Chantix and Side Effects Lawsuit
Chantix is a drug used to help people kick their smoking addiction. It differs from other cessation drugs such as zyban or the nicotine patches and gum in that it is a nicotine receptor partial agonist, the first approved by the FDA. It’s purpose is two-fold: it not only reduces the craving for nicotine, but it also decreases the pleasurable effects derived from cigarettes and other tobacco products. It was approved for sale in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2006. However, there have recently been lawsuits filed by those that used Chantix and suffered severe side effects.
The most common side effects of Chantix are nausea, vomiting, headache, insomnia, abnormal dreams, flatulence, and dysgeusia (an altercation in taste). However, some patients who used Chantix had more severe side effects such as thoughts of suicide and suicidal or otherwise erratic behavior. Because the drug is so new, it is unknown whether these side effects are the result of withdrawal from nicotine or due to the drug itself. The FDA has since released a notice advising health care professionals to observe patients for change in behavior when taking Chantrix.
One of the most high profile cases of the severe effects that may be caused by Chantix is that of Carter Albrecht. Albrecht was a guitarist and keyboardist with the band Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians. He died September 3, 2007 after being shot in the head by a neighbor as he tried to kick in his door.
Earlier that day, Albrecht had been having drinks with his girlfriend Ryann Rathbone at a local Dallas bar. After he become intoxicated, Rathbone drove Albrecht to their home where they both took their dose of Chantix. After that, Albrecht became incoherent and violent, breaking a glass and hitting Rathbone. When Rathbone left the house, Albrecht followed and she locked him out. He pounded on the door then went next door and began pounding on the neighbor’s door. The neighbor warned Albrecht to stop and fired a warning shot through the door, which hit Albrecht. Family and friends say that this type of violent behavior was atypical of Albrecht and believe that the use of Chantix caused the events.
Albrecht’s case is not the only one of normally calm people reacting violently and erratically after taking Chantix. If you or someone you know has had behavioral changes since taking Chantix, you may want to contact a lawyer about a lawsuit against Pfizer.
December 28th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
i smoked for 7 years and took chantix to quit earlier this summer and i did, 3 weeks after i did i had a heart attack, i am only 32 years old and never had heart problems before and do not have bad blood pressure or cholestoral and have never had before to my knowledge. i was wondering if there were any other people having blockages or heart attacks connected with the chantix drug. i dont feel like 7 years of smoking would cause this at my age. and i am not over weight or out of shape.
December 28th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
i had a heart attack at age 32 after i took chantix which i feel like had something to do with it. i never had heart problems before
January 8th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I took chantix for one week. I was so excited that this might actually help me to stop smoking. But, I stopped upon recommendation of a Dr because of the side effects. Among many, the side effects which were most worrysome were the increased heart rate (up to 160 bpm) for anywhere from 1 minute to 3 minutes several times a day. I also had one black out where I found myself putting a cig out on my arm. I continue to have anxiety attacks and the fast heart rate even though I’ve been off the chantix since Nov 2007! The worst part is that I had supraventricular tachycardia which surgery corrected in Dec 2006. I had NO issues with my heart and in fact had an EKG done 1 wk before taking the chantix because I was having a minor surgery. It was PERFECT. I now suffer from the fast heart rate sometimes several times a day. My cardiologist had me wear an activity recorder for 2 wks. It showed irregularity but it IS NOT the original SVT which I had surgery for. Now I’m forced to wonder what this poison, chantix, has done to my heart as well as other residual problems that may arise. I wish I had never heard of this POISON that Pfizer is pushing!
January 19th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I know someone who is normally calm but had a violent outburst and destroyed his home, had crisis services called, the police called, ended up in the medical center and is recuuperating at home with his wife and daughter. Who is a high profile lawyer he can contact?
Thank you.
January 21st, 2008 at 6:05 pm
My father died after taking Chantix. He had smoked for over 20 years, yet his last medical check-up showed no heart or lung damage. He was in good health, so his doctor prescribed Chantix knowing my father really wanted to quit smoking. The drug worked amazingly well for quitting. I remember my dad describing it as a miracle that he had no cravings to smoke with this drug. However, after some time on Chantix, his lungs started filling with fluid, he became generally ill and had trouble speaking clearly. He went to several doctors. They found no heart problems and they even drained the lungs, but they were mystified about what was causing his problems. The problems grew worse, and my father died of a heart attack last year on Thanksgiving Day. In the last few weeks of his life, he said he felt great, even when smoking. He said taking the anti-smoking drug was the worst thing he did. He clearly believed Chantix caused all of these new problems. I didn’t connect the dots until recently when I started seeing blogs on severe side effects and the 1-800 numbers on lawsuits beint filed against Pfiser. At first, I thought maybe all the years of smoking had caught up to him. But, recently, I obtained all his medical records, and I believe he was correct. He was in strong health prior to Chantix, and he experienced a rapid decline after using the product. I believe the drug led directly to his heart attack and death. As bad as smoking is, I would encourage anyone to quit by other methods. I believe the risks are far greater than disclosed.
