So, if anyone is taking or considering taking chantix, just a couple notes. I've been taking it for a few weeks now and haven't smoked in a week. It doesn't make a huge difference, but it does help. I tried to smoke the other night when I was drunk, and they tasted like crap. As for the side effects, the FDA recently issued a warning that it can cause depression, etc, and I am inclined to believe this! I've had some issues in the past, and had some significant mood swings since I started taking Chantix, though going to the gym daily GREATLY improves that. I had one really bad day, and didn't understand it (hadn't seen the FDA warning yet), but went to the gym that night and felt much better the next day. Also, it says you might get vivid dreams, and this is very much the case, though they're not usually good; emotionally charged dreams and very vivid.

BUT, I'm not smoking I'll put up w/ any of this for another month!

good job,
one weak clean now!

I stopped myself on the 3rd try - was smoking a package a day. All 3 times just stoped totally, not a slow reduction. And now I am 4 years clean.


Wish you good luck to stay away from cigs, even if you stop taking chantix.
But from what I've read on other threads written by you, I have no doubt you'll make it.

Thanks, Sven! I was a pack a day as well, and feel really good about quitting this time... very soon it will just be something i used to do instead of something I'm quitting.

This is already the case Dave!

You don't actually smoke any more, it is something that you did in the past.

Great job Dave. When I quit Chewing tobacco I used I think it was called zyban. It was actually an anti depressant. I just stopped It was really amazing and Chewing has never been an issue since well its been 6 years. Great job.

well don't freak out about the mood swings. remember that you have recently given up smoking, which was a stress reliever, stabilizer, etc. just keep notes, and talk to a doctor if it gets bad.

first off, nice work, dave!

i took it for a bit too, but just recently stopped. from my understanding, it's very much based on a behavorial model (think pavlov's dog) in that it blocks the nicotine receptors in the brain. you still, however, have most all of the side effects of nicotine withdrawal. it's kind of like reverse methadone for heroin addicts. you just don't get the enjoyment from cigs anymore. they do, however, still provide your body with the nicotine necessary to avoid withdrawal. (this is all personal experience linked to the literature i've read about it.) for me, if it ain't going to help with the withdrawal symptoms, i'll save my $150 and just muscle through the nic withdrawal with willpower.

also, you should definitely be wary of the depression thing. i've read that some people believe chantix has resulted in several suicides. apparently, it was rushed through the fda process for a variety of reasons. i also felt depressed when on it, but depression is also a symptom of nicotine withdrawal. when i replenished my body's nicotine level, presto: the depression disappeared. and yah, the dreams kinda sucked for me. my dreams are always either neutral or negative and the vividness of them wasn't so cool....

i've settled on the method of slowly breaking habits. last week was none in the car and this week will be none after meals. next week will be the real test of none in the mornings. and the week after that will be quit week. i intend on spending like 4-5 hours at the gym the first three days. i'm just going to walk on the treadmill like an enraged hamster.....

it helps!

Well done w/ the none in the car - that was a tough one for me. After a week, unless I'm drinking, the only real challenge is that I miss my smoke breaks. And honestly, going out saturday I really didn't miss the smoking, and was hanging out w/ a couple smokers.



I'm actually enjoying the vivid experience, even if the dreams are sometimes upsetting.... kind of like past experiences with other substances, just kind of interesting. but a full-blown nightmare on this stuff might kill someone

yah, zyban is an interesting drug. during the clinical trials, it was being tested as another anti-depressant like prozac or zoloft. when the scientists were doing the post interview analysis, they noticed a pattern that a lot of the people reported off-hand that they had also quit smoking. so, instead of marketing it as an anti-depressant, they decided on selling it as an anti-smoking drug. it's kinda like electro-shock therapy for certain mental illnesses. nobody is really sure why it works, but it does help some people....

when i was researching chantix, i came across this one study that indicated while the percentage of people who was able to give up smoking using chantix (44%) was around twice that of zyban, once recitivism rates were factored in, they were about equal. (at the same time, i also saw another study that indicated zyban was only effective 13% of the time, so take everything i've written with a grain of salt.)

stop p!ssing in my cheerios.... Actually this morning I ran out of chantix, and since it costs an arm and a leg, and I need my other arm and leg, I may not be refilling it.

but regardless, I am not a smoker

have you done a heavy cardio workout since you quit? how does it feel? does your breathing feel different?

Congrats Dave!!!! That is fantastic!!!

Great job, Dave!!! Good luck going it without the Chantix!

I can breathe deeper, and don't get quite as knackered from the cardio, but still have a long way to go... It's just that now I can actually improve more!