Champix Side effects

I am 44 years old and have smoked since I was 12. I did stop for four years during my 30's but started again.I live with a smoker.My father is a heavy smokerand has all the associated health problems apart from cancer.

Recently I had a respiratory tract infection and found that my lung was so badly infected that I had the breathing capacity of a 110 year old. Not good.I have a 1 year old daughter and would like to see her grow up.

On 14/7/2013 I started using Champix twice daily to help me give up the smokes.I smoked until day 8 when I just stopped. I lost the desire to smoke.I found myself lighting a smoke and immediately afterward thinking,"I don't want this". I thought the Champix pills were the best thing ever invented. At last I would get away from this habit that was slowly killing me.

As the days went on, I started having strange and sometimes disturbing dreams.I was waking during the night and only seemed to sleep for three or four hours at a time.As the weeks rolled by I started feeling as if something I had dreamed could affect my waking life and I developed a sense of dread about sleeping. I would wake with an impending sense of doom. I felt that bad things were going to happen around me and I had no control over that.

While this was happening, I found I had developed a kind of apathy towards my job.I started to feel weaker and every task seemed so much harder.I started to develop cramps and spasms in my muscles and for the first time in my life I began suffering from restless legs in bed.

I continued taking the Champix as the doctor told me at my four week check up that if I stopped taking them now I would go back to smoking and would not be allowed to get the Champix again.

The nausea caused by the pills became worse and for the first few hours of each day I had to constantly make a conscious effort not to vomit. They made me feel bloated and gassy. After six weeks I developed very painful gastric reflux.

My relationship with my partner was suffering due to a libido that ebbed to almost nothing and my growing impatience with everyone and everything. The slightest thing would set my anger levels over the top. I started to withdraw from everyone and became increasingly agitated by noises and lights.

On 14/9/2013 I went to the doctor with yet another respiratory infection. This was a different doctor and I explained how I had been feeling.He asked if I knew the side effects of Champix.I told him that my doctor had explained that I might have dreams and feel a bit of nausea. After explaining the full side effects of Champix and a thorough check up, I decided to stop the treatment with two weeks of the three month course remaining.

Without Champix, I believe, I would not have given up smoking. I am not warning people off of a product that can help save their lives.What I am saying is this; Cigarettes contain some very strong and very dangerous chemicals.The addictive properties in cigarettes are powerful enough to change the way your brain works. You cannot combat that with kind words and sugar pills.

To combat the powerful effects of nicotine you must use a powerful medicine. The medicine may make you feel sick before you get better.People who continue to smoke will discover another variation of that principle.Chemotherapy. Don't let it come to that.

Take the Champix and give up the smokes but only after consultation with a doctor who is willing to inform you of all the risks and benefits.Be aware of all the side effects and how to identify the symptoms that they are affecting you. Once you are suitably informed then decide for yourself if it is the right path for you towards your goal. Don't be fooled by those who sell it as a miracle cure.

As a footnote to this story, I have not smoked since the 14th of july. I have no desire to go back to smoking. As a result of my quitting, my partner has greatly reduced her smoking and will hopefully continue to do so. I hope my experience helps others in their journey.