Chantix Diary - Been quit one week!!!

My first full week without a cigarette while taking Chantix - it really couldn't have been any easier!

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• Chantix
• Champix
• quitting
• quit
• smoking
• cigarettes
• diary

[BackStageCowboy]

By the way. Any thoughts on some of the crazy side effects people write about all over the internet? Because so far I have not experienced any bad side effects at all besides mild constipation and some gas (remedied with some $2 gas ex and fiber). So far my experience has been pretty much identical to yours in every way just curious why there are so many people saying they are suicidal after 1 week and things like that. Maybe just unstable to begin with or something? Anyway thanks.

[damrak1969]

@BackStageCowboy I heard from a few people that they did have some fairly dramatic psychological symptoms. Some people are paranoid about it before they start and might be making things worse from anxiety. Some people ignore the side effects and keep taking the drug and it gets bad for them. Everyone is different - especially if they are taking other prescription medications. The constipation was the worse thing for me personally.

[BackStageCowboy]

Tomorrow morning will be my first week without smoking since I was 16 (8 years ago). Very happy. Now I wanted to ask you how long you continued to take chantix after you quit? I have only purchased the starter pack which is only one month worth, and I will have used half of it tomorrow. I am hoping that I wont have to buy more because my health insurance doesn't cover any of the costs so I had to foot the $150. Any advice? Think I will be ok with just 1 month? Thanks.

[damrak1969]

@BackStageCowboy I only took it for about 6-7 weeks - plus i only took a 1/2 dose so I had plenty left - but it all depends on your cravings. I would recommend that you take it for at least one month. Cut the last few pills you have in half so you can taper the dose down slowly and stretch it out instead of going off the pill cold turkey. Starting some aerobic exercise will help you want to stay quit afterwards. You will also probably gain some weight so be prepared for that

[dsg82]

I enjoy your videos. I'm starting on Chantix next week and you're making me feel confident!

[damrak1969]

@dsg82 Good luck. Send me a comment on day 4 or 5 and let me know how your urge to smoke feels. I'm always curious to see how different people react to the medication.

[BackStageCowboy]

@damrak1969 Thanks for the response. Could you please respond to my comment just before this one? That is the one that is really nagging me. Thanks

[damrak1969]

@MessingWithIt I took it a little over 6 weeks. I remember that I missed a couple of doses by accident and decided to try going without the drug and I did ok.

[MessingWithIt]

Curios how many weeks before you quit taking chantix?

[damrak1969]

@BackStageCowboy Substituting one behavior for another is helpful. I ate candy to help with my quitting. My favorite part of the first few weeks was my sense of smell got much better. I remember I smelled a girl's perfume through a closed door after she walked down the hall. I couldn't believe how much my smell and taste was dulled by the cigs.