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO I BEGAN TAKING CHANTIX. I LIKE THE FACT THAT IT WAS HELPING ME QUIT A BAD HABIT. I SOON FOUND THAT THE SIDE EFECTS OF THIS DRUG WAS FAR WORSE THAN SMOKING. I BECAME EXTREAMLY DEPRESSED AND TRIED TO COMMIT SUICIDE. I WAS SENT TO AN OKC MENTAL HOSPITAL. I WAS OUT OF WORK……I LOOKED BAD IN MY COMMUNITY. IT WAS HORRIBLE !!! THE FDA SHOULD HAVE CONDUCTED MORE RESEARCH BEFORE APPROVING SUCK A DRUG. ON TOP OF ALL THIS MY HEART POUNDED LIKE NEVER BEFORE. MY CHEST HURT AND I THOUGHT I WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK. TURNS OUT IT WAS IRREGULAR HEART BEATS DUE TO THE MEDICATION AND THE NEWLY FOUND FEELINGS OF DEEP DEPPRESION. I WAS LUCKY CAUSE I HAD A STONG HEART.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Hi all,
I took Champix (Chantix in Europe) a year ago, and had a heart attack (myocardial infarktion) after 3 weeks. The doctors in Denmark have reported it to the authorities here and right now they are reviewing my case. It seems like the doctors who did surgery on me think the drug has something to do with it, and this is being investigated by a medical panel + some government lawyers. Let me know if anyone else has experienced similar side effects… You can email me at mortenljensen@yahoo.com
Sincerely,
Morten
January 25th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I was just prescribed chantix to help me quit smoking since i always got my yearly bouts with pneumonia..after reading all the side effects I AM NO TAKING IT…
i went to our local heath department, and they are pushing this drug like i’ve never seen…they wouldn’t even check me over before pushing this drug on me…i wouldn’t have been able to take it until feb. 1 when all my pneumonia symtoms cleared up..they gave me a bottle chantix, with some paperwork and nothing said anything about suicide and depression etc…i feel sorry for all the people who took this and had problems…i don’t understand how something can be approved and it’s crap, it’s killing people..
best of luck to everyone who is having problems due to this…
Lisa
January 26th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
took chantix for about three weeks was amazed at the results and quit smoking…about a week later…blocked artery i now have two stents on top of the two from five years before…the last time i quit smoking with “the patch”…whats up?…I’m only 47 years old…cholesterol has always been average
January 31st, 2008 at 8:22 am
I am 47 years old. Two weeks after started Chantix I woke up with stomach virus symptoms. This was on a Wednesday. The last thing I remember was laying down at about noon to take a nap. The next thing I remembered was waking up in ICU on Monday evening. Now I only know what my family told me. I acted normally on Wednesday evening. On Thursday my husband called me and I didn’t make any sense to him so he headed home from work. My adult daughter arrived at my house to find me trying to walk outside with no clothes on. My daughter and husband took me to the hospital. I was behaving erratically and not making any sense. I couldn’t answer questions such as “Where are you?” “What day is it?” “What year is it?” They tried to medicate me. That didn’t work.
Eventually I had to be intubated and put into a drug induced coma. They did every test they could think of and everything came up negative. They removed the breathing tube on Sunday morning but I didn’t “wake up” until Monday evening. I have never had any mental issues. I have never been a violent person. When my doctor discharged me she told me that she had thought I was going to die. She also said that the reason for my episode was Chantix. After I got home from the hospital I read somewhere that Phizer said that people who have psychotic episodes while taking Chantix usually had a history of mental problems. I am one of the calmest people I know. I don’t drink.
Chantix needs to be taken off of the market. It’s a dangerous drug. People have lost their lives because of this drug.
Since my episode, my short-term memory has worsened significantly. I have episodes where I stare off into space. For some reason, that seems to worry my husband the most.
