Champix - Day one

seriously man, not wanting to make a joke out of your plight but erratic behaviour, drowsiness and "occasional suicidal behaviour" is pretty much the norm whenever I try to give up cigs.

yesterday I tried not to smoke until the evening - in the middle of the day I could barely focus my eyes or hear what people were saying because I couldn't stop thinking how much I needed a smoke. withdrawal is a real bitch, huh?

I must admit that's kinda what I was thinking, it's gonna be bad whatever you do. Makes you realise you're addicted to something really powerful, with it's hooks in so deep.

all the more reason to give up I guess, or at least regain control. good luck.

Fingers crossed for you Alfie - make sure you have plenty of people around you and I'm sure you'll be fine, I'm sending you positive quitting vibes!

Don't you dare to get all weird!

Another weird stopping smoking aid is http://www.mastersoftmobilesolutions.com/lastcigarette_ppc.php
Bit cheesy but does help as you see the days go by. You don't need to believe the psuedo-stats but there aint nothing wrong with a placebo if it works!! Also a shed load of lozenges and gum helped as well.

Yeah im thinking that the gum is really going to be useful as I get to the Champix no smoking date, im gradually cutting down until the 18th which is my go-live no smoking cutoff, at which point I think Ill be using teh gum and lozenges.

Yea, I'm not gonna invite you round for a while :-)

Good luck Alfie. The potential side-effects do look scary, but then they always do.

But if I can give up, you can. Definitely.

I do heartily recommend the gum/lozenges to help you past the habitual addiction stage, but you do remain hooked on the nicotine if you go that way. I had to embarassingly wean myself off nicotine gum. The shame...

Also, I do recommend serious exercise whilst you're trying to give up. It's good for giving you those happy hormones, venting some of the AGGRESSION (or maybe that was just me) and for maintaining your motivation. There's nothing worse than going for a run/ mountain bike/ er cross-country swim with a lungful of tar...

Dude, why don't you just invest in some wrigleys? They hardly ever cause suicidal impulses.

Go for it, Alfie.
Start the Champix.
Then give ALL your cigs and lighters away the day you actually give up. That way it'll be harder to relapse. Rather than just reach for a cig, you'll have to steal, beg or buy one if you want a smoke.
The Champix side-effects are pretty nasty/bizarre and I halved the dose after a few weeks - it just felt too strong. But the stuff DOES ease the cravings and I've lasted 11 weeks so far without a smoke.

Go Go Alfie!!
You can do it man, and you'll love yourself for getting there.
Tell EVERYBODY around you, brag about it, put yourself so high up there that you could never live it down he you fell off.
Take one day at a time, one hour at a time in the begining, and feel that sense of achievement every day.
Convince yourself that you really don't need the stupid things and it's really quite a ridiculous thing for any one to be doing in the first place anyway.
Good luck mate!

Thanks for all the encouragement guys.

Im not sure if it's the Champix (only just taken second tablet) but I had pretty scary dreams last night. I think Im going to set up a dream moblog and use the spinvox service so I can call/blog the second I attain some kind of consciousness.

yeah, scary dreams are the norm as well if you're a heavy smoker and you've suddenly cut right down. a gut reaction. there again, you might have just been having nightmares that mccain had won the election...

is this what P'hobo used when he gave up? I know he had tried many times before to give up.

Worth a bit more weirdness in the short term to enable you to have a long term

I start Chantix on Monday...

A bit apprehensive but tons of people I know have taken it with no problems.

Good luck!!!! I am looking forward to reading your dream blog.

Good luck with that Alfie.... we (me and hubby) are about to try and stop again.... so I know how you are feeling.... it will be great to have some extra breath in my lungs again...
Good luck and stay strong
cheers
Suz

FilbertFox is correct that this is the very drug which helped me quit smoking. It worked. It took some will-power, of course, but it worked, and I sincerely hope it works for you Alfie, as my life has been improved immeasurably since giving up in April 2007. Good Luck, and positive vibes to you.

PS, apart from restless nights and vivid dreams, I had no noticeable side-effects.

Oh good luck. And FF's brutal 2nd sentence is what it's all about. Wish Alan had managed to give up when I did - we'd be a lot better off in every way. Having heart problems is no fun.

Alfie, still thinking of you and sending you the vibes man, I found that when the cravings hit hardest, a good burn-up on the bike got my lungs full of fresh air and put me in a better frame of mind. hope it's going well, stay strong, it is worth it.

Would love to hear of people coming off the champix and how they felt? I'm scared!!! suprised i still have a family.

Very proud of you Alfie hang in there

Thanks Shelly, and how so scared? Have you already started taking it? any weird dreams?

