Anyone ever been on Chantix?

[Rebasxer]

So in the last few months I've gone from smoking 5-10 cigs a day to a whole pack. I've decided that its time to quit. I went to the doctor's the other day and got some Chantix. I'm wondering if anyone here has ever been on the drug before, had any experience or any advice

 

[kgokal]

My carpool buddy is on his 2nd month of Chantix, its heavy on the side-effects for him.
Lethargic and overall fuzzy feeling, but doc cut his dosage to .5mg cuz hes only 120lbs.

Let me know if it works....

I'm waiting on ZeroSMoke to come in the mail, give the chem-free method a shot.

 

[TwiceOver]

Stomach pain plus nausea. Take it with a very full meal. Have some fun dreams at night.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: Rebasxer
So in the last few months I've gone from smoking 5-10 cigs a day to a whole pack. I've decided that its time to quit. I went to the doctor's the other day and got some Chantix. I'm wondering if anyone here has ever been on the drug before, had any experience or any advice

Did you try any other options first? Chantix should only be used as a last resort. There are some very negative side effects including violence towards others and suicide. Don't take Chantix unless all other methods have failed.

To answer your question, yes I took it and it works. I was one of those cases where I failed at every other method first.

 

[K1052]

A friend of mine has been using it and just stopped. He was experiencing insomnia, severe headaches/nausea, and mood swings.

 

[Heller]

Yeah, I've seen alot (10+) commercials stating chantax has strong suicidal affects, just watch out and be safe

 

[zanejohnson]

my mother used it for a while, it had some very bad effects on her, she actually had a seizure after using for about two weeks.... she quit taking it after that episode and she hasnt had a problem since.

some people swear by it, but some people have had some pretty bad side effects..

 

[Heller]

Originally posted by: zanejohnson
my mother used it for a while, it had some very bad effects on her, she actually had after using for about two weeks.... she quit taking it after that episode

some people swear by it, but some people have had some pretty bad side effects..

Wait...What?!

 

[zanejohnson]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
Stomach pain plus nausea. Take it with a very full meal. Have some fun dreams at night.

that's one of the side effects my mother had too, crazy dreams....

 

[MrPickins]

Just quit cold turkey. The side effects are often wore than the withdrawal symptoms.

 

[ScottMac]

For me, what it did was piss off th monkey on my back, and make him meaner & more ornery than he'd have been by just going cold turkey off tobacco.

Tobacco to Chantix went fine, I even had a few cheaters along the way ... but when I ran out of Chantix, things got ugly ... I didn't really want cigarettes, but my attitude definitely turned South for probably over a month.

Another person I worked with had (says he had) the "vivid nightmares" side-effect.

IT also turns out I wasn't on the program for the specified duration. The normal basic regime is three months, with another (optional) three months. My doc only wrote me a script for Two months (starter kit + one continuation kit) .. but that was enough. I smoked for pretty much 35 years straight and got off the first try with drugs. I am coming up on one year since "quit day." I had maybe five or six cheaters in the first month off (both tobacco and Chantix).

With th price of cigarettes these days (Chicago City= 7.00 - 8.00+ per pack), you can only bum so many before your friends and co-workers cut you off ... as long as you don't buy any, you get all the support you need from people not giving you any.

Good Luck, stay dry

Scott

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: MrPickins
Just quit cold turkey. The side effects are often wore than the withdrawal symptoms.

Some people just can't do that... I don't understand why either. Back in September 07 my wife and I decided to quit. I just simply quit, she was on Chantix for a month or so and it really helped her.

 

[zanejohnson]

Originally posted by: Heller

Originally posted by: zanejohnson
my mother used it for a while, it had some very bad effects on her, she actually had after using for about two weeks.... she quit taking it and then i gave her some crack.after that episode and she hasn't had a problem since, well accept the corner street whoring but she calls it an adventure anyway.

some people swear by it, but some people have had some pretty bad side effects..

Wait...What?!

enjoy your week off...

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey

Originally posted by: MrPickins
Just quit cold turkey. The side effects are often wore than the withdrawal symptoms.

Some people just can't do that... I don't understand why either. Back in September 07 my wife and I decided to quit. I just simply quit, she was on Chantix for a month or so and it really helped her.

It's called willpower.

I smoked heavily for 15 years and when I finally decided it was time to quit, I just did. After a week it's all in your head anyway.

Edit: No offense to you wife. My sister used the drugs too. I just dislike "crutches."

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: MrPickins

It's called willpower.

I smoked heavily for 15 years and when I finally decided it was time to quit, I just did. After a week it's all in your head anyway.

Edit: No offense to you wife. My sister used the drugs too. I just dislike "crutches."

I quit twice before cold turkey. Once for eight years and the second time for 10 months. It was different this time. The more I tried to quit, the more cigarettes I craved. I went two days one time without a cigarette and was in such bad shape I had to smoke one for my sanity. I needed to take something like chantix this time around.

