Hi Stimkovs!
There is a bit of an urge to snack. I am usually able to stop it, but lately it seems like I've been so hungry I'm in pain, so I find healthy snacks. With 3 kids we always have some kinds of fruits and veggies, yogurts, reduced fat ritz, stuff like that.
I'm 26 and my hubby is 35. I've smoked for probably 8 years and my husband, probably 15 years, but I don't know for sure.
I have been on the medicine for 14 days...maybe 13. And on day 6-7 I lost the urge to smoke. It's hard to explain, but I just put them down. When I did smoke, it wasn't satisfying anymore, so I just didn't want them. I do still have the thought, and even accidentally say, "hey, you wanna go smo.... oh, nevermind". It turns into trying to fight the habit.
I did the gum, and the patches, and cold turkey. Nothing worked, and my family was miserable because I was in a bad mood all the time. With this, it's different. I'm not edgy, cranky or fidgety. And the thoughts of wanting to go smoke have reduced considerably in the past few days.
I do want to mention that there is risk involved with these. I have been to the WebMD website and looked at every single review about the medicine, and even posted some myself. But there are a lot of people posting that this drug is dangerous and has killed people they loved. This drug actually sends a chemical to your "pleasure" area of your brain that supposedly makes the cigarettes taste bad and makes the process of smoking not so great. That being said, if you have depression of any kind, you should not take this.
I also read some posts from people who were on depression medications and the Chantix actually interfered with the other drugs, almost cancelled out the affects of the anti-depressant. Two or three people did say that their family members committed suicide on these pills. So, please take that into consideration when taking Chantix.
Also, and sorry if I'm rambling, my doctor did test my blood to make sure my liver and kidneys were functioning properly. Apparently this drug affects those, too. So be aware.
Overall I am 100% happy with it. I am still losing weight. I've lost about 5 pounds the last 2 weeks while quitting. So, I would say that if you can keep control of your eating and just be mindful, it is definitely possible to keep losing and quit smoking. We paid a lot of money, so we are very determined to quit. For 4 weeks of the medication it was $175 for each of us. And, I believe no insurance company covers it yet, but that's just what I've heard and read.
Thanks for your questions and if you think of any more, please feel free to let me know! Oh, one more side effect... yea... there's a few. It has messed with my dreams. That seems to happen to a lot of people. My friend who recommended it had the same issue. But it made the dreams seem a lot more real. It's hard to explain, but there is definitely a difference. More dreams, more often... and when you wake up, you think "wait, did that really happen?" Weird, I know.
I stopped smoking menthol's a while back. Heard some stuff that scared the snot out of me. But kept smoking the lights, so I can't tell you about that. My husband bounced back and forth when he was quitting, so I can find out... but he says the urge is gone. His dad was here, who smokes, and smoked in my hub's truck. Hubs didn't mind and didn't crave them, so I guess it's working
Quitting Smoking - Chantix
