THREE MONTHS

Yep, I did it! Now for the next 3 months. Any gifts for this achievement? Anyone?

Yeah, figured there'd be none. It has been a lonely journey/challenge, with my mind being my most constant and persistent companion. I'm glad we defeated the Brain and the Body with its unreasonable requests.

G'nite, and thanks for reading. I'll update whenever I feel like it, but I think the goal has been accomplished for now.

Take care!

75 days

Good news. I've been off Champix for.. you know, I can't remember. A week I think.

The moodiness and inability to focus has been there, but it is slowly getting better. Tends to be at its worse during the afternoons.

64 days

Yup, made it past the two month mark.

Now seriously, it is all about weaning off Champix. And if last Saturday (Oct 1) was any indication of how difficult it could be, I'm going to be in trouble. Oct 1 was my fifth day without taking Champix and arguably the most difficult day I've had thus far.

I was not only angsty and short-tempered, but I had a massive headache, blurry eyes and completely unable to focus. My sincere apologies to my wife for the outburst and general pissy attitude which lasted until I finally took a Champix pill to ease the problem.

To be honest, it was exactly like all the withdrawal symptoms one would have BUT without the craving for a cigarette. How weird is that? Quite a mindfuck.

So it seems I am unable to break off Champix just like that. What I've done now is split all my pills and will be taking half pills at 3 day intervals for now - and slowly increasing the duration in between each pill until I no longer need it. I have 20 half pills, but who knows, I might not need as many to get off it.

My first half pill starts tomorrow, well today (Tuesday). This will hopefully be the last stage of fighting a dependence. The next battle, after I'm off the pills, will be making sure I never pick up a cigarette again.

56 days

Still have 11 pills left. Since the last post I've only taken one pill.

If I get through today without feeling too crappy, it would mean 3 consecutive days without a pill.

When I say crappy, it doesn't matter whether I take it or not:

With pill = Nausea or very intense and painful headache (15-30 mins) immediately after taking the pill

Without pill = Nagging low intensity/pain headache (all day) and general inability to focus

I'm sure the "without pill" manifestations are temporary.. as in they'll go away over time, and is simply a function of me having a different dependence, i.e. the pills as opposed to a cigarette.

Damn, it is annoying. It also makes me wonder why the heck I even started smoking in the first place. I also can't wait to be free of this drug dependence.

And when it does, then alcohol would be my only vice!

51 days

Am still going strong while I'm slowly cutting down on Champix intake.

I have 12 pills left. Over the past two weeks I've been taking one pill on alternate days as compared to two pills each day.

There was one day when I tried to stretch the gap to two days without a pill but I didn't feel too good after that. I might try that again soon.

38 days?

Wow.

It is starting to come to a point where I don't count every day. I'm also considering very seriously whether I should wean myself off Champix earlier than the recommended 12-week course.

Since I've been forgetting to take pills, and there are some days when I don't even take one pill, and it isn't really missed or I don't really have cravings, I figure why not just stop the pills? The side effects, which are damn annoying, is also another factor.

I have 20 pills left and I think I'll take one pill a day from now on (if I remember!!) which means by the end of September I will be both smoke AND drug free. It also means I would have only completed 8 weeks of Champix pills.

Forgetting to take pills

Ok, now this is odd.

Its become a different sort of challenge. Now its not so much about not smoking, but rather, its about making sure I take those pills once in the morning and once at night.

The nausea after taking the pill has come back, which is annoying. But the more I think about it, its like I think I don't need them anymore since the cravings are already gone. I'm almost halfway through the 12-week course now and have been told that I have to complete it or relapsing becomes much easier.

Gotta do some mind exercises all over again. I don't want to fail!