I am going to share and record my journey into the non-smoking world with the help of Chanitx. This is so exciting to me and also the hardest addiction I will ever have to face in my lifetime.
After a battlefield with weapons of phone calls, arguments and character assassinations, I finally received my prescription of Chantix. There was a battle with the mail order pharmacy since the physician prescribed a starter month of 0.5 mg and than three months of maintenance on another prescription consisting of 1 mg. My insurance covers three months of the prescription so the fourth month will be paid out of pocket which at Giant Eagle Pharmacy cost $110.00. It appears that the nincompoops at the mail order pharmacy location could not comprehend that I was purchasing only one month. After one month of waiting, I finally received my prescription.
I started the pills immediately. Friday, March 12th (day 1). The prescription calls for taking one pill 0.5 mg in the morning. Done! I drank a cup of coffee with it. Within 20 minutes, my stomach was really upset, so I put a piece of bread in the toaster, toasted it and ate it. I felt nauseous afterwards. The feeling subsided after about two hours. The only other thing I noticed is when I ate lunch, it was less than I wanted to eat since I felt a little nauseous when I started to put something in my stomach.
Day 2: same dose. One pill in the morning. This time I ate toast first but still the same reaction. I am going to try and drink milk tomorrow and see if that helps.
I am still smoking as of day two but it does appear to be a little less. I am a pack a day smoker. The instructions say to stop after day seven but not to be discouraged if you fall off the wagon. I am truly looking forward to what the future will hold. Optimistic.
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Plan on gettin the Chantix and starting next week...Hope all goes well.I have tried everything in the past .Biggest problem is ,I have noone who understands how hard this is.They only coment when I fail :(
July 13, 2013 - 6:33amThis Comment
This week has been a bad week. I had a severe sinus infection and ear infection plus I hurt my ankle and I was taking too many medications and did not want to take my Chantix on top of all the other medications. I fell off the bandwagon. As of today, I am still taking decongestants and antibiotics so I am still not taking the pills. Food for thought, do not stop taking your medication early if you think you are a non-smoker. Keep taking the pills for the full 3 to 4 months as prescribed.
I will be restarting the medication beginning on Monday. Although, I am not smoking as much as I used to, I still am smoking and bought a pack of cigarettes that have lasted me the whole week. I am hoping I will have a better story next week. Staying positive.
April 18, 2009 - 10:35amThis Comment
Chantix- Beginning of week 5. Still smoking at least one a day in the morning. The consumption of the pill itself doesn't cease to hurt my stomach. It does appear to take less and less time to get over it though, only about 5 minutes.
I have noticed that I am much calmer these days. My work associates have also noticed that I have been much calmer because normally, I am pretty hyper. No bad dreams since the one that I had, it appears taking the pill earlier in the day, certainly stops that from happening.
One month down and 3 more to go. It appears to be working well and food is tasting much different already. Did you know that food actually has taste? Smokers wouldn't realize how much things smell and taste differently since it attacks our taste buds.
April 11, 2009 - 9:55amThis Comment
Week 4- Still smoking! What is going on? I still crave horribly in the mornings and after work. GRRR!
Still trying though, cigarette prices skyrocketed so there is another reason to keep on the wagon even though I keep falling off. Only smoking about 2 cigarettes a day.
Food is definitely tasting better, this may be a problem. It appears that my hunger strike has now turned into, I WANT FOOD.
April 5, 2009 - 10:08amNote to self: Start a rigorous workout routine this week.
This Comment
Week 1 – At day 4, I started taking 1 0.5mg in the morning and 1 0.5 mg at night. I took the pill right before I went to sleep. The nightmares were horrible. I slept 15 minutes this night. The vividness of the dream was unbearable. I was being chased and in fear of my life. No sleep and I went to work the next day. Phew! Bad day.
Since the dreams were so bad, I decided to take the morning pill as soon as I could in the morning. By the time I got home from work, I took the second one. I am on week 3 now and no more vivid dreams.
Week 2 – I started taking the 1mg twice a day. The stomach issues are consistent although, not has harsh now. I can stand the pain that lasts about 30 minutes but I am not hungry at all. It is really hard for me to put food in my stomach because I am nauseated. Still holding strong. I bought some protein powder to make sure I was absorbing nutrients in the body.
By day 10, I was smoking a cigarette in the morning and 1 at night. There was no more smoking at work even after eating. My body wasn't craving it or going through the intense sensation of NEEDING one.
Week 3 – I just started week three and I fall off the band wagon on occasion. My smoking has become minimal. I figure if I want one, wait about 10 minutes and if I still want one, smoke one. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. I am down to about 1 or two per day.
My lungs have opened up since the start of this adventure. I do not lose my breathe as much as I used to although, I workout daily and would not lose my breathe very often but I can already tell the difference. It feels great!
March 28, 2009 - 6:54amThis Comment
Melissa, this is huge, and I am celebrating your strength in starting to quit. Yay for you!!!
I know you can do it. I am part of a group of seven friends who have been close since our mid-twenties; we are all now in our early 50s. When we first knew one another, three or four of us were fairly heavy smokers. Over the years, they all tried, and ultimately succeeded, in quitting. But it took several attempts by a couple of them, and while they felt like "failures" if an attempt didn't work, they all added up to a journey in which all of them finally beat it. We are now a completely non-smoking group when we go to a restaurant, which is quite an accomplishment for a group that used to be half and half.
I hope the nausea is not a constant companion. While I'm sure it would help curb the cravings, it also could be a demotivator if it doesn't go away.
Can you tell us a little as to why you chose Chantix and what your decision process was?
Count me among your cheerleaders. I'll be eager to read of your journey.
March 17, 2009 - 8:32amThis Comment
I know we have shared smoking stories in the past. This will certainly be a great way to remember the pain a suffering from quitting. Thank you for the cheer leading team. I know you are one person that can understand how hard it is to finally give this up.
I can only hope that this effort and reading my story will help someone else kick the habit as well. Remember, cigarette prices just went up again....we pay so much money to slowly kill ourselves. It seems ridiculous. It will be a battle but I can win.
March 14, 2009 - 2:33pmThis Comment