I'm wondering how long it took for you Chantix users, past or present, to feel like you no longer needed or wanted to smoke? Tomorrow will be day 4 for me on Chantix and I can tell no difference. I know I'm jumping the gun a bit, but I've known several people to take it for only a couple of days and be sick at just the thought of smoking. Quit day is Sunday and I'm scared I won't be able to quit. Is there really a "magic" day when Chantix will just kick in?
Chantix users: How long did it take you to feel like you didn't need to smoke?
Question posted by anon512 on 5 May 2010
Last updated on 27 February 2025
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
36 Answers Page 3
Tracylem
8 Dec 2016
I'm in the same boat as you! Are you taking two a day now? I haven't due to vomiting so I'm trying to let my body get use to it first? Other then that no other side effects! It's so much about mind control I believe!!
Caseygirl67
14 Oct 2018
I have had the same problem with vomiting. I quit before for 8 months vut being at home 3 months due to recovering from an emergency surgery got bored picked it up again. Try ginger ale. Sip it and dont smoke.
ildianne
2 June 2013
Like any drug, it can work differently for everyone. You just have to try it to know how you will react. I personally like(d) Chantix. I was on it in 2009 and I quit for 2 years. Unfortunately, the stress of a new job started my smoking again. I never thought it would trigger me going back to smoking after all that time- lesson learned! My one bit of advice is to always remember your addicted and you have to educate yourself on triggers & coping methods when it hits whether during the quitting stages or years and years later!
My experience with Chantix..
My main side affect was a really, really bad taste in my mouth for the entire time on the drug.. Water/gum solved that but still didn't like that feeling. Also, I had very vivid dreams. It's kind of cool but it does feel very real. I don't recall having nightmares, just waking up like "wow!"... (i am keeping a journal of my dreams this time around b/c they are so crazy).. . Sleeping was tough for the first month and there was constipation.. I didn't feel suicidal or anything like that but I have no history of depression.
By day 8, I was off cigarettes.. I want to say by day 4, they started to taste really bad and like someone else said, you eventually just "forget" to smoke.. It's great! :)
I decided to stay on Chantix past the initial 12 weeks. If you can tolerate the side affects (and you should suck it up and just stay on it), I would recommend it for more success in quitting. I think I stayed on for it 5 months.
I also really encourage people to be in the right mindset before starting chantix. You are paying a lot of money for this drug and why go through the side affects if your not 100% in the right mindset. For me, I'm ready to quit again for many reasons and just so sick of smoking!! I was not in this mindset until about 2 months. I know I will quit, I just need help getting through the withdrawal b/c I'm a mess when done cold turkey. On chantix, I don't lose productivity at my job and I don' have to apologize to all my friends/family for being a constant b*tch. :)
I'm back on Chantix now and I'm really excited to quit. I am just 2 days into it and the side affects are slowly coming on.. same as before..
Good luck if you choose to use this method!! I hope that my experience gives you another perspective..
sassyshash
28 Nov 2016
I quit smoking on Nov. 11th, 2016 using Chantix. I can't take a whole pill because it makes me sick. I cut them in half. I have not had a cigarette since that day. I was in the hospital with a COPD flare-up. My doctor told me I could breathe or die those were my choices. I do take a 5 mg valium 3 times a day to help with the anxiety. I don't have any bad dreams and sometimes the thought of smoking crosses my mind but goes away very quickly. I have smoked for 61 years and have tried many times to quit. This time it will be for good. I have too many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that depend on me. Good luck to all of you that are getting off the rotten things.
Heidimfoley
30 Nov 2016
I am on my 4th day of taking chantix I find myself smoking more. Is this normal?
sassyshash
30 Nov 2016
You shouldn't want to smoke using Chantix. If you are still wanting the cigarettes then maybe you don't have your heart into it. It is mind over matter. The feeling of wanting to smoke only last for a few minutes and then it is done. Think of something else. Good luck.
Smoker69
21 Aug 2018
I took Chantix and I loved it and it worked. I was smoke free 6 months. I started again. Stupid me. I.am starting again. Do you just start at 1mg. again? I have about a months left. All I can do is try again. I did it once I know I won't be so stupid this time.
Smoker69
21 Aug 2018
I took Chantix and I loved it and it worked. I was smoke free 6 months. I started again. Stupid me. I.am starting again. Do you just start at 1mg. again? I have about a months left. All I can do is try again. I did it once I know I won't be so stupid this time.
vgunderson1
23 Feb 2013
It took 6 mo.for me to quite smoking on Chantix but it worked. Over the 6 mo. period I felt a significant decreased desire to smoke within the 1st week of taking it. Slowly but surely, the longer the drug was in my system the less cravings I had to smoke. It almost makes you "forget" that you want to smoke. Within the first month my cigarette consumption dropped drastically. You can still smoke on Chantix but sometimes a cigg. can make you a little sick while smoking on Chantix but that subsides quickly. By my 4th month on Chantix I wasn't smoking at work anymore & barely at home. Like I was down to 6 ciggs. a day. The last 2 weeks I smoked I only smoked 1 cigg. a day at night. Before I knew it, after 17 yrs. of smoking a pack a day, I never smoked another cigg. again! The med. did make me nauseated for the first 2 weeks but it went away within two hours or so. I also had some weird dreams but no crazy nightmares like you hear about so often with Chantix.
