I need some encouragement - Smoking Cessation Message Board

StaceyDom1 · 09-01-2007, 08:30 AM

Hi all. I just started day 5 of Chantix and I am smoking like crazy. I've been smoking much, much, MUCH more than usual. I keep telling myself that as soon as the medication builds up in my body, it will kick in and knock out the desire, but I am so afraid that it isn't going to work. On the first day, the cigarettes tasted funny, but I've since grown used to that. I continue to reach for the pack without a single shred of hesitation. And I keep looking at the calendar and wondering what's going to happen on "quit day" if this feeling continues.

I know that the psychological grip of cigarettes is just as powerful as the physical addiction. I am feeling really disappointed about the medication right now. I thought I would at least be having the urge to cut down the smoking by now. I've been smoking for over 20 years and am definitely a complete addict. Am I expecting too much too soon? I've heard plenty of relapse stories, but are any of you aware of people who were never able to quit from the start?

Thanks all. Any words of advice are greatly appreciated.

StenoLady1 · 09-01-2007, 08:55 AM

Hi, Stacey

I posted something similar earlier this morning that might help you.

I don't think Chantix ever knocks out the desire to quit. What it does, tho, is once you actually put the smokes down, clean the ashtrays out, etc., it changes the desire.

In the past, every time I've ever tried to quit, I was going out of my mind for a cig. It was totally consuming.

Chantix makes the desire a bit different, but NOT WHILE YOU'RE STILL SMOKING! Once you are of the mindset that you're "in your quit," Chantix makes the desire for a smoke very manageable, almost like just a passing thought. After the first few days, the desires again become even more manageable. Once I was through hell week (the first week actually quit), I'd liken the desire for a cigarette to that of a desire for a pizza, a funnel cake, a Corvette. Sure, one would be nice, but it ain't the end of the world if I don't get one, you know?

Really, what you're going through right now was the worst from my experience. You're dreading your quit date, your brain is not getting satisfaction from the smokes (from a nicotine receptor standpoint), your body is getting used to this strange foreign chemical you've introduced to it and you're exasperated because you probably really don't know what to expect tonight, tomorrow, next week.

Believe me ... it gets better, MUCH better. But Chantix will never get rid of your desire to smoke. It just makes it so that once you don't have a smoke available (which you're not experiencing right now), you're not going positively out of your mind for one.

Read the stories here for more encouragement. Everyone here has been in exactly your shoes, including me! In a couple months, you will be writing a message just like this to someone else

BTW, I was a 20-year smoker, up to 2 1/2 packs per day for the past five or so years. I quit smoking on 5/22, and I quit Chantix on 6/22. Still smoke-free and Chantix really made it possible. It's work, yes, but Chantix is like novocaine at the dentist's office for a filling. It makes it tolerable

HRWade · 09-01-2007, 08:30 PM

stenolady, that is the best explanation of the way Chantix handles cravings that I have ever heard. I could never put the way it makes me feel into words, but that was dead on!

Stacey, it does get easier after you actually put the cigarettes down. I keep trying to explain that to my Mom, but she expects to wake up one day & not want a cigarette. That won't happen, you have to decide for yourself, "today
I will not smoke!" I never thought I would be able to quit & without Chantix I don't think I could have even made the attempt. It has been a miracle drug for me, even helping me shed some pounds through my decreased appetite. That is a really big bonus!

Good luck!

kamie65 · 09-03-2007, 09:54 PM

StaciDom -

I smoked a lot that first week, too. I smoked one cigarette a day for four days after my quit date. One thing that helped was I told myself that I didn't just pay over $100 for medicine to keep smoking like i was before. I think it takes a HUGE step psychologically to the point of: I do not want to be a smoker anymore. One of my motivators for quitting was "To become the person I want to be." The person that i want to be smells good all the time and doesn't have bad smoker's breath, or yellow fingernails, or crap in her lungs.

I really believe in Chantix, and it did have a profound effect on my brain. Only once I got rid of the cigarettes, though. As long as they were in the house, I smoked. It truly is mind over matter, and making that CHOICE. I haven't had any of the normal withdrawal symptoms like i did trying to quit cold turkey. It's been the easiest thing i've done.

You will get there! Believe in yourself, and if you really want to quit, you can do it!!