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SO I HAVE NOT SMOKED FOR 9 DAYS, THANKS TO CHANTIX. NOW I READ THAT SMOKING LETS LITTLE HAPPY GUYS RUN AROUND MY BRAIN, BUT CHANTIX DOES THE SAME THING. SO WHEN I QUIT THE CHANTIX IT WILL BE COLD TURKEY ALL OVER AGAIN!!! IS THIS A WONDERFUL COUNTRY FOR PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES OR WHAT? WHY DID I TRADE ONE ADDICTION FOR ANOTHER??
Welcome to the Ex and congrats on you 9 days smoke free. Chantix is not addictive and know you won't be going cold turkey. As with NRT and Welbutrin, Chantix is a means to wean yourself off of nicotine. Please do some reading on how Chantix works.
"When Chantix is introduced into the brain, it targets a specific type of nicotinic receptor called alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptors. It docks with these receptors, triggering a release of dopamine in the same way nicotine would, though not quite as much. For ex-smokers, the effect is equal to a low to medium dose of nicotine that lasts until the drug wears off, which is several hours.
Congrats on 9 days of freedom. You do not have to worry Chantix is not an addictive drug.
I took Chantix and when I stopped, I had no after effects. I think you might be misinterpreting what it says. I don't think it's addictive.
Nancy
Hi and Welcome to Ex’s...many have been on Chantix here at Ex’s...and quit smoking...they worked the program and stayed here for support ... You can do this...and actually you are doing it...we are here to support you...~ Colleen 331 DOF
I really hope that you are doing the reading and educating yourself about nicotine addiction, recovery is a journey, not an event and it is so worth it. One day at a time. Treat your quit like it is the fragile thing it is and remember that it is entirely dependent upon you. Chantix is just helping you to get through the beginning. I don't think you will have to go through withdrawal from the Chantix but you CAN stay on it longer it you need to. In the meantime, stay close to the site, read, practice being smoke free, set up a plan, you can do this. We all want you to succeed but no one and nothing can do this FOR you.
Ellen
Congratulations on 9 days!!!!!, rutlandvt!! That's very impressive.
I'm sure you will get lots of answers from more knowledgable people than me, but I'll put my 2-cents in, anyway.
I look at smoking as 2 parts - Part A: is the addiction. Part B: is the habit
Part A is all the physical changes our bodies endure while we are smoking. Some of the changes don't seem so bad (like little happy guys running around in your head!); but you know that most of them are really and truly awful. Technically, we are no longer under the influence after about 3 days. All the nicotine is out of your system and you're cruising on your own power.
Which brings up the second part of smoking; Part B, the habit. The habit of smoking is what makes triggers so painful. Even if you haven't had a smoke in months, you can suddenly find yourself in the middle of an intense crave because you drove past the park where you used to sneak cigarettes back in high school. In my very humble opinion, Part B is harder to get over than Part A. Everytime we fed the addiciton, we also built a habit. And kept building it.
So what does this have to do with Chantix????
Well, Chantix helps give the brain happy guys while your body works to break an addiction. It is much harder to quit when you're depressed. One of the reason many of us crave sugar during the quit is because that's a happy guy pathway. Chantix helps keep the quit until new habits of being a non-smoker are built.
Once your quit is deeply engrained, you can ween yourself from Chantix and build other habits that will get those happy guys flowing. Like taking a little walk or stretching (for reals!)
You are doing great. Keep up the good work
PT