I've been a smoker for 37 years. I've tried NRT in the past and it did work but I didn't manage to wean off the patches and I started smoking again.
This time I am trying Champix. I'm on week 4.
Still finding it very difficult though.
I'm hardly smoking at all. I've not had a whole cigarette for nearly a week but I will still occasionally sneak a puff or two. I hope this doesn't mean that Champix isn't going to work for me. A lot of people seem to completely quit by about the second week on this drug.
I've joined this forum as I want so much to be a successful quitter this time and all you guys will know what I'm going through.
Thanks for any replies
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nsd_user663_51430
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Welcome to the forum Molly. I am on day 7 of my quit and am using Champix. I stopped just after starting my 3rd week on Champix. It does take a bit of willpower. And some days are harder than others. But I have found that with Champix taking the edge off the cravings, and the help and support available to me on this forum, it has been easier. I would say to just bite the bullet and go for it. And use the forum a lot. There is a support group for people who are using Champix to stop smoking, along with other support groups that you may find useful. The main forum is also great for asking questions, getting hints & tips and for a general rant whenever you need to - nobody judges you, they only want to see you succeed in your goal to quit smoking.
Keep us all up to date on how you are getting on. Its always nice to hear from others.
Your doing fantastic, on your quit 4 weeks is good going. the hardest part is done, you now just need to stop taking the odd puff here and there and your 100% smoke free! so pleased you joined the forum, there wil lalways be someone here to chat to and a place where you can vent all you want to get that anger out and frustration.
Please do look around the forum and become members of various groups for support at each step of the way. do look for hints and tips and ask as manay questions and you want, its what we are all here for!!
good luck and again well done,will look oout for your posts and see how well your doing on the neaky odd puff here and there
and second for making the decision to quit smoking
most people who think along the lines of im never going to smoke ever again freaks the hell out of them :eek:
me included
you need to not think too far ahead and just concentrate on the next few hours and keep saying to yourself
i am not going to smoke today
and the further along the quit you go the stronger you will become your taking baby steps not giant leaps
and before you know it you wilbe achieving giving up for a week then a month and at some point you will start to not even thinking of smoking for afew hours which in turn will become days
so just concentrate on today and feel proud of what you have achieved
post and read as much as you can to help distract your mind and hands
and join some of the groups you can find them under quick links in the bar at the top of the page
it helps to be with people that are going through a similar time as yourself as you know your not alone
Going back to your first post Molly, you said that you stopped using NRT but couldn't wean yourself off the patches. I know a guy who quit smoking in 2000 using the inhilator. He recently stopped using the inhilator and is now using Quitmist spray. The point is that in 12 years he hasn't had a smoke. He wanted to stop smoking and has done this. I would say that is a successful quit. As long as we achieve our goal does it matter the method we use?
I would partially agree with what you've said. Obviously the best course is to get shot of your nicotine habit. If I was your friend I'd be annoyed with myself because I've still got a "habit". But, as you say, better that than smoking, of course!
I always knew (being not strong on willpower) that for as long as I was still addicted to the nicotine (albeit only via a patch) I was susceptible to smoking again.
Of course as all smokers know, one crisis in your life and hey ho you suddenly need a fag.
So even though I hadn't smoked for six months, I was still addicted to nicotine and (hey ho) I started smoking again. That was seven years ago and this is my second attempt to quit.
Didn't bother with trying the patches again once I'd heard of Champix. I like the sound of "turning off my nicotine receptor".
My cessation nurse said that if I manage to quit - then I can never have even a single puff of a ciggie for the rest of my life.
I see that, completely.
The question is: will I ever stop wanting to?
Hey Molly
well done so far on your quit; as Carol says, never mind "never again"... today will do for now, an hour at a time if needs be!
I've not smoked for 60 days today; I've barely thought about it let alone wanted one so far today, so if that's anything to go by then yes the wanting does stop. That's just me though and just for today, but I'm happy with that and hopefully the same will go for you
My fingers are well crossed for you Molly. I am also using Champix and have found it to be a lot easier to deal with cravings. I was just using my friend to highlight a point. He doesn't mind being addicted to nicotine. The main thing for him is that he doesn't smoke any more. I was using the example as a way to say "each to their own" and whatever works for you is the right way to do it. I look forward to staying up to date with your quit as you go through the next few weeks.
I'm hardly smoking at all. I've not had a whole cigarette for nearly a week but I will still occasionally sneak a puff or two. I hope this doesn't mean that Champix isn't going to work for me. A lot of people seem to completely quit by about the second week on this drug.
Nothing is going to work for you if you allow yourself to occasoinally sneak a puff or two. Any way in which you choose to quit requires a modicum of self-discipline. Quit-aids are designed to help ease the difficulty, not to provide a means of magically making your quit a success!
If you're not invested in quitting, then please don't waste yours and everybody else's time!
Well thanks very much for your support Alex. I am completely committed to quitting. But you needn't bother posting anymore on my thread. Find someone else to heckle.
Thanks for all my other replies - you've all been a huge help to me.
Had a bad day today though - constant pangs. But I haven't given in!!
I know a guy who quit smoking in 2000 using the inhilator. He recently stopped using the inhilator and is now using Quitmist spray. The point is that in 12 years he hasn't had a smoke. He wanted to stop smoking and has done this. I would say that is a successful quit. As long as we achieve our goal does it matter the method we use?
Wow Mark, I'm using an inhalator because I am having a vodka at the moment. I do hope I won't be using it for another 12 years. Oh wait a minute. I would be 80, perhaps I should hope I will be using it :D:D
Well thanks very much for your support Alex. I am completely committed to quitting. But you needn't bother posting anymore on my thread. Find someone else to heckle.
Thanks for all my other replies - you've all been a huge help to me.
Had a bad day today though - constant pangs. But I haven't given in!!
Not taking sides but Alex is one of the better members on here at offering advice and support. For some strange reason you have taking his post the wrong way and got your knickers in a twist.
Sometimes hearing the truth isn't what you want to hear but it needs to be told for a reality check.
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