After trying to quit on No Smoking Day i went 30 hours...it was the shortest of all my quit attempts.
So i decided to go to docs and ask for Champix.
Having read lots of info on the net and reading feedback i decided it may be ok for me.
Today is day 1.
I am very weary of it as i have a history of depression/ panick attacks and anxiety and currently on meds for all of the above.
My doc made me promise that i would stop taking and go see her straight away if my depression returned or suicidal thoughts.
I was just reading PD's diary and it has just made me worry more about the side effects, i can cope with sickness, nausea i'm just preying the rest i dont experience.
I understand it may not be down to Champix, it may be down to the fact the body and mind is changing.
If anyone has used Champix i would love some feedback how it was for you and if you did manage to quit on it. I have no idea how it works just that it blocks receptors.
Champix really is my last hope to becoming smoke free and healthier for the rest of my life!
Nikki xx
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Can't advise on champix I am afraid as I have not used it but plenty on here have.
I just wish you all the best with your quit & hope we can help you through.
I cannot tell you how many times I have tried, too many to count but this is my quit & I hope the same for you. As my forum name says - neverstoptrying
hi nikki p, just thought id look at my posts etc from day 1 and saw yours, im using champix (day 12)
ive had a few really good days and a couple where i would love a nice relaxing smoke but havnt.
As for side effects i think the worse fo rme was my sleep pattern went haywire. couldnt get to sleep, kept waking up all the time, getting up early even though i wanted to sleep. so 2 days ago i redused the tablets to half in the morning and half at night 9 am ....9pm.
I had my last fag on October 28 - thanks to Champix. I also have depression, but guess what, quitting smoking helps your self-esteem. Do watch for it. I ticked off every hour that I didn't smoke as a major milestone - do whatever works.
Ok - Champix stops you getting the high from the Nicotene - but you have to break the actual habit of smoking, the whole hand to mouth thing. What I found that this forum does realy help - and it does get easier. Sure it's tough to start, and you'll have bad days, but let me assure you, it does get easier and it's so worth it.
The thing about Champix is don't try to force it. Let the drug get into your system and do it's thing. It took 13 days for me - and only 4 for a friend of mine.
Read as much as you can on these forums, follow the links, know your enemy, and post often - the people here have been where you are, and they want to help - it's a wonderful community.
dont know much about champix..however do listen to ure doctor & go straight back if you feel any depression signs etc....suppose everyones different with how they react to medication & stuff. Fingers crossed for you..i hope it helps you in good ways xx
hi there, im on my 5th week of quitting - see, ive stop counting days which says it all!
Champix has worked a treat for me despite the side affects. I think what ive learnt through this forum and seeing my friends give up is that its a different experience for us all so dont get hung up on what others experience.
I guess the crux is whether you truly truly want to give up - i was about 95% ready. Whether anyone ever reaches 100% is questionable!
For me, Ive had yucky nausea which I still have for 1 hour post both tablets and I also had a couple of really rough emotionally turbulent weeks. The minute i stopped stressing and ****ysing every single thing, it got easier.
I do believe with or without champix you have to be prepared for some rough and low times. After all we're losing the best friend we've had for years...
Im so happy ive got to where i am - my Doctor is insistent to complete the course due to the time it takes to kill off the receptors. The way i see it now is hey, whats a bit of nausea, a few trantrums, a bit of extra flab if it keeps me off the evil weed forever
Stick with it and just go with it - it does work and it does get easier.
I dont know about champix, but do about depression.. if you get tearfull and down try and get past it. I am almost 4 months stopped and have had some really tearful time in my quit.
Well done for taking the steps to quit, I am currently on day 12 of taking the Champix, and day 2 of no cigarettes at all...
I personally didn't find myself having any forms of upset stomach, but i did the the short temper, and i also became very moody and a little upset.
I didn't find myself wanting to quit until about day 5 or 6, when it was more that i couldn't bare the taste of a cigarette anymore, but i carried on smoking until day 9 as i wanted to quit at the beginning of a new week.
Good Luck, and i look forward to seeing how you get on xx
I've used everything including champix, only side affect I had was the nusea. I found they worked until I got to smart and thought I could do without them.
Very best of luck, never give up trying I've lost count, but this is it.
