Topic of "Chantix" in many posts...

[Heather3418]

I have seen many posts talking about Chantix and smoking.  Many of you have complained about the nausea associated with this drug to quit smoking.  When I first started the drug, nausea and headaches were my constant companions.  I finally talked to the doctor about the nausea...she said that I should be SURE to take it with food and plenty of water...then she said I could take Phenergan to offset the nausea.  That combination WORKED.  The headaches finally disappeared after a few weeks on the drugs.  The vivid dreaming has not.

I have been a smoker for...oh gosh I hate to admit this....38 years and I am only 54 years old.  I was a 3 1/2 pack a day smoker.  My birth father (I'm adopted) died from lung cancer at age 63 and my adopted mother at age 61 of emphysema.  SO...I know that smoking is not good for me.  I have enough on my plate, dealing with MS.

I am down to a pack to maybe around 10 cigarettes a day.  Chantix seems to make the cigarettes taste differently, but it's the only drug that I have found that is taking away my "cravings" for the cigs.  It's only from habit that I pick on up any at all.  Especially when I am nervous.  Now I have to break that "habit" of not thinking about trying to quit and picking up a cigarette anyway...

After almost 2 months on the drug...I can see that it is working in my life.  I have deliberately lost over 125 pounds over the past two years (gosh that has really helped the MS and walking) and now I want to have plastic surgery to get rid of the excess skin in my tummy and thighs from such a large weight loss.  (No gastric bypass here, just plain willpower)  I cannot have any surgery done until I quit smoking...so I really have an incentive.  I'm not getting any younger, so figured I better get this done, while I still am young enough to enjoy the benefits.

For those you that have tried Chantix and find the side effects unpleasant, maybe you can try what my doctor suggested.  It's the first anti-smoking tool, that I have ever been successful with.  I hope that you will stick with it.  If someone like me that has smoked 3 packs a day for 38 years can quit, so can you.

It can do nothing but help our MS, in the long run.  If maybe giving us a little more endurance...and certainly helping our lungs...

Best to all, Heather

[mommer2130]

Good for you to try again....  I just started chantix and this is my 9th day and the only thing I am having problems with is the nausea.  I talked to the dr. today and she is giving me something for that.  I do wake up about every hour but so far I can get back to sleep....  I smoked for 45 years and I am down to 5 to 6 cigs aday from a pack a day.....  I do hope this works and my quit date is Nov. 27th..  Good luck to you I am sure it will work for you..

[taufel]

Chantix is one of those medicines which help in getting over smoking habit, but this medicine has some side effects as well. It works on the body by giving you the same feel good effect and hence reduces the craving for nicotine. Person using chantix mainly encounter sleeplessness, change of taste and headache, but these side effects diminish with time. So people should consult there physician before going for this medicine.  [URL]http://www.chantixhome.com/[/URL]

[essdipity]

I'll chime in with a comment or two, as someone who's been there, done that. I smoked about a pack and a half a day for 15 years. Used cigs for rewards, delays, instead of food, etc., etc. I was so bad I truly didn't know how people got through the various courses in a restaurant without a cigarette in between. A bunch of big factors came together to finally give me the incentive to quit and stick to it, something I had tried and failed at several times.

Fortunately, two gal friends of mine at work had the same goal, so we did it together. We decided on Memorial Day one year that we'd all quit on Labor Day, so we had all summer to work up to it. When the big day came, we just quit, cold turkey. For about two weeks we all were pretty unbearable, hyper and nasty. No one else could stand us, including our husbands, and I don't blame them. However, we stuck to it, and little by little the craving went away. It took maybe 2 years for me not to be dying for a cig after a particularly nice dinner, but I hung in there. I dealt with my extreme oral fixation by chewing on the plastic tops of ballpoint pens--not exactly yummy, but whatever works. My office was littered with mangled pens, and everyone knew where I'd been because of the trail I left.

Anyway, eventually the very idea of smoking became repulsive, and it still is. Can't stand the smell or the second-hand stuff. I'm healthier and I know I'm doing the right thing for my body. There are so many bennies to feel good about, not the least of which is the expense, which is now way way more than it was then. I did gain 10 lbs. over the course of the first winter, but I figured that if I could quit smoking I could lose 10 lbs., and I did. Then I decided that if I could do those things I could start exercising regularly, and I did that. After that I went back to collegeat night in a different field, got another job, went to graduate school, and so on. All starting that Labor Day.

