Chantix - Snake Oil or cure?

[OLDERNWISER]

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[ThatSweetness]

I adore my demons. Seriously, I know I am flawed and like to do things that are not healthy, however I am getting to the age where smoking is leading to disaster.

Having tried hypnosis, patches, gum, etc, etc, I thought I was a hopeless case. Add that to my drill sargent doctor who told me I would quit when I decided I wanted to quit (I wanted to quit at least two years ago) well, like I said, I thought I was a hopeless case.

Today is one week - who knows? I may not make it for the twelve weeks of therapy (therapy week is week number two)

in any case, I have high hopes. The drug blocks the nicotine receptors, so even if I could get my hands on some tobacco, it would not give me any relief. And I hope this is a lesson I will remember, and never smoke again..

Anyone here who smokes and is trying to stop, good luck to you, I feel your pain.
xoxo
OnW

Are you having any side effects from this? I used to work at a tobacco store and heard mostly good things about it but a few said they had to stop due to wild dreams/hallucinations.

 

[OLDERNWISER]

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[ThatSweetness]

yes - I am having wild dreams. I am not sure just how to separate this from wild hallucinations, seeing as I live alone.

Chantix has made me feel, at times, that I am not sure what is real

thanks for asking, and do you want to get wild?

Well as long as they are not harmful and you are enjoying them lol

I am always wild...there's no getting when you are already there

 

[Guest]

I adore my demons. Seriously, I know I am flawed and like to do things that are not healthy, however I am getting to the age where smoking is leading to disaster.

Having tried hypnosis, patches, gum, etc, etc, I thought I was a hopeless case. Add that to my drill sargent doctor who told me I would quit when I decided I wanted to quit (I wanted to quit at least two years ago) well, like I said, I thought I was a hopeless case.

Today is one week - who knows? I may not make it for the twelve weeks of therapy (therapy week is week number two)

in any case, I have high hopes. The drug blocks the nicotine receptors, so even if I could get my hands on some tobacco, it would not give me any relief. And I hope this is a lesson I will remember, and never smoke again..

Anyone here who smokes and is trying to stop, good luck to you, I feel your pain.
xoxo
OnW

I quit. Used Chantix too. Two and a half years later, I still do not have the urge to smoke again. I get occasional cravings, but like everything, they are dulled by time. Smells trigger the desire for a cigarette, but the most important thing I did was to separate my smoking from everything else. I had to NOT smoke after I ate, and instead wait at least an hour (I called it a swimming break) to dissociate the nicotine from the act of eating. It was the same with coffee and alcohol.

They tell you to throw away your ashtrays. That didn't work for me. I just made new ones out of Pepsi cans.

A useful trick I learned was to take a plastic water bottle and put my cigarette butts in it. After about a pack went in there, I added maybe two cups of water and let it sit on the windowsill for a day in the sun. Every time I wanted a cigarette after that, I would take a whiff of what was in the bottle. Made me nauseous.

Finally, Chantix makes cigarettes taste horrible. Every time I took a puff I gagged. Of course, you can learn to get over that. Your own experiences may differ. These are the things that work for me. I quit after fourteen years and I know you can too.

Good luck and stay strong.

~Paul

 

[OnlyByMoonlight]

I've never tried it, but my mom (who is a nurse) says everyone she's known who has used it (which is a lot of people), wound up starting smoking again within a year. She looked up the drug info and sounded a little skeptical. You never know though. It might work for you.

 

[Guest]

I've never tried it, but my mom (who is a nurse) says everyone she's known who has used it (which is a lot of people), wound up starting smoking again within a year. She looked up the drug info and sounded a little skeptical. You never know though. It might work for you.

It worked great for me, but I don't think that it was only the Chantix. After all, I was VERY ready to quit, and was on my third time quitting in as many years. I think you have to be truly sick of it all (the rituals, the cigarettes, the smell, everything) for a cure like that to work. I tried Wellbutrin twice before Chantix and had no luck. when the pills were gone the smokes were back.

I still miss the way they made me feel though. That sense of satisfaction after the first hit was what kept me hooked all those years. If you don't smoke, that might not make sense (satisfaction? from smoking?), but it's the only way I can describe it.

~Paul

 

[Katyusha]

It worked great for me, but I don't think that it was only the Chantix. After all, I was VERY ready to quit, and was on my third time quitting in as many years. I think you have to be truly sick of it all (the rituals, the cigarettes, the smell, everything) for a cure like that to work. I tried Wellbutrin twice before Chantix and had no luck. when the pills were gone the smokes were back.