Phizer needs to be held accountable for this mess
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I took Chantix for several weeks. I managed to stop smoking however when I went off the Chantix I began to have anxiety attack so bad that I was hospitalized in a mental ward. I am still working to try to over come the problems and I pray for anyone who ever touchs the stuff. I know the drug company will ever pay for the pain they have caused but they should. They can not tell me that they ran a good study if they didn’t see these problems and I don’t hear them mention a word about it on their TV ads.
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:04 pm
After taking Chantix for approximately 3 weeks, I began experiencing severe pains in different joints. Such as ankles, knees, shoulders & jaw. I discontinued using this ‘miracle drug’ and after 3 months, my symptoms finially dicipated. I was then diagnosed with reumatoid arthritis. It was nice to have quit smoking after 40+ years, but not worth the pain that myself as well as my family had to endure because of Chantix. I FIRMLY believe that it was Chantix that caused these ailments because prior to taking this drug I was a very active grandmother.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I took Chantix for 2 weeks to stop smoking. It worked and I quit. 2 weeks later I had a heart attack. They found a blocked artery & I now have 3 stents.
I am physically fit and not overweight. I have never had a problem with my cholesterol. I do not drink. I have no chronic medical conditions.
I walked 2-3 miles a day 5 days a week and never had a problem.
I think Chantix was the cause of my heart problems. Someone should warn people.
I will not let my wife take this medication.
What should I do?
cenjr@optonline.net
February 20th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I took chantix for 3 weeks some of the problems I had were very disturbing, I started having dreams that were so real I would sit up in bed still talking Ina dreamlike state. I dreamed my husband was having an affair and attacked him in the middle of the night, I have not remembered my dreams for years, I would wake up exhausted from having so many memorable dreams, I would wake up angry and anything my husband said sent me into a frenzy of anger, my husband insisted I stop taking the drug he has been after me to quit smoking for 10 years. he said he would rather I smoked I was out of control, having anxiety attacks, verbally abusive, psyichally abusive,short tempered, aggressive when I look back at some of the thoughts I had I am seriously surprised I did not commit a crime against another person! thank god after three weeks the symptoms (like dreaming) have abated but I still struggle with depression and a general dissatisfaction with my life and living, after reading all this stuff about heart attacks I better go to the doctor! my cholesterol is above 300! God help me, someone pray for me for I have lost my way…
February 20th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
i took chantix for almost two months and successfully stopped smoking. about four days after stopping the medicine i had a severe anxiety attacks. since then ive battled anxiety, heart pulpulations and increased heart rate. i have seen the doctor quite a few times to try to get past these symptoms. i am now on anxiety meds and antidepressants. i don’t believe there was enough information provided to the users about this drug concerning the side effects. there certainly was not any mentioning of what would happen after stopping the chantix. i had to depend on my boyfriend to take care of me and my three kids and missed days of work until doctors prescribed something else to help overcome these problems i believe was caused by this drug. three months have gone by since i quit taking chantix. it took me two months, with help from effexor and ativan, to feel like i am back to myself again. i am relieved to say that, for about a month ive been able to work and take care of my kids as i did before taking the chantix.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:12 am
December of 2006, I went to my doctor for an eratic heart beat. I failed her EKG test, so she sent me to a cardiologist for further testing and sent me home with a prescription for Chantix too. I went on the Chanitx and in addition to the side effects they do let you know about (vivid dreams, nausea, etc.), I was getting other severe side effects, such as brain-freeze or very short term memory loss; depression, joint and muscle pain so bad that I was —-and still am— walking like a 90 year old (I a 47)
I went back to my doctor and she saw me having trouble moving any body part without pain, and was clueless that this could be from the Chantix. She tested me for Lymes disease and thyroid and R.A., but nothing abnormal showed in the tests.
I went to a endocrinologist for a 2nd opinion after gaining 71 lbs in 8 months from lack of movement. Her blood tests came out normal too.
At that time I searched the internet for a way to link Chantix with these symptoms, but nothing came up—–apparently I was one of the first guinea pigs.
As I continued to suffer in pain—-praying that I could just die in my sleep, I kept checking, and eventually I saw people posting of the same problems. I knew it! I just had to wait for other people to help me confirm it.
This was over a year ago. And I didn’t even take the full dosage; most of the time I took only half because the mental side effects were scary to me. Eleven months since my last dose, and I am still walking like a 90 year old. All of bones hurt, and all of my joints are inflamed.
