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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if anyone has used Champix to stop smoking?

31 replies

MyKingdomForACaramel · 02/02/2018 21:39

Just that really - I have a prescription but haven’t started it yet as keep reading the side affects list and it scares me a little - would love to hear other people’s experience

OP posts:
IcaMorgan · 02/02/2018 21:43

I gave up with champix over 10yrs ago. The blue ones made me feel sick and dizzy so the dr put me back down to the white ones again and I was fine. Some people “complain” about erotic dreams but I never had that problem.

I haven’t had a craving since the day I stopped and can quite easily hold someone else’s cig for them while they pop in a shop

ConfusedButInLove · 02/02/2018 21:43

My dad used it after a friend used it successfully.
My dad had previously stopped smoking but relapsed.
After 3 days if smoking and taking the tablets, he gave his packed away to a friend and never looked back. That is now 8 years ago. The smell of smoke revolve him now.

I have only heard of problems if the person has suffered depressive episodes.

Good luck Flowers

FannyHertz · 02/02/2018 21:44

Gave up in 2010 using them. Was easy

Original poster
MyKingdomForACaramel · 02/02/2018 21:46

Oh wow @fanny how long did you take them before you stopped? And if you don’t mind my asking how many did you smoke before?

OP posts:
ImYourWomanJonSnow · 02/02/2018 21:53

I had horrible anxious time with it, escalating into chronic insomnia and a psychotic episode that got me signed off work for a month. Stopping it was even worse and it took best part of a year to recover. And I started smoking again.

I never had depression or anxiety before or after. I would not recommend it. I have since heard and read about a lot of people having nasty side effects and also a few suicides.

I finally stopped smoking just doing losenges, they were amazingly effective.

emma6776 · 02/02/2018 21:58

Gave up smoking in 2011 after taking them for 2 weeks. Amazing. Have never wanted one since!

Gudgyx · 02/02/2018 22:05

I took them, got the physical side effects of stomach cramps, nausea, dioreha etc. They never ever went away. I was diagnosed with crohns about 2 years later. Not saying it was the champix but when I asked my ibd nurse if there was a link she got all flustered and dodged the question. Who knows? All I know is I took the tablets, got those side effects and now have no large bowel and shit in a bag.

Oh and I didn’t stop smoking then either, stopped a few years later with a vape

WishingOnABar · 02/02/2018 22:07

Agreed with pp that they can affect you if you have suffered with depression. I noticed they also affected my focus and my enjoyment of food. After a few weeks I stopped taking them altogether because I felt they were having too much of an effect (having previously suffered from very bad depression) but by that time I had stopped smoking as well and havent smoked since, 6 years on. I should mention prior to that I had smoked for nearly 15 years with zero success at quitting in any other method.

I think if you know they will have an effect snd are prepared for it, they can be very good

neverhadanymarblestolose · 02/02/2018 22:07

I gave up with champix 8 years ago, with no effort or willpower whatsoever. Not touched a cigarette since. They occasionally made me feel spaced out and I had a few irrational thoughts, that I was able to realise that they were irrational. It felt a bit odd.
Took 6 weeks of the tablets for me to fully stop, but even by the 3rd week, my smoking was drastically reduced. I stopped taking the tablets at 8-9 weeks after lowering my dose from around 7 weeks.

EfficiencyDeficiency · 02/02/2018 22:09

Wow! I'm 40 and have heard stories about these ( good and bad ) and have smoked since I was 15 Blush

I can't imagine being successful. That's probably half the battle!

Well done to everyone who has succeeded.
I'm going to mention this to my doctor next time I see him.

I already take a lot of medication for fibromyalgia/anxiety and depression so hope that they won't interact and I can give them a try :)

WishingOnABar · 02/02/2018 22:09

Gudgyx Shock

ReginaldMolehusband · 02/02/2018 22:11

I tried it for about a week but found the weird dreams and a feeling of water dripping on my head constantly was driving me nuts plus my DW said I was acting weird. Didn't feel right and although I did stop smoking it was only because they began to taste awful. Worst of all was it took about 4 days after I stopped taking it before I could enjoy a ciggie again.

Original poster
MyKingdomForACaramel · 02/02/2018 22:16

@gudyx - that’s horrific

OP posts:
PourMeAGlass · 02/02/2018 22:21

I gave up with Champix nearly 10 years ago. I can remember having very strange dreams and being ravenously hungry all the time, but they worked and I'd never touch one again! I've never looked back.

