Topic: CHANTIX (quit smoking drug)

[DTB]

Anyone tried it?

I really need to quit smoking

[JanMarie13]

Not personally but I've heard a few people say they have and that it worked great!

[BLACKDOG]

some people on pirate have had great success using it

[bigarms23]

i have a cheap solution for you everytime u want to smoke take an empty glass and fill it a 1/3 with milk and than add 2/3 chocolate syrup and drink it down the chocolate over a period of a week should make you not want to smoke or drink chocolate milk again

[WHITE_TRASH]

Stop being a girl thingy and just stop buying them.....   :flipoff:  I quit a couple years ago cold turkey, I was a prick for about a week then things started to calm down.  One thing that made it easier was keeping a $20 in my pocket for a week... Usually that'd be gone in 3 days buying smokes...  I still want a smoke pretty much every day but I don't do it for one simple reason, I'm a NON smoker plain and simple.

[BLACKDOG]

Stop being a girl thingy and just stop buying them.....   :flipoff:  I quit a couple years ago cold turkey, I was a prick for about a week then things started to calm down.  One thing that made it easier was keeping a $20 in my pocket for a week... Usually that'd be gone in 3 days buying smokes...  I still want a smoke pretty much every day but I don't do it for one simple reason, I'm a NON smoker plain and simple.

ummm, hate to break it to you.... 






 


just messing with ya

[DTB [OP]]

I was a prick for about a week then things started to calm down. 

Things calmed down? really? couldnt tell....

 

No really thats some good advice....I've been scared after trying Zyban (the original RX quit smoking drug) and having a Grand Mal seizure from taking it. The state took away my drivers lisence for a year because its the law!

I keep hearing about people having horrific nightmares on Chantrix and I had them on Zyban before I had the seizure so you can see my concerns.....all I know is that smoking is gonna kill me...no ifs ands or butts (pardon the pun)

I've tried to not be a "girl thingy" and its just not working out so well for me 

[JanMarie13]

  You could try going to visit lung cancer patients and see if it affects you enough to make you want to stop?

[DTB [OP]]

  You could try going to visit lung cancer patients and see if it affects you enough to make you want to stop?

I watched both of my grandfathers die of lung cancer......didnt seem to phase me unfortunately....

I really can't believe how powerful the drug is 

[BLACKDOG]

DTB, do a search for it on pirate chitchat.  I've seen and read several threads on it, most state very good results, but they do mentione side effects.  I think dreams, and sleepwalking was mentioned too.  

Try a substitute.  When I quit chewing, I used to chew big Red gum by the case.  I'd chew it a bit, then jam it down in my lip.  It'd give a bit of a burn, and helped by having something there.  It obviously wasn't the same, but it helped.  I also went through a ton of sunflower seeds too.    

I had a friend in high school, his dad quit smoking cigars, afer 20 odd years of doing so, he bought a bunch of those cinnammon sticks (the real ones, the rolled up stick or whatever it is    ) and chewed on those.  Same concept as the big red gum, he had something there, and it kinda gave him a tingle.  

[Toyvana]

FDA alert/warning on Chantix:

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/varenicline/default.htm

I was in the hospital for 9 days and used the patch.  After a week of being on a high dose, I switched to a smaller dose and I probably could have quit when I was released but didn't.  I think the patch is your best bet as I wasn't craving a smoke when I was in the hospital at all.  Just make sure you take them off about an hour or two before you go to sleep because they will give you some vivid dreams/nightmares. 

[46&2]

I'm with White Trash I would personally try cold turkey (worked for me) before I ever tried some drug. Using a crutch like gum helps. look at it this way, once you get past a week without smoking its a LOT easier to quit out right. asking your smoking friends to not smoke around you for a while too is good

[WHITE_TRASH]

You guys are big meanies!! 



If you REALLY want to screw with your system do what I did..  Quit smoking, drinking anything with caffeine in it and cut out the fast food all at the same time....  My body damned near shut down for about a week and as I said I was a prick to everyone.  But once the major cravings died and the caffeine and fast food hangover finally wore out of my system I was like a tweaker I had too damned much energy it was weird....  

[Wermz84]

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!  




Actually my experience was very much like WT's.   

[46&2]

You guys are big meanies!! 



If you REALLY want to screw with your system do what I did..  Quit smoking, drinking anything with caffeine in it and cut out the fast food all at the same time....  My body damned near shut down for about a week and as I said I was a prick to everyone.  But once the major cravings died and the caffeine and fast food hangover finally wore out of my system I was like a tweaker I had too damned much energy it was weird....  

Lol, I can't imagine quitting all of those at once..., i have been hooked on all 3, just at different times. thankfully i don't do any of them anymore

[yota_krawler]

I heard that it gives people suicidal thoughts and . Like a short temper and not happy. My mom in law was on it and she hated it. She said she felt like it wasnt the real her.

I am actually quiting too. Just need to cut yourself off. Thats what i am doing. Trust me you get past like 2 weeks and you think that they are nasty.

[Gittinit]

I wish I had the will power to quit. I stopped for like 9 months once, then started back. I kick myself for it regularly.