I quit over a month ago using Champix, and am quite happy with it. As with any medication, there can be side effects and they differ from person to person. I think it is important not to blow it out of proportion and to also realise that some of the effects are from the withdrawal from nicotine. I found the first few days off of smokes rough, but I quit on day 6 of my meds, because I was anxious to get on with it. It was also the second time I have taken Champix, and I think the uptake was a bit faster this time. I have only had some nausea, though nothing really terrible, and vivid dreams. Other than that I haven't noticed anything. There are some mood changes and eating changes, but that I think could be attributable to many other things.
I've been trying to run regularly to help stabilise my mood, as exercise is good for that. Also it lets me see some progress in my lung function, which is good positive reinforcement.
You should quit when you feel ready. If you feel ready on day 10, quit then. If not, wait a few more days. You'll be able to feel a difference. But you also have to want it as Champix does not do the work for you. Last time I took champix, I didn't want to quit, really. I got down to one cigarette a day, but never let that last one go, never totally dumped the habit. After a month and a half, I quit the champix and went back up to a pack a day.
But this time is totally different and now I want to be a non-smoker, so I am. But it's nice to have the drug to help me along a bit and be there for me in the first few months of a new quit.
Thanks for the input folks, I agree that quitting smoking could cause some of the side effects but as of yet on day 8 and now on 2mg a day i am still yet to quit.
Nausea still a pain but bearable. I still having same desire to smoke as many as i have done.I'm hoping this changes in next few days.
Can i ask what day you quit and how you went about it? How did you feel before u took the decision to say right this is my quit day or did u preplan the day you quit?
I am about to take tablet no2 of day 8....having no dreams or anything like that (I hope you caught the people you were after in your dream haha)
I have been a little moody again today, but not in a depressing way just feeling a little narked like i'm in a bad mood...nothing new there my hubby would say.
I am an avid fan of champix, didn't believe all the hype and was absolutely amazed at how quickly they kicked in. I set day 12 as my quit date, as in my mind i thought days 8-10 were a bit sudden, and 14 was just putting it off!!
But by day 8 I was really not enjoying the taste of cigarettes and ended up stopping completely on day 10. I would say I've not looked back since, but there have been ups and downs, but the main thing is i am still not smoking.
My nurse did ask me before she prescribed them about history of depression etc, which i am lucky not to have had, but she did say she wouldn't have given me them if I had any history.
As for side effects, I think I had the nausea after the morning tablet for the first week, but found stuffing my face and taking the pill immediately after stopped that!!!
I also felt a bit narky and spaced out for a couple of weeks, but that could have been down to tiredness, as I also wasn't sleeping too well, but that hasn't happened for ages. I had some strange dreams too, but don't think that only relates to Champix takers, as others have also had those.
I spoke to someone else at the stop smoking clinic, and he took 3 weeks worth of champix before he stopped, so don't feel like you have to rush, it just happens, although you do need a bit of willpower, just not as much (in my opinion anyway!!)
Good luck for your quit day anyway, whenever you decide it is going to be!!
Thanks BeccyBoo, your post has made a little more sense in my head now LOL.
I am on day 9 now, just took 1st tablet of day..feelin a little blerh!! but am now filling my face with a B.E.S.T with Mushrooms LOL.
My last ciggie i snubbed out half way through because i just didn't want to smoke any more of it, normaly i smoke it till theres no more left just about!
Hoping that the Champix is doing its work now, but i am going to plan my quit on day 13 and if i quit sooner then thats definatley a bonus.
If you want you can do it! If you are not ready for your "due date" make it later! You have 4 weeks or so as good as I can remember. But..........you got to want it, If you want you do and if you don't you don't 😍 please go for it
If this was me, i would sure not have cigarettes around me at all. I would sure not buy any from the shop.. and if i was stood at the til contemplating it, i would have to walk out the shop before i made the choice that i later regret too.
You have to stop making the choice to smoke nikki.. its the only way you are going to break free of the addiction.
Champix for you is not a magic bullet, theres no such thing when it comes to nicotine.. every method of quitting that involves NRT is just there as a quitting aid too. Look at it this way, there is folk out there who went cold turkey with no help whatsoever.. and if they can do it.. so can you.. champix can and will help if you need it, but don't give up on the idea of quitting smoking.. it is possible.. it just takes the effort.