I still miss the way they made me feel though. That sense of satisfaction after the first hit was what kept me hooked all those years. If you don't smoke, that might not make sense (satisfaction? from smoking?), but it's the only way I can describe it.

~Paul

I knew a guy for whom it wasn't the first hit, but the very last drag. He said if that last drag wasn't just right, it ruined the entire thing and he'd have to smoke another right away. I guess it's different for different people. I've never smoked but that does make sense to me.

 

[midwestyankee]

There is a pattern to changing your behavior, which involves passing through several stages. The essential elements are thinking about the change and the consequences of both changing and not changing, planning for the change, taking action, and maintaining the change and consolidating your gains. Many people seem to require some kind of assistance when changing an addictive behavior. Twelve step programs, pharmaceutical aids like the nicotine patch or Chantix, and a quitting buddy are all examples of assistance that can work.

What matters is having fully considered the change and being fully committed to making the change. Once you take action, anything you do to reinforce the reasons that drove you - and not someone else - to change will help.

Anyone interested in the mechanics and psychology of changing addictive behaviors might enjoy reading Changing for Good by James O. Prochaska.

 

[Huckleman2000]

I've heard mixed things from friends who used Chantix, but I know a lot of people who seem to have mental illnesses to varying degrees. A couple have claimed that it made them feel almost psychotic.

As others have said, it was a mental process for me. I had to re-frame my self-image as a non-smoker. Like, when I wanted a cig, I had to remind myself that I'm a Non-smoker for a lot of very good reasons, but foremost among them, I don't smoke now. Twenty-five years later, it still works.

 

[stephen55]

The Demon Weed

Tobacco, Nick-Oh-Teen, Cigarette....

For reasons I still cannot fully fathom, as a young guy, say about early puberty, I always thought that the word 'cigarette' was kind of sexy. The actual tubes of tobacco weren't, just the word. Analyze that! My guess would be that cigarette advertising, with all those beautiful young women, looking so, so good, was too blame. All those hot babes with cigarettes in their mouths, when what I really wanted in their mouths was......

Then, I went to medical school, learned about addictions, sat through pathology class, looking at slides of really god-awful looking bits of cigarette addicted human tissues (it's gross, it's dead) and finally went into family practice where I joined the legions of good, fighting Big Tobacco.

Why, why, why is tobacco legal and marijuana illegal? Because Sir Walter Raleigh brought the former back from the New world and not the latter. Imagine getting BC Bud from a vending machine and having to score tobacco from some scuzzy drug dealer.

Leaving aside the relative merits of trading one addiction for another, I know how hard it is to quit smoking. Nicotine is highly addictive stuff.

Patients get tired of hearing their doc harping on their smoking, so I tried to be a bit humorous about it.

"What?? Any dweeb can quit smoking...but it takes a Real Man to stare down lung cancer!!"

"I used to have a smoking problem....but now I can afford the things."

"So what if smoking causes erectile dysfunction...a woman is just a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke!!" (I cribbed that one from Rudyard Kipling)

For what it's worth, all the humor did was make my day a bit easier. So go ahead and use Chantix. You'll live longer, save a packet of money and the government will hate you. They love smokers. They pay a fortune in taxes and tend to die at the age of 65, thus saving the government all those old age benefits. At least, that's the way it is in The Great White North.

One more thing. All those studies of how smokers cost so much in health problems and medical bills? Bullshit!! Smokers pay more in cigarette taxes than they consume in medical costs, at least in TGWN. So, stick it to them! Quit smoking! Really piss them off!!

If you want a second opinion, I'd say it's your gallbladder.

Ps: Really want to quit? Think of this. Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray.

 

[Handley_Page]

There used to be a very good advert for giving up smoking: "Have a Heart Attack."

In my case it was Swine 'flu. Smoking made me cough so much I was gagging for breath. IT was bad enough trying to clear my lungs of gunge without the addition of hauling a bramble bush up the back of my throat.

And then it was a week later - still no restart - and now it's about 8 weeks - and still no re-start.

The chemistry stuff does work, but like they say about heath foods "As part of a healthy lifestyle"

Good Luck folks!

 

[Guest]

And then it was a week later - still no restart - and now it's about 8 weeks - and still no re-start.