It was very much like being brainwashed, I just didn't want one. I still love the smell of a freshly lit cigarette, but I'd never have another.

Good luck OP

BulletFox · 02/02/2018 22:23

Gudgyx that sounds terrible

They really worked for me but made me feel high as a kite, I used to have an area pharmacist call to check how I was doimg (he used to call at odd times like 8pm on a sunday) but because he said to let him know if I had mood changes when I started feeling high I abandoned them and didn't stay the duration.

In my experience they make you forget you want to smoke.

Sorry to hear some people might have had gastro problems due to them.

An American friend hates the word champix, think they're called chantix over there

RhinoGirl · 02/02/2018 22:27

Yeah, the tablets made me gain water weight. Stopped them, carried on non smoking for a few more weeks but relapsed. They do work but you still need will power

lovemylover · 02/02/2018 22:29

I took Champoix and havent looked bsck, i still jave 2 full packets left,
No side effects at all, i think if you read about the side effects it could put you off
Before them i had tried everything under the sun, including hypnosis
MY DAUGHTERS BROTHER IN LAW HAD zYBAN BEFORE CHAMPIX CAME OUT,HE DID HAVE TERRIBLE SIDE EFFECTS ON THOSE AND iHEARD OTHERS DID TOO
i WOULD GIVE THEM A TRY IF I WERE YOU, THEY DO WORK
yOU HAVE TO CONTINUE SMOKING FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS IF I REMEMBER RIGHTLY, AND PICK A DATE TO STOP
i PICKED A BANK HOLIDAY WHEN I KNEW NO LOCAL SHOPS WERE OPEN, I HAVE NEVER SMOKED SINCE
i ALSO OPENED A SEPERATE BANK ACCOUNT, AND PUT THE MONET I SAVED AWAY, THAT HELPS ,NICE TO SEE YOU HAVE MONRY TO BUY OTHER THINGS YOU CAN NOW AFFORD
sorry caps on by mistake

hareagain · 02/02/2018 22:33

I tried them about seven years go and felt terrible with headaches and nausea for couple of hours after taking one. Didn't seem to matter what time of day either so ended up giving them up . They did work in terms of stopping smoking for the time I took them however.
I have since stopped going cold turkey for three years now.

MrsPicklesonSmythe · 02/02/2018 22:36

Yes, I have used them successfully twice (started again a long time after first go following v stressful time) with no significant side effects.
I also found brainwashing myself alongside them with Allan Carr you tube vids, books etc on repeat helped too.

Eslteacher06 · 02/02/2018 22:40

A friend took them but would go out partying a lot (drinking). Ended up in hospital and being sectioned for a while until the side effects wore off as she was having very vivid hallucinations. Not worth the risk IMO

glitterglitters · 02/02/2018 22:42

I quit with champix and it really worked. I did start smoking again a few years later but was able to quit cold turkey pretty easily and never smoked to level I had done and now I've been smoke free for about 5 years

Iggity · 02/02/2018 22:52

I used to work on smoking cessation drugs. I think part of the issue is that smoking addiction is not viewed by a lot if people as an illness and therefore if you take a drug to treat it, people are unhappy and can't or don't want to tolerate the side effects.

Giving up smoking without any meds can cause psychiatric side effects also so it is difficult to distinguish the drug effects. As others have said, neuropsychiatric symptoms were seen in patients with psychiatric histories taking champix. As far as I recall when they did a large placebo controlled trial with varenicline (Champix), the rate of psych side effects were same in both sets of patients.
Inform yourself about potential side effects but I would give it a try.

surlycurly · 02/02/2018 22:56

I gave up five years ago after taking champix. It was virtually pain free (from an addiction POV) however I too had horrible physical side effects: cramps, bloating, constipation etc. I came off them abruptly as a result but never went back to the cigarettes! And I had the saucy dreams which were a side effect I happily lived with Wink

GoingforitNowIthink · 02/02/2018 23:23

I'm thinking of trying it because I don't know what else to do. I'm smoking more than ever and I hate it. I gave up for a few years and started again about a year ago. I seem to have no willpower now. But I'm worried because I suffer with mh issues and have had severe depression a few times. Think I am depressed atm. So I don't really know what's for the best.

Anyone know any other methods that might work for someone completely addicted and lacking willpower? Have an unused vape and several packs of opened nicotine mints right next to me as I sit here puffing away. Sad

GoingforitNowIthink · 02/02/2018 23:25

I know I could just use the vape/mints or something but it's like something is stopping me.

Has anyone ever tried hypnosis?