I thought I could deal with this for 3 months and be done with the side effects——but the worst part is the side effects will not go away, even though I haven’t taken the drug in 11 months! Now I keep checking the internet to hopefully find out when or if this pain and inflamation will go away. I can’t keep gaining weight from lack of movement! I need this to stop! Has anyone had long-term effects too?
February 28th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I TOOK CHANTIX FOR A MONTH—–QUIT SMOKING–NO PROBLEM—AT THE END OF THE FIRST MONTH—-APPEARANTLY I BECAME A MONSTER—VERY SHORT TEMPERED, AND INVINCIBLE, I COULD TALKE ON THE WORLD SINGLE HANDEDLY—-CO WORKERS BECAME AFRAID TO TALK TO ME NOT SURE WHETHER I WAS GOING TO SAY HI OR BITE THEIR HEADS OFF—-TOOK ME A FEW DAYS TO FIGURE IT MIGHT BE THE CHANTIX—LOOKED UP THE SIDE EFFECTS—WOW —-TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OFF OF IT—-SPOKE WITH MY M.D. AS WELL AS A PHD—-NOT QUITE SURE WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN BUT AM DEFINATLY INTERESTED A LAW SUIT——I MISS FEELING NORMAL WILL IT EVER HAPPEN AGAIN???
February 28th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
After starting chantix I stopped smoking after 5 days. The tummy upset after taking the pill was pretty bad so I ate a lot before hand in hopes of avoiding that which brought nothing but more gas, vivid dreams and gained about 10 pounds. After 6 weeks I stopped taking it. About three weeks after that I thought I was going to have a breakdown. The tinest thing would set me off, I had terrible pain in my foreams, upper arms, back, knees and ankles, most of which were in my joints. Some days the pain was bad I couldn’t stand it. I was easily excited, jittery/jumpy, had bouts of light headedness, palpitations, and some short term memory loss. Looking back, a glass of wine at dinner did seem to make the next day much worse and I craved nothing but sugar. After notifying my doctor of the symptoms she said I was going through withdraw and has put me back on it and I’m in the process of trying to wean off it. Like everyone else I wish I never took this drug. Being back on the Chantix those symptoms seems to have gone away however now I’m worried about what will happen when I’m off it. I didn’t really notice the side affects until those that know me mentioned my behavior to me. If I had known then what I know now, I’d still be smoking or finding another way to quit. What I’d like to know is has anyone been weaned off Chantix and made it out okay?
March 1st, 2008 at 9:43 am
I have been taking Chantix for 1 month now, quit smoking! I am 27 years old, thin, exercise 3X a week, and have never had any health problems in the past. I have recently been having problems sleeping, (racing heartbeat, night sweats, vivid dreams) all which I believe have something to do with this drug. The other morning I fainted while taking a shower, was rushed to the ER, diagnosis SVT. I have never been so sick in my life, and I almost wish I had never started to take this drug. If anyone else has these problems, please let me know. I think its time to stop this medication.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I too, stopped smoking with chantix. I had been taking chantix for 2 months, on thursday 2/28/08 I woke up, was at the computer and didn’t feel right. I got up from the computer, my arm was numb, I lifted it up and walked into the livingroom, thank god my daughter was here, she asked me what was the matter, I couldn’t talk, I was having a stroke., I thought I was dying, I was so scared
I was a 53 year old healthy female, never had any problems, just had a check-up last month and everything was normal. Now, I have a stroke and they can’t figure out why! but they tell me to stop taking chantix, why?
I have not felt the same since this stroke, I’m just not myself. Almost feels like I am going to have a heart attack. I am so scared. I have to go for all kinds of tests this week, an echo card, ultra sounds. I pray that everything will be ok, In want my normal life back
If I had known, that this was going to happen to me, I would have never taken chantix. All this for wanting to quit smoking, was it worth it?