I came off the champix a week before I should have due to some kind of drug mismanagement on my part (forget to renew the prescription or something) - I did get a few hash nicotine cravings over a two week period, but nothing i couldn't handle, and after that I was fine, no bad effects at all. However, since then I have taken up serial killing.

How soon after starting the Champix did you quit the cigs?

I gave up 12 years ago and I still miss them very rarely whilst in a pub.

i stopped the fags about a week in to the champix - I suddenly noticed that I was rolling a fag, lighting up, then letting it go out after a couple of drags, and buying more tobacco just seemed pointless.

I also had a counsellor while i was giving up, but I found that seeing the counsellor was making me think about smoking, and it became counterproductive. I made a conscious decision just to not think about it.

Todays my 11th day and yesterday I just completely lost any cravings. It's actually astonishing. Because when you quit and still have cravings it's like a battle on two fronts, this is just unbelievably more simple as all I have to do is find things to do with my hands and mouth occasionally other than smoking. In a word: Wow.

yep, that ties in with my experience, it all seemed much easier than it was meant to.

I started champax three weeks before christmas , I found the one side effect I had was the weird life like dreams ,seems i dream all night but must sleep there sometime as i am not tired next day , It has worked well i smoked my last cig, on day 14 but had cut way back by then just having maybe one all day , smoking a drag or two then butting it , I am still taking it but feel I have won the battle give it a go , If you have bad effects see the doctor some people will get bad effects from any drug ,,,,,,good luck

I'm about 5 weeks in. On the positive side, yes, it takes away the cravings and I don't smoke anymore.

On the negative side, it's made me really, really depressed sometimes, which is really not like me. And today I just wanted to smash things. So watch out for that.

I think I'm going to stop taking the champix now. To be honest, I'm a bit worried that I might have caught 'mental' and it might be permanent.

Whoah Chez, that's not great then really is it. Definitely stop, if you talk to your doctor/smoking cessation person theyll tell you the same. Saying that, I stopped the Champix after 6 weeks and 13 weeks later Im still not smoking, so dont think that youll suddenly revert.

I started champax 5 weeks ago and immediatly quit smoking. Yes i have experienced sperts of anger, anxiety, and often sickness. I too felt depressed and not myself. I decided after the 3rd week not to continue the drug. However, when i decided to quit, i did a major lifestyle change. I decided to cut alcohol out, until i feel ready not to have that social smoke and i joined the gym. I think you should try champax,and listen to your body. You will know if you should continue or not. Good luck!

Been taking champix now for 8 weeks.
These pills seem to be working very well for me. Very few cravings now but have slightly let myself down on a couple of occasions.
Only side effects for me are:
1) Had a couple of days where my mood was really foul. Wanted to jack in the rat race and live like a hermit. Mood has gone now. But it may still be a good idea
2) Mild tinnitus especially in the evening.
3) More chilled out than normal.
4) Low sex drive.
5) Have recently had a couple of major cravings that I had to satisfy. Kept me awake until the early hours of the morning. I say cravings but they didn’t seem to be physical more of a nagging idea that would not go away. Had to have a couple off draws so that I could get some sleep.
Hope this helps

The weird dreams; the giant lighter that flicked with a bolt of lightening and woke me. They're making me hyperactive and aggressive! And increased sex drive ... but that might just be better lungs & circulation. Umm, and then there's my own greenhouse gas emissions! I thought some dude on the bus was messing with my hair, sat there thinking what a surprise when I spin around and thump him. I've never punched anyone, I did turn around and it was a bunch of nice kids. That totally alarmed me. My point is, I'm being really conscious to shut up and not react, being careful at work (I've told them I'm a bit off the air) ... and hanging in there. Half way through.

Hi guys

Really good to read this site. I'm on day two of Champix. I've started a blog at tquittinwithchampix.blogspot.com/2010/01/day-1.html

It would be really nice to get some thoughts and encouragement

Cheers

Hi guys I have decided that after smoking for 26 years its time to give it up.Reading your reviews has inspired me to give it a go.Here's hopin the damage aint already too far gone.My willpower pretty poor so may have to revert to drugs .I haven't had a smoke all day but they reckon day 3 the worst so probably will want to become a serial killer by then myself.Hey when it gets to the stage that your really puffing when exercising then you realize its time.I think its awesome that most or you guys made light heart of such a serious situation.I cracked up at the comments ,awesome guys I hope I can do the same love this site
Cheers

vraiment je fumer pendant 11 ans et j ai arrter a cause de champix merci je suis du maroc

ttttttttttthhhhhhhhxx
Champix love you

a cautionary tale - the effects of champi on someonewho had suffered one epeleptic fit in childhood

http://davidhealy.org/rxisk-stories-smoke-pfizer-get-in-your-eyes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm;_medium=email&utm;_campaign=Feed%3A+DrDavidHealy+%28Dr.+David+Healy%29