Chantix - Does any one else feel a little crazy on Chantix?

[Lloyd of Tempe AZ]

Chantix made me aggressively angry, paranoid and suicidal. I stopped taking it after 2 weeks and the depression has yet to subside even after 3 months. My ability to concentrate is gone. I have severe difficulty writing and that is what I do. Normally I would write at least 4 or 5 paragraphs on a subject but this is all I can manage. My emotions are all negative. I used to cry almost every time I hear Enya's song 'May it Be' but now...nothing. There is much more to tell but I just can't. The worst thing is I still smoke.

[Alice]

Lloyd of Tempe AZ wrote:

Chantix made me aggressively angry, paranoid and suicidal. I stopped taking it after 2 weeks and the depression has yet to subside even after 3 months. My ability to concentrate is gone. I have severe difficulty writing and that is what I do. Normally I would write at least 4 or 5 paragraphs on a subject but this is all I can manage. My emotions are all negative. I used to cry almost every time I hear Enya's song 'May it Be' but now...nothing. There is much more to tell but I just can't. The worst thing is I still smoke.

"Only Time" will help. Chantix messed up your dopamine functioning too. It inverted your emotions. It can still block your reward long after you stop taking it and not just from smoking either. You will find another way to stop smoking but please do not let it be from suicide. Pfizer may not care but I do. Count me as someone on your side and by your side helping you get better.

[Lou]

By the sixth day on Chantix I was not trusting myself. Extreme anxiety and fear that I would inadvertently hurt something or myself.
Bursts of Anger and difficulty feeling reality. My skin did not feel right.
Just a horror story. I quit the drug on the sixth day.
Felt like a potentially dangerous situation.

[Joe Citizen]

Cheryl wrote:

Bill et al.
I've been smoking 20 years at a pack a day..[edit]..This man accidently got shot and died. This story aired last week. The man had been drinking alcohol prior to this (2 or 3 drinks). He'd also reported to his doctor that his dreams were terrifyingly vivid and his sleep very disturbed. Many stated drinking alcohol and taking Chantix causes an extreme reaction

The story referred to is here: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story... The facts are a bit different (3x the legal limit drinking, not 3 drinks); I am sincerely hoping that this whole chantix suicide/mood alteration thing is sensationalism. When I worked in the Grand Canyon they were proud that the park only dealt with 3 heart attacks a day, being a lower percentage than the national average (millions of visitors a year...its actually expected to be a higher rate...); some people are prone to such "suicidal ideation" whether they had before or not is irrelevant... some of us are prone to die from H1N1 yet others who are exposed don't even contract it. Until it comes into your life, how would you know? I heard all sorts of bad stuff about methadone when I was struggling with an opiate addiction...people said that I would be on it for life (the clinic would have liked that...its not cheap...and forget that argument that its cheaper than a street habit...people do rotten things to pay for their fix, and that shouldn't have to be the case in treatment). The counselors told me that I was detoxing too fast and that I would just be back within a month or two and I would likely just go down the tubes doing it my way. The truth is, I was sick and tired of the way the drug was affecting me...I was its prisoner. While I can't claim that I was 100% done when I left the clinic, it wasn't long before I was completely opiate free (and have been for many years)... I am drawing a corollary here, as I feel similarly about cigarrettes. They dictate to me what, when and where I go...now the restaurants and bars are smoke free, I feel like a freak. My lungs hurt from smoking, and I think if chantix didn't exist, I would try almost anything else to get rid of the (mild yet persistent) chest pain. This reminds me more than anything else why I want to quit. So far, day 4 of chantix, I am happy, sleeping, and actually a bit more productive. It does give you some kind of buzz that is more noticeable if you have a beer. Its kind of like when you smoke 20 cigarettes at a party and you just can't smoke another... and it does remove that satisfying "bite" that cigs offer. The hardest part so far has been routine issues; driving, waking up, eating...all seem to involve a smoke. But as the satisfaction decreases, so does my desire to light up. I can't speak for how it will hit me a week or two from now (today I go from .05mg to 1mg as prescribed, eventually to 2mg/day) but so far I have to say I am amazed...day one I had 18 (i smoke pack and 1/2 a day normally)...day two same, day 3 about 12, and today I am almost to dinner and have had only 4 so far, without even trying. Having been through crazy withdrawls for months on end, this seems like it should be fairly straightforward, and I am willing to lose a little sleep or have a bad dream (uh, try detoxing from dope) if it gets rid of the cancerous little demon that gives me nothing but grief. I don't mean to downplay folks who go nuts from it like the article, and don't want to sound holier than thou, but honestly, lets keep things in perspective. Cigarettes are almost guaranteed to affect your life in a supremely negative way (health, finance, social, etc) while chantix may have potential pitfalls, they seem worth the risk. That being said, my wife has permission to take them away if I start acting nutty.:D

[mememarg]

Hi Joe Citizen. Very interesting read! Lots of us on these Topix threads have had successful quits without the severe side effects. Some here have had side effects some very difficult. Of course it's more usual for the bad effects to be reported than the good effects.

I wish you all the luck in the world with your quit!! Changing habits was the biggest thing for me...smoking defined our whole lives & actions for so many years. You won't be sorry to be smoke free. It is SOOOOO freeing!

Let us know how things are going...I'll keep a watch out for you.