If anyone out there is taking chantix, please stop or if know anyone, tell them to stop. Get this drug off the market, before people start dying
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:06 am
My husband too starting taking chantix , My sister who is a nurse said that a doctor at her hospital quit smoking after using the drug so my husband went for a check up and mentioned it to his doctor and she put him on it in June. I did notice a change in him after a couple of weeks I mentioned it to him but he said he was ok as the summer went on all of our freinds start to notice he was acting buzar he said to his doctor in July that he was feeling depressed so she gave him paxil it was not working so she try something else that was not working she said to go to therapy but never put together it might be the chantix. We went on vacation in Aug. he was having full blown panic attacks everyone was saying he is not himself . We had been going to the same place for 20 years on vacation and he could not find hisway home from the board walk I thought he was going cazy and he was suffering a midlife break down. His doctor did not know what to do. His father had to come and stay with us and try to calm him down he was in and out of work in Aug. thank god he had 5 weeks vacation time. I went away for a few days with my son and my neighbor call me and said my husband would nt answer the door or the phone. This was not like him at all. I did have to fly home we I got here he was a mess he was not showered shaved or dressed n three days he was acting and not sleeping. That night he tryed to comit suicded we put him in the mental ward of the hospital were he stayed there for a week when he got out he was still not himself he would go out all hours of the night and walk the streets my friend and I would have to get him. Since than he has sever depression he takes two different anti depressents one in the morning and one at night 300 mg of a anti aniexty and also a sleeping pill at night just to feel alittle normal . II cant even explain what it has done to us as a family and his quality of life. So we take each day as it comes and hope it going to be a good one . He is on lot of medications and see a shrink every two weeks and he still feels unhappy. It has been all most five months and still no light at the end of the tunnel for him as his wife of 30 yrs I wish he never took the drug.
PS he still smokes
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Is there a class action law suit againest the drug co. because there I wood love to start one
March 4th, 2008 at 10:10 am
OH MY GOD
I was given Chantix As I am going to be having surgery soon
I thought I would sit down and check it out
I have it and water sitting right here!
I am sure glad I looked it up
I sounds like I could of realy gotten myself into a bigger mess then smoking is
Thanks for telling your stories U may have saved my life
March 5th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Sorry if this becomes lengthy but I have been suffering from numerous side affects for a year now. I am 32 yrs.old, have 4 children, and was working in construction (remodeling, roofing, landscaping,etc). I started the chantix in the beginning of March 2007 and my life has been hell ever since. I only took the drug for 1 month before the side effects became unbearable. The first week I was on it, I went back to the dr. because I was breaking out in hives and having difficulty sleeping. The dr. told me to take benadryl during the night and loratidine during the day, regardless of the fact that I was obviously allergic. She told me that the benefits of quitting smoking would out weigh the short term side effects. After I quit smoking (within a week) and continuing on for another 2 weeks, I went back to the dr. with severe anxiety, depression, bleeding gums, puss pockets in my throat, stomach problems, sores on my lips and in my mouth, and was diagnosed with strep throat. The strep initially went away after a course of antibiotics but the puss pockets soon returned,which baffled the ER, and was diagnosed with some kind of virus that lasted 4 months. I stopped taking the chantix 1 month after starting due to the side effects I was having. Within a week or 2 after stopping the chantix, I started with severe anxiety, suicidal depression, psychotic outbreaks (screaming, yelling, erratic behavior, I could actually feel myself losing my mind), rapid heart rate, breathing problems, uncontrollable upper body twitching (sometimes slobbered on myself), sensation of being startled all the time, liver problems, hearing and vision problems, awful burning pain in my neck and shoulders, and strange other symptoms. I, of course, went back to the dr. who did a CAT scan and blood work. Nothing found in the CAT scan but I did have an abnormal ANA level and billiruben. Since then, which all took place within 2 months, I have seen a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with bipolar disorder (which I never had a problem with before) and gave me Cymbalta. I only took one pill and ended up with serotonin syndrome and had to immediately stop use. I have also seen rheumatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, and made a few trips to the ER. I switched family doctors because after 3 months of quitting smoking and stopping the Chantix, my doctor told me I needed to go smoke a cigarette. Rheumatology and neurology both diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia and told me that it was coincidental that this all started when I began taking Chantix. I did have 1 episode where I still swear I had a heart attack. I was laying in bed and my heart started beating so hard and fast I could