• REGISTER NOW!! Why? Because you can't do much without having been registered!

    At the moment you have limited access to view all discussions - and most importantly, you haven't joined our community. What are you waiting for? Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join Join Talking Horses here!

Degenerate addictions thread, how to get treated. šŸ˜‚

T

The Fortune Teller

Journeyman
Joined
Mar 8, 2016
Messages
8,765
Varenicline, a.k.a Champix.

Anyone have any experiences of this medicine?

I hope they're good, because I have just started on them, in my attempt to pack in smoking once and for all.
 
What you need, Marb, is the Fear of God. I had a nasty turn twenty odd years ago and my doctor told me that if I didnā€™t stop smoking he wouldnā€™t have to see me again because Iā€™d be dead. After years of desultory and unsuccessful attempts FOG stopped me just like that!
 
Champix was on the market in the UK 10 - 15 years ago, I think, but there was a lot negative side affects, including nightmares, mood impairment and most worringly there were several cases in the States of blood clots on the brain.
In my own case, tried for years to quit, finally took the plunge on patches on 11/11/13..... had a heart attack a week later and have never smoked since with the good old Cold Turkey method.
 
And it gives you a condition called wet lung. Itā€™s awful that young people are vaping. Nicotine is the most addictive substance there is. The only thing that stopped me smoking was the birth of my first grandchild. There was no way that I was going to breathe poison over him. Until then, the more I worried about what smoking was doing to me the more I smoked to stop me worrying. Champix I will only work if you want it to. You have to break the habit and break the cycle. Itā€™s only when you stop smoking that you realise how much it stinks as well!
 
I was an adamant and determined smoker - I even came up with a theory that it would save me money in the long run (I'd die sooner, so I wouldn't need cash for living expenses).

My health started to fail with it, couldn't feel my feet, constantly hacking up lungs. Didn't care, couldn't stop.

The thing that helped me stop was the fear of losing my new house when I got made redundant 15 years ago. I was more determined that this wouldn't happen than that I would continue smoking.

I used patches, but without the will to give up they'd have been useless - I'd tried before and failed. The Allen Carr book on giving up smoking helped with the psychology of it all.

Now 15 years clean and would never touch another in case I started again.

Find the one thing that gives you the will to stop and your champlix will help you along the way - but it needs to happen in your head first.
 
I was a 40 a day man. Lit up one after another until. 15years ago my friend came over from Australia and we took our partners to Oscars a high class joint for dinner. During the meal gasping for a fag I stepped out to a tiny balcony and lit up. When I looked back into the dining area I saw 2 smiling faces chatting to each other and my girlfriend looking lonely like she was ready to cry. I thought to myself you ignorant bastard...The next day I bought a packet of Champix a drug to stop you smoking. The idea was you keep smoking for 1 week , take the pills and stop smoking by continuing to take them for the next 6 months. The only problem is they really f%*& your head up and you feel really strange. it is a horrible feeling and after 3 days I thought cold turkey can't be any worse than this...I tossed the cigs and the Champix 3 days into the treatment and haven't touched a cigarette since.
 
Marb said:
Varenicline, a.k.a Champix.

Anyone have any experiences of this medicine?

I hope they're good, because I have just started on them, in my attempt to pack in smoking once and for all.
Click to expand...
I have Marb but I suggest you do what I did..Just take it for a week ten a couple of days into the treatment go cold turkey
 
My aunt & uncle smoked at least 40 a day each throughout their married life until one time when I went to visit them they announced that they had stopped smoking. Of course, because you hear it all the time, I thought "yeah, right!" The next time I went to visit them they said "what do you think of our new 3 piece suite? We've bought it with the money we saved by stopping smoking"........and so it went on - what do you think of our new patio, kitchen, car etc? All they'd done was made a conscious (and visible) decision to religiously put the money they would have spent on cigarettes in a jar EVERY SINGLE DAY & then when they'd saved enough they bought things to improve the quality of their lives. It was a massive incentive for them.

Good luck Marb, maybe treat yourself to a jar for Christmas?

(I used to smoke & barjon's FOG worked for me)
 
Last edited:
Best of luck with it, Marb.

Iā€™ve given up smoking a number of times. On previous attempts I lasted six weeks, six months, two years, ten years. This time round Iā€™ve been off them 20 years. The first few days are the hardest, but after a few weeks the nicotine is out of your system and the physical source of addiction has gone.

Each attempt I made was purely on impulse, and I went cold turkey. I couldnā€™t have told you even that morning that it was going to be the day that I would stop.

My brotherā€™s approach was totally different. Each year he reduced his smoking by one per day until fifteen years later he reached zero.

I would have found that approach totally impossible. Different strokes, etc, so go with whatever works for you.
 
Marb there is a book "the easy way to quit smoking" by Alan Carr. You might think how can reading a book stop you smoking. It does a lot to change your perceptions of smoking and some of the nonsense things people say about it. It's well worth a read. I'm not saying don't do the other stuff but at least give the book a whirl I promise you it's worth it.
 
Msrb.
Caampix was banned a while ago,because of the toxin it contained.
There s a replacement (prescrption only) and it takes a tablet a dayfor 10 days for the effect to kick in.
Danny
Alan Carr died a few years ago - from lung cancer.
 
Before I finally stopped I quit for 4 months using nicquitin patches. I found the support was really good, i signed up through the website and went through a "wind down" to my last cig and had an online diary to keep daily with progress. The site showed your progress, both healthwise and financially, and this did incentivise me.
I got to cocky after the 4 months, had a stressful episode and thought I would just have one smoke to help me through and hey presto a few days later I was back to 20 a day.
Its really hard to quit but if you can manage you will feel so much better in many different ways. Good luck.
 
I gotta be honest and I've said it before sleeping in nicotine patches is one of the best experiences a man can ever have if it wasn't for the fact it'd make me crave cigarettes again I'd sleep with patches all over me every night. If you know...you know ;)
 
We've heard a lot about my ciggie addiction.

As per the title of this thread. If anyone wants to discuss any other addictions you are more than welcome.
 
Danny said:
I gotta be honest and I've said it before sleeping in nicotine patches is one of the best experiences a man can ever have if it wasn't for the fact it'd make me crave cigarettes again I'd sleep with patches all over me every night. If you know...you know ;)
Click to expand...
The patches made me feel sick last time.

That was many years ago.

I could try again I suppose.
 

Recent Blog Posts

Back
Top