Why Is Chantix Not Working Faster For Me? (Page 2)

I'm almost finished with my 3rd week of pills and still need a couple of cigs a day. They do not smell or taste bad to me at all. I've read where many people are totally free in just days....am I just a slow learner!!

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Kathy, I would call the doctor and ask him if it is ok to take another pill. I personally wouldn't. Give Chantix a try for another week or so.

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I am on my 11th day of Chantix. I smoked for 29 years and have never really tried quitting. Even through 4 pregnancies I only cut down. I smoked normal the first day, finished that pack and bought another the next day. That pack lasted 3 days and I haven't smoked since. The smell of cigarettes doesn't bother me, but the smell of people who smoke does. I am on Celexa (daily) and Xanax (as needed and I haven't had a Xanex in a week). I don't drink coffee and haven't been able to exercise since I have a boot on my foot at this time. I don't think I have had any bad side effects as of yet. A few very vivid dreams and upset stomach when I take them. I take sleeping pills now and the dreams haven't come back and I just eat right after I take the pills. I have been coughing a lot of mucus up that is just gross! And have had a stuffy runny sneezing nose. But those are all getting better now too. I don't crave a cigarette but I do think " I should be smoking now" and that has been when I get anxious and have to do something else to occupy myself. Gum and candy and my new "forget me nots". My mom died almost 6 years ago of lung cancer and I have wanted to quit since then, but didn't want to try and not be able to for my fathers sake. I had to have my mind ready.

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Today is the end of week three for me. I am almost completely smoke free. I REALLY wanted this.

I think, and I could be wrong, that sitting around and waiting to completely lose the impulse to smoke is where people are going wrong. I still have cravings though the chantix lessens the strength quite a bit. It's gotten now to where I am only really having cravings in response to higher than usual stresses usually.

I am disabled and don't work so I am at home alot. I have eliminated all cigarettes from my home..not there. If I have a craving it's just too dang bad...can't help. I also made a rule for myself that I must not buy any more packs...no matter what. If I have them, I'll smoke them and keep this thing going. I figure if I smoke it will be a bummed cig from a stranger, they'll go and I"ll go and I'll be pushed back into not having cigs when I finish it. Since I only go out about once a week...it's pretty hard to maintain an addiction on that,

Chantix is not a magic pill....it helps...it takes you halfway but you still have to actively push it the rest of the way yourself. I am having a cig or a part cig maybe once a week. I am going to have to actively fight that next now that I got home figured out.

Also what helped me is I dropped from 2 packs a day to 10 cigs a day in the week before I started Chantix. The Chantix came in just when I was worn out and ready to break. I had a pack of cigs on day 7 and I told myself that I could have those, finish the pack then that was it, no more packs. It wasn't nearly as bad as I've known it to be from attempts before.

Those people that are on a couple a day, for goodness sake, make the no pack rule for yourselves and force it back. You're so dang close.

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I have used Chantix for dipping and it worked. I was foolish enough to think that I could start again and control my self dipping and I became addicted again, so I am about to try Chantix again and I hope I get the same results. I had been quit about 10 months before I started again. It does work and I hope it works for you.

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This is my second time taking chantix and I had to quit the first time years ago because the nausea was so bad I just couldn't tolerate it! This time I had the dr prescribe me zofran (anti-nausea medication). I take this 20 to 30 mins prior to the chantix. It is working great!!! Once and awhile i still get nauseous but not even close to how bad it was before! I actually had a lot of nausea related other meds I take prior to beginning the chantix and this medication has helped greatly. Don't give up because of the nausea. Speak to your dr, they can help you. I just wish I would have done that the first time! At that time I was able too quit for 1 1/2 months!! As soon as I stopped the med I went right back to smoking :-(. Good luck!! And stay positive!!

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My fiancé and I are dealing with the same thing!!! The first time I was very effective. 3 days and we were done! This time I am 3 weeks into it and $180.00 and still smoking!!!! Much less, but I am ready to be done and just need that extra push I was needing from Chantix!!

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Thank you for posting! I'm on my second week and still smoking. Just like you though, it has cut down in half and the urges are less. I'm go glad to hear that it's not only me that didn't have that magic day 8. I did read the medicine can take two weeks to build up in your system. I'm staying with it also. I found it is easier this week to distract myself and do something else without that panic, gotta have a smoke feeling.

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I was able to smoke while taking Chantix and did so for approximately a month and a half but less and less during that month and a half. Along with the Chantix and my desire to quit I did but the urges were there during the times I was on Chantix for six months. I quit it's been 2 years now but the urges or as I say habit is still there mentally I just replaced it with something else. I go for a walk or exercise or work on a project but tell myself NO SMOKING YOU DON"T SMOKE. It is not easy to quit as I tried gum and patches and everything but Chantix was the only thing that actually helped me to quit and I smoked since I was 14 and well over 50 now so I had a life long habit to break and as I said it wasn't easy. Many of my family and friends said they never thought I would quit but again it was a combination of my DESIRE to be a non smoker and the Chantix and I did. I also at first was nauseated but rode that out and I did sleep a bit more and that was alright with me since it meant I wasn't smoking and I drank a lot of water to flush out my body of the toxins of nicotine. Everytime after I no longer smoked and I'd get an urge I would just put it out of my mind and go do something else also remind myself of how I no longer smelled like an ashtray and my house didn't have the nicotine all over my belongings. Keep taking it and as time passes you will stop. Get rid of your ashtrays, and change what you do in the morning when you first wake up; if you reached for a cig then put a lifesaver on your night stand and pop it into your mouth. Take deep cleansing breaths over and over and feel the new lung capacity and enjoy being a non smoker.

