Champix saved my life. Month 8 of being a non-smoker!

kendraleigh88

I feel like I need to share in case there are people who smoke out there looking for ways to quit smoking.
I'll start with my history with smoking.

I grew up with both my parents smoking. I used to always think to myself that I would never be a "smoker" myself, not after seeing how it affected their health AND finances.
Most of all my friends smoked when I was a teenager, starting at around 12. I still chose not to. Tried having a puff of a cigarette when I was 14 and almost threw up. I just didn't get hooked.
Then I started going to parties at around 17. Indulged in drinking. Tried a few more puffs off smokes here and there.

Then I was addicted. I started craving them. Getting irritable when I didn't have them. I didn't really even care that I was a smoker, didn't see that it was a big deal or anything. I would sneak smokes from my parents. When I moved out that year, I would just buy them myself. They were about $5-6 a pack back then. Sort of affordable. Not really. But I didn't care.

Anyway, I want to hurry up with this.
I continued smoking throughout going to school, living on my own, working, etc. Prices of smokes started going up. They were harder to afford, but they always came first. I started dating my now fiancé, and he smoked too.I started feeling the effects on my health. My hair was always so dry. My fingers started turning a little yellowish. My teeth were taking a beating from them. I'd hack up a lung when I woke up in the morning. Started becoming a big deal. So, I started thinking about quitting. The constant nagging from the in-laws also threw the idea into my head that maybe it was time.

Tried the patch. Worked for about 3 weeks but I just didn't seem to have the willpower to NOT smoke. People always say you can quit if you wanted to. Well, I WANTED to quit but it wasn't working.
Tried the gum. Worked for a few days. I kept going back to the cigarettes.
Tried the lozenges. Didn't work for more than a day.

I should also say that I smoked the most after a meal, when I was driving, and when I took my 15 minute breaks at work.

Anyway, I was just about to give up when a coworker told me about Champix. I started researching it and saw all the horrible things people experienced while on it. Bad dreams, irritability, depression...then I thought, those are all side effects of quitting ANY addiction. So, I went and got a prescription.

I smoked for the first week and a half while taking it. Sleep wasn't affected at all. No crazy dreams. No irritability. Started slowly just losing the need to smoke. Hardest part was kicking the actual habit. I really had no problems with it at all. The hardest part of the whole process while on Champix was dealing with my fiancé who decided to quit cold turkey. That was it.

For me, Champix is a miracle drug. I'm so glad I tried it out because it worked splendidly for me. I still go out and party and have no desire to smoke. It's great.

There's my little Champix rant.