can't drink for a month - just started taking chantix

Don't know how i'm going to entertain myself for a month!
it's been the usual pour a beer, head to the patio, smoke and relax for awhile. Now that i started taking chantix i've been reading up that it is very much a horrible idea to drink any alcohol at the same time you're taking chantix. So i guess now i can read a book on the patio? listen to some music? any ideas?

for my last night of drinking i did have some trumer pils and a CNOTE IPA :fro:

but on a good note, i promised myself this would be the start of a healthy year, i'm a little late to the game, but after 12 years of smoking and only being 26. it's better a bit late then never. Next up, No more fast food and start on the exercise if chantix is the miracle drug and helps me like it's helped the ex-smokers i know.

kind of a random post, just excited

I heard recently that Chantix also seems to curb the desire for alcohol. Really, I think that while quitting smoking, it's best to stop drinking for a while since the two things can be so linked together as habit.

I took it for smoking and after a few weeks, I realized that I'd been carrying around a pack of cigarettes without even thinking about smoking them. But I ran out of the pills and a stressful event happened...back to smoking.

*THE CRAZY DREAMS* are not an exaggeration. Very vivid! Some people I know had to stop the med because of nightmares. I just had stupid dreams that convinced me I was already at work, so I'd just sleep through the alarm clock.

Good luck! I hope it works for you!

Had a customer come in a nd claim to be mentally ill because of chantix....

Come to think of it though, the guy was crazy to begin with.

I salute your goals though!

Good luck.

Good luck to you! Its tough to stop, but worth it (physically, and especially financially). I recently quit smoking (smoked for 9 years), and alcohol does make me want to smoke more than anything else. Truth be told, i've cheated a couple times since quitting, but hey, it took 9 years to develop the habit, it'll take more than a few weeks to completely get rid of it!

I too reduced my alcohol consumption, started exercising, and started to drink a little wine in place of beer, and changed habits as far as not having a beer first thing when I get home from work, eating better, etc. Good luck to you again, I'm sure you'll find it'll be one of the best decisions you've ever made; right after deciding to home brew of course!

Not drinking is a big part of quitting. Not only is there the chemical depressant effect of alcohol making you more likely to smoke but you probably also have a habit of smoking while drinking which means you have twice as many reasons to smoke while drinking. When you start drinking again you'll have to fight back the habit of smoking while drinking but it's better to not have to fight everything at the same time.

It took a while to quit smoking (I didn't use any chemical aids) but I quit almost three years ago. From time to time I still smoke when I drink. Usually a cigar or hookah and almost never a cigarette.

Good luck

Grats and good luck!

After almost 13 years I finally, successfully quit in the last few months. I used electronic cigarettes (not the crappy disposable ones). Those gave me nicotine while my lungs were healing. Then, this last month I switched over to nicotine lozenges to break the habit of "hand to mouth". I feel GREAT. I can breathe again!

Don't worry. You'll be entertained enough by the night terrors.

BTW quitting smoking is easy. I did it six times.

Good luck!

Luckily I don't smoke, but if brewing caused cancer I'd be in trouble.

Chantix is amazing. It did mess with my sleeping for the first week, but well worth it. I smoked for 14 years. After taking the pills for a week cigarettes started to taste bad with no reward. It was gross. Absolutley no cravings, It's been 4 years. I didn't even use the whole prescription. Good luck. Its worth it.

Quitting smoking was also difficult for me. I relapsed every time I went drinking, usually when tailgating for the football game. For two consecutive years I went through a cycle of quitting between the Superbowl to the following opening game in the fall then "treated myself" to a cigarette, but after that it was quickly back to a pack a day. Luckily, in this case, the Bengals sucked so I got rid of my season tickets. Now haven't smoked in almost 2 years (currently I am 33 and began smoking at ~15). Now I can tailgate, go to concerts, brew beer without a strong desire to smoke. I still occasionally want it. Personally I can't smoke cigars or anything with tobacco because it just makes me want cigarettes even more.

Chantix may be helpful but its no "miracle" drug. Have seen just as many fail with chantix as other methods. Many have reported the same results as dfc using chantix. They say "chantix worked great when I took it before", but how great did it work if they are smoking when they tell you this? Yeah I am being negative and hard on chantix but too many people want a pill to fix everything and if you really want to quit you need more than just a medication.

If Chantix helps you that is great, keep using it. Just keep your expectations realistic and stick with it if things don't go as planned. Congrats on making the decision that you can do this. You certainly can. When you want a cigarette keep reminding yourself that you don't smoke. Figure out things you can do to distract yourself. Cravings usually subside after about 10 minutes or less.

well so far i haven't smoked in 24 hours.
I actually forgot i had a pack in my pocket and realized i hadn't smoked in 12 hours yesterday and said "well, i think it's about time" so i popped my 2nd daily dosage and kept on truckin, i drove to work and walked in and forgot to step outside, it's kinda nice for a change!

and my mood hasn't changed at all.... so i'm hoping this works. just posting an update

Rivenin said:

well so far i haven't smoked in 24 hours.
I actually forgot i had a pack in my pocket :

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That's the ticket! Amazing, isn't it?!

SharonaZamboni said:

That's the ticket! Amazing, isn't it?!

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it's rather creepy

but hell, it's amazing! i'm trying to talk the SWMBO into it as well, but she will be a harder break from smoking then i am (she smokes 2 packs a day)

I think the secret is to stay on the meds long enough. If no side effects, do at least an extra month. Since SWMBO smokes, it will be easier to fall back into the habit. And there will be smokes hanging around when the urge strikes.

I don't smoke anymore but still enjoy nicotine from an 'e-cig' (technically an electronic nicotine inhalator).

If you find that chantix gives you horrid dreams or screws with you mentally (it IS an anti-depressant after all), shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to share my experience with e-cigs. Like the poster above said, it helps you stop the smoking without going crazy and you can control the nicotine amount so that you can eventually taper off completely.

Not sure why alcohol would be frowned upon...I drank when I was on Chantix (which, by the way, worked great for about a month until I got bored). No ill effects during or after.

scrambledegg81 said:

when I was on Chantix (which, by the way, worked great for about a month until I got bored)..

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Exactly my previous point. If you are smoking I wouldnt say great, in fact it didn't work at all if you didnt really quit. Like previously said, quiting is easy, have done it dozens of times.