Saturday, November 15, 2008

Chantix, is it really a magic pill?

By Chris James

When all other devices have failed, it has been found by some people that Chantix is the one that finally did help them to quit. Chantix is different than most stop smoking aids. It works as a nicotine blocker, which in turn blocks the absorption of nicotine to the receptors in the brain. This, over time, lessens the desire to smoke as there is less receptors available for the nicotine to attach itself to. Which, of course, makes you want that cigarette less and less.

Using this method has helped many people quit without difficulty. Not only that, it has helped a lot of them quit without severe withdrawal symptoms. Even long term, multiple pack a day smokers have found themselves to be successful. One thing you need to do however, is first check to see if your insurance company will cover the cost as many nowadays are reluctant to pay for smoking cessation products.

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 are several side effects that have been experienced, but this can vary greatly from person to person, and are normally temporary. Extremely vivid dreams are most notable especially during the first few weeks of using the medication, as well as excessive gas, nausea and in some cases headaches.

To help with your efforts, Chantix even comes with a very good free online support system that not only sends you daily emails to keep you on track, but also provides stop smoking projects to help remind you as to why you wanted to quit in the first place.

Chantix in itself works very well, however it may be more effective on smokers who are physically addicted to nicotine as opposed to those psychologically addicted as it seems to work much better on the former. Talk to your doctor and see. If you are more psychologically addicted, they may have a different medication which they would recommend for your situation.

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. - 15252

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