I've never heard of it, Sarah! But I wish you the best of luck in quitting. I'm still carrying that monkey around on my back. :( Of course, I haven't tried quitting yet. :D

Please keep us updated!

Brenda

I've quit four times in my life. I started smoking at age twelve. I want this time to be the charm and I do have a difference that the other attempts and that is my mind set.

Quit methods have been the same - use of the patch and 'smoking' plastic drinking straws cut to cigarette length, inhaling deeply, flicking ashes, blowing out non-smoke.

I am still a infant non-smoker with Jan 17th, 2007 as the last time I had one. I had a choice quit or die and I decided to live.

I did use Zyban once time but I found use of the 21mg patch and stepping down the patches in time frame I felt like doing it (not the schedule on the box) along with an idea or frame of mind that I was not 'quitting' but once again becoming a non-smoker.

Take it one minute at a time and sometimes it is tough, but if you get past that one minute and keep your hands, body and mind busy that moment will pass and you will forget you wanted a smoke. Do that over and over and the time between wanting one gets longer and longer until weeks go by and you forget all about them completely. It does get easier the longer you stop.

Reward yourself, think of the money you are saving, the people that need you and want you around, the better health of those that won't have the 2nd hand smoke, the better health for youself, even you pets don't smoke anymore.

Quitting smoking is the hardest thing anyone can ever do. I wish you the best of luck - you can do it! There was a time in your life you didnt' revolve around smokng and that time can live again.

I'm sorry I've not heard of the recent drug you mention. For me, the patch worked in helping with the nicotine withdrawal only, the straw for the habit and ritual and oral part of it.

Once again - be strong - but don't beat yourself up if you slip one and make that a reason to go out and buy a pack. Avoid places you smoke, change your daily habits a bit (like drink tea at 3 instead of coffee at 7 for instance).

Sorry such a ramble - but it took me 38 years to finally do it and I have not even hit the one year mark, but the longest so far.

My mind set is different - I tell myself I don't smoke, not play games with my head on how I can have just one by bumming it, etc. I cannot do that and I have to sit myself down and tell myself that.

Only I can want to quit enough to make it happen. Nobody else saying to quit will make you quit - you have to deeply want it yourself.

Congrats CT!!!! 210 days and counting! Way to go!

I agree with the 'bumming one won't hurt' thought - that's not really quitting, and that's exactly how I started back smoking the last 5 times I've tried to quit. I certainly will keep the straw trick in mind. My biggest hurdle will be to restructure my whole life - no more sittin' by the pond each morning with the coffee and cigarettes - now I'm going to try alot less coffee and dead-heading (man are my plants gonna love this). I have a HUGE list of projects of all sizes to do.

Chantix is pretty new, that's why I'm asking. It blocks the nicotine from getting to the brain receptors that release endorphines, which gives the feeling of pleasure. Some people have reported bizarre dreams, etc as side effects. Lots of the other side effects can be simply caused by nicotine withdrawal.

Anyway, I'm going to give it a try, and if I start telling you about my nightmares you'll know it's the drugs :)

S

Thank you Sarah. I must correct my math. I started at age 12 and I am now 49, so less than 38 years.

The nicotine patch gives me bizarre dreams for the first night or two, but I kind of look forward to them after I realize it happens until the body adjusts. It beats a boring night of sound sleep:-) I have not been on any patch for months now so I am nicotine free but I'm not habit free. I still have days, stressful days mostly, where I spin a doughnut and think, damn a cigarette would be nice. Then I stop dead in my tracks and say 'oh, I forgot I don't smoke". It may sound stupid but it helps me to say I don't smoke when someone asks instead of I'm quitting.

