Champix aka Chantix/Varenicline

DonnieL

Hey Gremlin, Thanks for sharing the IMPORTANT input! That's valuable information that we should all we aware of. I'm sorry the meds didn't work for you. But if you're off the smokes that's the most important thing!:)

Tellox, hope you've consulted with your Doctor by now or got off the pills until you find out more.

I start my 5th week smoke free tomorrow and fortunately haven't had any of the side effects that you've both had.

Take care and thanks again Gremlin. As I said the negative should be addressed as well as the positive.;)

Poutbutton

I should be on here reporting that I am now officially 3 weeks off the cigarettes and starting week 4 tomorrow but I have SHOCKING news to report. Last night I was at a party.............
the night was great fun & I never felt a twinge of craving until the wee hours of the morning when I was chatting to my "serious smoker" friend.
I took a dirty, filty, rotten cigarette in my hands & Lit it & took 2 puffs out of it :eek:
It was disgusting, I felt disgusting & I put it out. The brand are those that I detest & I cant believe I did it. It tasted awful, it made me feel sick & it made me cough this morning. Thats my breaking news! The end.

Moving swiftly on...............:o today is a new day & I did'nt get ANY cravings what so ever. I guess I now know when I'm at my most vulnerable to give in & slip up. Hilarious really considering stressful situations dont seem to be a trigger for me to smoke. Relaxing with friends who smoke obviously is! I need new tactics here!

DonnieL

Naw... You haven't sinned! You're human like all of us. None of us are out of the woods yet.:eek: I have yet to be exposed up close and personal with other smokers:cool:. I could happen to any of us. I'm just glad to hear that you got up this morning without any new cravings!! That's a plus!!:D

Poutbutton

Ah thanks Donnie Yea I even had car trouble & was stranded for a while this evening & all through thatI did'nt even think of a fag. So maybe my slip was enough to put me right off! I think the fact that my friend was allowed smoke inside was a big part of it, had it been a non-smoking house I never would have gone outside to smoke. My clothes reeked this morning too.
It's changed my mind about thinking I could maybe go off champix early, I think that I now need to stay right on it for the full course!

DonnieL

Hey, we're here to support each other! I think that's what this thread has been all about! As I said, none of us are out of the woods yet. Keep up the good work and you'll be fine.:D
Those that are having bad experiences from the Chantix/Champix need our support now. Gremlin and Tellox had some terrible experiences on the medication.:(

Poutbutton

Yea I dont feel like last nights slip will do any longterm harm. I still am a non smoker:D
Yes those stories are quite scary, I hope Tellox gets back on here & lets us know how he gets on. I did come accross some really serious stories on the net about people who became suicidal while taking champix. Good job the recovery once off it is quick.

Kahlan

Hey everyone,

okay so tomorrow (well officially today as it is past midnight) is the day that I don't smoke. My Quit day begins in a matter of hours!!!! Am weirdly not too freaked out about it and I think I can deal with the twinges/cravings. I can do this!!!

My weekend was great but not as crazy as I was expecting. I had the girlie night on Friday night which was nice and low key. Instead of going dancing in a club on Saturday night, I ended up staying in my best friends and danced to SALSASIZE with her and her little sis (this is after a day of wedding shopping!) We had lots of fun, and this morning we got up and built a snowman - Yes everyone it is snowing again!!! I didn't mind too much as I had nowhere to be in a hurry!!

Anyway, I gotta go, back in college tomorrow, fun fun fun,

xxxxx

celt262

This is day 28 on Campix for me and i haven't smoked for 20 days . It has being alot easier than i though and i have being out drinking 3 times and it hasn't bothered me one bit.

DonnieL

Hi Celt, Same here! I'm on day 29 and still haven't had the urge to smoke. My friends and family can't believe it. They ask me if it's some kind of Miracle Drug and at this point I'd have to say yes! I've tried numerous other ways and this is the only thing that has worked thus far.
Kahlan, you go girl! You can do it and at your young age you can gain so much from quitting! Mainly your health and a long life.

Poutbutton

Hey Folks
Go kahlan I cant wait to hear how your first day went!
I've got my last tablet left in my first months pack & forgot to go to the Chemists today for pack 2.:rolleyes:
Had car trouble last night & this morning, got a €1500 quote to repair it :mad: found out how much tax will be deducted from me with the new Brian mad Cowan salary theft malarky :eek: had to wait on buses twice in the freezing fog but did I think of smoking NOPE!