feel it in my neck, ears and head. I started having a hard time breathing and I became overwhelmed with this feeling that I was dying right then and there. I prayed and prayed and then I had this hot, sharp pain on the left side of my chest and down my arm. I started fading in and out of blackness which horrified me so badly that I jumped out of bed and landed on the floor. It happened twice within a matter of minutes and I couldn’t get myself to a phone to call 911. After the episode, I went to sleep and consulted my dr. about it who chalked it up to a panic attack. I spent 7 months locking myself in my bedroom for fear of what I might do to myself or my family due to psychotic episodes. It became so bad that my 11 year old daughter begged me to start smoking again because she couldn’t stand seeing me like that anymore. It’s been a year now, and most of the anxiety, depression, and psychosis has gone away. I still suffer from severe neck, shoulder, back and arm pain, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, dull to severe pain throughout my body, confusion, blurred vision, hearing problems, and, on occasion, heart and breathing problems. I have gone from being a very healthy, hardworking mommy to barely being able to get out of bed. I have to take 4 motrin to do laundry and dishes some days and darvaset to sleep. I unfortunately started smoking again after 7 months and instead of it being something I’m just addicted to and enjoy, it has become part of therapy to tolerate the constant burning pain. I am so angry and disappointed because I don’t know how to explain any of this to my family, not even my husband. And my children, well, they miss their mom and don’t understand why I wasn’t healthier, happier, and more energetic when I quit. I barely work now, 1 day of work and about 3 days down with lots of pain meds. and hot baths. Now I’m depressed and stressed trying figure out how we’re going to pay the bills. Please let me know if there is anything I can do about this or anyone that can help me!!! brunslori@aol.com
March 5th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I am 32, years old and have never experienced any health problems, other than the ocassional cold, flu, ect; I heard about this “wonder medicine called Chantix” which would greatly increse your chances of stopping smoking. After smoking since I was 15, my doctor and I decided that this would be an excellent opportunity to quit. Well I have been taking Chantix for a little over three weeks, and as they promised I don’t want to smoke anymore, but to Pfizers discredit, it is because of the fact that Iam to busy trying to cope with all the oother health problems inquired while taking this medicine.Some of which include severe joint pain, mainly in my shoulders and knees almost constantly. Another effect is the absolute lack of care for life, to be honest I don’t care what happens in life. EXTREME constipation and I mean extreme, which to alot of people seems like no major deal, but trust me IT IS! Well at least I have the dreams, which keep me up all night, wondering if my neighbor really is outside shooting at me or its just another CHANTIX dream, the good part about either is you wake up refreshed and cool, or shall I say soaked with sweat. My family says that I have changed in so many ways I am almost unrecognizible. Looks loki now its another trip to the doctor (at my expense) to try t resolve the anxeity attacks and insomnia. Please DONT take this medicine. My friend, who is 59 started taking it also, and after 4 days she threw it away. Her comment t that was “I either had to stop taking that stuff or hire someone to transport me to the nuthouse”. Enough said. Pfizer should have conducted MANY MANY more tests on this product before it was released to the public, but if everyone paid as much as I did for the Chantix, Pfizer should be discussing our porblems over a big steak dinner and an expensive bottle of wine!
March 6th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
TODAY IT HAS BEEN 1 WEEK SINCE I HAVE BEEN OF CHANTIX—-I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REDUCE THE –AMOUNT OF XANAX I WAS TAKING JUST TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE DAY. STILL NEED TO TAKE IT AT NIGHT, JUST TO BE ABLE TO REST AND OCCASIONALLY DURING THE DAY WHEN I FEEL MY TEMPER STARTING UP, OR HEAR SOME UGLY SMART COMMENT COME OUT OF MY MOUTH SHOT AT SOME UNSUSPECTING PERSON. MY HUSBAND IS VERY HAPPY I’M NOT TAKING THIS ANYMORE, AND I HAD HIM READ SOME OF THESE ENTRY’S ——”LOOK HONEY-IT IS NOT JUST ME, AND I’M NOT ALONE WITH THE SIDE EFFECTS” THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS TAKEN THE TIME TO LEAVE A REPLY. HAS ANYONE HEARD ABOUT A LAWSUIT——??
March 7th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Blocking brain receptors is serious business. It’s like a partial lobotomy! This drug was released too soon, and we were just the guinea pigs.
After about a year off the drug now, I am not and don’t know if I will ever be myself again. All I can do is hope that time will bring back the person I used to be.
The pain and inflamation is still unbearable. Even taking 800 mg of motrin at a time, I still have pain and stiffness and have to walk like I am 90.
I lost my iniative, and just live day to day with zero ambition, and my income dropped 80% as a result.
I use to be a 4-mile a day runner, and now I struggle to get out of a chair to walk across the room! No doctors can help or explain it, so we are left to fend for ourselves in this mystery state, while Pfizer continues to push this drug to unsuspecting people.
Do we have to wait for more deaths or suicide to happen, or is something going to be done about it now?
