Monday, July 14, 2008

Double Post Monday

Special thanks go out today to Amanda over at Shamelessly Sassy; I won the Nintendo DS Giveaway she had a little while ago, and it came in the mail today, along with a Crossword Game. Thanks for getting it to me so soon, and for having the contest! Here's to some mindless entertainment, which I sorely need. My son will be sad that it isn't PINK; he was hoping it would be so that I would be too embarrassed to play it! He forgets that the one that finally broke irreparably was actually cobbled together with duct tape-camouflage duct tape, no less!

I also forgot to mention that I started taking the anti-smoking drug, Chantix, this morning. You start out taking a low dose in the morning, and after three days of that you take a larger dose, and by Week Two you are taking the full dose. Supposedly titrating the medicine increases the chances of success, as well as reduces the side effects. One of the biggest side effects is "significant nausea," which boy howdy, is SO true! All day i have felt ill, as if I am either just coming down with or just getting over the stomach flu. Ugh. This first week, you are supposed to follow your normal smoking routine, and then the target date to actually stop is the next week. But what they don't tell you is that to light up a smoke even after just this low dose makes you feel sicker. Like, the world's worst hangover, the kind where you throw up so much your throat bleeds and there is nothing left in your stomach (or am I the only one who has had those?) but raw nerve ends, coupled with not having eaten for three days sick. Believe me, if I keep feeling like THIS, it will either be really, really easy to quit next Monday, or it will be really easy to quit taking the drug and keep smoking.

But there is one other side effect that concerns me more than the nausea:

"Some patients have reported changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions when attempting to quit smoking while taking CHANTIX or after stopping CHANTIX. If either you, your family, or caregiver notice agitation, depressed mood, or changes in behavior that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking CHANTIX and call your doctor right away. Also tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems before taking CHANTIX, as these symptoms may worsen while taking CHANTIX."
Yeah. How comforting is THAT for someone like me, who already feels whacked out and emotionally unstable a good part of the time? Good thing I was smart and got a full two weeks of the anti-depressant on board before starting this. I mean, come on; do I NEED more agitation? However, I was thinking there might be a plus to that. After all, I am already pissed at Crazy Stalker Guy; can you imagine how pissed I might be NOW if he shows up? He will get a faceful of pepper spray and the cops better hope they get there before I beat him bloody and to death with my ALUMINUM baseball bat. Gotta think positive, right?

8 comments:

Mr Lady said...

PLEASE be careful on that stuff. It basically fucks with the dopamine centers in your brain and makes you not want to smoke. I have heard HORROR stories about it. Please, for me, be careful.

I take enough Wellbutrin everyday to make the entire country of Iraq chipper, and Wellbutrin is what Chantrex is derived from. If you have even the SLIGHTEST issue with your pills, quit them and take Wellbutrin instead. PLEASE?

(Yes I am emotionally invested in you now. Judge as you will. :)

Anonymous said...

Snap. I was going to be all "Let me know how it goes so I can order some up for SD," but I don't think that depression thing would be good for him. He tends to be a little moody and depressive at times, and with the recent lay-off? Probably not a good idea to even tempt it. Maybe in a few months.

But good luck to you. I hope it works. I was able to quit pretty much after I found out I was pregnant with Son. But I barely smoked. More of a social smoker. But having SD around, and him smoking all the time has me craving it more and more... especially with all the stresses of single momdom. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

ROFL!!!!!
That's not just funny, that's really damn funny! Thanks Kori, I really needed a laugh right about now.

Zoeyjane said...

I really hope it goes well for you. Good luck. With me, it wasn't so good and I don't know if you wanna know, but here's the category link, just in case. I was on it for only about three weeks. It was evil (to me).

Laski said...

YAY for you on the win! You deserve it. You need some fun/good/happy stuff.

As for the drug. I really hope it works for you and that the side effects are minimal at worst. Drugs scare me, but often what we take them for scare me more.

Too bad there were no anti-crazy stalker guy pills . . .

April said...

LOL - yeah, I think I've told you already that I NEVER want to be on your bad side - you scare the shit out of me sometimes! Now let's hope you can scare the shit out of Crazy Stalker Guy!

MarĂ­a said...

be careful with the chantix.
and that's MY game system. I'll be over to collect that prize you stole from me shortly. Damnitt.

Susie said...

My doctor would NOT let me take this. Ric has, but of course, with the chemo and other stuff, he was not able to complete the first portion and has gone back to smoking, that is a whole other story. I have been taking Paxil for years for depression and am not able to go off it. Because of the greater chance of suicide with Chantix related to depression, the doctor totally forbid me to take it. Now that Ric is in a lull with his treatments, I am scheduling my doctor's appointment to try the Wellbutrin.