after 2 weeks on Champix

[eteddsy]

After 30 a day from the age of 17 a now much older but no wiser me has been without a cigarette for a week. Its a bizarre feeling, liberating but i also feel that theres something missing from my life, something thats not quite there. Hopefully that feeling will disapear along with the smokers cough.

The champix drug has been wonderful. After 3 days, even though I'd decided not to even try to quit until day 10, I just didn't feel like lighting up. I cut down to about 3 a day with no effort at all. As time went on this cut down to zero and within a week i was saving money and no longer worrying about getting up early enough to pop into the paper shop on the way to work for my packet of 20.

I can't say its plain sailing though. I still get cravings, sometimes pretty bad ones, but nowhere near as overwhelming as I used to get when just trying to go cold turkey. I also have side-effects from the drug too. Nothing debilitating, but for these couple of weeks I haven't been feeling too good. The side effects include very bad headaches, aching joints, crazy bowels, and a feeling of utter exhaustion throughout the day. All in all though, I prefer these side effects to the side effects of smoking, which have yet to diminish. I still have a bad chest and I still cough my guts up first thing in the morning.

 

I'm much more confident that I'll actually make it this time round. I've just rand the GP to arrange the 2nd appointment to get the rest of my course. I'm fairly happy with Champix as its made what would be impossible for me and actual hope. Just wish i could shake this feeling that something was no longer there.

 

Just my experience so far...i hope it helps

[Tillysocute]

I have managed to give up smoking after a course of Zyban.......Nasty side effects but i wanted to give up smoking so badly i continues to take the pills...........Stopped taking them a few weeks ago because of the severe depression they were causing.................but.

I still havnt smoked.........5 weeks smoke free now......Like you said it feels like you should be doing something,like there is something missing!!!

And i am eating far more than i should lol......

 

I know these feeling will pass and everyday i think of cigerettes less and less...........After 35 years of 20+ a day i am finally free and saving the money i would have spent on my habit on a trip to oz to see my son.....So happy days............. Good luck and i promise these feeling will pass........tilly

[postggj]

Its Been Four Months Now Since I Had A Ciggie

 

The Only Down Side Is Ive Put On A Stone

 

You Realy Need To Sort Out Some Thing To Keep Your Hands And Mouth Occupied

 

You Start Eating All The Time With Out Thinking

[callumsgran]

Well done you all

 

I've now been free of old nick for 18 months

 

It's a great feeling knowing ive got him licked

[sweets-on-the-move]

well i think congratulations all round im on day 3 with the aid of patches not had a fag .i think its a battle of 2 minds yours and the cigarette .well i do hope my mind wins .but wish you all well

[ricky_uk1]

myself and my wife gave up 16 months ago using Champix

was hard to beleive how easy it was after 20 odd years smoking .

like some people we also put on a little bit weight ,i put on 3.5 stone

but i suppose my large bottles of stella didnt help.

but getting rid of the fat is a lot harder than stopping smoking .

we cycle (weather permiting) about 30 miles a week but its all to do with how busy we are at work if we can go or not.

 

 

not sure about your local NHS service but here in west lothian we were entitled to (not sure if entilted is the word to use) 3 months free gym membership.

 

we were only informed of this last month and are now awaiting our start dates at the gym to help lose some of the pounds

 

so if anyone else id putting the beef on then you have nothing to lose by asking your doctors to refer you to a gym.

 

 

im hoping that once we start going that we will keep going.

 

if i hadnt stopped smoking i/we would never think about going to a gym

 

so all in all its well worth trying to stop if you can

[Baldyman56]

Went on Champix on 15th Jan 2009 after 40 years of smoking.

 

Strange dreams for the first week and a bit restless - gave up the ciggies on day 13. Never wanted one since, no desire to smoke and no hatred of people who wish to smell and carry on coughing.

 

The only craving I ever get is when I do something for the first time again since giving up - really weird. Craving lasts about 3 seconds, really mild and I just get on with the day.

