Smoking Cessation Community

Also has anyone experienced any of the long list of side effects?

This link should (?) take you to some detailed discussion of varenicline (Chantix) and its side effects.

I just quit smoking by using Chantix and I have been successful at least so far. It's been just over a month since I had my last cigarette. I loved the product because it was very subtle. I smoked that first week and just found that very gradually I started missing cigarette breaks or would decline when my friends would offer a cigarette. Believe me, nobody was more surprised than I was.

By the time my quit date came I was down to two cigarettes a day. The two biggest ones for me to drop was the morning cigarette on my way to work while drinking my coffee and my 8pm cigarette. Thought it was weird that it wasn't after a meal that it bothered me but for some weird reason 8pm was the hardest time.

I solved the morning problem by not taking coffee in the car anymore therefore eliminating a huge trigger. That was actually pretty easy. The 8pm one was much tougher so I started planning things to do around that time of day. Went for a walk with a bunch of girlfriends...read a book, went for a drive..anything to get past 8pm because by 8:15pm the craving was over and I was good to go again.

I found the first week of quitting quite easy but the hardest for me was the 2nd week. I couldn't believe how hard some days were but I just stayed strong and kept busy. I found that although the cravings were strong they really didn't last long so it was just a matter of occupying my mind either with walk, a telephone call, work or even play a card game on my computer until it passed.

At the end of the 3rd week my pharmacy ran out of Chantix. I live on an island in the Bahamas and I just couldn't get it anywhere. That's when I experienced the side effects...when I quit suddenly. Up until then I had only had the vivid dreams (which I kind of liked LOL) but when I stopped the side effects were horrible...increased heart rate, tears, depression..lack of concentration..you name it I had it.

The pharmacy ended up getting the Chantix in again 6 days later but I honestly couldn't imagine going through the side effects again so I opted to stop taking it and just use my willpower. The first few days were horrible for cravings (the Chantix really does reduce cravings) but after a few days of sheer willpower I am still smoke free for over a month.

I can have people smoke around me without a problem, I can drink and not smoke and I can have my coffee in my car again without a problem. Don't get me wrong, I still, every once and awhile forget that I don't smoke and will reach for my cigarettes and I'm sure that a part of me will really miss smoking for a very long time..maybe forever but I really do think I'm over the hump now and I know I couldn't have done it without the Chantix.

Hope this helps and good luck to you!

Janice

Quit using Chantix over 3 years ago. Very effective. I just kept smoking until the urge decreased and my smoking decreased. At the end of 3 months I was smoke free.
The difference between this quit and previous is that there is essentially no craving now even though fresh tobacco smoke smells good. I have to believe this is due to a permanent change in brain chemistry caused by the drug.
Side effects weren't bad. Occasional flatulence without odor, vivid dreams in technicolor but no nightmares, needed to take with food in the morning to avoid cramping and that was it.
Best thing Pfizer ever came up with. Worth every penny, even if you have to pay for it yourself especially since you only need to take it for a few months.

I have been a non smoker now for 1 year thanks to chantix. I'm still taking chantix because I a still having cravings to smoke. I smoked for 25 years, from when I was 14 to 39. Just remember to take it with food or it might make you vomit, that's what it did to me when I took it on an empty stomach. As for other side effects, it gave me weird dreams, no nightmares thankfully. The weirdest dream I had was that I was tunneling through the ground like Bugs Bunny.

Chantix is worth the money, it works great to help people quit smoking. I never thought I would be a non-smoker. Plus the people that you care about the most will be very proud of you, quitting smoking is a huge accomplishment. With the money I saved from not smoking, I am buying myself a new flat screen TV as a reward to myself.

this upcoming October 9, 2011, i will be smoke free for 2 years and i got that way on Chantix. I researched the drug before i started taking it. Before Chantix, I rarely remembered my dreams. I started to remember them more often and i don't remember them as being nightmares. I was also aware of the possibility of suicidal thoughts. I did not experience any of those while on the drug or after stopping it. but I was also aware enough of myself that I knew if I started to experience something like that, it would be the drug. as far as i was concerned, the threat to my health from cigarettes was far worse than the temporary mental effects of a drug that might (and did) help me quit smoking. I am definitely an advocate of Chantix, but just be aware of the possible side effects and talk to your doctor.

