An ode to st. Chantix

I have been smoking for about 12 years. For a long time I refused to believe that I was a smoker. What started as an idle past time with friends over a cup of coffee has effectively become the excuse for everything. Feeling good, bad, hungry…have a smoke. It even helps to alleviate a blocked nose.. well so it seems…until its too late. Under doctors orders (for medical reasons), I had to quit smoking. Enter Chantix…the one stop solution to nicotine addiction….well almost. For the record this was the third time I am on Chantix. The first two times were a phenomenal success. I stayed off it for three to four months and started it again…WHY??? I DON’T KNOW, BUT I DID.

The reason for this post is to warn smokers and the users of Chantix. The third time on Chantix was like a nightmare. The drug its was not working for me. The first two times, I hardly had the urge to smoke, but this time it did not have that effect. I was smoking well beyond the advertised 7 days. My heart was a mess. I couldn’t take seven steps without going through heavy heart palpitations. I had never experienced that before. Climbing steps was even worse. I would feel like I was going to faint. I seriously thought that my heart was giving up on me.

Fortunately I started goggling on Chantix and saw some web responses from others. I got off Chantix just 2 days back (after using it for 2 weeks) and I can already feel the difference. I feel so much better. At the end of the day, my advice is you have to WANT and NEED to quit. Nothing else works. Its been 2 days since I stopped Chantix, and the the urge to smoke is mind numbing, but I am not going back there ever again.

SMOKERS BE WARNED