Chantix, is it really a magic pill?
Some people have found that when all other medications have failed, that Chantix was the one medication that effectively helped them to finally quit. Chantix works like a nicotine blocker, for the brain. Chantix attaches itself to the nicotine receptors within the brain, which blocks that absorption of nicotine. Over time, it lessens the desire to smoke, because there is less feel good receptors available for the nicotine to attach to, making you want a cigarette less and less.
Many people have quit using this method relatively easily, with very little withdrawal symptoms. Even longtime, three pack a day smokers are amazed. Chantix is available only by prescription, so you need to book a doctor’s visit and make sure that your insurance will cover Chantix, many insurance companies are slow to cover smoking cessation medication in general. However, if your insurance happens to cover Chantix, expect it to be in a higher tier of your pharmacy co-pay.
Since Chantix contains no nicotine, it is not necessary to quit smoking when you begin the medication. You will receive a starter pack that gradually builds up the medication in your system over the next two weeks.
Whether you pick a quit day two weeks or three weeks out in order to allow the medication to build up even further is unimportant. The important thing is that you do pick a quit day and stick to it.
There can be side effects to using Chantix. These differ depending on the person using it, but can be as varied as excessive gas, headaches, nausea or as some people have described them, extremely vivid dreams.
The support with Chantix is also quite good with a free online system that begins even before you start to take your medication. This includes daily e-mails updates and stop smoking projects designed to help keep your efforts going in the right direction.
Although Chantix works very well, it may not be the medication for everyone. It appears to more effective for smokers who are addicted physically to nicotine and not so much psychologically addicted. Therefore if your addiction is more mental than physical, then your doctor may prescribe something different to better suit your needs.
Whatever you do, do not think that Chantix, or any other stop smoking aid for that matter, is the magic pill that is going to make you quit. Only medications used with a strond desire to quit have a chance of being successful. The medications, Chantix included, are only there to give us an edge in quitting, not do it for us.