Update.....

I've had increased side effects since I posted this. Seems every week is something new and the last week and a half it's been the vision problems. Because I live in the Bahamas and they haven't had many users of Chantix here yet I've had to educate my doctors about the drug enough that they could d help me.

The problems with my eyes were extreme dry eye which is an easy enough fix but the other thing she noticed was nystagmus which can also be a side effect of Chantix. Question we have now is, is it from the Chantix or do I need a neurologist (in her opinion anyway) I think it's the Chantix because of the new research I've done but who's right and how do we find out? Wait it out and hope I'm right or spend a lot of money on Cat Scans and MRI's and still find out I'm right or do nothing and end up with a very severe medical condition. Pretty scary for me and I still have no idea what to do.

The good news is that I'm still not smoking but at this point I don't think it was worth it. I know other people that have done great with the Chantix and experienced far less or at least far less severe side effects than I have and I am so happy for them. For me it's turned into a disaster.

Janice

Took this med for a week and a half and had a bad experience. Keep in mind though that everyone reacts to medications differently, Chantix it does serve it's purpose, however, the side effects were just too much of a risk for me. I first started to get nausea, dry mouth, sore throat, headaches, ear pain, vivid dreams (not bad), and most of all, trouble sleeping. The second week is when things got worse and I was becoming more emotional and aggressive, and started hallucinating. At that point, time to stop the Chatnix. It DID make me not want to smoke, and now I get nauseated when I do, and I am down to 2 cigarettes a day. Hopefully with will power, I can finish my quest off with the patch and lozenges. I am happy for those who Chantix has worked for, as it was just not for me, but don't let my experience scare you from trying it, as again, everyone reacts differently.

I have used chantix and it really works the only side effect I had was vivid dreams also I have 2 coworkers that used it and they are still quit as am I I have been quit for 2 months

I took it a couple years ago while in grad school (not the best timing) and am taking it again due to the fact that my dad is dying of metastatic adenocarcinoma and that's a giant wake up call. As far as the drug is concerned, it gave me some vivid dreams (I can't begin to describe) and it made me a raging a**hole. Look at me funny, say the wrong thing, etc. and I'd rip into whoever did it...never physical violence against people (just walls, doors, etc.). The last part could've been stress related but that's sorta my personality in the first place. Maybe the drug just amplified it. Now, I'm 3 days into the 28 day pack, so who knows what's gonna happen.

If you decide to take it, get ready for some vivid, whacked out dreams because that seems to be the experience of everyone I know who's taken the drug. I will admit, the stuff works wonders but if you're not ready, don't waste your time, money, and sanity (in some cases more than others). It made me not think about smoking in the sense of "I need nicotine," but I still smoked because I was/am addicted to the physical act of smoking.

As far as withdrawal symptoms go (as described by others), I never experienced anything and I just stopped taking the drug. One of my good friends had withdrawal so bad that he had to take it just to be able to function. Who knows, tread lightly and best of luck. In my experience, quitting smoking is harder than quitting opiate-based pain medication (and that's a nightmare).

Chantix made me so sick I thought I would die. Still took it for weeks because I was so desperate. Stayed in bed curled up unable to move, eat and barely could breath the pain and sickness was so bad. Have heard similar stories for ever person I have talked to about this drug. (more than 15)

if u eat before u take it that really helps with getting sick it did the same thing to me but if i eat before taking it i was ok hang in there

Am on 2nd week of generic chantix , have not smoked in 3 days. Continued to smoke same as usual the first week of treatment. Still have slight cravings at certain times but it is manageable. No other side effects except as others noted crazy vivid dreams , but no nightmares. I'd recommend this way of quitting to anyone who are Leary or wonders if it works. It does block some of the pleasure you gain from smoking making it less enjoyable and easier to quit.

My husband and I both smoked about 1 and half packs a day and wanted to stop for our children. We began taking Chantix and smoked for the first week. We haven't smoked since then. The worst side effects we have had is some nausea right after taking the pill and some trouble sleeping. Its not the save all pill as it still requires will power, but it helps more than nothing. When you are ready to quit the medication will help but you really have to want it. Find out more Chantix reviews