I have decided I will never pick up another cigarette no matter what. No more excuses to smoke will be acceptable after going through this nightmare.

 

[Old Hippie]

I tried it, but it gave me extreme nausea.

I agree with a lot of guys here......I just don't have enough will power and it's pissing me off. :|

my mother used it for a while, it had some very bad effects on her, she actually had a seizure after using for about two weeks....

Damn! I didn't know it could get that bad!

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: MrPickins

Originally posted by: Joemonkey

Originally posted by: MrPickins
Just quit cold turkey. The side effects are often wore than the withdrawal symptoms.

Some people just can't do that... I don't understand why either. Back in September 07 my wife and I decided to quit. I just simply quit, she was on Chantix for a month or so and it really helped her.

It's called willpower.

I smoked heavily for 15 years and when I finally decided it was time to quit, I just did. After a week it's all in your head anyway.

Edit: No offense to you wife. My sister used the drugs too. I just dislike "crutches."

I don't think of it as a "crutch" as I was at one point on paxil for a while and it really helped, and depression is also "all in your head" right?

 

[moshquerade]

Some people have had luck with wellbutrin for smoking cessation.

I know two people who went the chantix route. Both were long time smokers and had tried everything else out there to help them kick it. Chantix worked for both of them (both females). One experienced slight nausea, and ended up losing a little weight which she could stand to so she was happy. The other didn't really experience any side effects.

Good luck OP :thumbsup:

 

[glenn1]

Chantix (combined with the nicotine patch) worked for me, and I had been smoking for almost 20 years. No side effects to speak of.

BTW, the cravings are probably worse than the withdrawl symptoms during your quit period - I've been off cigs for about 18 months now and I still want to smoke, but the frequency of craving is going down but will probably never go away entirely.

 

[Kyle]

I've talked to literally hundereds if not thousands of people taking or who have taken chantix. It is NOT the last resort, actually it's what we recommend if the person has no preference or has not had success w/ a different method in the past.
Most common side effect by far is an upset stomach (take it w/ food for sure).
Vivid dreams is second.
I've talked to 2 or 3 people w/ mood changes.
The FDA is looking in to reports of suicidal thoughts/erratic/agressive behavior- it has NOT been proven that chantix had anything to do with it. When the FDA originally was running their studies on it before approving it, there was not a significant increase vs. placebo when it came to mood changes/depression etc.
Some people experience these "side effects" simply from quitting smoking in general, especially if they have some underlying or diagnosed psychological condition to begin with. That being said, if you have been diagnosed w/ any psychological condition (bipolar/depression/ etc) then it is a good idea to be careful when taking chantix and let your doctor know if you experience any mood changes.
Also, I make it a point to ask everyone who has discontinued the medication after 12 or 24 weeks if they felt any different, and have not had anyone say they felt anything at all.

That being said, everyone is different, there is always that small chance that you will not react well with the medication.

It really is a shame how public these "side effects" have become in the last few months...Before then, everyone was excited to use it- it was exciting for me as well because it DID work so well for *most* people who used it. At the time, I had not spoken with a single person who had any SE's other than gastrointestinal issues or dreams.

I wouldnt be scared in trying it out- you start at a low dose for the first few days, so if you are going to experience any side effects, you'll probably experience a mild version of them on the lower dose.

 

[leeland]

Another plus for Chantix...I used it for chew...and aside from things like a little nausea in the a.m. when I took it and the occasional dream where I am standing naked in a board room with a Dick Nixon mask on...profressing I am not a crook...

I am a happy camper!!!

I chewed for 10 + years on and off...I wanted to quit and would try cold turkey which wouldn't last.

After taking Chantix (5th month now) I haven't had a chew nor do I ever want to again...it is that effective...it just TOTALLY killed the craving and made it taste like ass...and that is worth the little nausea and dreams issue to me...

If I ever do get the craving I just chew on sun flower seeds...it gives the wife something to piss and moan about having sun flower seed bottles laying around

Word of advice...make sure you take it religiously...for the full duration of the prescription...if it doesn't feel like it is working after x number of weeks talk to the Doctor you may need a stronger dose!


Good luck it was one of the best decisions I have made...the first step is trying it...the rest is a walk!

 

[MetalMat]

Switch to weed

 

[iRONic]

Wife and I used Chantix for six weeks to quit. Been smoke free since New Years Day '08.

We both had the vivid dreams, she had mild nausea.

 

[umbrella39]

I am an RRT and used it myself to stop smoking. My side effects included having a bad taste in my mouth when smoking or not, slight nausea that resolved after about an hour after taking the pills, and deep depression (no thoughts of suicide). The most common side effect I hear from patients taking the drug is the vivid dreams they have. I didn't experience these. The reports of thoughts of suicide are few and far in between. I would be willing to bet that the majority of the people who reported suicidal thoughts would have reported the same thing if they had been taking a placebo.

 

[leeland]

Small world Umbrella...I used to be a RRT!!!