Quitting smoking and going crazy!

I started chantix last week, today is my first day of not smoking...it is also the first day of TTOM!  I am going freakin nuts!  My cravings are insane!!  HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take a deep breath.  Find something to do with your hands.  Take a walk.  I've not smoked for 3 years come October 30th.  You can do it!  Visit quitnet.com.    I don't remember the actual site name but quitnet should get you there.

try the commit lozenges. they work really great for cravings.

Congrats!!!  I quit in February using Chantix.  I am a believer.

Chantix works in 2 ways...1st, it gives you a little buzz to elevate your mood - an anti-anxiety drug.  2nd, it blocks nicotine receptors, so, within a few weeks of starting the drug, you just won't "get" anything out of your cigarette.  The satisfaction just wont be there.   My doctor recommended I quit 3 - 4 weeks after starting.  The 1st week you are not even on a full dosage.  I tried to quit week 2, but I wasn't really ready and the drug wasn't fully doing its thing.   It is one of those drugs that you have to build up in your system.  By the end of the 3rd week, I put out my cigarettes half-way through and was smoking less than half normal without trying.  That's when I knew it was time to call it quits for good.  I just didn't want to smoke and when I did smoke, all I thought was "why am I doing this?"  I quit completely by the end of the 4th week.

Now, having said all that...maybe you quit too soon.   I don't want to be the person to "give you permission" to smoke, but if you are jonesing, you are less likely to succceed than if you quit becuase you just don't want the darn things.  And within a couple of weeks, that is exactly what this drug will do!

So....without giving you permission to smoke....I just want to say that as long as you stay on chantix, not quiting for good the 1st week is not a failure.  I truly believe this drug will work for anybody given a few weeks and a persons will to succeed.  

I smoked for 30 years and quit with chantix.  I know you can! 

Thanks  kay, I'm actually a nurse, so I understand Chantix's effects.  I am not certain why your doctor allowed you to continue to smoke until 3-4 weeks, you are supposed to quit the first week, infact, continuing smoking or using quitting aids (the patch, gum) can actually be harmfull when on the full dose.  *yikes*

According to the instructions they say the 1st day of that week should be your quit date....but then move right into their expectation that you will fail.  My doctor told me that I would be better off allowing the meds to work fully then to experience several failures first.   I did not see anything to suggest that it was dangerous, but no longer have them so I can't double check that.

I think he was right about giving it time to work.    

 Duh.

After I posted I realized I have my fingers right on quick access to those instructions......This is right from the site.  They do expect it to take a few weeks for many people.

• If you slip up and smoke while taking CHANTIX, don't give up. Keep trying to quit and keep taking CHANTIX. Some people need a few weeks for it to work best. Even people who slip up through their ninth week of CHANTIX have been able to quit successfully

The stuff works and slip-ups are forgivable...just like dieting.

Hang in there. October first was my first day as a non-smoker. At that point, I had been on the Chantix nine days. I took it on the first, the second, and the morning of the third, and never took another.

I'm chewing INSANE amounts of gum (still) but it does get easier. Much easier. You make it through the first two days and it's all down hill.

You can do it. You NEED to do it. Smoking is really horrible for you. Don't let your addiction whisper to you that one will be okay. Or that you've made it a whole day, reward yourself by having a smoke. It will try. The addiction will lie to you and make you want to light up. DON'T Give in. You are stronger than tobacco. The first couple of wall-climbing days I would tell myself (out loud) "Smoking is not and option". It would make me feel better for a few seconds, so I'd say it again if I had to, until the cravings subsided.

It's hard, I know. Those cravings are horrible, I know. But you can make it.

I quit almost ten years ago for several months. I was at the point where I didn't even have a desire to have one anymore and was glad I had quit. Then that nasty old addiction snuck up on me at a barbecue and told me it would be alright to have one. It took me almost ten years to quit again. I will succeed this time, and you can too.

Two weeks after my first day without smoking, and the urge is only a minor irritation. It does get better, you just need to be strong.

I quit smoking a little over a year ago, and all I can say it...tough it out!  It sucks, plain and simple.  I was pretty much a basket case for a month.  However I did it cold turkey, so the drugs you are taking might make it easier.  I promise, after the first week, it gets a little easier, then you reach a month, and it gets even easier.  It's a hard thing to do, and as I have said since the day I quit...no one wants to ever quit smoking...you just have to do it...and then later...a few months later...you start thanking yourself for quitting.  I probably thank myself about once a week for quitting.  Now, a year later, I don't miss them anymore and I don't get as sick as I used to.  I can work out without dying...life is simply better.  So, hang in there, things will get better.  Like with anything, it just takes a little time and some effort.  Much like getting rid of those extra pounds!!  Good luck to you, and never quit quitting!!!

I quit using Chantix just over 6 months ago.  It was the biggest accomplishment I've ever had.  I think the biggest factor in success for me was actually having confidence that the drugs would work and I would quit.  I had a hard time hearing the haters saying one thing or another against what I wanted to hear.   I have to ask, did you enjoy your "last" cigarette while on Chantix?  I found they tasted like an old wet butt and didn't even give me the buzz.  That's what kept me from smoking "just one more", the knowing that it was not going to be what my head kept telling me I wanted.  Another thing I did was track the money and time I was saving.  That was a nice thing to pass the time, thinking about what I was going to spend that money on as a reward for quitting.  Happy quitting and write again if you need more support. 