[Penny]

I haven't smoked in 10 days I'm on my seventh week on chantix and I'm fine one moment then I'm an absolute pyscho the next! It can't be nicotine withdrawl because I only smoked one cigarrette a day prior to the 10 days!! I've smoked for 10 yrs before taking the chantix I'm impressed with chantix ad far as the smoking is concerned but my behavior had become ridiculous everyone thinks I need help! I'm afraid of stopping the chantix.

[Timmo from LA]

One of my doctors is also a mood disorder psychiatrist; he told me that he's seen many patients on Chantix, and only one case had what he would call a serious adverse reaction. About 25% can't tolerate the medication for one reason or another, usually stomach issues or insomnia.

I took Chantix for nearly 12 weeks, the normal 1 week ramp-up, 8 weeks on the full dose, then three weeks tapering off. I had vivid dreams, felt a bit detached, and had some stomach issues while on it. On each taper, I had minor depression symptoms which went away after a day or two. I took the last 1/2 tablet a week ago today, and am feeling great.

None of the side effects were particularly pleasant, but they were tolerable, and I knew what to expect. The most important thing is that I've quit smoking after over 30 years at a pack and a quarter a day.

I've also known 6 people who've successfully quit on Chantix; my side effects were more severe than theirs.

If this drug works for you, it's a miracle. If it has transient side effects, to me it was well worth it when weighed against the certain health risks of continued smoking. I think it's crucial that people be warned, and know what to expect, and stop taking the drug if significant depression or manic symptoms start.

No drug is completely safe; given my personal experience and those of my admittedly small sample set, I'd say the risks of Chantix are being overblown.

I really wonder how many of these boards are being seeded by attorneys looking for a class action lawsuit. Seriously.

[Timmo from LA]

PS: Alcohol is probably a no-no on this drug. However, I kind of lost interest in drinking more than a beer while I was taking it; I would crack a second one and then drink, at most, half of it (definitely uncharacteristic behavior!). My friends all had the same experience; they had no interest in consuming large quantities of alcohol. I even had this effect while traveling in Scotland and England and meeting friends in pubs.

Most of the bad press I've read were cases where Chantix was mixed with a large quantity of alcohol. Again, if forewarned, these issues could probably be avoided.

[Penny]

Yeah I did notice I had really no desire to drink after one drink I felt it wasn't nessesary to have another.

[Yes Chantix Kills]

Timmo from LA wrote:

One of my doctors is also a mood disorder psychiatrist; he told me that he's seen many patients on Chantix, and only one case had what he would call a serious adverse reaction. About 25% can't tolerate the medication for one reason or another, usually stomach issues or insomnia.
I took Chantix for nearly 12 weeks, the normal 1 week ramp-up, 8 weeks on the full dose, then three weeks tapering off. I had vivid dreams, felt a bit detached, and had some stomach issues while on it. On each taper, I had minor depression symptoms which went away after a day or two. I took the last 1/2 tablet a week ago today, and am feeling great.
None of the side effects were particularly pleasant, but they were tolerable, and I knew what to expect. The most important thing is that I've quit smoking after over 30 years at a pack and a quarter a day.
I've also known 6 people who've successfully quit on Chantix; my side effects were more severe than theirs.
If this drug works for you, it's a miracle. If it has transient side effects, to me it was well worth it when weighed against the certain health risks of continued smoking. I think it's crucial that people be warned, and know what to expect, and stop taking the drug if significant depression or manic symptoms start.
No drug is completely safe; given my personal experience and those of my admittedly small sample set, I'd say the risks of Chantix are being overblown.
I really wonder how many of these boards are being seeded by attorneys looking for a class action lawsuit. Seriously.

You had no REAL problems. Why come to a thread labeled this and put down those who were not given the warnings you were or the wean? You got lucky others did not. If you really think these reports are from attorneys looking for money you are crazy.

First it was the tobacco companies. Now according to you it is attorneys. In reality it is Pfizer being money hungry crooks.

[D in Terre Haute]

I have a someone who works for me who took Chantix to quit smoking. While taking it, he suffered from the the vivid dreams - couldn't tell what was real and what was a dream.
He quit taking taking it after a month or two. However, I have seen a major change in his personality. He gets angry very quickly, seems to lack concentration, cannot reason through simple problems, his short-term memory is severely lacking and has become very aggressive in his interactions with others.
I made a comment a few weeks ago that I'd be glad when he's off the chantix, and he said he'd stopped taking it months ago!!!
Because of his increased surliness and the other issues, it's really affecting his work (and the effectiveness of my department) to the point where soon I'm going to have make a decision on whether to keep him or to fire him.
I have done some reading recently and have found a couple of articles that state that in some cases, major personality shifts have been found to be permanent after having taken chantix, and that stopping taking the drum has no effect on the personality shift.
This is some incredibly scary stuff. Beware.

[mma]

day 2 at .5mg...nuthin.
cigs starting to taste bad and i am looking forward to the crazy dreams...maybe I'l lup my ramp up sooner than later.
drank 4 glases of wine last night (day 1)...nuthin.
on my 2nd beer tonight...nuthin.

[mma]

this thread is dead

[AZQ]

http://www.topix.com/forum/law/healthcare/TBP...

The above thread has more activity....

[Chantix Sucks]

"The family of musician Carter Albrecht has filed a lawsuit in a Dallas federal court against Chantix manufacturer Pfizer Inc. Ken and Judy Albrecht allege that the drug manufacturer is responsible for the musician’s death in 2007 because it marketed Chantix, which Carter had been taking at the time of his death, while knowing it to be unsafe."

This is for those who have experienced the fact chantix can kill the dopamine buzz from alcohol yet leave high levels in the blood stream.