 

Champix is the best thing I ever did

[eteddsy]

Wow, not had a cigarette now since May. I'm no longer tied to the routine of buying my packet of fags in the morning. I can actually stay with my friends in the pub rather than leaving to brave the wind and rain every half hour. Oh, and the money in my pocket is fantastic. For the first time in ages christmas isn't going to be a struggle.

 

It definately hasn't been a painless experience though, even with Champix. Champix sorted my initial cravings, and I'd never have made the first month without them. There are some things that no-one tells you about quitting smoking. Firstly, the quit-zits. This was soul-destroying as I suddenly looked like a spotty teenager again, and I'm not talking about the odd one or two. I looked horrendous for a good 3 to 4 months. My chest hurts. Instead of making my breathing easier quitting smoking has given me chest infections galore. Not only that but the hacking up of all the crap I've been inhaling for the past few decades has caused me to pull muscles in my chest. And finally I became utterly depressed when I came OFF the champix. I was expecting to find that I'd have mood swings when on the drug, but as I was coming off this it took me completely by surprise.

 

Was it worth it? Definately yes. Was it easy? Champix made it easier but still one of the most difficult things I've done in my life. Oh, and I've put on a stone so far too.

[callumsgran]

Good for you mate, i found it easy with Champix and its 2 yrs now for me in two weeks time

[kregrs]

I tried Champix back in May, lasted all of 5wks then started smoking again. Same as someone else that I know, lasted a few weeks then started again. So, having tried the usual routes, patches etc, and Champix, is there anything else apart from Zyban?

[Rooster-UK]

I tried Champix back in May, lasted all of 5wks then started smoking again. Same as someone else that I know, lasted a few weeks then started again. So, having tried the usual routes, patches etc, and Champix, is there anything else apart from Zyban?

Yes.

Try again.

Only a smoker knows how difficult it can be to kick the habit.

There's nothing wrong with not succeeding. Only giving up giving up!

Start again and resolve to stay off them for 10 weeks.

By the time you reach ten weeks, you won't want another one.

[xjr1200]

I was given the gift of a grandchild a couple of years ago i will be 52 in july and i have smoked since i was 14/15 years old.stopped smoking november 2009 with the aid of champix (could only take them for 3/4 weeks they made me nutty so i stopped taking them and continued to stop smoking). since i stopped i have been really ill not sleeping awfull bouts of what the wife calls "man flu". my breathing has become laboured even while i am lying down sometimes pains in my chest and arms and shoulders and back.

to be honest i am quite scared i may have woken the terrible c thing now i know i sound very dramatic but this also seems to be something that has happened to me since champix/stop smoking thing started i have become very emotional my life seems to consit of huge highs and big lows all the time. has stopping smoking with or without champix had these effects on anybody else.......

all that aside i stopped so i could have a little more time to enjoy with my new little girl and i am never going to smoke again.

[cashdesk]

I have been on Champix since the beginning of this month. During the first 10 days I went from 30 a day to about 7 or 8. On the 9th of February I gave up and for the first 7 days it was easy, but then I really got the craving last night (was watching the football and we went 1-0 down within a couple of minutes).

 

One thing that has been a good side effect is that I used to drink about 4 or 5 cans of lager every night (yes, every night), but have only had 2 cans in the last 7 days. I just don't feel like drinking any more.

 

I do tend to munch all day and I have had bad stomach pains for the last 2 days.

 

Apart from that I have no real problems with Champix, but I am constantly thinking about cigarettes. Not craving, just thinking.

[cheeky1962]

im not impressed so far with champix, not doing a thing for me aT all. ive been on them 3 weeks and not stopped smoking or noticed any less inclination to smoke.

[postggj]

forget all these patches, gum etc but if it helps, use them

 

the only way to give up is if you realy want to

 

its been over a year for me and i just stopped

 

cant see the point of putting more nicotine into your body by patches etc

 

your trying to get it out your body

 

on a side note

 

ime sick to death on sky about allmost every add break, the stop smoking kit

 

i dont want to be reminded all the time i quit

 

even now its a struggle but with no side effects

[cheeky1962]

yes i found that when i tried the patches, u turn off about smoking but then all you get on tv is talk about smoking which just made me want a ciggie after hearing it

[eteddsy]

well its been a long time now, and I actually think of myself as a non-smoker. I'm still not 100%, still wheezy, still fatter than I was. I occassionaly still get cravings too. It doesn't help that my partner smokes and I'm constantly smelling her smoke and seeing her half-full cigarette packets around the house. The cravings are miniscule compared to those first few month whoppers. Getting used to kissing a smoker is taking a bit more time! OMG I'm turning into one of those ex-smoker nazi hypocrites.

