Any experiences? Read a few horror stories about the side effects?

Before someone pipes up with ‘just quit’ I’d like to say fair play to those who have gone cold turkey. I’ve tried that many times, but with a large social circle who almost all smoke, it’s proven a challenge.

Thoughts?

Champix worked for me. 30 a day smoker five years ago, tried It and have never fancied a fag since. I didn’t complete the course first time round as I thought I’d cracked it but started again the next time I had a drink. The second time I tried I took it for 14wks (suggested course of 12wks iirc) and I’ve never looked back. I had a lot of sleepless nights but no other side effects. I totally recommend it but I would let other people know you are on it so they can keep an eye on you after hearing some horror stories (suicide attempts) in a documentary I saw about the drug. Go for it.

Have you tried the Allen Carr method?

It helped me. I had a few failed attempts as we all do but eventually nailed it using a number of his techniques and philosophy.
As I liked beer at the time I hit that challenge head on during the evening of day 1 by going to the pub (with smokers) and had quite a few. Nailed it and never looked back.

The trick with stopping is knowing you will never do it again. Get to that phase, by whatever means work for you, and enjoy it.

I’d wish you luck op but you don’t need luck. You just need to know 😉

The dreams were interesting, but after around four weeks smoke free I no longer felt the need to continue champix and have been smoke free since 10th October 2012…

Get some nicotine replacement therapy; patches, gum, lozenges whatever. Break the smoking habit, deal with the addiction later.

And this:

but with a large social circle who almost all smoke

Is a large social circle who will all die early, after years of being respiratory cripples.

You choose.

I’ve just quit using champix. Tried before and never had much luck. Going more than a few hours without a smoke was a challenge. Champix worked a treat, I’m coming up 3 months without a cigarette and I’ve found I’ve had hardly any cravings. Dreams weren’t really an issue, they were vivid but really dull.. I was expecting crazy dreams from what I was told!

I did something similar to captain slow. I always managed to quit for a few weeks then when I went out with mates to pub I would give in and have one. so the last time I quit i made sure that everyday for the first few weeks I either went to pub or had beers at home, anyway it seems to have worked 9 years since my last one.

Champix is brilliant. You won’t think it will work until the day you come to stop and it’s like you never smoked. The dreams are also brilliant, if you like that kind of thing.

Take some time away from any smoking mates for a while though. If you’re tempted after a drink just think how pissed at yourself you’ll be if you wake up in the morning and you’ve spoilt your smoke-free run, and conversely how good you’ll feel if you’ve resisted.

Been over three years since I stopped, used Champix, side effects were limited, just keep an eye on them. I had some lapses as the Champix made it feel easy, unfortunately kidded myself that I could just have one. That was my undoing. I know now that is never going to happen.

Workmate is using Bupropion, so far successfully – it’s marketed here as “Zyntabac”, quick Wiki check suggests “Zyban, Voxra” as possible UK names. She’s not smoked for 4 weeks, despite living with her boyfriend who hasn’t quit.

(Wiki also says Champix (Varenicline) is even more effective than Bupropion, which is a good sign I suppose!)

Was a 20 a day smoker , tried cold turkey and gained an insight into what a smack head must feel like!!

Went to the docs and asked for Champix after a colleague suggested it (researched as well).

All I can say is it just works. During the first 7-10 days you find you are smoking less. By day 7 I was down to 1 a day. Then you just need to quit having that one.

From there I experienced no cravings and no withdrawal symptoms. I could stand with colleagues who were smoking and have no cravings.

You need take the full 12 week course. However , I stopped at 10 weeks, as I was starting to get some mood swings.

The dreams are amazing too!!

Defo worth a try.

Oh and the money I saved bought me a Cube Stereo 🙂

I think I did use it.

Got massive side effects, which made me quit the tablets soon after I quit the actual smoking, but I was so committed to stopping the actual smoking that I have not gone back. Two years, 18 days so far. Wish I had done it sooner, even though the side effects nearly broke up my marriage.

Well done chaps, some really good insights there.

Will mull things over. Got the Alan Carr video which I admit is very good. I will try that first and if that fails, then I’ll think about the Champix.

It seems like there are side-effects, but I get the impression much of the scare stories are media storms judging by real-life experiences.