March 7th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
ok I started visiting with attorneys, trying to start up a class action lawsuit —- I am still afraid—of myself, I can only encourage everyone to keep some kind of journal or diary, keep track of what is going on in your life, your spouses life, and how your kids are holding up…….. by the way I have good support at work…but I also work in the medical field…so they call me the chantix poster child…..after dealing with me on chantix and continue to be so supportive,,,,they can call me whatever they want cause I still have my job….luckily…….Hang on…..hang tuff…keep posting…we are our own support right now…..
March 9th, 2008 at 12:31 am
hi, My dad is a healthy, active 67 year old had a Stoke after using Chantix. He is in rehab. for loss of some mobility on the right side, manily his hand. His BP was fine, EKG, etc. All the physicians agreed it was from the Chantix
March 9th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
DEB, and everyone else here…
PLEASE KEEP US UPDATED! I have been suffering for a year and 3 months now, and it seems to be getting worse not better. Movement causes severe pain for me, so I hardly move at all. Only when I have to move I do, but I hold onto things when I walk…..chairs, walls anything in sight that can help alleviate putting weight on my joints and muscles.
Doctors tests show nothing abnormal!
I am worried that I might already have blood clots in my leg veins due to lack of movement, I have all the symptoms.
I am so mad at Pfizer right now! I don’t care about compensation, I just want to be normal again. But all they care about is drug sales!
Fifteen months is way too long! Side effect should go away when you stop taking the drug———this is not side effects, it’s severe damage done to our bodies!
March 9th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I’m a 32 year old male, otherwise physically fit. I started taking CHAMPIX at work ( I WORK AT A HOSPITAL ). The introduction of champix was part of a “no smoking on hospital property” policy introduced by the hospitals board of directors. This drug was offered to hospital employees free of charge, nicotine gum, zyban, and nicotine patches were also offered, as alternitives. As far as I know, almost 300 employees started taking this new “miracle drug”
About 2 weeks after it was offered to hospital staff, I was hearing about wonderful success stories. And so, I followed along and started taking CHAMPIX in hopes that I may become smoke free.
After 8 days, I had quit smoking. The only noted side effect I was experiencing were strange and bizarre dreams. That was of course, for only a short period of time. About 3 weeks into the drug, I noticed that I was more irritable than normal. I passed this off as being withdrawl from nicotine, and continued to take CHAMPIX. AT week 5, I had developed an explosive temper. I was getting to the point that I was afraid to get out of bed and go to work. I was in fear that I may seriously injure or even worse, end up murdering staff or patients, whichever was unlucky enough to be the poor soul to “set me off”. At this point, I was even having dreams about murdering people whom had made me angry the pervious day. At this point, I stopped taking the drug. I immediately told my nursing supervisor (I’m a nurse) about what was going on inside my head. She aggreed that I should stay at home and wait for the drug to exit my body. The drug has long since gone, but the explosive rage has remained.
I have started seeing a psychiatrist in hopes that this rage can be contained or properly dealt with. I am honestly living in fear. Not only for myself, but for my wife and family.
I don’t know if I can contribute to any sort of a lawsuit in the United States, as I am a Canadian. But if my story prevents the pain and suffering of someone else, I woud gladly tell it again in any court, in any counrty.
March 10th, 2008 at 5:45 am
Wow. I went on chantix about 10 months ago. After being on it for 1 month I started to notice that I wanted to cry all the time, major joint pains I had no will to do anything and I had mood swings. So I went back to my Doctor to see what was going on So they did some blood work and told me thy couldn’t find any thing and to make another app. I stopped taking the pill because i thought it was the cause of my problems. To make a very long story short I ended up going after my boss at work and was stopped right on time. I was out of work for 4 months I could t go into a rest rent with out tootle freaking out. Could t coach my kids football team the way I wanted to and to this day I rely on pills to get me threw the day.I still see a sicitrest and a sicoulegest I might of destroid my career and i have short term mimmerry lost and I cant spell words at this point on this post i have 32 spell checks lol try living your days like that win you right multiple email for your work. I hope to be back to normal one day but I dont see it yet. I would like some help with this. So if any one can help that would be great.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:47 am
My husband is in bed right now with feelings of pain, depression and confusion. He was on Chantix for 2 weeks in Nov 2007 and his life has been awful since then. He has seen psychiatrist, social workers, neurologist, GP’s, chiropractors and I forget what else. We are desperate to find answers! Are the effects from chantix or is this all a coincidence??
March 10th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
REading your stories breaks my heart, because I don’t know if there’s any hope that I will ever be “normal” again. I took Chantix from last September until early December. I did not see the changes in myself, but I had become very aggressive in personal relationships, and, also very “ADD.” I commented to a number of people that it must be because I was turning 40 soon that I was losing it. I was joking, of course.