THIS MED. WORKS, but... you have to start taking Chantix with a genuine desire to quite smoking. Good Luck! = )
pelly
28 Oct 2012
My and husband and I started the same day taking chantix. He quit once before using chantix and eventually started back ( think it was because I still smoked). I have now gone 69 hrs without one. I find it strange that I think of them but the will to not have one is far stronger than the will to have one. I have NEVER gone this long without a cig... it's amazing! The down side to this post is my husband had/has a bad reaction to chantix. His throat nearly swell shut. Very scary! He begin using benedryl to help with the allergic reaction. Hoping that he can continue to not smoke since he will not be able to take chantix. My side effects include anger, very short temper and constipation. I can deal with this if it means I am finally rid of this horrible habit. I am already saving the money for something really nice for myself. It amazing how quickly 6.30 a day adds up! Good luck to each of you on this same journey.
allorahdanyn
5 May 2010
Congrats on making such a difficult decision. My quit day was January 20 and I have been off Chantix for 3 weeks. What I am about to say will sound familiar to anyone who has been on these boards with any regularity… Chantix is as close to a miracle drug as us smokers are going to get, but it’s not a magic pill. I tried quitting cold turkey. I tried the patch. I tried just weaning myself off. Nothing worked. I asked my dad to get me Chantix for Christmas. I waited until a day AFTER the last day you are supposed to quit lol. I still got urges, but the Chantix made them more bearable somehow. Personally, I didn’t feel any different. I noticed that I was gunning for a fight all the time. That I would go from calm to rip your face off angry for no real reason and then would have a hard time calming back down. That was the only real Chantix side effect I experienced. Other than that, I didn’t feel different.
When I was on the patch, I felt hopeless and depressed and all the things they say you’re experience when taking Chantix. The patch made me feel like I was constantly going through a withdrawal that would never end. 3 days after your quit date, the physical withdrawal will be done. I’m warning you, about 36 hours after you smoke the last cigarette, you’re gonna feel it. I was totally tweakin out on my couch. But it WILL pass. DON’T SMOKE. Once I made it through those first 72 hours, it was just a test of wills cuz physically, the nicotine is outta your system. The urges get fewer and further between I promise you. I’m at the point now where almost a full day passes without my thinkin about it. I found coming on these boards when I had an urge helpful. I came on to answer questions instead of smoking. Bottom line, for me Chantix made the whole process tolerable. I believed whole heartedly before I started taking them that they were going to work for me. Failure was not an option. I was where you are now only four months ago. Standing at the bottom of that mountain lookin up to the peak way up above your head is terrifying. But imagine what the view will be like once you get there. Like I tell everyone on this journey, I’m here for you. My email is in my profile I believe. Email me when you get an urge instead of smoking. Or do like I did and come on the boards. Oh, by the way, I ran last night. For five straight minutes. At full speed. In January, I would have been lucky if I could jog for a full minute. Good luck and stay strong!
anon512
8 May 2010
Thanks for the comment. I've tried everything else, too. I've been reading on other sites that it took some people 2 weeks on chantix for really be able to quit. Still aiming for tomorrow though. Being able to run again is actually one of my motivations. I used to be able to run 5 miles a day 3 days a week. I get winded going up stairs now and it makes me sooo mad!
zillagirl25
9 June 2010
Hey... I quit with chantix 2 years ago. When i was taking the pills i think i quit within 3-4 days. I didnt suffer any sideeffects from the nicotine. I just quit simple as that. didnt want 1 at all made me wanna hurl. That was that. I didnt even wanna smoke it was amazing!
msdennis
23 Oct 2010
Thanks for the encouragement (although it was meant for someone else). It has been approximately 67 hours since I had a cigarette. My quit date on Chantix was supposed to be October 9 but I did not quit then. However, I smoked 5-6 cigarettes per day and, eventually, one per day in the following weeks. This is the first time I have quit smoking (and I have tried many, many times over the years) and not gone through horrible withdrawals. Even when I was smoking, I was not craving cigarettes, I was just smoking out of habit because they really tasted awful after the first couple of days of being on Chantix. I have been wanting a cigarette today - not craving one. I am so glad I joined this board today and read your post. It is giving me the strength and encouragement. I WILL NOT SMOKE TODAY - NO MATTER WHAT!!!
Velchevy59
31 Oct 2018
I been taking Chantix since 7/20/18
And today is 10/31/18 to me I smoke more.
Only side affects is aching legs as though I am not getting blood circulation and I been Really angry once that is it.
I plan to stop taking Chantix 11/1/18 I do not think its necessary to continue taking a drug that is not helping the cause.
SaraFitz78
6 Oct 2019
This helped me so much. I am at almost 48 hrs and your comment has helped me make it this far and given me the will to go on and know I will make it thru this. I've smoked 27 yrs and in August this year my older sister, my best friend and 2nd mother to me (she was only 8 yrs older) had a massive stroke that took her life and it destroyed my life along with her kids lives. Her youngest had just turned 17 not even a month before she died and now he doesn't have his mother all because she smoked. I decided right then and there to see my dr and finally quit before I left my kids the same way. Thank you for this comment.
Rajive Goel
5 May 2010
I was a smoker for over 35 years, 2 years ago on 13th April 2008 I just quit, suffered a lot but did not touch the cancer stick, not being funny, its shear will power or the fear of serious ailments which forces one to quit, i suffered a stroke, try quitting, best of luck, hope this helps
anon512
5 May 2010
Thanks for your comment. I am motivated to quit and have several times for a few months to 2 years each time, but I always end up smoking again. I just feel like I've actually been smoking more since I started Chantix because I know my quit day is fast approaching.
Rajive Goel
5 May 2010
Yes, motivation is required, just give it up, please don't wait for the 'd' day, best of luck, I too went back after quitting a few times but finally had to give it up...
Timamac
5 May 2017
Yes it comes all in one day and when it gets there it's easy no suffering I did it and I was a heavy smoker it works don't be afraid and good luck it's a good thing
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- Chantix uses and safety info
- Chantix prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Chantix (detailed)
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