so im on my 4th week of champix now. And it took until the 21st day of taking them for me to stop.
i just wanted to let others know this, as i was reading peoples posts who had stopped in the first couple of weeks. And i found myself wondering if they were even going to work for me, or wether i was a lost cause!
i didnt have a planned date to stop, it just happened. Now obviously after reading other peoples reviews, its important to keep in mind that everyones journey and experience is going to be different.
These are the side effects i have experienced since starting these tablets.
PLEASE REMEBER I AM NO DOCTORS, IM JUST SHARING MY EXPERIENCE WHICH WILL BE DIFFERENT FOR ALL PEOPLE.
-The sickness feeling - this started on day 1 as soon as i took the first tablet. It doesnt last too long, and i have found that if you eat something and ensure you drink the water as your suppose toO this goes helps. somedays are stronger than others. I haven't actually been sick, its just a feeling.
-Vivid Dreams - for 4 weeks now everytime i go to sleep i have vivid dreams. Normally i would only remember maybe 2 a week, now im having them evernight. But as someone who loves THE dream world this has been a bonus!
Tiredness - There were days when in the beginning when i did feel so tired and drained. But as i am now on day 6 of not smoking, i am feeling bursts of energy! reorganized my kitchen and spent hours in the garden with a strimmer. I think this is partly to keep me distracted, but its also to do with my energy levels raising as the nicotine is no longer draining my body!!
-Bloating and eating habits. Yes i definitely eat more now as a non smoker. But this will naturally occur as smoking is a depressant. so it's ok to eat more. I rarely ate breakfast but now i do instead of the morning cigarette. If you are concerned about gaining weight just add a little exercise. I've rather have a few more pounds than cancer in my body. I do experience more bloated-ness than normal,
Written by
sHuggles
1 Year Smoke Free
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Yes, it could be your diet causing the bloating and could be an intolerance to something you are eating - may be worth getting checked out if it doesn't improve or ease off, at this early stage, it is very likely your body and metabolism working correctly and returning to normal...
And lastly (as this have only started since quitting) every-morning i blow my nose, and since day 2/3 of quitting smoking i have a tiny amount of blood on the tissue. Its not alot, it looks like a little vein in there. Worried about this i went online, and apparently this can happen when you quit smoking due to your blood circulation improving. I also went to the doctors to ensure it wasn't anything to worry about. He said this is probably correct and will stop as soon as my body has adjusted. If this happens to you PLease do go to the doctors to be safe.
i obviously have more phlegm coming up at the moment as my lungs start to heal and clear too.
I am only writing this to give people an honest account of what i have personally experienced on these.
Your blood circulation does start to work correctly with getting fresh oxygen back into your body, the blood from the nose would think is harmless enough, the phlegm too is as you rightly said your lungs clearing out - you may experience the coughing up on tar too, which can be alarming but normal too - taking raw honey in the morning and evening and vaporizing with vicks or Eucalyptus oil - these are withdrawals from nicotine not the champix - the most common side effects are nausea and the vivid dreams.
Below is a pinned post of the most common nicotine withdrawals you may experience, worth a read if not already done so:
I honestly found that writing about it and also reading other experiences have been a big help!! When i first started taking them i wasnt sure what was normal and what wasnt. The truth is, we are all different and will have different experiences on them. They just wont agree with some people, whilst others find them easy.
Be safe, be sure to tell others around you how your experience is going, and make regular contact with your gp.
ANd all the best. I truly hope this is it for me and my smoking relationship.
as i stated before, a few days ago i went for a drink with some friends and the urge came to have a cigarette, and i did, but after a few puffs i realised it was just an habitual urge, i didnt actually want or need the cigarette. Im not going to put myself though the torment of being a smoker again. Im happy where i am, and i truly hopefully believe this is just the start of my life as a non smoker.
1 week today sHuggles - hope you are keeping well?
Hi sHuggles I did quit successfully with Chantix and I also remembered my dreams almost everyday ..
Very thoughtful of you to keep track and share with all of us your experience with Chantix .
Things will get better for you during this treatment ! It’s totally worth it .
I learned that the side effects of quitting smoking are almost the same not matter which way we quit .the only difference with Chantix is remembering our dreams very easy .
Chantix is very helpful and makes quitting much easier in terms of less smoking urges and duration of smoking urges I liked the traetment and recomend it !
very important not to have any puff because for every time you puff you open up receptors of nicotine and that interrupts Chantix goals .
Your enthusiasm is going to help you a lot ..I perceive your desire to stay quit ..and you will
sHuggles...Thank you for sharing....getting goose bumps remembering my first few days/weeks on my quit..the symptoms you describe is spot on and I want to say totally "normal'' when using Champix...
Lets be honest...to quit smoking is damn difficult but so possible if you really want to..
Life does not begin at 40 it begins the day you quit to smoke...!!
Again great to read an update from you and that you have begun the best journey of your life, as you smoked a few puffs a couple of days ago, for your milestone badges, I will put 22 April as your start date as would not be a true reflection of being smoke free if I didn't do this. Hidden gave you excellent advice especially about not smoking, even though you just had the few puffs, the nicotine was released back into your system and the 3 day nicotine clearing out process began again - you will also be causing havoc with your mind too. You know how it felt and tasted as you said, so lesson learned not to do it again. Also, the drinking so early on and at a vital stage in your journey is very hard on us, I didn't go out drinking for at least a month after I stopped as didn't feel strong enough.....
You have a tremendous positive attitude and sharing updates of your experiences here will be so beneficial - thank you!!
Hi I have just started Champix and today is my 6th day. And I’m pretty much thinking the same that when will I stop smoking. The pharmacist said that u should stop when I complete week2. But after reading ur post I realised it might be different for everyone. Keep up the good work.
RoisinO1Administrator3 Years Smoke Free in reply to AliKaz
Welcome to our community AliKaz and congratulations on making the best decision of your life to stop smoking. Perhaps create a new introductory post sharing your story.....
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
20 days on Champix, 13 days smoke free. All is not well...
Today is day one on my champix
I went 4 days without a smoke...