Give it a try and the straws work wonders. The part I missed was the deep breathing when smoking. That deep inhale that you hold. I found myself yawning heavily. 'Smoking' a straw lets you take in that deep breath, and then exhale it slowly. The straw lets you flick 'ashes' and blow the non-smoke out very slow envisioning it with your mind. After smoking a straw I feel like I had a smoke without the smoke and after a very short time I start not using the straws at all, but keep them around in case. You can sort of chew on them (sounds gross to some I guess) to make them have more 'draw' and not just sucking in all air, but a bit of resistance like a cigarette. I carry them in my car, my purse, at home, always have one handy to 'smoke' when the going gets rough. Treat it just like a real cigarette in all respects until time goes by and you naturally stop reaching for one all the time. Most cigarettes smoked are out of habit and I found I was not even smoking them half way down. Ashtrays full of half cigarettes and tons of money gone. I think they are about $4 a pack here now in the People's Republic of Maryland. $4 to $8 per datimes 365 days is a lot of doe re mi to waste on killing one's self!

You know what I found - quit for one day and you will stop coughing. That is all it takes to stop hacking up your lungs each morning. I found that amazing. You know - I hate cigarettes and I told them that right to their face. I told them I was in control of my life - not them. I was stronger than them. I will win and you will too. You can do it and I applaud your continued attempts to quit. People that are committed to quiting will keep trying and the older you get the more you try. By all accounts I am damn lucky I don't have lung cancer and major heart disease - sadly others won't be so lucky. Whenever I see kids smoking I tell them - quit now while you can because one day you will be sorry you started. Of course at that young age and good healthy young adults are omnipotent.

You can do it! Keep some healthy snacks handy too - like baby carrot sticks. You might gain a few pounds but it is better to gain 10 pounds than smoke and if you keep healthy crunchy low calorie foods around to keep your hand to mouth habit busy you won't gain...

Congratulations CT! And thanks for sharing your tips.

Quitting is easy - I quit every year! Sad, but true. The best I did was 4 months. Actually the best I did was when I was pregnant and I quit for a year, what an idiot for starting again. So far I don't have any medical problems related to smoking but I look at my permanently dis-figured mother from mouth cancer (which she got ten years AFTER she quit smoking) and I know it is lurking in there for me too. I need to quit and I need to make it stick.

Sarah, please let us know how it goes, I might consider it on my next attempt.

Thanks jeanner. And funny you should mention healthy snacks CT, today at the grocery store I bought celery, baby carrots, sweet red peppers (and a bit of dill dip), necturines, grapes, and gum :)

Also funny how I can picture all of us sitting around a pond sipping coffee or wine, eating cheese, grapes,...chocolate...but thought I'd be the only one smoking. Thanks for the encouragement...looks like once again I've come to the right place...

Now by nature I'm a fairly pleasant person -- let's see how the world likes me crabby!

Sarah

LOL!! It's ok to be crabby when you're quitting, Sarah. Let 'er rip! :D

Mega congratulations on your accomplishment, CT!!!!! And thanks for all of the pointers for future use. :)

My mom quit a few years back...cold turkey. Sheesh, no pressure, right, Ma? LOL My dad, cancer survivor extraordinaire, has quit within the last year! My brother smokes maybe 3 cigarettes per day...what's the point, dude? :D Then, there's me, Li'l Miss Black Sheep...er, Black Lung? Some day, I shall be strong!!!

I'm excited to hear how Chantix works for you, Sarah! You can DO it! RAH, RAH, RAH!

Brenda

A big motivator is to try to imagine the doctor has told you you have 6 months to live. Really imagine it fully to the extent of what you would have to do to put your affairs in order. It is a sobering exercise and another tool to help convince your mind. I guess it works better when one has more detrimental sides effects from smoking and not too much with young smokers. One day you find yourself being a not so young smoker. I also began to feel like a leper with the only one in a room of 20 or so having to step outside at a party or luncheon or 'driving myself instead of carpooling' as I has to be able to smoke when I would drive. It becomes sort of anti-social.

I am not trying to come across as a holier than though ex-smoker as I am forever a nicotine addict that could fail at any time, but I've heard all the excuses and delays before, I know them well. It is denial to say you will quit in the future, just not now. I ask, why not now? Are there any good reasons to continue smoking other than the fear of quitting - the protection of the enemy at all costs - the addiction, the crutch we don't need, but have been seduced.

