Quitting Champix

[Zetters]

Morning all,

I seem to be doing OK after not having a cig for 24 days but two things concern me.....

1) i have not developed (as yet) the nasty, clearing cough (did i waste my smoking carreer by not smoking enough????)

2) i am due off the Champix soon, are there any asverse withdrawal symptoms with that? Will the cravings for nic get me?

Any info would be gratefully recieved

Sue xx

[Zetters 1 YEAR WINNER]

Thanks John and well done you on quitting

BTW , should say adverse not asverve - darn my typing! Lol x

[Hidden]

Hi setters, going cycling in a minute but will reply later, I was on Champix.

[Hidden]

Stupid phone, I meant Zetters not setters lol.

[Zetters 1 YEAR WINNER]

LOL welcome to my world :0D x

[sue52 3 YEAR WINNER]

Hi Zetters,

Well done on reaching 24days with no cigs, that's brilliant I didn't get a cough either, sorry i don't know about Champix, i didn't take that, but i know sinfree will help you with this.

keep strong your doing great

[andi22]

Well done on getting to 24 days - it'll be a month before you know it.

I did cold turkey but I didn't get a cough either so be happy about that.

[Hidden]

hehe, Hi Zetters. I notice I put my last post 7 hours ago. I haven't been cycling for 7 hours. First of all not sure why you're due to come off Champix soon. You say you haven't smoked for 24 days but a course of Champix is usually for 3 months. Did you not quit smoking within the first 7-14 days of starting on Champix?

Anyway. As far as I know I think you do the same coming off Champix as you did when you started. You take the smaller tablets for a week I think at the end of the course. That didn't happen with me as I completely gave up on it just over a week ago. I was so unhappy with it that I cut down from 2 tablets to 1 a day because I didn't feel it was doing anything. I didn't notice any adverse reaction from cutting down to 1. On the contrary the back ache I'd had ever since I started taking it vanished almost overnight and within a week of stopping taking it altogether I no longer need to get up in the night to go to the loo.

As for cravings, well I did get an e-cig last week but I don't use it very much and I am using nicotine lozenges too but I was when I was on the Champix, they just taste a bit better now. After 3 months of not smoking I had a really bad time not the weekend just gone but the one before. I suffered a major fall out with family and I was treated very, very badly by a few members of the family so I bought a packet of 10 cigs and smoked them all. Then on the Monday I went out and bought another 10. However by last Wednesday I decided that I couldn't let the 3 months of hard work come to nothing so I bought an e-cig, and decided to stop taking champix after my smoking adviser said I wasn't committed to stopping smoking at the moment and should take a break from quitting. OMG, talk about kick a person when they're down. So I thought stuff it am not taking the stupid Champix and I WILL stop smoking now if I want to. I gave the last two remaining proper cigs that I had left last Wednesday to my husband and said hide them but don't throw them away. I would honestly defy any quitting smoker not to have gone back to cigarettes after what happened to me a couple of Saturdays ago.

Anyways I now feel back on track and to be honest I feel a million times better now I've stopped taking Champix. I don't seem to have cravings the same as I did when I was on that stuff. Whether that's because I am quite a bit past 3 months now or whether its because the Champix was making me very irritable I don't know but I honestly wouldn't worry about how you'll feel when you come off it, I don't honestly think you'll notice any difference. Umm sorry my reply is so long, I do get carried away Hope I've been some help. Well done for not smoking and I'm sure you'll be fine, although I would check up on whether you are actually due to come off the Champix yet.

[Zetters 1 YEAR WINNER]

Thanks all and specially sinfree, well done on getting back on the straight and narrow - i ain't thrown away the last of my cigs either, kinda find it easier to resist them than face the panic of having none to hand if i need them. I wonder if there ever comes a time we don't automatically think of cigs when faced with adversity?

Due to suspected allergies to the Champix and my birthday coming up i never gave myself an actual quit date! It just transpired i cut down naturally then one day got in bed and realised i had not had one all day and not had one since :0) Because of this i was into the third or fourth week before i stopped rather than the second so do not have as many weeks after quitting than normal

Hope that all makes sense? xx

No backache with them, have felt a little nauseous on occasion but nothing too serious and blamed the sudden need to get up in the night on my op - wonder if it is the tabs instead? The sleep patterns seem to have settled (and much quicker than i feared), vivid but not (to date) bad dreams, no nasty cough and have not piled on the pounds! So, all in all, at least thus far, a not unpleasant experience this quitting mit Champix malarky - just hope quitting Champix goes half as well !! :0)

[EmJay Partner]

Zetters, you're doing really well and sound as though you are in the right frame of mind for wanting to stop smoking and stay stopped :0) Don't worry if you don't get the cough, but if you do just see it as a positive sign of recovery, unless it does last more than a couple of weeks. It looks like Champix is working the way it is supposed to for you, just a little bit slower! As you can see, as with Sinfree, Champix (or other products) doesn't always work for everyone. This is quite sad and frustrating really, especially when you can see the huge efforts that some people go to when trying to quit. Keep moving forward and we'll support you all the way :0)

Sin, I'm sorry to hear of the response from your advisor but really proud of how you've continued to march on. A true winner :0)

[Zetters 1 YEAR WINNER]

Thanks Emjay

To be honest i did not like my advisor either Sin! Had to see her to get the tabs but hate being patronised by 12 year olds so only saw her that first time! So it can be done without them, don't give up - there are better people on here to help and support you/us :0) x