So Heather and all of you, do whatever it takes for you individually, but do it. Remember, you wouldn't be smoking if you didn't enjoy it, thus there's no point denying that you want to smoke. Of course you want to. But you need to want to quit even more.

I'll stop the pep rally now except for one more fact--all that took place long long ago. Next Labor Day will make 30 years cigarette-free for me.

ess

[Heather3418]

I have now been on Chantix for several months.  I have had a "quit date" set several times and want SO MUCH TO QUIT.  I went from 3 1/2 packs a day down to a low of 4-5 cigs.  I came to my quit date and about went nuts.  I gave in and smoked.

The weird dreams from the Chantix really bother me, as they are upsetting. very vivid dreams.  The morning nausea is caused from not putting food in my stomach.  The gas from the Chantix is rough, on me AND my honey.....

Bad news...I am back up to almost one pack a day, but will not stop TRYING to quit.  Remember, this is not only for my health, but to finally have plastic surgery to remove almost 12 pounds of excess skin, left over from over a HUNDRED POUNDS of weight loss.  So, I DO have an incentive to quit.  My plastic surgeon will not touch me, until I am a NON-SMOKER.  

I won't look like I am 30 again after surgery, but I plan on having a flat stomach and no 18-wheeler truck flaps hanging from my armpits.  If I wave at someone-my underarms keep flapping long after I have stopped waving.  That's ****!  I worked hard to get this weight off...I want to finish my dream and get rid of what weight loss left....sagging skin.

If at first you don't succeed at smoking cessation...keep trying.  I intend to.

Heather

[Amyloo]

I can relate to every single word spoken on this thread.  I quit 2 and 1/2 years ago.  I am going to tell how I did it, not cause it is "the way" but it worked for me:

1:  Wellbutrin.  An anti depressant that also has the benefit of reducing smoking cravings.  Like all of you on the chantix, it took me from about 1 pack a day to 8 cigarrettes a day.  Zero effort. Zero tummy issues.  Zero wierd dreams.
2:  Nicorrete gum.  No whimpy 2 mg., 4 mg., and I chewed all I wanted.  No taper off schedule.  Throw it out.  Just chew. (I still chew it.)
3:  Xanex.  During the day when it made me nuts I would take half a xanex.  Really helped with anxiety.
4:  Chug water.  When the urge has you wanting to cry like a baby (and I did) stand in your kitchen and chug a huge glass of water as fast as you can.
5:  Jog up and down your hall. (if your legs work) If not do jumping jacks with only the top part of your body.  Anything that will make your heart pump like you have just excercised.  This too, is a fix for when you cannot stand it.  
It took about one solid month before I felt like a human again.  Remember there are over 4,000 chemicals that you are weaning off of.  It sucks, it stinks, it bites.  It can be done.  Saving money was never a motivator for me; but I looked in the mirror about 3 months after I quit and I swear I looked five years younger.  So vanity definately kept me on the path too, ha ha.  
I will pray for each and every one of you.  If I can help in any other way please let me know.  God bless, Amy

[sllowe]

LOL! Good one dreamy!  I just burned one myself! It's durn cold out, hand is freezing, chest weezing.....

Add me in - That makes 2 for the Future NON-Smokers Club!!!!

[dreamyeyes]

     I tried Chantix about 5 months back with great results. I was on Chantix for one month and went from 2 1/2 packs a day to about 3 cigs a day. The nausea did not bother me to much but the wierd dreams kept me awake at night. It was the only thing I have ever had good results with, but the price of the drug is outragous for a single mom. My dad became ill and had several surgeries, before passing away in August. Between the constant trips to Houston to the hospital, and having to miss work, there was just no way I could afford to stay on the Chantix (but I bought cigs...lol ). So I was back to smoking again, probably more due to nerves and being upset. Dad and I were very close.
     Now that all that is past me, and having to deal with the symptoms that have "attacked" me. I am planning to start over again. Its reassuring to hear from others that it worked for them. And Heather you are my hero!!! Losing weight is hard enough with out the added stress of quiting smoking. I would love to hear any advice you have!!!! My quit date will be towards the middle of December. Really when you consider the cost of buying cartons of cigs and the cost of the prescription....the Chantix is cheaper!!!
     I know smoking does not help anyone, or any diagnosis we could possibly have. Its been proven in so many ways that smoking is bad for us in every way possible. For me being asmatic as well, this is doubly true for me. Stopping is my only choice!!! When you read about neouropathies many times being brought on by "toxins" in the body, makes you kinda wonder what kind of "toxins" could cause some of the sypmtoms we experience. As we are all exposed to "toxins" every day of our lives, in our food, our water, and even the clean "pure" air we breath.
     So I sit here....with a cigarette burning in the ash tray, glass of "chemically treated" ice water to drink, contemplating on whether to have bacon or sausage (probably from a pig that was given high doses of hormones, and god knows what as a preservative) with my scrambles eggs this morning for breakfast, WISHING that the neouropathy burning in my side would go away!!! FRUSTRATED because I still don't know what is causing my symptoms!!! and all I can do is laugh at the IRONY of it all......
                 Future NON-SMOKER!!!!!
                             Lisa

