Day 7: Started Feeling Some of the Intended Effects

So last night and today I have started feeling some of the intended effects of Chantix. I noticed something weird when I looked at my ashtray last night, most of the cigarettes were only half smoked!!

When I do smoke it feels like i’m smoking a really light cigarette, even though I’m not, and I get very little satisfaction from them; The taste is different too, however I still crave them about them same.

The side effects are minor now; I am a little spacey with some gas. The dreams I have been having are cool though . They aren’t nightmares, just weird.

I’ve been trying to smoke less today for the first day, and track how many cigarettes I am smoking. I bought a bunch of toothpicks, which I plan on chewing on, instead of a cigarette whenever I can.

Day 5: Mind Fuck

This afternoon my mind has been playing tricks on me. Not sure if its the Chantix, or just my over analyzing nature. I first started thinking too much that the Chantix wasn’t having an effect on my nicotine cravings. Even though the logical part of my brain kept telling me that it was probably still too early to tell. I definitely feel that I get less pleasure from them, and they do taste a little different, but not enough for me to see any change in how much I smoke.

I also feel that I’m less motivated to get any of my work completed, which I usually love. Then I started worrying about all the work I had to do, and how it would never get done. so I took a xanax to shut my mind up, and I feel much better now. The doc said that there should be no problem if I take both, so I guess I’m in the clear, better than feeling like I’m about to have a panic attack.

Reading blogs of all the other quitters helped a bit too, since it took a while before some you guys started seeing a substantial effect. I still haven’t reached the highest dose yet, so lets see how things go when I do.

I have added a new page to my blog called “The Plan“, which outlines dates and activities, that I need to complete to help in my quit. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should add to it?

Day 4

I don’t have time for a long post, But today I switch the dosage to two pills. I haven’t taken my second one yet, but plan to take it right before I sleep, so I sleep through any side effects. The tiredness has gone down which is great, I didn’t even take a nap all day.

Day 3: Zzzzzzz

The side effects over the last 24 hours has mainly been, me feeling really tired, not too much nausea though, which is good; however since my stomach has been hit pretty hard from the Chantix, I’ve been making frequent trips to my special “throne”.

The label on the Chantix says that drinking alcohol might make you more tired, and they weren’t kidding; I had a couple of glasses of wine last night and almost fell asleep sitting up. I hope that passes, since I’m going to need to keep one of my vices around.

This morning I was waiting at the bus stop, smoking a cigarette, and the guy next to me asked if I could spare one. Being the nice guy that I am, I gave him one, but couldn’t help notice that when he reached out his hand, the tips of his fingers were very yellow. Not even a minute later, someone else who had just arrived at the bus stop, asked me for one; this time however I said no, and he then proceeded to ask if he could have “shorts” off of mine. Its obvious that this addiction can be very strong (not to mention disgusting), but it really bothers me when people who can’t afford cigarettes are so addicted to them.

Anyway, its been about 30min since my third dose, and no nausea, but my eyes are closing on me, so I’m going to take a nap.

Day 2: Chantix Side Effects Check

12:00pm… I haven’t taken the 2nd pill yet, but I wanted to recap the side effects I felt since the last pill. An hour or so after the pill I felt like my mind wasn’t quite working, like I had become dumber; but that went away after a few hours. During this, I had a conference call with my boss and had to explain some database designs too him, I hope he didn’t think I was drunk.Later in the night after I finished a cigarette, it felt like I still needed one, almost like it had done nothing for me. So, I probably ended up smoking more then normal. I know, its too early to expect the drug to be helping me quit, but its comforting to know that something is happening.

When I woke up this morning I was somewhat nauseous, but happy that I didn’t have any crazy dreams. I ate a bagel and cream cheese and drank some vitamin water which seemed to solve the nausea; I’ll be taking the second pill after lunch, more updates after that…

5:21pm… I took the second pill at 2 o’clock, and the nausea wasn’t too bad. The only side effects this time were a little depression, anxiety and my mind not being as sharp as it should be. All of which I can deal with, and might not be from the Chantix; although I did fall asleep soon after taking the pill, for a couple of hours, so we can probably add being tired to the list. I worked from home and the afternoon was slow, so no worries .

On my last post I added a picture of the Chantix packaging, minus one pill, to liven it up; but if I keep doing that it’s going to get old real quick. So here’s a picture of how disgusting this habit is…

Hopefully, it repulses the quitters reading this enough, to keep them on their journey.

Day 1: First Pill and Still Smoking (obviously)

So here we go, day 1… C picked me up from work and drove me home, I was already feeling nauseous, thinking about the fact, that I might feel nauseous once I take my first pill. Its funny how my mind works sometimes.

For those who don’t know me personally, I have somewhat of an anxiety problem, which I take xanax for as needed; Although I usually fight through the anxiety rather then drug myself, its comforting to know that I have a pill that can stop all my bad thoughts when I need it to. But I digress…

When we got home I took my first pill, with a full glass of water. This was about 30min ago. I feel a little nauseous and a little mellowed out at the same time. But of course this might be probably is my mind just playing tricks on me. My anxiety levels are a little higher than normal, but I can’t really blame the pill for this one yet. So all in all, the side effects so far aren’t too bad, which was one of my main concerns since my ordeal with Zyban (Wellbutrin) .

I joined the chantix site  yesterday, and they give out tasks daily, which I haven’t started on yet; However, I set my own task for today, which I feel is an important one. So to accomplish that, in no particular order, here are my reasons for quitting…

• For my place to smell better
• So I don’t die too early
• So I don’t have to lie anymore
• So I feel better
• To lessen my anxiety issues
• To save money
• To not have to leave social and work situations to have a smoke
• To not constantly worry about my health
• To eat more and enjoy food more
• To enjoy smells and tastes
• To be in better shape
• To not die too early (its not cheating, I feel it should be in there twice )

For other quitters, visiting my site, what are your reasons?

Introduction

This blog is to serve as a log for my attempt to quit me quitting smoking.

Hopefully, I will be able to look back on it, a few months from now, in wonder of how far I’ve come; and if it serves as help for anyone else looking to quit then all the better.

So, I just got back from the doctor’s office, $120 poorer, but with a chantix prescription. For those who don’t know what chantix is, please read here for the official description, and here for the unofficial/unbiased description.

The green case is for the first week, as I ween on the drug, and the blue ones are for each subsequent week. I am a little apprehensive, since zyban messed me up so bad. But unlike zyban its not an antidepressant, so hopefully things turn out better.

The plan is to take the first dose tomorrow and have my last cigarette on the the 21st. I know, I know, the 21st is not 7 days from my first dose but I feel that I might need a few extra days to get mentally ready.