Bottom line, smoking is a nasty, unhealthy habit with not one redeeming feature and we are better and stronger than that. We were meant for more. Jean - it is good you quit and you did it for your baby - now do it for yourself!! Those that continue to try will eventually succeed. I'd be really sad if you left us before you time - and your 'baby' would miss you too. Am I being cruel enough yet? Facts are facts.

congrats, ladies :)
i just heard from a friend of mine who started taking chantix. she said she has had absolutely no cravings. but, she didn't mention if she has had any side effects. however, she is the type of person who wouldn't mention it if she did.

I talked to a man yesterday that was taking it. He was smoking a cigarette while he told me it made food taste like bad. He also said it worked against cigarettes too, but he was smoking. Maybe he cut back on cigarettes wit it, but that is not the way to become a non-smoker.

Sounds like a good way to lose weight rather than quit smoking! Like any drug, each person's experiences with it will be different.

Sorry but I don't know anything about Chantix, Sarah. My parents and my brother were all smokers so I never needed to buy a pack of cigarettes. I got all that second hand smoke for free!

"A big motivator is to try to imagine the doctor has told you you have 6 months to live."

IMHO, the world would be MUCH better off if everyone, not just those trying to quit smoking, adopted that type of mentality instead of taking things for granted.

It's mind over matter. Sheepco, there's no doubt in my mind you can overcome this obstacle with a strong will and the right attitude. My hats off to you for trying.

" "A big motivator is to try to imagine the doctor has told you you have 6 months to live."
IMHO, the world would be MUCH better off if everyone, not just those trying to quit smoking, adopted that type of mentality instead of taking things for granted. " "

AMEN, Semper, thank you.

S

Camp Maryo is also smoke free! I quit smoking for ten years straight... I finally stayed off them years ago when my oldest two daughters were hearing the message in school, and our baby was potty training (yes, the one that got married a month ago). She got a star sticker on the calendar every day that she didn't have any accidents, with the promise of some special treat or other if she got a whole calendar page full. Then the older two decided to give mommy a sticker if I didn't smoke all day, and they asked at bed time and ceremoniously gave me my sticker on the calendar. First I thought it was stupid but then I found I really wanted that sticker, and I really wanted that page full...
And, once I was through the first week and stopped being crabby, I figured, why start over and make myself go through those first seven days again.

Then, for a year or so, I loved the smell of somebody else smoking, but then I progressed to not caring, and now I really hate the smell. So there's never any temptation any more.

I sit at the pond with tea or coffee and a book or puzzle or binocs or the camera. Never with empty hands. This not because of cigarettes but because there's that streak of hyperactivity in the family... Sitting idle is evil!

Sarah AND ALL YOU GIRLS!!! good luck. I'm rooting for you. And, just let me know everyday and I'll put a sticker on my calendar for you!

:) Mary

I take a sticker Mary! Thanks! ct

I'll take a sticker too MaryO. No, I don't smoke... but I have been accident free for a few days now. :-)))

Sheepco,

I hope you've started with the Chantix. My husband quit smoking using it. His last cigarette was March 23rd of this year. He smoked since he was 12, he is 59. The way Chantix works is that you continue smoking while you are taking it. After a few days, weeks, you pick a day and stop smoking. If you can't keep away from them, then you continue to smoke and pick another day. The prescription is for 3 months. By the second month, Michael had cut back to just 2 or 3 cigs a day and didn't smoke them all the way. Then he just quit and never missed smoking. No physical urges, just phone and driving triggers. He chewed alot of toothpicks. He had headaches in the beginning but no other side effects. He said it's a wonder drug.

Jan

Jan, I have started it and have picked my quit day. Congrats to Michael!! They say that within 10 years your risk for heart dz, lung dz and cancer is like if you had never smoked, so there's still hope for us :)

Thanks for responding, S

Hi everyone...New to the board. I started Chantix this week. Supposedely Monday, which is tommorrow is my quit date. The pill seems as if it hasn't totally kicked in. Sometimes I get a bad taste and sometimes I don't. I also crave them most in the morning and have been smoking most then.
I hope this pill kicks in...
Does anyone know how long it takes?
I start my 1mg twice a day tommorrow, I am so afraid I will fail before it even starts...