Now, take stock for a moment... you had a 40 a day habit... 40.. do you really want that back?
You need to get tough on this addiction now nikki, the champix for many does work, but it also requires a level of commitment to quit on your part. Complete your side of the bargain and do your best to make the leap to freedom. its the only way.
Jase is right - you have to make the choice. I used Champix but still had to decide to actually stop - and making that decision was harder than actually not smoking!
I think Champix works by eliminating the 'pleasure' of the nicotene and making the fags taste odd - but you still have to actual stop the physical act of smoking. Champix takes away the reward part of the habit. So ask yourself - why do you want to pay all that money for something you don't want to do and don't get any pleasure from?
For me, I smoked to about day 12 'because I could' then wised up and made the decision. That was 5 months ago - and here I am - smoke free after 40 years on the damn things.
Both Jase and Dave are spot on. The Champix will help but you have to want it to make it happen.
I am on Champix and thought I would never give up after trying so many times before. Read my first post on here called 'Feeling a Failure'.
You have to set your day and do not have any cigarettes in the house. I can remember panicking the night before as I binned them, but to my amazement when I woke up on my quit day I was fine. I did have cravings but they were not as severe as my previous quits.
Once the nicotine is out of your body you can focus on breaking the habit. I stopped coffee for a while and drank tea, I started sewing in the evening while watching TV to keep my hands busy, I drank juice rather than alcohol when I went to the pub for a wee while etc. try anything to distract yourself when you get a craving. 10 deep slow breaths also helps (it’s like smoking without the ciggie :))
Keep reading and posting and ask for advice if you need it.
Hi Folks, well, I stopped taking Champix because it was Easter hols and i forgot to get my script from doc's.
I had to cut down to 1 tablets a day on my last 3 days but on my last day i felt as sick as a dog when i lit up and definatley smoked far less than i would have done normaly.
Hi Nikki - not sure what to make of your latest post as you seem to have been taking Champix on and off for the past couple of months? If it's the case that you have been stopping and starting the meds or forgetting to take pills/pick up your prescription then maybe you need to take some time out to really think about what you want from this. If you really want to be free of your addiction (and I'm sure you do then it's like some of the others have said, Champix is not a 'magic' pill, and it does take some degree of commitment and willpower from you, it can't do the job on it's own.
Think about using Champix as a tool to help you, a bit like we are all using this forum - on it's own it might be OK, but with your willpower, plus the help and support of friends and loved ones it will get stronger and stronger.
I really hope for you that this time you are successful - keep posting and remember to take your pills!
Hi all when i started Champix i never picked a finish date just took the tablets and thought let's see.Went a fortnight still smoking but only a couple a day not 30.Then i thought anough and stoped about 14 day's know.We are all diffarent finding it hard but will not give in .
Hi Brenda - congratulations on 14 days smoke free! That's a great acheivement and you should be very proud of yourself. Keep with it, you're doing great
Just had to read through the thread to get your history - phew
I quit using Champix and smoked up to day 14 - I'd set my quit date as the 15th day. Didn't feel any different and think at some points I was smoking more just to check if anything was happening :confused: I managed to time my last pack really well and smoked my last fag at 11pm then promptly threw the ash tray, lighters etc. away so there was nothing there to remind me in the morning. The first couple of hours were hard but once I'd got through that it's been almost plain sailing - that was 28 days ago
You've made the choice to quit and now you need to go with it. As others have said don't try and rush it. The Champix is there to help so let it do it's job (and a blooming good job it's done for me :)) let it get into your system and try and stick to your quit date. I've come across a couple of people who've carried on smoking and I think it's down to the fact that they just don't want it enough.
Wishing you strength and good luck. I hope you are still smoking while starting the champix. It's important to do so for a week minimum and you will find out that the sigarettes will taste less and less untill you are ready to stop compleatly. Hope you share with us your journey 😎 Roosje
RoisinO1Administrator3 Years Smoke Free in reply to Roosje
Roosje - this post is over 7 years old and the posters are no longer on the community - can you refrain from posting in old inactive posts (how old a post is can be seen beside the members name in grey writing).
I am going to turn off replying in this post now.
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go champix wohoooooo!!!
Champix can be disruptive after a while...
If you used Champix, question!
