Champix - Opinions and Prices

[Ross-Kemp]

Right, I've been smoking between 10-20 a day for the past 7 years.

I have previously tried patches, the spray, the chewing gum and all have failed. I just don't have the willpower that's needed with those aides.

I've heard a lot about champix, some good and some bad. I've done a bit of a background check and it works by making you detest the taste of a cigarette.

I've seen it gives people really vivid dreams, causes insomnia, makes you dizzy and feel sick.

Basically I just want to know if anyone has tried it and what are the prices for it ?

[jonthefox]

I'm thinking of taking it. I don't think it costs anything, as its prescribed by your gp.

[Ross-Kemp]

I thought you had to pay, seen a few places online, looking in access of £70!

I'll get myself booked in to see my gp once my new rota comes out.

[pSinatra]

You don't necessarily have to visit your GP. I go to a local pharmacy that do everything that your doctor can........give advice, prescribe nicotine replacement, etc. It's a lot easier than getting an appointment with the doctor & it's much more informal.

http://www.foxestalk...smokers-thread/

[stix]

It costs the price of one prescription each month. So 3 x £7.40?

It really worked well for me. I had the vivid dreams but no other side effects. You must eat something before taking it or you WILL feel rancid for about 20mins. Just book in at the Docs to see the nurse.

[New England Fox]

I don't smoke so obviously I've never used it but a bloke I work with and his wife were both on it and it caused his wife to have some kind of psychotropic episode. She was apparently at work when suddenly the words on her page started jumping out at her and some other weird stuff. He was told in some extreme cases that these episodes can cause people to even harm themselves and some have even attempted suicide during them. Suffice to say he and his missus both stopped taking it immediately.

[Ross-Kemp]

I heard about the suicide and self harming but apparently it's VERY rare and only happens of you have previously experienced this kind of thing.

[Daggers]

Incredibly, I've been considering getting into smoking recently. As fags lower your blood pressure and hunger I think the medical benefits argument is pretty over-whelming. Can anybody recommend a starter brand to me, the best way to smoke a cigarette and how I can get my GP to pay for the packs?

[FantasticMrFuchs]

Us smokers are a dying breed...

On a serious note, If you want to stop smoking you will find the will power. If not then you are not ready to stop smoking yet.

Some places do charge for champix but compared to the price of ciggies these days it is a drop in the ocean to what you would normally spend anyway.

Either way good luck with stopping

[Ross-Kemp]

Cheers cornetto-fox !

I've just moved into my first house and how much I'm spending on fags is stupid.

I'm gonna start cycling to work and join a gym, there's no point in doing that if I'm smoking so hopefully I can do it.

[AoWW]

I don't want to sound preachy at all but I'm really, really glad I gave up smoking. Yes, I still get the (very occasional) craving but it soon passes and I just have to try and block it from my mind. I now also really, really hate the smell of cigarette smoke which never used to bother me before.

In the end I found stopping smoking quite easy but I think that was largely due to a change in environmental factors - I started seeing someone who hated it with a passion, I was going out less frequently so the 'social smoking' factor was reduced and I was working in a job where nipping out for a sneaky cigarette wasn't really an option. All that made giving up much easier than any great willpower on my part - I also started drinking less which, again, had always gone hand in hand (literally) with a cigarette! I know it's not always possible to change such influences, though, so I fully-support those who need additional medical help in quitting.

Good Luck

[whoareyaaa]

I know a mate that quit on Champix and he didn't have any problems but their is some horror stories out their and really depends on the persons current health etc...

I'm in the process of quitting but not using those methods you've got to want to quit as well.

Set a timeplan for 10 days. so each fag you have you have it at THAT time 1 @ 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm do this for 5 days then to suit you and then increase the time again for the next 5 days by around an hour, the one you want to try and increase most is the first one in the morning try having it late for the last 5 days.

After the 10th day then its time to stop all together and not smoke a single fag, I have found that those E-Lites cigs you can buy from the shop are working a dream in the morning... I'm on the 15th day and by day 30 I should be quit and have no cravens its hard but you've just got to puff on that E-lite cig and eat a lot more.

[shen]

I know a mate that quit on Champix and he didn't have any problems but their is some horror stories out their and really depends on the persons current health etc...

I'm in the process of quitting but not using those methods you've got to want to quit as well.

Set a timeplan for 10 days. so each fag you have you have it at THAT time 1 @ 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm do this for 5 days then to suit you and then increase the time again for the next 5 days by around an hour, the one you want to try and increase most is the first one in the morning try having it late for the last 5 days.

After the 10th day then its time to stop all together and not smoke a single fag, I have found that those E-Lites cigs you can buy from the shop are working a dream in the morning... I'm on the 15th day and by day 30 I should be quit and have no cravens its hard but you've just got to puff on that E-lite cig and eat a lot more.