Kahlan

Dear all,

Okay so I had no cravings today, which was great! However, I have had an almost continuous stream of twinges saying, I should be smoking now! I told myself rather sternly (I did it in my best teacher voice in my head) NO Absolutely not!!!! So that is how it was all day. I think I might get fit out of this as well because I ended walking into town, then to stoneybatter, then to town, then back home, about 3 hours worth of walking to keep myself busy. I also went to cinema to see Underworld - The Rise of the Lycans which was ok.

You must all be thinking how did I have so much time free considering I am coming up to my finals - well, the college had an electrical fault and was cancelled from 12 onwards and I did not want to go home cause I knew that if I did I would just be sitting there thinking about smoking! So I just kept myself busy. Hopefully the college will be open tomorrow and I will be able to do some study in the Library!

All in all it has been much easier than any other time I have given up. Amongst my friends I am notorious for quitting and going back on them within 24 hours. Finally, I will break that barrier!!! I can't wait until I am over the first week!

Talk soon, and thank you all for your support!

xxxx

Poutbutton

Well done! Your first day over. Busy fever seems to come with giving up, I was like a tasmanian devil the first 3 days, full of energy & could'nt stop moving. I got loads done. It seems to be something that happens as the nicotene leaves your body, also you are taking in cleaner air so that gives you energy. It does settle down so make the most of it while it lasts. A bottle of water at hand is helpful now when you get that feeling of "I should have a smoke in my hand..."
I was looking for some reviews on that movie, not sure about it. Slum dog is brilliant.
good luck tomorrow!

DonnieL

Poutbutton!! You're a trip!!!!!!! I can't help laughing everytime I read your posts!! You're a constant "wind beneath my wings" L.O.L. Your anxieties, dreams, stresses, the whole ball of wax!!. This whole thing must react differently between lasses and lads (here: guys and gals) ha! ha! After reading about your "slip". I thought, mmm, maybe I'll try one just to see my reaction.. Dang! I didn't even want or desire to even open that freezer door. There's just no desire to smoke, but I do think about it which is weird!:D

celt262

DonnieL wrote: »

Hi Celt, Same here! I'm on day 29 and still haven't had the urge to smoke. My friends and family can't believe it. They ask me if it's some kind of Miracle Drug and at this point I'd have to say yes! I've tried numerous other ways and this is the only thing that has worked thus far.
Kahlan, you go girl! You can do it and at your young age you can gain so much from quitting! Mainly your health and a long life.

I cant believe how easy it has been, i have been in stressful suituations and never though of smoking. It is a miracle drug and im just sorry i didnt go for it earlier but i supose the other times i tries to quit i wasn't as commited as i was this time.

Poutbutton

Hello
Hi Donnie glad you are having a chuckle! I still never got to go to the Chemist so I kept last nights drug to do me this morning & I'll have to wait til tomorrow morning to get the new pack, I realised with the drug payment scheme I must go back to the same pharmacy I started in so I'm stranded without my car & will have to get to the chemist during work break tomorrow. Running out of Champix feels nothing like the total & utter panic that USED to obsess my life when I ran out of cigarettes.
Let me take a moment to let out a contented sigh at that fact........~~sigh~~:)
I think I am now 23 days off the smokes minus my blip on saturday night so work today was all taxis & teenagers & hospitals & city traffic but No cravings woohoo.
I'd like to hear from people who finished the cycle of Champix and how it felt the first days without it........anybody?

DonnieL

I agree with Ms. Poutbutton. is there anyone out there that has completed the Chantix/Champix program and are now living without the medication? Any cravings? urges? fits? :eek:anything? Or is everthing cool??;)

Kahlan

Okay so I have finally reached the dreaded three days!!! Today I will be nervous about the smoking thing cause traditionally when I quit if I happened to make it through the initial 24 hours, day 3 was when I quit quitting!!!!

Poutbutton, my brother got me the unlimited cineworld card last year for my birthday so I can go as often as I want to the cinema for free. I must check out slumdog if it is still running!

Also on a personal note, nothing to do with smoking, I just got my results for a module on my course. It was completely based on continual assessment so this will be my final result. I will just add first that 70% is usually the highest result in my college. They just allow you to scrape into a first class honours. I got 80% in my comedy journal and 74% in my comedy essay. My final mark for the module will be 76% or 77%. Hurray, Now I have two first class honours waiting for me in my end of year result!!

Wish me luck today - the dreaded day 3 begins!

xxxxxx

DonnieL

Kahlan, Congratulations on your high scores/marks! Your Brilliant!! Keep up the great work!:D

As far as the quitting smoking goes, I think you'll find it a lot easier than you think. If I can do it anyone can! I smoked for over 50 years and I'm not having any urges or desires to light up at all. I just pray that this feeling continues when we're off the meds.:)

Poutbutton and I have put out feelers for anyone who may have completed the program and that are now off the meds to see how they are doing. Sure hope we get some responses. (positive of course!) :pac:

Keep up your super academics!!