Congratulations HP. I am proud of you. If you need to know how I dealt with things like bars and such, PM me and I will offer you any advice I can on not starting up again. Stress is the worst, and I have a couple tips for that as well. Let me know if you need anything, from one ex smoker to another

 

[michchick98]

I've been considering using Chantix to quit smoking, even had my doctor write me a script for it, but the cost right now is what's holding me back. I'm gonna try other, much cheaper methods at the moment and probably do more research on Chantix. And yes, I know the cost of cigarettes is far more expensive, both monetarily and healthwise, but my insurance doesn't cover Chantix and I'm still getting my finances straightened around.

Everyone is different in how they're effected by certain medications. I'm leary about the effects of Chantix based on what I've heard so far. I'm glad this thread is here to read of others' experiences with the drug, but I'll probably try the old fashioned way - cold turkey - first before other alternatives.

My biggest challenge is not smoking while I'm sitting at the computer. To remedy this, I've left my cigarettes in my car. I like spending time on the computer and I need to focus on my writing, so having the cigarettes "far" away will help me to do that while at the same time break me of my dependence on them. Sounds good in theory, I just gotta stick to my guns and make it last.

Good luck to anyone who's trying to quit. It's not an easy task.

 

[OLDERNWISER]

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[Guest]

Psychosis, I hope not but yes, there is a sense of unreality for me at times. At night I have been wakeful and then in the morning sometimes a little confused as to whether a particularly vivid dream was real.

I missed a dose two days ago and the next day bought a pack. Damn, damn, damn! I was doing great, it’s absolutely true, the earlier posts here about finding that mindset that says “I am not a smoker.” It does work as long as you can keep your head in that place. For now the crisis is over but I worry how I am going to handle it when I stop taking it (the pills, I mean.)

Starting week three…wish me luck.

Good luck on week three.

As far as slipping goes, many of us do. I had quit several times before this final time, and had relapses. The question is, really, are you READY to quit? If you are, and you backslide then you can bounce back with support. I think you are ready to quit. You have it in you. You can post to an erotica site and have hundreds (thousands?) of readers judge your work. that takes guts and to do it again takes determination. the very fact that you are here says you have that in spades. You just need help weening yourself off of a drug. There is no shame in slipping. If you slip and fall, then okay. It happens to all of us. the shame is in not getting back up. If you go back to smoking and just say 'it's too hard to quit', then I will feel the need to say something. But you can quit. You can do this.

You are no longer a smoker. What you are is someone willing to take their life back. So, good luck with week three. I support you and I hope that all goes well. I will be looking into see how it went and what you plan on doing for week four.

 

[amicus]

Chantix was prescribed for my smoking habit but I just ignored the treatment after reading the side effects and later hearing, on the news in several different places of the increased suicide rate and terrific psychological side effects of the drug.

I stumbled across this: http://nosmokecigarettes.net/knight-sticks-electronic-cigarette-™-stop-smoking-today/

used the promo code nosmoke and bought a free trial, e cigarettes, something new that I had not heard of and perhaps others have not either.

Good luck...I am curious to see how it works...

Amicus

 

[OLDERNWISER]

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[MagicaPractica]

Chantix seems to have worked well for my father in the respect that he quit smoking two years ago (after 60 years) and hasn't started again (as far as I know.) However, I will say he did not seem like himself while he was on it - very disconnected etc. I'd have some friends or family keeping an eye on me while I was using that if at all possible. Good luck!

 

[OLDERNWISER]

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[Zeb_Carter]

There are now commercials on TV for Lawyers here in Texas that have a class action suit against the makers of Chantix for the severe side effect it causes in some people. There evidently have bee several suicides involved with the drug and they allege that Pfizer has been hide this fact.

 

[OLDERNWISER]

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[Handley_Page]

There are now commercials on TV for Lawyers here in Texas that have a class action suit against the makers of Chantix for the severe side effect it causes in some people. There evidently have been several suicides involved with the drug and they allege that Pfizer has been hide this fact.

[ topic OFF]
"Where there's a blame, there's a claim".
Do these folk read the label ? or listen to the pharmacist or prescribing doctor ?
Apparently not.
[ topic ON ]

 

[OLDERNWISER]

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[MagicaPractica]

Fuck everybody

and the horse they rode in on.

Quitting sucks.

Yep, no doubt about it. But I'm so glad my Dad will be around to see my baby born in June and see me married in October. Not sure his body would have made it this far if he hadn't quit. He's had double bypass surgery, cancer and diabetes. I hope you find wonderful things on the other side of quitting too.