Champix aka Chantix/Varenicline

Best of luck!! Champix helped me to quit on 5/10/09 and it's still the best thing I've ever done!

tmabr wrote: »

hi all, just registered on boards for a bit of support. just paid 133 euro for 4 weeks of champix. really goin to give it a go. im 38 and smoking 20 a day for the past 20 years. the most i ever lasted was 4 days after the alan carr course.

gonna start in the morn, like a few on here , a 1 year old in the house so its well over due

will keep all posted - cheers:)

Congrats to you! If you stay with us, you will get a lot of support. So just give it another try. I am sure, you can do it this time.:)

Siska010 wrote: »

Well, I don't think it's working for me

Siska010, don't be put off. It took nearly three weeks for the effects to kick in for me. It's not a magic bullet, you do still have to make an effort, but it makes the withdrawal much easier to deal with I found. For me it was a bit like pushing over a vending machine, I stopped smoking for a day, had two or three the next day, stopped for two days, bought another pack smoked about four took one drag on the last one and put it out and threw the pack away. I'm off them a month last Sunday.

There's a few apps that record the date you quit, how many you smoked, the cost of a pack. It's a good incentive when tempted as you start to see how well you've been doing. I think there are websites that do the same thing too.

Could someone remind me of the first 'page' of the pack of champix. I can't remember the dosage.

was it, so many days just in the morning - then so many days morn and evening - then onto the stronger ones morning and evening?

I tore off the first page and at the moment ive been taking a half pill every morning since Sunday.

Anyone care to type out the details from their pack?

THX

Thanks lil missy, i wasn't far off.
So double dose for me tomorrow.
Thanks again.:)

connewitz wrote: »

Could you be more specific please?! Maybe one of us can help you.;)
Okay, just found your respond. Stressed out, is this the reason why you can not stop? The only thing to do is to tackle the things which get you stressed. Maybe take a step back and take it a little bit easier. The effect of the champix can take a while as well. Try not to give in now. If the stress is getting too much to you, than maybe it was the wrong time to quit. Is there some time in the future, when you will have less stress. Just think over your options. Good luck!

Every time I try and quit smoking I just have zero willpower, my mind always wins. On the champix I had hoped my cravings would be less and I wouldn't feel the need to smoke (all the time). But so far it feels it has only given me mad dreams, and nothing else. I understand it won't help me with willpower, but I really thoughts the cravings would be more easy to deal with. I am the worst of the worst, and I admit that, but I just wish I could win this fight. I feel like a complete faillure.

Even cutting down is a friggin' battle of wills with myself. It shouldn't be this hard. I should just be able to say, that's it, I'm done!

Pal wrote: »

I'm on Champix too and stopped on day 11 (Last Sunday).

I understood that you stay stopped after the quit day.

What you mean 'no problems lighting up' ?

Yeah you stay stopped if it works for you. I can stick on patches, chew gum and be on champix and still light up a smoke. Hence the 'no problems lighting up'. I'm doing well today though, I have found a new batch of will power and hopefully when my hubby comes home and I can say I haven't smoked

mrswalton wrote: »

Siska,

When my beautiful daughter was 6 mnths old the pressure of new motherhood just got the better of me and I had just one. (This is my biggest problem....I CANNOT HAVE JUST ONE ... It always leads me back on them)

That is exactly the problem ....! Don`t have "just" one. A lot of us failed in the past by thinking like this. Lets have just one, 2morrow I stop again. IT DOES NOT WORK!!! We are addicts and we have to admit this to ourself! It is like being an alcoholic, once off the drink, no more alcohol in any form or you are back to square one.
We should be proud of every minute, hour, day, week, month and year without a smoke. It is a lifelong battle and we have to stick it out every day again. It is getting easier so, but the temptations have still to be warded off!;);)

connewitz wrote: »

Mrs. Walton is right! Reward yourself with the money you save! We had girls here on the thread who bought a pair of shoes or boots they could not effort before. I booked holidays to Austria from my saving money. Without it I would have not been able to visit my daughter in Austria! There a millions of reasons why to quit smoking. If you can not get your head around the health reasons, maybe the money you save will help you in this battle! And YES, it needs your will power as well. Every day you go without a cigarette makes you a stronger person. Take it minute by minute, day by day and so on. YOU CAN DO IT!!! THERE IS NOTHING STANDING IN YOUR WAY-ONLY YOURSELF!!!:D:D:D

My gosh you're positive haha

Ughh, well I am the first one to admit I have a serious problem. I will use today as a day where I keep telling myself how big my problem actually is. Tomorrow is a new day and I will go for it.

Today kinda sucked :rolleyes:

day 3 and going well, mornings are hard but still cutting way down - down to about 13/14 a day from 20. very happy at that rate i should be off them next week. mad unusual dreams last night - not a problem:)

Tmbr - Its a really good idea to pick a specific day that you call quit day. Maybe even the end of next week. Keep taking the champix and by the middle of next week you'll find yourself looking forward to quit day. Don't bring it forward stick to the planned quit day, and the day before you'll find yourself getting annoyed each time you smoke and looking forward to the day.