[Wermz84]

I wish I had the will power to quit. I stopped for like 9 months once, then started back. I kick myself for it regularly.

It was the terrible chest pains I was getting that really helped my motivation this last time.      But I know what you mean.  Ive stopped and started several times.

[kneedownnate]

It was the terrible chest pains I was getting that really helped my motivation this last time.     

  happened to 2 heavy smokers at work, one of which had smoked for over 50 years!  He woke up one day with very bad chest pains, couldn't breath and said the hell with it.  He quit cold turkey that day, despite having tried to quit off and on for the past few years, and had no issues after that! 

[Joey88RUNR]

No one in my family never knew i smoked i went on a week long hunting trip with my uncle and quit cold turkey it was hard but after the first month it was easy..once your done you just flat out dont think about it anymore

[Cheesemaker]

Just gotta man up and do it!  That's all takes. 

I chewed copenhagen for over 15 years.  I tried to quit several times, and I always made an excuse to buy a can.  And after taking dad to his chemo treatments, and seeing all these people in the waiting room, whom all have cancer of one form or another, made me want to quit.  I had to use gum, mint snuff, (ground up pure mint leaves, http://www.mintsnuff.com/ ) sunflower seeds, and what ever to stay off it.  I you not, I want a damn pinch right now!  But I keep a can of mint snuff around, for when the craving hits!  But you got to stick to your guns, and don't look back. 

[Gittinit]

No one in my family never knew i smoked i went on a week long hunting trip with my uncle and quit cold turkey it was hard but after the first month it was easy..once your done you just flat out dont think about it anymore

You should be so lucky. My Father in law has been quit for about 5 years, and I can't hardly stand near him and smoke at the same time or he wants to follow me around while breathing in deeply. He did smoke for like 20 some odd years though. Oh man thats a scarry thought....I've been smokeing for 13 years now. EEEEK!

[germ]

Having difficulty quiting smoking is not being a "girl thingy". I've heard from heroin users that quiting heroin is easier than quiting smoking. Some people are able to quit cold turkey, and for them, it's wonderful. Unfortunatly, there are a huge number of people who can't. Tobacco and it's multiple additives are exceptionally addicting physically, but the real difficulty is in the mental addiction. Nicotine gum/patches/inhalers all work off the premise that if you replace the nicotine you can change the behavior and the "habit", then slowly withdrawl from the nicotine later. It does work very well for many people, but it's not a panecea.

Zyban is a antidepressant, (also known as wellbutrin) which has FDA indication for smoking cessation. It was not initially designed to stop smoking, but in post-marketing research, people were noticing that "yea, my depression is a bit better, but oh, by the way, I no longer have the urge to smoke". The researched it a bit more, and found that it was helpful, and they were the first "pill" to get the indication to help people quit smoking.

Chantix is a new approach to smoking cessation. It actually binds to the pleasure receptors in the brain which associate pleasure with smoking. By blocking these receptors, smoking is no longer enjoyable, and you are able to quit. Typically people continue to smoke for the first week of taking the medication, as it is titrated up to the theraputic dosage. By the second week, usually the desire to smoke is so little that it becomes "easy", and the withdrawl effects are minimal. As with all smoking cessation medications, it is important that you are MOTIVATED, or it will fail. The side effects of Chantix are really not to bad. Most reported side effect by my patients is nausea, which seems to resolve by the first week or so. Some have mentioned vivid dreams, and more acute sense of smell and taste (which may actually be from not smoking). There are reports of people having uncontrollable urges to gamble, but I have never seen this happen. I remind you that the warning sheets that you get with a prescription (of anything) are required by the FDA to list EVERYTHING that occured during the trials that was statistically significant. There is no burden to prove a causative link. Remember that statistically significant does not always mean clinically significant.

The major potential drawback to Chantix is that it is not always well covered by insurance, and can be expensive. The way the sales rep described it to me was that a daily dose is about the same cost as smoking a pack of cigarettes per day. The problem is that most people don't buy a months worth of cigs at one time, so the sticker shock sometimes makes people pause.

Nicotine dependance can be broken in about 5 days. It is said that to break (or create) a habit takes about 21 days. So, if I can get you off cigarettes for 5 days, you're no longer "physically" addicted to them. The tough part is breaking the mental addiction. I also encourage people to utilize several stratagies for those tough times. I really like the cinamon sticks, as smokers have a hand-mouth issue, which is nicley covered by the cinamon sticks. Not only can you play with them in your hand like a cig, but when you put it in your mouth, it has a flavor, which is something that smokers come to expect. (straws from fast food joints can also be effective). I also recommend carrot sticks, celery, and other healthy, easily transported foods. I don't usually recommend hard candies, but they can also be effective.

So far, I have about a 98% success rate in my patients with Chantix. I'd suggest you talk to your health care provider who knows your history, and see if Chantix may be an option for you. I know it helps most who try it.

Erik

[herpestes]

tried zyban and the gum but what finally made me quit was a heart attack and having bypass surgery. was 46 years old at the time and that was 6 years ago.

good luck on quiting,

[Trunkz]

so what does chantix cost? been thinking about it myself, tried  a lot of times to cold turkey it, gum, patches etc. just dont work