I have been on Champix for 3 weeks now and not had - or even wanted a cigarette - for 2 weeks. I am 60 and have smoked since I was 15, stopped smoking many times with all the other remedies, nicotine replacement, hypnosis, cold turkey, all worked for a while but nothing lasted. Even got addicted to nicotine gum for over a year and started smoking again to get off the gum.
Patches gave me horrible nightmares, gum gave me a sore throat, both gave me bouts of deep melancholy and giving in to cigarettes was the only cure.
I have had the nausea with Champix, taken before eating the nausea is really bad, after eating quite mild, taken halfway through a meal I don't get any nausea. I prefer to take it after a meal, slight nausea I find reminds that the Champix is working!
Luckily I have not had any other side effects. I stopped smoking on day 6 of the course, I had not planned on the 6th day, I just didn't fancy a cigarette when I got up so didn't have one. I have had mild cravings over the time but have kept busy, had as much exercise as I can and take deep breaths when it becomes irritating - and irritating is the best description for the 'cravings'. It is not a desire to smoke just a feeling of discomfort which I want to go away and deep breathing certainly helps.
I have not smoked a single puff since day 6 of the course, maybe that is why I haven't had much in the way of side effects. I found that I didn't seem to sleep so well for the first week or two, seeming to wake up a lot but did not feel tired during the day so must have had enough sleep. At least I didn't get the depressing nightmares that I got with patches which made me frightened to go to sleep. I have also found that I have no desire to eat any more than usual as I am not compensating for the lack of nicotine as I don't feel the need for nicotine anymore.
I feel so much better, going for long walks with my dog and swimming again. My home is spick and span and smells lovely. My washing and ironing is all up to date and I can smell the flowers in the garden!
Best of all - when I wake up in the morning I don't want a cigarette and that was the one that I got out of bed for in the mornings, that was followed by another 2 as I read the paper and waited until I had enough nicotine in my blood stream to be able to face breakfast!
I think that the best thing about Champix for me is that I don't really think about cigarettes for most of the time, on other remedies I constantly thought about cigarettes and used to imagine smoking one, even dreaming that I was smoking sometimes, second had smoke smelled wonderful to me so it was easy to give in. Yesterday I went shopping and as I passed people in the street I was so aware of the ones who had recently had a cigarette as they smelled of cigarette smoke - and now having not had nicotine for 2 weeks cigarette smoke smells different - now I smell it the same as a non-smoker does and it smells dreadful - once you have not smoked for a while you will appreciate the reason for banning smoking in enclosed public places as the smell for a non smoker is nothing like the smell for a smoker - and even if smoking is restricted to another room with the connecting door shut the smell will travel through the cracks in the door.
I do hope this helps.......