You WILL have cravings, though most likely not physiological ones. I've lived around smokers all my life and the cravings never stop. They stop being intense and insurmountable, but you'll probably have to accept that they'll reappear occasionally. Good luck quitting that way. In reality you're making it harder with a slow decline as it prolongs the quitting period substantially, but each to their own way. I'm rooting for you!

My stepdad used Champix by the way, and as he was already in a depressive (or at least near-depressive) state, the Champix only worsened it. My mother says it was the worst decision possible at the time, but it's worked for him. He wasn't mentally ready though, and even though this is over a year ago now, he still mentions how he feels he's lost "a friend", whatever that means, and misses smoking a lot. I would advise the OP to use a different method to Champix as I see it as a kind of last-resort quitting method. This isn't a miracle drug as the numerous side effects prove, and it doesn't stop the cravings either. As Cornetto-Fox says, I strongly believe that if the will power isn't there, you most likely won't succeed or at best you'll succeed but at a cost.

God I hate smoking! Best of luck to you anyway

[The Year Of The Fox]

I started taking it a year ago for the price of a prescription. It does indeed make the taste of fags disgusting.

There are two nerve receptors in your brain, one telling you you need a fag and the other telling you when you've had one (nicotine rush etc)

The champix fuses the two receptors together. I.know people who have quit for ages with their help.

From experience your cravings reduce around the 6th day. The thing is, they make me really ill. For three days solid I literally couldnt get out of bed. It was like the worst flue virus ever. Sitting at home freezing cold, with blankets, heating and the gas fire turned on.

Admittedly I never smoked for those 3 days, but god it was awful so I stopped taking them. Tried again after a couple of months but again they made me ill (around the 7th day)

The alternative are some pills used as anti depressants but they didnt work whatsoever.

Champix are easily the best thing to use, providing you avoid getting ill off then

[samuel]

Try using an e-cig. I bought two rechargeable ones from enjuice 6 months ago. Worked a treat, never wanted a fag again.

I still use one now top up with nicotine juice. Gives the effect of smoking without the smoke. I had smoked for over 25 years, 40 a day.

Definitely worth trying. Need any advice just ask.

[The Don]

I quit using champix, not had a fag for about 4 months now! I tried other ways of quitting and it didn't work.

Champix didn't make them taste awful, they just stopped the effect of the nicotine, so it was a case of what's the point in having one?

Make sure u take the tablets with food else u will be very nauseus

[The Don]

Oh, and don't drive until u have been taking them for a while as they did make me space out at the start. I ended up taking my morning tablet after I had driven to work

[Alexikokopops]

The hardest thing I found when quitting was breaking the routine. I got so used to the fag on the way to the tube, the half 10 work break etc. I quit in stages. I broke up the routine first, then quit smoking while sober (in May), removing the routine altogether, and then finally ditched the drunken smoking in August. It's only been a month totally off them but even before that I wasn't feeling like one during the day.

Another thing that has massively helped (which I think the OP has alluded to) is that I've started running seriously again. I'm doing a marathon and two halves to raise money in memory of a good friend's dad who passed away. I'm seeing myself improving (largely because of the amount of training I've done) and I don't want to ruin my PBs Having a clear goal (rather than just "I'm quitting because I think I should") has made the will power a lot easier.

These are just my musings about quitting. I was only a 10-15 a day man and it's still only early days. At the moment though I can't stomach the thought of a cigarette so something's working!

[Leicfox]

I made a trip to the Doctors this afternoon

Right, I've been smoking between 10-20 a day for the past 7 years.

I have previously tried patches, the spray, the chewing gum and all have failed. I just don't have the willpower that's needed with those aides.

I've heard a lot about champix, some good and some bad. I've done a bit of a background check and it works by making you detest the taste of a cigarette.

I've seen it gives people really vivid dreams, causes insomnia, makes you dizzy and feel sick.

Basically I just want to know if anyone has tried it and what are the prices for it ?

Just got some of these from the doctors today, he said I needed to attend clinics with the nurse etc, etc, so I spun him a yarn how I work nights and didn't have the time which he believed and gave me 14 days worth and told me to return in 2 weeks to get some more if I needed them.

I get working tax credit so I don't know how much they cost as I got them free.

I'll let you know how I get on.

[The Year Of The Fox]

They only give you 14days worth wherever you go

[Leicfox]

It costs the price of one prescription each month. So 3 x £7.40?

It really worked well for me. I had the vivid dreams but no other side effects. You must eat something before taking it or you WILL feel rancid for about 20mins. Just book in at the Docs to see the nurse.

Started these today. I never eat anything prior to taking the tablet and your dead right, I felt rancid sick. Just had some cheese on toast and I feel better now.