I've been taking it for 3 weeks and I'm down to 3 cigarettes a day so I'm not the best to answer, but it's great for me. They don't taste good, and I don't really crave them but mornings are the worst. Talk about 'habit'. I have to find something else to do before getting ready for work (maybe just not get up so early :)
I'm amazed when I drive I don't even think about having one anymore, same with my time in the evenings.
BTW, no nightmares, but my dreams are much more detailed and I remember them longer. And if I sort of wake up during one I can easily go back to sleep and pick up where I left off. Very weird. Not sure if I like messing up my brain with drugs, but if it gets me to quit I'll do it for a few months.

Good luck kcohio, hang in there!

thanks sheepco. I guess I am impatient. Today is my quit day and as of yet I havent' had a ciggie., NOT that I don't want one. My mornings are the worst too. Afternoons and evenings are ok. So, ya know what I did?
Cut up some straws and pretended they were ciggies. I shut my eyes and smoked it. Then I pretended all that nasty smoke was going in my lungs. It worked FOR awhile only. Oh well, I am up to 2mg a day. Maybe that will kick in????
How wonderful for you. Only 3 a day, probably alot better than where you were huh?
Thanks again for listening. I appreciate all the advice I can get !!!!

Hey, go for it, the straw thing works. I used to smoke a pack a day. The biggest thing I noticed is cigarettes don't TASTE good anymore, in fact they taste fairly awful. Then I when I think I want one I say to myself Why?, they don't even taste good anymore.

I'm patting myself on the back everyday, even tho I still smoke, 'cause I'm going to get there eventually. And this from someone who didn't really want to quit - health reasons now.

But I WILL do it and STAY quit. I'm sick of smelling like smoke, come Oct 1st you can't smoke in any bars or restaurants in MN, most hotels are going smoke free, I don't really want to stand outside when it's 10F to smoke, and once I've quit for 6 months and saved $600 I'm taking a trip somewhere! SO there! :) (I'd really like to see FTM's wolves)

One day at a time kcohio, every time you want one, wait 1/2 an hour, or get up and go do something, just some little thing like taking the trash out. I have a list of projects that I never have time for, but don't pick a biggie, keep it easy and quick. If my foot ever heals up I'm going to start short walks and obedience training the dogs. (yea, easy and quick!)

I've finally been seeing TV commercials for Chantix, and I think of you all every time. How is it going for those of you who quit...or are still working on it?

Brenda

Still working on it, I guess that's good. I can go 2 or 3 weeks without a cigarette, then fall apart over a weekend. But then I stop again, and I'm going to keep doing it. And doing it. And doing it. So I'm not the best source of info, but instead of a pack a day, I'm down to a pack a month.

I am at the one year point, but I did have a a few over the holidays, but I'm not addicted. They tasted like crap and made me dizzy. It was a good experiment which validated I don't like smoking. They stink too. Cheers!

You ladies have been successful, in my opinion! Less is more, and a few times off the path isn't going to kill you...literally. :D

My dad always tries to bum a cig or 2 off of me, my brother, or DH whenever we go up to visit. He gets so dizzy when he smokes one, and I get scared he'll fall down! Luckily, there's a nice garden bench outside. LOL Otherwise, Dad is still smoke-free! Woohoo!

Brenda

I find my mindset has changed. In past attempts when I told myself I could never have another cigarette that is all I thought of which lead to failure at that attemp.

What works for me now is I tell myself I can have one whenever I want (which is true - nobody stopping me but me) but I can choose not to. When it is seen as a choice we can reaffirm our decision to honor our health more than our addiction.

Now, if you find yourself having one or two every day - that is flirting with the addiction part again IMO, and one must not fool themselves they have control, without taking something like Chantix. It is very easy to get physically addicted to nicotine and it doesn't take long.

I believe if one keeps trying they will eventually succeed in one way or another, or a combination of everything you can throw at it.

