd see that at day like 8 or 9 i was really doughtfull that they where working. Now its great.

The only question is when do i come off the pills? I have 1 week left yesterday on my 2nd pack.

I know the americans say 6 months and my irish gp said 3 months so i'm a bit unsure any advice would be much appreciated?

Thanks

DonnieL

Hi CGAN086,

Here in the states it's 12 weeks (2 prescriptions). Which would be the 3 months as your PCP says. I don't don't know where the six month thing came from! I haven't had a smoke in 6 mos. I've been off the Chantix for a while now.

Glad to hear you're doing so well and are so happy! As I said, you deserve to reward yourself!!:D

cgan086

It actually wasn't my gp that suggested six months, ( my Bad ) it's actually the advice in the pack and for the last 2 months it says the packs contain 1/2 the normal 1 mg dosage. Was it not the same for you?

DonnieL

No, my first pack was 3 days of .5 mg then the rest of the first week was 1 ea 1mg once a day. Then my quit date was day 8 and that's when I started the 2/ea 1mg a day for the remainder of the program.

DonnieL

DonnieL wrote: »

No, my first pack was 3 days of .5 mg then the rest of the first week was 1 ea 1mg once a day. Then my quit date was day 8 and that's when I started the 2/ea 1mg a day for the remainder of the program.

Unlesss it's changed in the last year the .5mg tablets are only used for the first 2 weeks. Then you are supposed to go to 1mg twice a day. After a few weeks I went down to 1mg once a day, taken late-morning / lunchtime and that was enough for me. When I was stopping (after about 3.5 months I think) I used to cut the 1mgs into 2 to make .5mgs and take them once a day for a week, then every second day for 10 days - so as to taper off and make it easier on my nervous system to get used to reduced and eventual no champix.

DonnieL

Well, it must be a lot different over on that side of the "pond". I knew it was somewhat more lenient over there but not that much so.:eek:

cgan086

just back from your side of the pond ( florida ) so much to do, don't know why anyone over there would smoke in the 1st place. ye should try living here for a couple of years. They say the Irish drink too much, If thats true it's only because we have nothing else to do.

No wonder they reccommend an extra 3 months:)

DonnieL

Yeah, tell me about it. Back in my twenties I had a roommate who was Irish and so was his girlfriend. Jimmy Pike and Arleen Conlin! Jimmy was a bartender at one of the high end hotels in Palm Springs where we lived. He was always practicing mixing, pouring, creativity, etc. Guess who was his guinea pig. Sometimes his girl friend would come over in the morning on her way to work and find us both passed out on the living room floor! L.O.L. She'd lose her Irish temper and kick the "you know what" out of both of us!!:eek::cool:

cgan086

DonnieL wrote: »

Yeah, tell me about it. Back in my twenties I had a roommate who was Irish and so was his girlfriend. Jimmy Pike and Arleen Conlin! Jimmy was a bartender at one of the high end hotels in Palm Springs where we lived. He was always practicing mixing, pouring, creativity, etc. Guess who was his guinea pig. Sometimes his girl friend would come over in the morning on her way to work and find us both passed out on the living room floor! L.O.L. She'd lose her Irish temper and kick the "you know what" out of both of us!!:eek::cool:

sounds like me most wk ends. When I'm not working of course. Although if i lived over there i think i'd be doing like indoor sky diving or shooting frisbees with a rocket launcher or something i picked up at the local supermarket without even showing my id.

Think if i lived over there with so mush to keep you occupied quitting smoking may have been a bit easier.


Then again maybe not.

DonnieL

Actually cgan086, if you've been a smoker for a number of years, I don't think it matters where you are, it's never easy to quit! I've never been to Ireland or anywhere in Europe but I know even with everything there is to do here (I'm in hearing distance of Disneyland fireworks in Anaheim, ca.) It's an addiction that is very difficult to kick! Thank God for Chantix! I don't think I could have done it without that help! So, give yourself a pat on the back!:D

cgan086

No way i could have stopped without it either. Kind of funny, was only beside you there a couple of weeks ago. Disney world and all that.

On a more serious note though i had been smoking for more than 11 years and tried everything to stop, including hypnotism which worked for a couple of weeks. Only recently heard about champix, who knew?

The side affects are a bit annoying but more than worth it. It really should be advertised better.

DonnieL

Hi CGAN, actually you're talking Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. I live near Disneyland in Anaheim, Ca. Although you were closer than usual, on this side of the "pond"!:D;)

cgan086

DonnieL wrote: »

Hi CGAN, actually you're talking Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. I live near Disneyland in Anaheim, Ca. Although you were closer than usual, on this side of the "pond"!:D;)

Ah sher weren't ye only down the road. ye mad scone ye.

Came off the pills 2 days ago now, it's all good. Don't feel any different, i'm surprised.

Can't wait for a good nights sleep. the only bad point for me of using chantix is that I have'nt had a good nights sleep since i started the 1st pack.

It's such an anti-climax, not that i'm dissapointed. how was it for you?

DonnieL

Glad to hear that you're off the meds! Great!!;):D

It was smooth sailing for me. I didn't have any of the side effects except for a couple of "good" dreams. I never sleep that good anyway so I probably wouldn't have noticed a difference.

It just feels so good to be free of the habit! Not having to worry about where to carry my smokes, find a place to smoke, feeling like a vagrant standing outside having a smoke.. Ahh yes, things are good!:D