 

This is the 5ht time I've seriously tried to give up smoking. I hope its the last!

[IdaInFife]

speaking to ex smokers - even my uncle who has not smoked now for 20 years - he says it never goes completley but you learn how to deal with it

 

your doing extremely week and I know how you feel as my OH is still smoking - what i think tho is i cannot beleive i smelt like that to other folk after having a fag

[Lula]

Two days ago was 18 months without a ciggie, I did it on Champix and I feel great, ok, not great, since I gave up I have been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, some unpronouncable blood thing and possible Lupus (they are still looking into that) but as least I am not smoking

 

For those that dont manage it the first time, dont worry, keep trying and keep believing!

[IdaInFife]

speaking to ex smokers - even my uncle who has not smoked now for 20 years - he says it never goes completley but you learn how to deal with it

 

your doing extremely week and I know how you feel as my OH is still smoking - what i think tho is i cannot beleive i smelt like that to other folk after having a fag

 

 

 

sorry i meant well and not week/weak

[IdaInFife]

Two days ago was 18 months without a ciggie, I did it on Champix and I feel great, ok, not great, since I gave up I have been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, some unpronouncable blood thing and possible Lupus (they are still looking into that) but as least I am not smoking

 

For those that dont manage it the first time, dont worry, keep trying and keep believing!

 

 

Hi Lula,

 

re the Lupus if you are diagnosed SLE, give me a nudge if you need any support, I know it can be quite a 'lonely' illness as there ain't a lot of folk with it and some peeps have varying factors, and i sympathise with you on how they diagnose it as it ainlt nice

 

Ida x

[rolandajones]

i have tried patches stopped for a few days then ended smoking AND using patches - when i ran out of patches i ended up smoking more than before!! Have been considering Champix tablets but have read *some* bad reports but will give them a go anyway - if I notice anything starnge will just stop using them. On a separate not - have been looking where to buy champix online and found this UK service which seems properly regulated and reasonable - they also post to Spain where i live most of the time

 

[EDIT] - sorry - it was called Dr Fox

 

Anyone else used this service and can vouch for it?

Edited April 23, 2010 by rolandajones
Unauthorised link removed.

[cashdesk]

I became totally depressed on Champix and despite having stopped the treatment I still haven't had a cig but the depression hasn't gone.

[tiaposy]

Day 15 on champix. Wasn't sure they would work but

haven't had a ciggie since day 7. Some side affects: felt

sick a couple of times, really vivid dreams, and not sleeping

well (which isn't like me) but they've stopped the cravings. I actually

feel quite positive and calm. Only thing is have a very sore

mouth and am worried about the tales of depression but I will

just see how I feel on the tablets.

[jacqueline marchioro]

I'm very excited about the Champix, I stopped smoking before the chosen day.

I smoked 25 to 30 cigarettes a day, and 30 years smoking, more than half my lifetime, very hard to believe that after so many failed attempts I found this magic medicine, which makes me stop smoking without any pain or anxiety or crisis of abstinence.

I do not have serious side effects, just some crazy things with my intestine and some intense dreams But nothing important that has affected serious my life and my routine

I'm in the third week of treatment.

This experience is being very wonderful because I wanted to quit, and could not and did many treatments , all failed!

I did group therapy for quitting smoking

I used all the patches, there are several laboratories in the world

I used inhalers

I used plastic and cigarettes without smoke

I took Zyban

I did acupuncturist

I used Chinese medicine (tablets and teas and a liquid to pass into the mouth)

And I have not had a day without smoking with these treatments.

I'm 6 days abstinecia using Champix and very happy!