It takes about 3 days for nicotine to leave your body, so if you smoke once every three days you ARE still addicted to nicotine. Jumping off a low dose is easier than cold turkey however, but just as easy to turn those few into more.

Goods news is - if you keep trying and commit to yourself you WILL win. There is no other choice. Remember there was a time in each smoker's life when they were not addicted and didn't even think about cigarettes. Those times can return.

The times you don't think about smoking will get longer and longer if you can get some time in away from them. The hardest part is the beginning.

I still find myself on occasion craving a cigareet so badly I start to rationalize with myself about whether I should buy a pack and smoke just one (ha ha ha), or maybe seek out someone to bum one (jeez that is creepy but I've done it) and then I immediately occupy myself with something else and the next thing I know I realize I've forgotten I wanted one. Sometimes I remember I've forgotten 1 hour later sometimes several days or even weeks later. It gives me a chuckle afterwards, but it is scary when I think about possibly going back.

I still keep a straw, in the car and at home, in case I get too cocky though. They work every time with the hand to mouth, the deep breathing, the slow exhale, the flicking of the ashes, just holding something in my hand. I actually feel I had a smoke. Funny how that works for those of us that never got out of the oral stage:-)

You should see my dad's stash of gum and hard candies. He's the godfather of Tic Tacs. LOL

Luckily (for my dad, anyway), we heathens don't get up there to visit more than once every couple of months, so he's safe then. :D

Brenda

Since I am an unrepentant smoker, my advice might be suspect but I have a thing about using any medication to stop smoking. The Chantix is new enough that not all problems have shown up yet and just this past week I have read articles that indicate there may be some serious health issues just showing up. One article suggested the FDA may require the black box on the label. Be cautious. Sandy

Sandy, thank you. That is one reason I posted here, to find out how individuals (real people) were doing with it. One thing I HAVE found is that my desire to quit taking Chantix will hopefully soon out weight my desire to smoke. period.

I didn't really want to quit, I KNOW I should, but I like it. But, if I take Chantix on an empty stomach, within 5 minutes I throw up (every time), and I'm not a breakfast person so then I can't take my 1st dose 'til lunch, so often I forget unless I carry the vial rattling around in my pocket. I also have intensely vivid...sort of interactive dreams at night... pretty interesting, but enough so that I so busy in my dreams I don't feel rested after sleeping for 7 or 8 hours, thus I'm tired all the time. Or so it seems. Thank God I'm not prone to nightmares, I can't even IMAGINE how bad the dreams would be.

Anyway, I'm still not smoke-free, but down to 1/2 a pack per week or less, but the thought of taking Chantix much longer will probably do it for me. It really is a wonder drug getting rid of ANY physical urge to smoke. Just gotta get over the pyschological hump. If tomorrow was spring I think I could stop tomorrow. Need MORE? projects! I may fall into an exhausted heap 1st :(

....As with any new drug there will always be things we learn once it goes out on the open mearket. Haven't read any negative articles lately, and then there's always that - are the side effects worse than killing yourself with cigarettes? - question. Guess I should google it again.

Thanks again, Sarah

PS: Just talked to a friend yesterday - 2 weeks with out a cigarette - he said "Chantix is a miracle".

That's something I heard on talk radio the other day. Not specifically about Chantix, but about drugs in general in which a FEW people will have extreme side effects. Yes, even death. :(

Basically what I heard, and agree with, is that there are tons of things out there which adversely affect a small percentage of the population (i.e., peanuts & Prozac...sounds like a self-help book...LOL). And yet, peanuts aren't banned, and Prozac helps a LOT of people. In other words, the advantages of many far outweight the disadvantages of a few, in my opinion.

It's unfortunate that not every appropriate drug can help those who need it, but Sarah said it perfectly - the alternatives may not be so wonderful, either.