[sllowe]

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread - it's very educational.

I wanted to put it back toward the top for a few, for those struggling to quit.  I put in my script in for Chantix last night, and will pick it up tonight.  Then, I'm going to have to pick a quit date.  

Tough though, because I love them (cigs) and hate them all at the same time. . .like a sick love affair. . .ha/ha

[Quixotic1]

I'm sorry I seemed to end the thread.  Please resume, the support for those quitting is essential and only smokers understand.  If I have any further comments about smoking I'll post them separately and well-titled.

I hope this conversation can pick back up.  In reality, I don't think feelings were hurt, just angry exasperation, and that's healthy.

by by, Q

[Quixotic1]

Yeah, I considered this before I hit ENTER when I made my post.  This was a thread between smokers and I hesitated because I do know how annoying anti-smoking comments can be.  But, I don't put them out there very often.  I certainly heard your exasperation and frustration, Actually you were cute about it.  But, to my credit, when it came down to a neuro who blamed all of a member's white matter lesions on her smoking, I did the work to find the articles showing that smoking is but a minor player in creating the lesions.

And you did catch a slip up on my part.  I did overstate that the evidence was incontrovertible.  I mixed up one risk for another.  I'm sorry


Cranky ALERT - Do not read the following if you are sick of hearing Smoking data
****************************************************************************************

I have come across several studies showing that smoking does increase one's risk of developing MS (Actually that much seems pretty accepted).  But, there has only been the one study, published in April, 07 in the British Journal "Brain" that demonstated/concluded that smoking increases the risk of (accelerates) progressing from RRMS to SPMS.  It was a fairly elegant study, looking back at a fair large number of established records

I added the word "fast". In reality, the study just showed that during the period of study (7 years with mean duration of follow up was 5.3 year) smokers with RRMS were "3.6 times more likely to move into a 'progressive' phase than were non-smokers."  The first link is the one about MS progression.  The second link (along with the first link) all reference numerous studies showing the increased risk of MS in smokers.

I certainly don't disagree with Heather about the risk of all pollutants increasing our risk for any number of diseases.  I hate the buses, too.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/503872

http://msj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/13/5/610

If anyone wants me to explain the study's findings  - ask me in a separate post.
*****************************************************************************************

Heather, you can use all the asterisks you want.  Cranky is allowed.  I will not hound you with smoking info.  

Quix

[Heather3418]

The astericks in my previous post is not the word you think it is.  It was the word c r a p..nothing worse...

[Heather3418]

I hate to sound like a nasty 'aspirin'...but I just DO NOT believe that anyone says that smoking reduces the time period between RRMS and SPMS.  How in the world do they justify that smoking makes MS worse, fast?  I would have to see some pretty strong clinical evidence to ever believe their ****.

Sorry for sounding like a jerk.  I just am so sick of EVERYTHING being blamed on smoking.  Even though I am currently on Chantix and trying to quit.  I believe I am harmed more by being behind that deisel bus and its exhaust, than a cigarette.  Maybe I am being cranky because I AM trying to give up smoking.  As you know from previous posts, I am in a MS Flair right now and get pretty cranky when I go through it...so my apologies. I am not attacking you personally.

Thanks for letting me vent.  PMS, Menopause, Smoking Cessation AND an MS Flair, and I am one nasty hussy....my apologies...

