Champix, my final journey to freedom + update.
Hello
I've found everyone's quit journeys really helpful so I thought I'd share mine. I'm 57 and had my first cig when I was 12. By 15 I was a regular smoker, and have smoked ever since (apart from 2 years in my thirties when I managed to give up cold turkey, and one year when I was pregnant) so that's about 40 years in total.
I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to give up, and I've tried everything - Nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, cold turkey, Hypnosis, all with varying but temporary success - from days to a week or two, but never keeping off them for long, and torturing myself about it when I've given up giving up. So between a rock and a very hard place. Also, my husband smokes but this time to help me out he's going to follow me along the Champix road, starting a week after me.
I've got to stop. I've got major surgery in a month's time, and so I went to the Doctor and got a prescription for Champix. The instructions say to set your quit date for a week's time, so that's what I've done. I took my first tablet on Saturday (today's Sunday) and my quit day is next Saturday which is also the day the dose gets increased. I have high hopes, and am starting my story here on Day 2 of Champix.
Day 1. Felt fine, bit fuzzy-headed at times maybe but nothing to speak of. Noticed cigs weren't quite hitting the spot but strangely it didn't bother me.
Day 2: I slept well, normal. I feel fine, still smoking but have noticed they're not hitting the spot like they normally do but again that's not bothering me. (I think I'm still smoking the same amount as normal though, almost as if that one didn't work so lets have another.) I've been a bit sleepy, which I think is the tablet, and quite thirsty, wanting long drinks of water. At times I've thought I'd lost my appetite but then I really enjoyed my lunch when it was put in front of me and ate the lot.
I'd read about the nausea when you first take the tablet so have been careful to have my morning tablet with food and honestly haven't noticed any nausea at all. Off to bed now. I'll post again as my journey continues... I'm at work tomorrow where I don't smoke but cram them in before and at lunch and after, so that will be a test to see if I still feel the need.
Good luck anyone reading this. It'll be worth it in the end. :)
You are on the right track, you can do this and champix will help you but you have to want to. I found after a few days smoke free I already noticed so many positive changes in my breathing, my energy, my eyes, etc.. That that made me want to stay smoke free. It's so nice to actually smell good and have fresh breath! There are some challenges with champix, read the comments on this site and you will get tips, but it's all worth it! Best of luck to you, you can do it!
I'm 2 3/4 years off cigs thanks to Champix and have never looked back..you can do it
Great work. I'm day 50 cold turkey approach. Like I keep telling myself - ITS YOUR LIFE. They KILL these EVIL DEATH STICKS.
You can do this. If I can do this then SO CAN YOU! You really can!
How about an update? how are you going?
Update, Day 9.
Thanks everyone for your encouragement - it really helps.:)
Well, so far not much has changed since my last post - I am still smoking, I'm afraid. But definitely less, and they are not as rewarding, and the brief queezy feeling I get shortly after taking a tablet seems to re-appear after a cig, so they are becoming less appealing every day.
Yesterday (day 8) the dose went up to 1mg twice a day and yesterday evening I was very tired and didn't fancy a cig much and felt a bit under the weather / mild nausea a bit like mild seasickness. We'd gone out for a drink but came home early - I just wasn't up to it, didn't fancy the drink (or the cigs much) and wanted to be quietly at home.
Yesterday was meant to be my quit day but I'm keeping an open mind about that (not going to give myself too hard a time) - it says between day 8 and 14 so I'm just going with the flow hoping that with each passing day I feel less like a smoke so they just taper off without me really caring. Or is that wishful thinking?! I hope not, and it's a different tactic for me as in the past I've put immense pressure on myself to stop, and always failed, and already I'm definitely smoking less and don't fancy it as much so even though I'm still smoking I feel I'm going in the right direction. I Keep thinking that as long as I keep taking the tablets, allowing them to get in my system and do their job it will happen. Then I worry that perhaps I'm being a bit too passive...
I'll report back soon. With luck (and some determination - so far a bit lacking...) I'll be off the cigs by then.
Thanks everyone - and good luck with your own wonderful healthy lives. Mine's glimmering away on the horizon.