Regards,
DonnieL

Poutbutton

Hi Guys
Just watching the Ireland v Georgia World Cup Qualifier here, Ireland needs something good to happen to lift the recession blues so C'MON LADS GIVE IT SOCKS!!!
Well done Kahlan you must be thrilled with your marks, it gives you so much confidence when you do well.
I got my 2nd box of champix today, I've taken both tabs now. I was c ontemplating lowering the dosage for the second month but I seem to be having waves of wanting or not wanting to smoke. If I'm busy I dont want to smoke If I'm relaxing or have nothing to do I feel like I should be having one so it's a bit strange. I do not under any circumstances want to ever smoke again but I get these funny feelings in the evenings & at weekends like I "should" be smoking. Weird! So I'll stick out the double dosage rather than cutting down, just in case.

Kahlan

Okay so I made it, and it wasn't too bad at all!! Hurray!!

Thank you DonnieL, I am thrilled with my results, I just hope I do as well in the exams. (I am not really an exam person!! lol).
I think that would be a great idea to try and get feedback from the ex champix user to see how they are getting on with the non smoking. So if anyone is out there, We would really love it if you could post something!!!! Pretty please!

Poutbutton, I am the exact same, weird feelings (rather than urges or cravings) that I should be smoking, even though I don't want to. Maybe DonnieL is right and it is something to do with us being girls. I have always noticed a difference between when my guy friends give up smoking and when my girl friends give up smoking. The guys tend to be more successful. My own thinking on this is that girls cling to the habit and the comfort that smoking supposedly gives more than guys. So if guys can get past the addiction they are almost out of the woods, but if girls can get past the addiction they still have a good distance to travel cause the instinct is still there and the desire for the habit is still there. I intend to stick with Champix for at least the initial recommended 3 months and possibly the additional 3 months as well just to ensure that I have built new habits to fill in the empty smoking time that was there before, if that makes sense. Probably doesn't, am sleepy so will talk tomorrow, when I am in the uncharted territory of day 4!

Talk soon,

xxxxx

DonnieL

Well it's Thursday already and thought I'd check in. GETQUICK is now only emailing once a week now that I'm in my 6th week. They still call every evening at exactly 5:30 PM to check to see if I've smoked. I am forwarding this topic I received on Monday last because it kind of cover what we'd been discussing.

02/09/2009
"By now you've learned and used many of the Quit Strategies that work best for you, but staying away from cigarettes can still be a challenge. Here in the next phase of GETQUIT, you’ll continue to get useful information designed to help you stay on track.

Details
Congratulations on coming this far. You're showing your strong commitment to quitting by coming here.

You should also be continuing to take your CHANTIX as prescribed by your doctor. If you're feeling confident now, that's great. But an occasional urge for a smoke may still sneak in. CHANTIX may help keep those urges in check. GETQUIT is designed to help you handle your Smoking Risk Situations and encourage you to keep staying away from cigarettes.

Now you're going to build on your success. Remember what you've learned, and keep going.

Don't forget to call the GETQUIT Hotline at 1-877-COACH-09 (1-877-262-2409) when you have an urge to smoke. Live operators are available from 8 AM to midnight Eastern Time, 7 days a week. Keep using it as you need it, along with your support network and your inspiration."

Poutbutton, Kahlan, and the rest of you, keep up the great work.. We can do this!!

Regards,
DonnieL

celt262

Poutbutton wrote: »

Hi Guys
Just watching the Ireland v Georgia World Cup Qualifier here, Ireland needs something good to happen to lift the recession blues so C'MON LADS GIVE IT SOCKS!!!
Well done Kahlan you must be thrilled with your marks, it gives you so much confidence when you do well.
I got my 2nd box of champix today, I've taken both tabs now. I was c ontemplating lowering the dosage for the second month but I seem to be having waves of wanting or not wanting to smoke. If I'm busy I dont want to smoke If I'm relaxing or have nothing to do I feel like I should be having one so it's a bit strange. I do not under any circumstances want to ever smoke again but I get these funny feelings in the evenings & at weekends like I "should" be smoking. Weird! So I'll stick out the double dosage rather than cutting down, just in case.

Have u just started getting cravings lately. I have started getting them the last two days and i was fine before. I started second box monday.

