Chantix and withdrawal symptoms

Thanks for posting your experience with Chantix. I think it's important to realize that even reducing your cigarette use is beneficial to your health so please do consider that even though you had to quit, you have definitely added some years to your life by quitting. Have you tried any other methods to quit? I also think what you said about no perfect method to quit was pretty accurate--there is no such thing as a magic bullet.

I see all these side affects to Chantix that seem far fetched. I am amazed how we can blame a pill that is simply stopping the receptors in our brain from the craving to having all these crazy side affects THAT GO ALONG WITH WITHDRAWEL AND QUITTING. I had crazy dreams that went away after a few weeks, BUT the dreams did not bother me. Dreams are not supposed to be reality. I would rather quit smoking and have weird dreams for a few months than continue to smoke the rest of my life. A few times I got nautious, BUT I did not eat anything. If you aren't going to eat something or have a glass of milk, expect some nausea. It tapered after the first month and it only happened a couple times. Depression, mood swings, anxiety....HELLO! It is withdrawel. Ask your doctor for something to deal with this. As for the chest pain...your lungs are free of new smoke after how many years. Your body is stressed because your body has been addicted to something that is horribe for us. I have been smoking 15 years and I am on my 12th week. I had chest pain and coughed up muchous for a couple weeks because of me quitting...not because of the pill. It would have happened with or without the pill. I think it is a miracle that I made it this long. I actually have been smoke free for only 28 days. I cut back dramatically because of the pill. It allowed me to slowly learn new habits. Finally, 28 days ago I just said I was done. I am going to take it a couple more months to ensure Im done. Dont listen to all the negativity. If you have a lot of health issues or not, you know your body. Don't make it a bigger deal than it needs to be. It is a miracle. Remember to do your research on symtoms of quitting overall, not just with chantix. Find support and be consistant in following through. If you light up during your 12 weeks, don't stop taking the pill. We all slip. I slipped until I was finally free of the habit 28 days ago.

I was 2 pack a day smoker, and had been close to that for around 15 years. Had never even attempted quitting before. I took Chantix for 30 days, and I must say I think it helped the withdrawal process & cravings a ton. I mean, to be honest, coming off the niccotine wasn't bad at all.

One thing I wasn't prepared for though (nobody I had talked to had ever experienced this) was what happened when I stopped taking the pill. I got all over body aches and terrible chills at night (flu-like symptoms) and a terrible headache that lasted 2 days no matter what I took for it. I threw exedrine migrain and alieve at the aches and didn't do a thing. It subsided after a couple days though. Just a heads up....if you experience this...it's ok, it sucks ass for a couple days and then dissapears.

I will recommend Chantix to anyone quiting smoking. I'm 30 days without a cig.

Guest wrote:

I've been using chantix for 8 days now and have not had a smoke in 2 days. They took a few days to kick in so for the first 3-4 days I never noticed anything. But giving time they start to take effect. I noticed that when I smoked I could never finish one and would often stub it out after a few puffs. In fact 2-3 days before I stopped I would smoke around 2-3 a day, down from around 25. The withdrawl symptoms I'm experiencing is more the habit of smoking than the physical need. Im used to smoking while on the computer etc.

This is EXACTLY what happened to me! In my third ay of being totally quit now, and began cutting back to .5 mg/day. I will drop to zero tomorrow, 4th day of being quit

I have used Chantix for 3 weeks now, haven't had a smoke in 9 days. I was a 2-pack a day smoker for 40 years, and I have tried to quit several times. Patches, gum, other drugs - nothing ever worked for me as well as Chantix. It really minimizes the withdrawal symptoms, actually cigarettes don't taste good while you are on it, so cravings are weaker. You still have to fight the habit, but the drug takes care of the physical side of addiction. For me the side effects are sleep problems and gas, but I don't know if they are caused by the drug or by withdrawal of nicotine and by chewing a lot of gum. In any case, they became less severe after the first few days. And sure, I have become irritable, but less so than when I tried to quit cold turkey! In fact, I already feel a lot better than when I was chain-smoking.
If I don't develop any new side-effects, I intend to stay on Chantix for a long time, probably for 6 months or so. A friend, who quit 2 years ago, took it for 9 months (she took half the regular dose for the last 3 months), because she wanted to be absolutely certain that her addiction was over. She forced herself to smoke the usual amount for the first 2 or 3 weeks on Chantix, until cigarettes made her very ill. After that she would get nauseous just thinking of nicotine, which made it easier for her to quit.
In any case, I really hope this is it for me, and I wish you all luck kicking this awful addiction.

I have been on Chantix for about 1 1/2 months. I loved to smoke. Absolutely LOVED to smoke. I smoked about a pack and a half a day. It took me longer to give it up completely than it does most people on Chantix, but I haven't had a cigarette in about 2 1/2 weeks and I don't feel a need to have one. I just cut out different habits and eventually I didn't use it as a crutch. It was hard for me to give up the cigarette before work and the one after. I think it was more fear that I would hurt someone than anything else. I have dreams. They're not nightmares. They don't ever bother me actually. They're just a little off the wall and really detailed. I have had a few anxiety attacks ( I have an anxiety disorder), but only when something bad happened. I also seemed to feel like I had been asleep for a really long time when I'd wake up in the middle of the night and freak out thinking it was like 10 am when it was only maybe 2 am. I would definetly reccomend Chantix though, it has helped me tremendously ... I don't think I would have been able to quit without it. I've tried the patch and everything and still smoked while on every thing else I have tried. It's definetly worth the side effects in the long run!

What is the cost of Chantix?

156.00 without insurance 53.00 with insurance

I am on my 12th day using Chantix. I have the urge for a smoke ever minute of the day. I am depressed over quitting. I feel like I've lost a friend. I enjoy smoking and I really miss it. Did anyone else have these feelings? I think people don't realize there is a psychological effect as well as a physical effect to smoking. I'm thinking about quitting the Chantix so I can have my "friend" back.