I quit using Chantix just over 9 months ago, on the 8th day of the med and I can understand the anxiety. I am also a nurse and had the hardest time figuring out what to do with my breaks as I had always used them to run out for a smoke so I continued to take my lunch break, ate quick and went back to work and gave up 15 minute breaks til I adjusted mentally and smelling it on others was bad, you just need to talk yourself out of each craving and you will do fine, It was my 5th attempt, and my 1st success. Eventually, I was able to take my breaks again without wanting to smoke...and now my hands, my hair,  my clothes, my car, and my house all smell so much better not to mention I feel much better and can breathe a whole lot easier!!! Just stay strong....you will be glad you did!

I'm on 77 days smoke free and looking back I feel annoyed at myself for sticking with such a mind warping unecessary thing to do to myself and others around me. I had tried NRT including patches and gum, but I decided to go cold turkey and relied on an inhalor for those weak moments (mostly being in the company of smoker friends).
As you continue, the addiction haze will lift and you'll find more clarity, and less anxiety. I have never felt as good. Only stepping back from days of old can I see the addiction.
It's worth noting that alcohol is the downfall of many a former smoker. I decided to give up alcohol, and it helps the weight loss. I still socialise and now get giddy off those who are a bit worse for wear around me. It's a weird sensation. I also know that I am no longer a smoker when I pass the 2 year goal.
Keep a diary. Like a food diary, it's worth noting how much you save, and what you could spend your money on instead. E.G. a return flight to Australia if you're on a 20 a day habit. 

Thankyou Alan Carr.
If you can do this, you can do ANYTHING!

Thanks guys!  I haven't cheated, but the scale has gone up.  I've also been going pretty hard core at the gym in fear of gaining weight... and I think it made me gain weight *sigh*  Better muscle weight than chocolate weight!

I have been smoke free for over 3 years. I quit cold turkey, then a month after I quit, I got pregnant. And anyone who says that its easier to quit knowing your pregnant is full of it. Anyone who has been pregnant knows how your hormones go crazy and you can get all emotional. On top of that, it wasn't a planned pregnancy, so I was stressing out. Talk about needing a cigarette!!!!!!!!!!

But, all you can do is just tough it out. It gets easier as you go. If a craving comes, find something to keep you busy for a little while because the craving goes away. Its actually almost like going into labor. When your in labor the contractions come and go, getting more intense and frequent until you deliver. Think of the urges like contractions. Only the opposite. When you quit, the urges are intense and frequent. Breath through them.... they'll pass. As time goes on, they get less intense and less frequent until they're gone!!!!

Just don't give up. Quitting smoking is one of the best things I have ever done. It's worth it!!!

I also suggest quitnet.com. Great site!!

yoga yoga yoga!  I started doing bikram yoga (hot yoga) about a month ago.  I'm a smoker, and wasn't intending to stop--  I have cut down, without even thinking about it- to about 2 cigarettes a day (I was smoking at least 1/2 pack a day before that).  Bikram yoga is a bit intense, but any form will get you to appreciate the deep breathing you'll learn, and keep you moving (countering the weight gain).
Any time I've tried to quit, I've been disappointed that I didn't feel better, or even feel much of a difference, health-wise.  With yoga, you feel the difference in a very real way.  If I smoke within 3 hours of a class, I feel the horrible effects, and regret it.  When I've been good all day before class, the way I feel in class is a huge reward.
I'm now planning to quit smoking entirely- something I would have thought impossible a few months ago.

This is my 11th week on Chantix.  I had smoked a pack a day for 25 years.  It didn't work as fast for me.  I was able to cut down from a pack a day to 1/2 a cigarette a day, but it wasn't until week 9 that I could actually go a whole day with nothing.  I haven't had anything in 2 weeks.  The only side effects I have had is weight gain and weird dreams.  (I always eat something before I take it so I don't get sick to my stomach)  I also take Synthroid everyday for my thyroid problem.  When I started gaining weight, I had my doctor do a blood test and my thyroid level was way off, so she increased my synthroid. (Still waiting for that to start working!!)  My problem is that everyone said I would have increased energy when I quit smoking, and I'm not seeing it.  The plan was to quit smoking and then lose weight.  I have gained 10 pounds, which wouldn't be terrible if I weren't already 20 pounds overweight!  I have been watching what I'm eating and going on the treadmil at least 30 minutes a day and I still get on the scale and see increases.  Has anyone tried "Alli" for weight loss?  I'm desparate to start losing--my family is going to Mexico in May~

smoking sucks. Ive cut down to about 3 cigs a day. Its really stupid. I take 2 or 3 drags and put it out. I really dont have any real cravings. I quit for 7 months, from feb to sept last year. Im quitting cold turkey, just tore up all my cigs and threw em away. Im gonna give this 100%, smoking sucks

Good luck!  Maybe you are a stronger person than I am.  I tried quitting "cold turkey" last year and made it about 3 days.  This year, I used Chantix and quit with minimal cravings.

Quitnet.com is responsible for my 6-year quit...if it weren't for that place, I'd probably still be smoking. Tough love, sometimes, but worth it.

Take this journey...it will be the best thing you ever do for yourself.