Comments on: The ins and outs of prescribing Chantix (varenicline): an illustrated How-To guide

By: Cathy

Cathy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:13:46 +0000

My husband and I want to quit smoking but can't afford Chantix right now, as I'm not working. Our insurance won't cover the product either. I know someone who can get the product for a mere $3.00. They used their Starter Pack though, so she gave me the Continuing Week Pack. Will this product be effective without using the Starter Pack?
Thanks!
Cathy – March 8th, 2010

By: Daren

Daren — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:12:41 +0000

I Love Chantix! I tried everything possible to quit smoking and nothing seemed to work – mainly because I never wanted to quit. I enjoyed smoking. It was health issues that eventually convinced me it was time.

Chantix has been a life saver. One solid week of smoking while I was on the pill, and then poof, I lost interest. The tobacco lost it's flavor, I wasn't getting cravings during work or in the middle of the night.

But Chantix isn't for everyone. Side effects that I experienced – Trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, extremely vivid dreams, Lots of sleep issues in general, short term memory loss that persisted for a month after I stopped taking chantix, and seeing things that weren't real.

So basically, lots of psychological effects. It plays tricks on your eyes while you are asleep and awake. I hear its a different experience for everyone, but even with the trouble, I would highly recommend to anyone looking to toss the smokes.

By: Brad

Brad — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:33:27 +0000

For all of you who are having problems with the psychological triggers during smoking cessation, buy a bag of Charms Blowpops. When you're having a craving, pop one in your mouth and twirl the stick back in forth. It helps keep your hand busy, mimics the oral part of smoking and the gum inside helps clean your teeth in the process (ie. the yellow stains).

I quit using nicotine patches and just used the pops to stop cravings. The plus side was how white my teeth were after 2-3 weeks, crazy what cigarettes do to them.

Good luck!

By: Wendy

Wendy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:28:00 +0000

I started taking Chantix about a week and a half ago. No side effects for me which is great. The first week was really good. By the 5th day I really did not desire a cigarette. However now that I'm on the second week I find myself sometimes wanting one. Now I go to work and I don't smoke until lunch and even then maybe one. After lunch no cigarette. I sometimes smoke one on the way home, but that would be it for the rest of the day. My husband smokes and he will smoke right next to me at home and it will not bother me. What can I do the help me during the day at work? I don't think it is the chemical part anymore as much as I do the psychological part. Any ideas would be great!

By: Jessicca

Jessicca — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:13:32 +0000

I am currently taking Chantix and consider myself a non-smoker now. Although there have been triggers such as being out drinking with friends that I have had one or two. I don't crave it the next day so that's nice. Six cigs in 12 weeks, I'm okay with this. NOT my point though… I am somebody who seems to get every side effect listed. I wanted to share some things that have worked for me. I was getting "sick" everyday when I went to the 1 mg tabs. Still wanting to stick it out I asked my doc for a prescription of promathazene (sp?) an anti-nausea med. I take it one hour before my chantix and it helps sooo much.

Before starting I suggest two things. 1) Change your brand of cigarette to an all natural brand without the additives. This will help with the cravings. 2) Change the times you smoke, such as wait an hour after eating, don't smoke in the car, just switch your habit times.

I've had kidney pain with Chantix along with blood in urine. Thankfully this has resolved. The memory problems is a major problem for me since I already have this problem due to other medical stuff. Weird is how I usually resort to a more complicated word to describe something versus the simple word.

Insomnia is horrible for me, luckily I work from home and make my own schedule. Ambien, Tylonol PM, Melatonin have been somewhat helpful, but not a cure.

As for aggitation… I kind of welcome it. I have no patience for slackers and those who have a false sense of entitlement. Where I used to enable these types of people, I no longer can stand to have a two-minute conversation with them. Possibly an upside for me? Although I do find myself very opinionated lately and not my amiable self.

GOOD LUCK

By: cathie

cathie — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:27:10 +0000

I used Chantix 1year ago. Quit for 80 days. No probs, no side effects… except the creepy dreams which I found interesting.
I started smoking again going out of town to a concert… Then went back to my Dr. and he prescribed it again…. I never really "wanted to quit" at that point.. so I never finished taking them…. threw them away.
I wonder if it is OK to (now over a year later) ask for another prescription? Is there any harm in "re-taking' the drugs?

By: Jeannette

Jeannette — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:44:03 +0000

I'm an M.D. and this was very helpful. Thanks!

By: Tina

Tina — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:47:32 +0000

I just received the prescription from my insurance, but they said they were not able to fill the starter pak. Doesnt make much sense to me that they could send me 2 months worth of the meds, but not the starter pak. Can I just cut the pills in half for the first week?
I tried taking Chantix before, and felt like I was going to attack anyone who was coming near me, but this time I am just going to have to deal with the side effects if it means it will help me stop smoking.
Any ideas on how to start the first month without the starter pak? Thanks.

By: ABH

ABH — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:16:29 +0000

I took Chantix for 1 month starting July 7. I wanted to quit smoking before school started back in for the year. I did. I have been quit for 14 weeks now. Great feeling. I have, however, been eating like a piggy, and have experienced memory loss since taking the medication. I only took it for one month. THis is very bothersome to me because I feel as if I am unable to accomplish anything at home or work. VERY frustrating. Have there been any real studies done into side effects like this? I am glad that I found this website because I felt like I was losing my mind.

By: RJS

RJS — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:13:08 +0000

Cherie,

I assume you mean 1-2 cigarettes/day. Keep in mind that Chantix is only useful for nicotine addiction. There are two parts to cigarette addiction: chemical and psychological. You've beaten the chemical addiction, now it's time to beat the psychological addiction. By that, I mean that when you need to get away from something for a few minutes to "clear your head"/"get some air" — you go for the cigarette. Or you associate being done with dinner with smoking a cigarette. These are psychological triggers that cause you to want a smoke, and these feelings can persist for years.