It makes quit day feel great, but watch out for day 3 or four when you feel like your missing a friend, its a friend thats making you ill.

The hardest bit is not so much you want to smoke, but the times you were so used to smoke feel funny. Just like saskia, sitting in the window with coffee, she did the right thing and did it differentl

For me it was going out to let the chickens out in the morning, i would automatically reach for my bag. I got OH to let them out for a couple of weeks and by the time i was doing it again i had forgotton the habit.

Saskia, do you have cigs in your house? You will make it harder to resist if they are in the house. If you really mean it today, break them up, pour ketchup on them and bin them, then promise yourself that you wont smoke for at least the length of time that pack would have lasted you.(That way you wont feel you've wasted the money because they would have been gone anyway) Then if you've lasted the day, why not try another day tomorrow.

Good luck.

Anyone else want to share their planned quit day? I wouldn't mind linking up with whoever so we have a bit of friendly competition. I was thinking about Saturday, looking forward to that feeling of freedom again already.

good advice mrswalton - thank you
my quit day is thursday, day 10, im on day 4 now - 2 tabs today. getting a few mood swings now but not too bad. i smoked 10 yesterday (usually 20). i think thats huge progress and hope im not trying too hard and i might just flip out and lose it.
ive found quiting the inbetween smokes easy enough, the hard ones are morning tea and after meals. im just trying to delay them now- wait 5 or 10 minutes instead of rushing out for a smoke.
over-all happy enough. cheers

mrswalton wrote: »

Lil Missy, i'm exactly the same, im a stubber outer and keep for later (bluuuch)
and one cig is getting stubbed out about 4 times now instead of twice. It is vile really.

Well done tmbr, its those fixed times that are the hardest (after morning coffee, after dinner, letting the chickens out!) It might be a good idea to plan a something nice straight after instead.

Run a really nice smelly bath during breakfast and jump into in for 10 mins (or half an hour if you can) instead of hanging out the back door belching smoke.

But once you break the habit (not the addiction, just the habit) after a couple of weeks you will find that it will be mid morning and you havn't even thought about cigs. Thats a great feeling. Then give yourself a little treat.

Make a list of silly little treats that you can use for these time. (preferably not food)

What treats can you think of?

Manicure/pedicure.
Smelly bath
Sweep the kitchen (okay i know i'm odd)

Good luck.

lol im in stitches here, im a man bath:)manicure:)sweep:) ????
ill walk the dog , hows that ?
sorry for laughing i know you,re helping me and its appreciated

Oh Tomtac,

Good for you, doing so well. Do not worry too much about coming off the Champix, I would be surprised if you experience real cravings. Like you say there is a difference between the addiction/craving and the fancy one thought/habit.

I'll tell you some more of my experience, the last time i gave them up was last May, i only took the Champix for about two weeks after quit day because i felt they wrecked my head a little, but once i had broken the habit (which only took that couple of weeks) i came off them and stayed off them with no cravings for 4 months.

In September i went to a music festival, and it was all so pleasant i gave in to the 'really fancy one now' and thought it was such a one off event...i can handle it. BIG MISTAKE!!!!

To be honest, it tasted rotten, really not enjoyable but coming off the cigs with the Champix had been so easy, i didn't see the slippery slope. It turned into one a day for about a week and it took about a week for it to taste 'nice' again. It took a further two weeks before i was back on 15 - 20 a day.

So a couple of points for you:

1. I believe the 'craving' is as a result of the initial withdrawal from nicotine. This happens in the first couple of weeks.

2. Champix is so much easier that 'cold turkey' that it is easy to kid yourself that just one will be okay.

3. My GP told me that the people who complete the 3 month course of Champix have a far better rate of staying off the cigs for good.

And most importantly of all, (and i'm talking to myself here too)

NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU THINK YOU CAN HAVE JUST ONE....IT DOESN'T WORK, YOU CAN'T!!!!!!!




tmabr::) I had a feeling you weren't a girl, but they were my list of nice things and i thought at the time i was writing it .....surely everyone likes a soak in the bath.;)

I have to say, I like to think of treats that put me in places that i can't smoke.

Like tomorrow i'm going to take my little girl car boot saleing, she loves it and i won't be able to smoke the whole time i'm out.

Sorry for going on!!

TOMTAC wrote: »

For the record, I am 63 years old, have been smoking since I was 18, never tried to give them up before, for the last number of years smoked about 35 cigarettes a day and am giving them up now because my Dr. told me, at my last medical,'' to give them up and you will prolong your life''.

Kudos to you! Well done!
Did you notice as you read through the posts that you are not the oldest one here? DonnieL was over 70 years old as he stopped. I am still in contact with him and he is doing very well. Is now 3 years of the smokes already!
You can do it as well!!! Good luck and all the best!:D