Poutbutton

Well, I had a mother of a day, a good start but from 3pm it went rapidly downhill & to top it off I rang my older sister to get a lift home as I have no car until next Wednesday so we decided to stop off & get some party favours for her daughters birthday tomorrow, on return to her car we discovered it had been clamped. I wont even try to explain her reaction but let me tell you, it was'nt pretty. She blew a couple of fuses. She went competely nuts! She lit a smoke straight away, when she finished it, she was so mad I almost offered her a second one to calm down! It took an hour to get the clamp off, an hour of reaction, reeeeeeeeeeally bad reaction :eek: In the midst of all this I never once felt like having a cigarette myself...I'm beginning too wonder has champix dulled my sense of panic as well as my addiction to nicotene :pac: :pac: :pac:
The GetQuit tips are bang on are'nt they Donnie, they really have researched how smokers or quitters feel at each stage of the process.
Kahlan, you are half way through your first week, congrats!:D

Poutbutton

Yes I also started my second box I think we are at the same time on the tabs. I got no real cravings today but yea I started to get them all of a sudden after not getting them. I took 2 pulls last saturday night was disgusted with myself but it was a lesson telling me I'm no where near out of the woods yet. I was thinking before saturday night that I might be able to do this without the drugs anymore but now I'm sticking with the course. I'll just have to watch myself when out having a few, the resolve is lowered. Mine was so I lit one for no real reason other than my friend was chain smoking in my face. Next time I'm around that friend I will be more inclined to say "nope you cant smoke inside my house anymore, no one can". I would'nt mind but the house we had been in for the party before mine was non smoking & this friend had gone outside everytime. If keeping away from chain smokers is all I have to do then I'm fine with banning smoking in my own place. It smelled woeful the next morning after a month without smoke. How are you finding the drug? I've noticed the slight upset stomach on it latley, it's not quite nausea but I feel a bit off at times & often enough to know it's gotta be the champix.

DonnieL

Wow Poutbutton, you did have a doozy of a day!! I did too. I had an appointment with my Doctor to go over a biopsie report from a mole he took off my back last week. And come to find out it's malignant melanoma and he referred me to a Dermatologist for surgery!:mad: I thought: "What's the Point"! I'm going straight home and have a smoke!!!!!:rolleyes: But, I had 12 miles to think about it and thought, "what the hell is that going to accomplish"! By the time I got home I was cool. I really didn't want the cig any how.
It's funny, I still haven't had the cravings that you all refer to. I don't know if it's a gender thing or not. I'm not sure of Celt262's gender though. Any how, you all keep up the battle and so will I.. Cheers!:D

Poutbutton

Donnie I'm so sorry to hear your news, I will say special prayers for you that you will be ok. I dont know if the slip ups or cravings are gender related either, I think it's down to exposure. One person I know was kind of discouraging about the whole quitting thing way back in the beginning. She asked me had I been avoiding all situations where people would be smoking kind of with the added tone of "hmmm, we'll see how you last when you are around smokers so", {evil ness!!} I had been around smokers just not chain smokers. so I now know my danger zone, her!!!
and yes I will work on my avoidance skills thanks very much.
Donnie, I am sending a big warm hug your way.

celt262

Im male for those that were wondering. Forgot to take my tablet last nite had no problems. Going out later and determined as ever not to smoke!

Kahlan

Hey everyone,

DonnieL, I am so sorry to hear the news. I did a little research and am wondering what stage the Malignant melanoma is at or whether you know that yet? Well done you for not smoking!! I have told you about last year and pneumonia (the only time I was able to give up for any lengthy amount of time) well the day I went back on the smokes was about a week before my exams and also the day that I found out my best friend might have cancer. When I think back on it, it seems like such a stupid reaction but at the time it seemed perfectly logical. As it turned out, my best friend was fine, the doctor scared the krap out of her (and me) for no reason at all. Anyway, I am sure you will be fine, I have done a little research and surgery is often the only treatment necessary for a malignant melanoma. Just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you, and like Poutbutton I will say a wee prayer to the man above!! as my Dad says.

Talk soon,

xxxx

DonnieL

Hi,
It's funny the physcians assistant that's doing the surgery called me first thing this morning to confirm the appointment for early Monday morning.

He took some time to explain the whole thing to me. As you said, there are 5 stages 5 being the worse. Mine is 1 with some 2. This means an outpatient procedure with a local anesthesia right in the Dermatologist Office. Anything over a 2 requires a regular cancer surgeon.

Thanks for checking it out and the encouragement! It's greatly appreciated.

DonnieL

Hey Dude.. Glad to hear I'm not he only guy going through this! Everyone has been super supportive!
And we have to remain aware of those like Tellox who haven't had the success and pray they get support from their physicians immediately. Then keep in touch to let us all know how it's going! Good night all!!