This is actually why Chantix gives you access to support programs — because chemical dependence is only one small part of the addiction equation. You've gotten over the chemical part, so Chantix isn't going to help you much. You need a support system to help you with the rest.

By: Cherie King

Cherie King — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:34:33 +0000

I used Chantix and quit for 8 months. After a tragic event, I started smoking only one or two a day. I tried to use Chantix again but it was not nearly as helpful as the first time. Do you know of others with a similar experience? I wondered if waiting longer before trying it again would be helpful?
CK

By: Bon

Bon — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 02:52:45 +0000

Great information! Thank you very much! :O)

By: RJS

RJS — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:38:50 +0000

Yes, there's no drug interaction between Chantix and alcohol.

By: Diana

Diana — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:39:47 +0000

is it safe to drink with this pill??

By: RJS

RJS — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:29:04 +0000

Yes, you can get the 0.5mg tablets in bottles of 56 without the fancy packaging. The pharmacy may have to special order it for you, but we have a couple of people who cannot tolerate the full 1mg twice a day.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:38:54 +0000

This is my third time around with Chantix. First time – I quit smoking 8 weeks, succumbed when I went on an out of town with friends – who smoked during trip (when they normally wouldn't smoke in their vehicle) and booked me into a smoking room. Alas – I was hooked again. 2nd time I just couldn't deal with the side effects (mostly nausea and insomnia – I'm already battling a sleep disorder). But – I HAVE to do this – quit smoking. One thought comes to mind – some meds are prescribed taking weight of patient into consideration. Is it possible the 'standard titrated' dose (1.0 mg bid) is just too high a dose for some people? I do notice in 'how supplied' there are bottles (of 56) of 0.5 mg; irony is most pharmacies seem to only carry the combo packages and the few that offer 0.5 mg – it is the same price as 1.0 mg (#56). (Pfizer website says the tablets can't be cut – which I was considering. If anyone has reduced titrated dose to 0.5 mg bid I'd appreciate reading your experience – did it cut down on side effects? Was treatment still successful?

By: Ambidextrous Blog » Pharmaceutical comfort rituals

Ambidextrous Blog » Pharmaceutical comfort rituals — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:45:36 +0000

[...] Check out another blogger's packaging photos of Chantix. [...]

By: Melody

Melody — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:55:55 +0000

My brother in law was using Chantix and said he had wild thoughts and very vivid creepy dreams and totally swore off the stuff after 4 days. I thought he was a wimp.
In the meantime, I got a script for it myself and took it to the pharmacy to get filled. Only to find out that my insurance didn't cover it and it cost $149.99 for the first month. Of course I could not afford that. I'm a single working mother on a strict budget, so I decided to go cold turkey. (My particular generic brand of cigarettes from the rez cost me less than $9 per carton and that would last me well over 2 weeks)
Anyway, knowing my brother in law was tossing his in the trash, I asked if I could have them. I had had at least 4 cigarettes a day for a week that I couldn't give up so I needed the help.
I popped the first pill while I read the insert which described the dosage, etc. It said start with the white pills .05 ml for 3 days, then those same white pills twice a day for the next 4 days. It occured to me at that point, that the pill I just took was blue. I looked at the package and the outside box clearly says starter pak, while all 4 of the 'blue' inserts clearly say continuing pak.
All of a sudden, it's clear why the 'wimp' felt like he was in a freak show. It's packaged wrong. There are no low dosed pills. Hopefully I'll sleep okay tonight and all will be well for me. I'll cut them in half and take the proper dosage from here on out.
I can't help wondering how many times has this happened though…Scary.. just plain scary.

By: Kevin from PA

Kevin from PA — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:29:46 +0000

I took Chantix last year for about 1 month. I was out of town when I ran out of the prescription and decided that since I did not smoke for a month I should be good. It's been over a year and I have not smoked yet. I loved to smoke so giving it up was a hard concept to accept – however, I made a plan and stuck to it. Instead of wallowing in pity – I took up walking, running, lifting weights, bycycle riding, and a lot of other outdoor activities. I cannot believe how healthy and fit I feel today. I've lost 40 pounds while doing all of this.

With all that said, the symptoms I had with Chantix are as follows.

Some nausea – especially if I took the medicine on an empty stomach – therefore, I made sure I had enough food in my stomach when taking the medicine.

Short term memory loss – I noticed this was more acute when drinking alcohol.. I've never had a situation where I lost my memory when drinking alcohol. However, after taking this medicine I noticed that I began to lose it. It was a little scary at first because I didn't remember where I was or who I was with or what was going on. Luckily nothing serious happened – but to this day it still happens occasionally. More study needs to be done in this area.

Was it worth taking Chantix – for quitting smoking I believe it helped me – everyone is different and if you don't go into this with an plan then you're not going to quit – you need to change your mindset and your daily activities in order to overcome the smoking. Taking Chantix for the month while I was embarking on my new journey helped me get through the worst "hunger" pangs for smoking early on. After that I just kept working out and doing whatever I could to stay busy and active (without eating like a pig). So yes it was worth it for me to take Chantix for the month to quit smoking.

By: MCA

MCA — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:32:48 +0000

Boy, I am glad so many people have had good luck with this medication. I sincerely mean that! I am not one of them. I thought I was going totally nuts when I was on this medication.

I did OK the first week. It was when the starting amt. doubled I began to have problems. Then when it doubled again, I was crying all the time, extremely nervous and I am not a very nervous person normally, at all. I was so agitated I actaully worried I might attack someone. The side effects just were not worth it for me.