Chantix Journey

[chrissyjane942]

I'm starting Day 2 of my Chantix Journey. I just took my .5mg pill and now I wait. I didn't really notice a difference yesterday but this morning I seem to be chain smoking. I think I'm nervous that I'm going to give them up soon. I decided not to select a quit date and let it happen naturally... although I'm not sure if that is the best idea. I'd love to hear from others as to when they really starting noticing a difference while taking Chantix. I'd also like to hear how you all have dealt with triggers. My main triggers are stress and anger. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[TW517]

There are a lot of people on this site who used Chantix, and had it work very well for them.  Hopefully many will chime in with their experiences.  When it works the way it is supposed to, it is a great aid in your quit.  Just a word of caution though.  I know many others (including myself two times) where it did not do a thing.  And in fact, like you, the desire for cigarettes increased.  I don't know of any studies, but I believe people like me are in the minority.  I just don't want you to get your hopes up that Chantix is the cure-all that will do your quit for you, or make it totally non-painful.

I think most successful quitters would encourage you to set a quit date.  If you leave it open-ended, you will always be able to come up with a reason (excuse) to delay one more day.  That said, I didn't have a set day, but rather a set event.  I promised myself that the next cold of flu I got, I would quit.  Since I was getting them routinely 5-6 times a year, I knew I couldn't put it off too long.  We are all looking for something to make our quit easier (drugs, NRTs, etc.), and I thought feeling sick would work.  And it did for me.  By the way, I've been quit for 7 months and have not had a cold or flu the entire time.  Longest I've gone in probably 10 years.

Triggers are a huge topic here!  You can search that term using that magnifying glass icon at the top right of your screen.  For me, it was deep-breathing, hard candy, and literally yelling (and occasionally swearing) at my triggers as if it was an animate object that could hear me.

You definitely came to the right place for help!  Welcome and congrats on starting this journey!

Tom

[elvan]

Good morning, welcome to EX.  I dealt with triggers by distracting myself in more than one way...I brushed my teeth, I took a shower, I went for a brisk walk (can't do that any more, I smoked for too long), I ate sour candies...some people ate Fireballs, I took deep breaths and let the air out very, very slowly and I concentrated on that, I drank GALLONS of cold water.  I danced, I listened to music...really loud music.  I bought lemons but I didn't use them, it is recommended that you bite into a lemon, rind and all if you have a bad crave...I had the lemons but I couldn't bring myself to do that.  I came to EX first thing every morning and last thing every night...I read blogs, I read everything I could find about nicotine addiction and any other addictions.  I said NOPE, Not One Puff Ever...over and over again.  I analyzed what smoking really did for stress, anger, sadness, pain...I came to the realization that smoking did nothing FOR me but did lots TO me.  I read this blog written by JonesCarpeDiem‌ over and over again: /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months   Every day, even now, I pledge on the pledge page and I ride the Freedom Train, links can be found at the top of the page under Celebrations and Events.

You CAN do this, we are all here to help in any way that we can...we WANT you to succeed.  

Again, welcome.

Ellen

[Iamkfaz]

I had a success with Chantix.  The way it is instructed to use is to set your quit date and start week 1 of the pills 7 days before your quit day.  The quit day should be day 1 of the week 2 pills.  The pills need time to build up in your system.  For me that very first I started to find that smoking was not giving me the same feeling I had before the pills, like smoking wasn't working anymore.  I did quit smoking at the start of week 2, continued the Chantix for a full month then stopped taking them.  I didn't smoke for a year after that.  Chantix also has an online quit support program.  I did use that also.  Every day you go to your support program and read and complete exercises.  It also offered daily recorded phone calls in the evening.  When I wanted to quit at later time I went back to Chantix but this time I didn't like it.  I started to feel more depressed so I stopped using it.  I hope this helps and please keep in touch with your doctor while on Chantix.

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

It takes awhile for the Chantix to build up in your system.  It's been five years since I quit, so my memory may be a bit faulty, but I think it was over a week before I started to not smoke as much.  I didn't get the desired "hit" from one, so it became less pleasurable.  That being said, I also remember chain smoking the night before my quit date, probably trying to recreate that hit I remembered before I gave it up for good!  The most important thing in your quit is your commitment not to smoke another cigarette NO MATTER WHAT.  You promise yourself that, and then you honor that promise each and every day.

The most important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for a free pdf of it on the net (copyright enforcement won't allow me to post the link here).

 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmokingonline.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested in My Quit Plan http://www.becomeanex.org/my-quit-plan.php

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand. If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.

You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...

The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!

Nancy

[Rick_M]

Congrats to you Chriss for making the first move to quit smoking.  I took Chantix and I quit smoking. Set a date to quit according to the Chantix instructions. Stay with EX support.  

[KMC56]

I took Chantix as prescribed...KNOWING it was quit time!  I enjoyed the bizarre dreams....mentally cut down on my cigarettes...but to be honest...it never gave me the sense not to smoke...so one day, I just realized ...quitting is quitting, with or without the Chantix.  It never promised to eliminated the withdrawal symptoms, or the mental frustration of letting go of a terrible addiction.  It really was the help and support of family and this site!!!

I wish you a great successful quit, and stay close!!

~Kathy

[SighofRelief]

Chantix user (week seven of medication) and ex-smoker (week four).  I did not set a quit date and just let it happen.

The first week, I felt not much different.  The second week I occasionally began to notice the distasteful smell of smoke in my car as I entered it (I have owned it for six years, smoked for 35 years, never noticed it as strongly before this). By the third week I was using my awesome powers of procrastination (hey, play to your strengths AND your weaknesses!) and put off having the first morning cigarette.  At the end of the third week, a Sunday, I got up and started reading a very long and engrossing novel.  Several hours later, I realized I hadn't smoked yet and thought it would be interesting to see how long I could hold out, figuring on maybe a couple of more hours, maybe less.  By the end of the night, I thought, well, I'll just wait until tomorrow and have one then.  I've been putting it off ever since.  

One thing I did do for myself, upon recognizing my potential progress on that first quit day, was spoil the heck out of myself in any other way I chose.  For instance, I spent more than just that first day doing very little but indulging in a great book.  I would eat whatever I wanted (though I am not a naturally heavy person, so my metabolism limits this as a potential new addiction), drink soda (not a normal thing for me), ignore household responsibilities, on and on.  I told myself I can do whatever I want as long as it's not smoking.  I haven't developed any sustaining poor habits, and I have only slipped once, about two weeks in, when I thought I could just do one cigarette.  I lit up and as it came into my mouth, I blew the smoke out immediately.  I was astounded at how rank it tasted and felt.  Couldn't even inhale.  Done. Now, though, I am not certain of when to quit taking the Chantix.  

Also, I must note that my doctor originally prescribed buproprion, which I took for two months without any inkling of quitting.  When I reported this to her and requested to switch to Chantix, she recommended taking both, which I am currently doing.  I will discontinue the Chantix first, then eventually the buproprion.   

[elvan]

I did not use Chantix...I quit because I got so sick that I had no choice other than to quit if I wanted to keep breathing.  I think that every time I planned to quit...until this last time, before I found become an EX...I smoked much more before my quit date.  My addiction went into overdrive because I allowed it to.  Please pay attention to what YoungAtHeart‌ has told you and remember that this is a journey and there is nothing you can do to speed it up, there are no shortcuts.  NOTHING is going to quit FOR you...you need the education about addiction and you need to take this one day at a time.  We are here and if you stay close, you will get stronger and stronger.  Read, blog, comment, ask for help if you feel that you need it.  Hang in there, give the Chantix a chance to work.

Welcome to EX.

Ellen