Heather

[angela5674]

I don't really feel too edgy.  The Chantix really helps it seems.  As far as the the cravings...unbelievably less with teh Chantix.  I've been smoking for many years.  Smoked for the first time at age 12, occasional by age 14, and about a pack per day since age 17.  Don't get me wrong, I still want a cigarette.  I mean, at at least a pack a day for 13 years, I'm going to have to expect it'll take some time for that to go away.  But, the difference between now and the other 5+ times I've quit is I don't feel I NEED a cigarette.  And trust me, between work, MS, and the stressors between the hubby and I (not to mention, like I said above, he's trying cold turkey without any help), there have been plenty of times where a cigarette would have been real nice.  

Quix-thanks for adding that about MS and smoking.  I know there's been debates regarding the effect smoking has, if any.  Your post gave me even more motivation to keep going.  There really is so many benefits to giving it up, and you've given me one more.  Keep the doctor nudging up! :)  Angela

[Quixotic1]

I'm not being a doctor nudge here, (oh ,maybe I am, but this is the first time I have said this) but I recently came across information that stated unequivovally that smoking DECREASES the time between the Relapsing Remitting phase of MS to the Secondary Progressive phase.   Smoking makes MS worse fast!  Quix

[sllowe]

Woo Hoo! Congrats on your 3 days!  I want to quit too, but can't find the will to do it.  Do you feel edgy? And how are the cravings compared to when you were on the other quit meds?

SL

[angela5674]

I started taking Chantix about 11 days ago and I quit  3 days ago.  My last cig was Wednesday night at 9:30pm.  I'm actually doing quite well so far.  I've tried quitting about 5+ times in the past, tried cold turkey, Nicorette, Zyban, and this is the first smoking aid that really seemed to work.  I could tell before I actually quit that my cravings were greatly minimized.  I'm about a pack to a pack and half a day smoker.  The big side effects I've noticed are the nausea (I cannot take this without food or I feel very sick) and body aches.  I always dealt with body pain before, but this has increased since starting the Chantix, and it seems to get a bit worse every day.  BUT, I'm cigarette free for now. I keep having a "Bi-Polar" inner dialogue where I think "I could just have one, or at least a drag," but then I tell myself that won't work.  This seems to go on through all my waking hours.  I'm very thankful for the Chantix though.  My hubby thought I was stupid to pay for the pills and he's trying to do it cold turkey.  Let me tell ya, he's quite the peach to be around the past few days!  I'll take the pill any day!  I bet he's wishing he would have too as he sees me being rather calm about it all. Angela

[Heather3418]

How long have you been taking Chantix and have you totally quit yet?  I am still striving to put that LAST cigarette out, not only for my overall health, but so I can visit that plastic surgeon to get the "excess part" of me, thrown in a trash can somewhere.  So much hanging skin.  The side affect of a large weight loss.  The only down side, as a matter of fact.  My age doesn't help with good skin elasticity either.  I'm getting so old.... I'm hanging in places, I didn't even know I had...LOL

Heather

[T-lynn]

Congrats on the weight loss and the lessoning of the smoking I also take chantix and find it a success.

[Heather3418]

When I was having so many problems with the MS and trying to diet...I just couldn't exercise.  Lord, I could barely walk to the mailbox only a little distance away from my house.  As the weight began to come off, I tried to exercise a little more everyday.  And I do mean a little.  It was amazing that as all the weight came off, despite having MS, chronic daily pain and lots and lots of trouble with my legs, I was able to exercise more and more.

There are alot of drugs that I take that don't help with weight loss, that's for sure.  As much as the MS will allow and the horrible heat that we have had in the U.S. in the Eastern Part, it's been hard to keep up with the exercise AND keep the weight off.  But I have managed to do it.

I pray that you will get to feeling better, so you can try a little exercise, to help with weight loss.  It's hard to have this disease and be overweight.  It put such a strain on me, personally.  I hope and pray that I can keep it off.  It has helped the MS in so many ways.  I literally feel like a new person.  

Thanks you for your compliments.  I wish you luck when you are able to try weight loss again, when you are feeling better.  Congratulations on your smoking cessation.  I hope that I can do it, just like you have.

Heather

[uk2]

WoW!!

well done you thats amazing to lose weight and cut back on your smocking with everything else going on in your life.

I smocked heavy form 13 till my first baby at 23 (it was not just smoking either it was pot) i then smoked on and off till i had a stomach problem with reflux and that and sitting outside in the rain ( i would not smoke in front of my children or in the house) that i gave up, it was hard but i done it just like that, im a all or nothing person!!

I also lost two stone in two years diet and jogging but that was when i was not ill i have now through being inactive and the drugs im on put all that back on!! which is so frustrating.

I think you have done so well.

Samantha