what happens after the chantix

[lilly2]

Hi fellow exers using chantix. I have been on Chantix for about 4 weeks. It really does work! I have crazy vivid nightmares, bouts with nausea and constipation; but it's worth it. I smoked with it about 10 days into the drug and when I went to have (what is now my last ) cig - I experienced no pleasure from the filthy weed.

This is not to say that a day does not go by that I don't want one. It truly is a one day at a time deal. I have been smoking for 20 years - it' s like loosing a friend you know you shouldn't have in your life.

I was FINALLY able to have a cup of coffee without completely craving a a cig with all my being.

A friend of mine told me that he knows of two peple who had been on Chantix for 4 months and then went back to smoking soon after they stopped taking it. I guess at the end of the day, it all comes back to our decision to never have a cig again. I can't make that promise to my loved ones. However, I do know, that if I fool myself into thinking I can just have one every now and then, I head right back to being a full on smoker. There is not gray area.

Has anyone tried smokers anonomys and has that helped?

Thanks and good luck with the struggle.

[deb21]

I've been on Chantix for 6 weeks the only side affect that I have is the nausea in the mornings for about a half hour...no matter what I eat I still have it for a little while. I have been smoke free since March 16th or 32 days and have saved 192.00 since then. I am on my second month of the RX and will be done with it in June. I have very very little craving for a smoke and a cinnamon disk takes care of that. I do wonder that it will be like when I don't have to take Chantix anymore but it will be my choice....be smart...or be stupid. Maybe that so called friend is waiting for you to fail....don't let it happen!!! I'm just glad I don't have to stop and get smokes every 3 days. Good Luck

[jeannine2]

Hi Lilly. Congratulations on being smoke free. It's a great feeling, isn't it? (I quit on March 9th, so 38 days for me, yipee!!) Yes, Chantix works wonders---if you want it to. You were asking about a smokers anonymous group. I found one and have been going to meetings for a month now. It's called Nicotine Anonymous. Look up their web sight to see if there are any meetings in your area. It seems that just about everyone who attends these meetings have quit by taking the Chantix. Those that have been weaned off of it are still not smoking. So don't believe the two people that went back to smoking after the Chantix was ended--it wasn't through the fault of Chantix, it was through their own fault and their own choice, Chantix was just their excuse. Back to the meetings. Yes they do help, so hopefully you can find one in your area so you can attend. Look how many people Alcoholics Anonymous has helped--this program works on the same principles. Good luck to you, keep up the good work. If you have any more questions about the group, I would be happy to answer them for you.

[lilly2]

HI Jeannine -

Thanks for the reply and support. I will look up Nic Anon and find a meeting in my area. I have been working the "one day at a time "principle on my own. It's the only way I can do it. If I start thinking about 15 years from now and how so many people go back to smoking after long lapses, I start to feel overwhelmed(which in turn make me want to smoke - you know how that works)!
Congrats on being smoke free for 39 days!!

[deb21]

This is Deb again..I replied in April of last year...and here I am....over a year later and still smoke free...March 16th was my anniversary.....good luck to you that are just begining....you will do fine...!

[jeannine2]

Congratulations on your year anniversary. I, too, have been smoke free for over a year now. Sometimes it even goes out of my memory that I ever smoked. It's a great feeling to not be a slave to nicotine. Even better since a pack just went up to nearly $7.00 now. Wow. Are we saving a bunch of money or what!! I'm also still going to the Nicotine Anonymous group, but not every week now. There are some people who still attend that have been smoke free for 15 years. We all try to help each other. Cigarettes are nasty. Congrats again. I am so happy for anyone who can beat the demon.

[leslie15]

I have heard that toward the end of your chantix Rx you should gradually wean yourself off the medication. You know, cut down your dose, take just one dose/day for a week, then the last week split the pill and take just 1/2 pill/day. This can help you avoid an abrupt withdrawal feeling - some folks do report feelings of depression or a return of the urge to smoke when going off chantix and weaning yourself off slowly eliminates this. I plan to do that. I've been taking it for 2 months now, so have just one month "left". But I found I only needed one pill/day instead of 2 so I could stretch out my Rx to cover more months if I needed to. Also i've been told that some folks stay on chantix for 6 months rather than the normal 3 months. The quit rate is higher if you stay on it for 6 months. Ask your Doctor if you think you need the extension. If I have trouble going off it I plan to head straight for the doctors. I never, never, never want to smoke again! And I won't let anything make me!

[lindar]

Wow! Congrats to all of you!!

I'm 6 months smoke free. Its barely a passing thought anymore.
Chantex hurt my stomach after about a month of it so i cut the pills in half and just took 1/2 in morning and 1/2 in evening.
Then after taking them for 2 months i had major stomach surgery, nothing by mouth for 4 days so I just quit taking them then. Haven't had any problems. I still have a near full box, I'm keeping them just in case!
I still can't believe I was able to do this, I was so addicted.
Smoked 40 years and was smoking near 3 packs a day.
God Bless All of Us!!!!

[nancy]

It's it wierd a cup of coffee used to be sooo good with a cigarette? I drink coffee too and I never thought that I could without a cigarette. In fact the only way I'd smoke a cigarette is with a beverage and my 1st choice was coffee. I do still crave a cigarette but I hav't bought a pack? They must have placed a computer chip in these funky drugs to do this. I never thought I could quit.
Now if they only could come up with a med to make us the size we want. And the measurment we want. lol

[janie5]

CONGRATS Deb on your ONE YEAR SMOKE FREE!
I'm coming up on my 11th month on April 26 and my BIG DAY is May 26 for ONE YEAR SMOKE FREE.

To all those people just starting this journey GOOD LUCK you CAN DO IT!