John Cox

Chantix

Another month, and another try to quit smoking. I am on day two of this try, but I have to say it is going extremely smooth. I have been taking Chantix for over a week now, and the actual withdrawals have been extremely mild.

What Chantix does, from my understanding, is to substitute itself for the saratonin [SIC] release. Basically, even though I was smoking last week, I was actually going through the withdrawals then, and not now.

There are some side effects. First, I have gained about 10 pounds in the last week. I normally don't gain any weight when I quit, so I am not sure of the cause, but I am going to attribute it to the Chantix, since my diet has not changed much. I get very, very nauseated after taking one of the pills, particularly on a somewhat empty stomach. Other than that, just the lack of energy and other nicotine withdrawal symptoms for the past week.

I am actually pretty hopeful this time. Earlier this year I quit for 2 months, but by the 2nd month I was a wreck and just gave up. I plan on taking the Chantix for the entire time period prescribed (6 months). I have my fingers crossed that by the end of next week I feel like a non-smoker, which I have not with any of the quit attempts that I have made in the past 5 years.