Stopping smoking using Champix Chantix you too can lose the craving for cigarettes

Stopping Smoking with Champix

I had been smoking 20 cigarettes or more a day for 30 years and mum was dying of cancer through smoking. Dad had already died of Lung cancer 17 years before and i was beginning to get lung and chest pains which worried me. I knew if I carried on it would kill me but like all smokers the thought of being without my cigarettes and actually stopping terrified me.

I had tried everything before inhalator, nicorette patches, nicotinell gum, stop smoking cds by Paul Mckenna and had some success. I stopped for 3 weeks another time 3 months. But I found with the nicotine methods that the urge to return to cigarettes was so strong after you stop or reduce them. I also found that I became very depressed, so I ended up back on the dreaded weed. I regretted smoking again and then felt disappointed in myself.

Then there was talk of a new champix tablet that work by reducing the desire to smoke. I was sceptical, but I thought I would give it a try. For the first 2 weeks you can still smoke on champix. I found that I felt sick every time I smoked and would peck them out after a couple of puffs. I cut down to 2 cigarettes a day, then after only a week I just stopped and didn’t miss them at all , it felt very strange not to have cravings in the same way as before. I also became quite hypo doing keep fit DVDs I didn’t sit still, so I didn’t gain weight. I began to get fed up with the tablets, as I still had waves of sickness so after 3 weeks I stopped taking them.

I also found out that Champix was not without its problems. Some people had reported feeling suicidal or becoming agoraphobic. It was therefore not a suitable drug for anyone with mental health issues.

The interesting thing is I stopped smoking and the urge did not return. Other people I have spoken to did go back to cigarettes and their urges did come back, so I suppose I am lucky. But it must be stressed that Champix must only be taken after consulting a doctor.

I have been told that this is the best thing I could have ever done to improve my health. It is believed that within 20 minutes your body starts healing and continues to heal. In 24 hours carbon monoxide will be removed. In 72 hours breathing becomes easier in 3 to 9 months lungs can take in 10% more oxygen. On champix I felt hyperactive. I used keep fit DVDs by Rosemary Connolly and went on long walks which also prevented me from gaining weight. I actually managed to lose 3lb.

Sadly Mum died on October 4^th 2008, another victim to lung cancer. A real reason for me to stay stopped. I was devastated, and under a lot of stress, but I stayed off the cigarettes and have now quit for nearly two years. After 10 years, apparently my chance of getting lung cancer is halved, and after 15 years the chances are the same as someone who has never smoked.

Of course there are occasions when I feel an urge to smoke, but now it is so easy not to smoke. I now have a choice. I am not an addict and I have control. I know I Would be a fool to go back to smoking so I never will. So my advice is never stop packing in. Giving up smoking is achievable even for people like me who once believed I could never be without cigarettes.