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I am on my second 12-weeks if treatment and I am STILL SMOKING, although I've cut down enough where I really don't want to stop taking it. Am in the process of finding out if I can continue to take it with no ill effects. I'm still saving a ton of money, and I feel I need to think on the positive side. I'm still waiting for the drug to make me feel that I don't need to smoke, though.

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I'm on my 5th week of Chantix. I'm not really having any bad side effects, except for not sleeping well. My cardiologist offered me the Chantix. I've smoked for almost 50 years. He suggested while I was smoking on the Chantix, to not use my favorite brand of cigarettes, so I used Salem menthols which I hate. At the end of 2 weeks, I was still smoking and was beginning to wonder if it was even going to work for me. Though, I was down to only 4 cigs a day. I'd been a pack to pack and a half a day. Five days later, I got up, and said,"I don't think I need to smoke anymore." Those Salems were so nasty, they made me sick to even think about smoking. I've had a few slips,(take 5 puffs and put it out), but for the most part I've been quit for 2 1/2 weeks. I do still get the urge, I bought a 0 nicotine e-cig, I'll puff on, but not inhale, that helps. This drug to me is a miracle. I like the energized feeling, I don't feel foggy, but some say I'm a little bit irritable- which I think comes from not sleeping well. I've really been having night sweats as part of my sleeping problem. No weird dreams or thoughts. My appetite seems to have increased. Everything tastes so much better now. I'm having quite some weight gain I'm not happy about, but one problem at a time. I'm so happy to say I'm not a smoker anymore.

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Yes, I'm having the same problems. Actually, I'm going to start my third 3-month session! Although I haven't quit smoking yet, I am smoking way less -- from 1-1/2 packs a day to only 6 per day. And I never finish a whole cigarette. For this reason alone, I don't want to stop taking the medication. I have contacted the pharmaceutical company about this and my understanding is that you can take Chantix for as long as it takes.

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I'm experiencing something I haven't 'heard' others say, and that is that I'm smoking MORE on Chantix. It's as if I switched to Virginia Slims! I smoke Pall Mall Red non-filters. Back when hubby smoked, if I ran out I would smoke his non-filter camels, and they would make me smoke more, because they were too weak!

As far as side effects go, I'm really not having any on the 5th day on Chantix, not even vivid dreams. My mouth waters like crazy!

Personally, I believe that the pill doesn't really have all of those side effects to begin with, I think it's the withdrawals that causes problems/symptoms. If someone is hardly depressed, well not smoking is going to make them worse, etc. etc.

It's driving me crazy smoking more than normal! At least when one goes cold turkey, there last cigarette is heavenly!

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I've tried champix once before and worked after day 8-12 but the second time champix is not working and I'm into week 4 & feeling nothing yet why??

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I have been taking Chantix for over six months now. Although I cut down on my smoking quite a bit, I still didn't quit completely until I gave myself a formal "quit date." This helped tremendously. It's been over a month without cigarettes now, and I feel quite good. The only negative is that I still crave smoking. The initials NOPE helped: Not One Puff Ever. Don't remember where I heard this, but I have this posted where I can see it. Smoking is just not an option any longer!

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That's exactly how I feel, day 15 for me and this is my first day without smoking, yesterday I had 1. Yes I want one, but the urge is not strong, I can say that I am the boss instead of the cig. When I want one I just turn around and do something else, shower, cook, vacuum or eat a carrot, I do have a craving for black licorice so I have been buying Good and Plenty. I am taking one day at a time

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I took Chantix for about 6 months before figuring out that I needed a "quit date" to actually plan to stop smoking. The pills worked wonders at cutting down the need to smoke, but I just never wanted to stop completely. Well, I set a date and haven't had a cigarette since. It's been 5 months!!

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I quite on Chantix 5 years ago. By the 5th day I was mad, they really started tasting bad and I wanted to enjoy them for my last 2 days! I smoked those last two days anyway but didn't enjoy the them (the cigarettes..). I quit on the 8th day and I really never was tempted for almost 4 years, I worked out and ate healthy. Then one night a friend dropped their cigarette pack on the ground and I said 'I think I'll smoke one'. Thinking I could just handle 1. Never again, that 1 turned me back into a smoker for a year and I cut back on working out and started eating stuff that was not good for me (gained 20 lbs when I STARTED smoking again, that's just not right!). I'm on my second round of Chantix, the doctor warned me it might take a bit longer this time, but I want to quit and I think that is the important factor, you must want to quit! The Chantix helps lessen the need for nicotine and it's a lot better than cold turkey!

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I took Chantix for six months, I think, before I realized I needed to set that quit date. The medication surely took the urge way down. Since stopping completely on the day I gave myself, I haven't smoked since. It's been over six months now. Thanks in great part to the Chantix. I smoked for over 35 years, and this was way easier than I thought it would be.

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I'm on day 10 and I'm so mad I went from last night at 5 till 2 o'clock this afternoon without a cigarette . Came home and lit one up.

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I agree completely. I used it back in 2008 and quit smoking after one pill. Had no urge. Started back again over the years and started Chantix again. It isn't as intense and I have had a much harder time quitting. Cut back a little. Maybe because the ingredients caused some fatal side effects back then?

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