Brenda

And that's of course why you can't buy lots of drugs OTC.
Manufacturers cannot possible test every medication on every person. The good thing is that in this day of high speed communication, we (and the FDA and the drug companies) can gather alot more information, alot SOONER, and consumers can access forums, etc. that can give them even more information before making a choice.
Just proves that we all must be aggressively responsible for our own medical care. S

I enjoy smoking too although I have stopped cold several times when it might have been a problem. When circumstances changed I started again. I have an idea that won't be an option soon with the radical, vocal and annoying antismoking crowd pushing for criminalization and state wide bans. There are a number of things that annoy me. How do I start a movement against those? I never smoked around anyone that objected but I don't get the same courtesy from people who wear perfumes that I am allergic to and that cause me to break out in a rash and get migraine headaches. Sandy

How about people that talk during speeches or lectures? Or talk on cell phones during movies?

I'll never forget the guy that got off the plane from MN in Mazatlan, and as soon as he cleared customs he whipped out his cell phone and talked business as we followed him all the way through the airport, onto the shuttle, and kept making calls all the way driving into the city from the airport. As the van pulled up the the hotel, his girl friend elbowed him in the ribs and said "If you don't put that thing away for the week you can go home now", and got out. Took him a second or two, but he stuck it in his pocket and got out too. Wonder how that went?

Sarah

Sarah, what is the final outcome of your effort with Chantix. Have quit totally and held on?

It is my turn to give it a try, way too heavy a smoker. I have tried the patch and found if I left it on at night I had some very strange dreams. I guess this is going to be the same, or worse, from what you report. My partner and I are doing it together, mutual support, one unable to quit when the other is still smoking. Glad you warned about "morning sickness" though...lol

Good luck and health to all of us....
Mike

Funny you should ask - 2 weeks without a cigarette, still taking the Chantix. Actually had a good friend over for dinner and didn't even bum a cigarette from her! (She steps outside to smoke). Battles not over yet, but I could care less about smoking while driving anymore (used to be almost constant), and all day I don't even think about it. Morning coffee and afterwork glass of wine are the toughies. Wish it would warm up so I could walk or garden or SOMETHING!

I wish I had a partner to quit with, or at least to give me the eye when I break down and smoke one!

Best of luck!!!!!!!!!

Sarah, that's wonderful!! The 2 tough times you mentioned will probably be the hardest for me, too, when I take the plunge. How long do you think you'll have to take the Chantix? Is it until you stop cravings all together, or is there a set amount of time the doc will allow you to take it?

Mike, best of luck to you and yours! Support is such a great thing! :)

Brenda

Sarah - instead of coffee switch to tea and have it in a different room. Same goes for the wine. Change the trigger and it's location and it will help.

Listen to me - I am off the bandwagon just like that. For two weeks I've been smoking a pack a day. Damn! I do have a box of patches and I have to pick a new date to quit again. After all that time. I was talking to a smoker the other day about it and she said she started smoking again after 10 years. That is depressing, but if I could make it to 10 years I think I would have it beat. My one year and 2.5 months I thought was enough but I was fooling myself.

Wish this addict some luck! Thanks. CT

That's ok CT, Pick tomorrow and remember how great it was when your hair didn't smell like smoke and you had more energy, and you didn't have to huddle outside to have a cigarette and have all the non-smokers give you the look :)
14 and 1/2 months - go for it again!!! You can do it!

Thanks Sarah! You got that right! I really do hate the smell of my hair and I can still smell it so I've not destroyed my renewed sense of smell by the lapse.

This is how captive we are--a relative quit smoking with her second pregnancy and never started again. Twenty-one years later part of her world collapsed on her and within a day she started smoking again!

For those who have quit, hang in there; for those of us trying, never for a moment underestimate the power of nicotine (talking to myself too).
Mike

Here's an update. First week with low dosage really reduced the desire. Second week, with increased dosage, seemed OK and the dreams were fun. During the third week I began to feel a little off, and then I was thrown into the black abyss of horrible depression. Dreams were not fun. After I realized what was happening, I stopped the pills and after several days I climbed out into the sunshine.

A terrifying experience. Smoking less but still smoking, pondering trying just one pill a day again. Those of you who warned about side-effects etc hit the nail on the head.
Mike

Holy cow, that's spooky, Mike! So glad to hear you made it out the other side. Smoking less is way better than a stick in the eye, though. :)

Brenda