After I stopped taking Chantix is when the real “fun” started. I slipped down into a dark depression that I am yet to really pull out of. I ended up having a manic episode and being hospitalized for several days, and of course at that point the doctors just automatically decided I was bipolar (even though I had no history of bipolar disorder whatsoever) and chemically dependent because I drank alcohol on a regular basis.
The psychiatric hospital was traumatic for everyone involved, but especially me. The place was horrible and I feel so sorry for anyone who ends up in a bad one. I tried to leave and they refused to let me out until they realized they had me CONFUSED WITH ANOTHER PATIENT who had been arrested for illegal drug use! Suddenly i was “well” and could go home.
That was about 5 weeks ago and I am still not “me.” The psychiatrist is tampering with medication levels and up until I took Chantix I needed two mild anti-depressants to control my depression. Now I’m on 4 times the dose, plus lithium, and I feel like S&&T! I either feel nothing or I cry, I get no joy out of anything, and I am just lucky I took some time off from work for other reasons because I don’t know how I would function if I had to deal with other people every day.
My 10 year old is hanging in htere with me but this is way too much for a 10 year old to know or have to see…. ‘Mommy had a breakdown in the E.R. and they handcuffed her…. but I’m glad she stopped smoking.’ At least I have stayed off the cigarettes. I mentally despise them now because of what the “magic pill” did to me. Anyone who says this was nicotine withdrawal is absolutely full of crap, because I’ve stopped smoking before and NEVER gone through this kind of nightmare. I hope *I* return some day. I miss me the way I used to be. And Pfizer? Get ready, because I’m shopping for lawyers right now.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:51 am
wow,this is all a nightmare!i stopped taking this last week after suffering all these symptoms everyone listed……im in shock
March 14th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Is there a suit against Chantix? Last year I started taking Chantix to stop smoking. About 2 to 3 three months later I had a heart attack. I now have stint and have to take medication daily. I am 36 years old and I am in pretty good shape. The heart attack was a total suprise. I did not think for a second that I was at risk, but now I am a heart attack survivor. The only thing I can think of was that Chantix was the main reason.
March 14th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I have taken Chantix for ten days and now my heart hurts. I am worried that I may have a heart attack at any moment. I am 33 years old and now it hurts to pick up my 3 year old boy. Anyone who reads this-please do not swallow this medicine. I am stopping it immediately and only hope that I will recover quickly. I have never had heart problems before.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
My husband started Chantix in July of 2007. Since taking Chantix (and never before) he has never been the same. Has anyone out there had these symptoms–really heavy sweating, chills, constant nausea, vomiting–in cycles of 4 ok days just nausea then 2 to 3 days vomiting–unable to keep things down. Then maybe a few good weeks–then it starts back up again (and the good weeks aren’t great–fatigue, and nausea are forever).
Chronic burping and distended stomach, nausea, vomiting–sweating? Anyone else. My husband is 50 years old–NEVER had any such problems prior to taking Chantix. In fact he stopped taking Chantix 4 weeks into it because of these problems. He did quit smoking–and did not start smoking again–but keeps saying–”I never knew being healthy could feel so awful”. Had we known it would be like this he would have never taken Chantix. My husband was a healthy, active adult prior to Chantix.
March 15th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Michael, i read you statement on the heart attack while taking chantix i have never had heard problems only high blood pressure but was alway in control and i had a heart attack on 12/15/07 at the age of 44. no blockage no blood clot and they can not tell me why i had it.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I took Chantix for about 4 weeks. During that time I had the vivid dreams and nauseau but tried to stick through it. But then the heart palpatations started. That sort of scared me so I weaned myself off of it and now have not taken it for about 3 weeks.
However, a few days after stopping the Chantix my blood pressure goes through the roof. I have never had high blood pressure before. My doctor had me admitted to the hospital because it was dangerously high. It’s been 3 weeks since then and they are still unable to find a med that will control it or find the cause of it. My doctor is very surprised at the suddeness of the problem and that typical high blood pressure comes on over time. I went from normal to 200/110. I have a hard time believing that it’s just a big conincidence that this started after stopping Chantix.
I don’t smoke but I’m twice as worried now about having a stroke or heart attack. I’m only 42 and went from working out everyday and healthy to HPB and shortness of breath…just like that…
In addition, my husband also took Chantix and has not felt like himself since he stopped. His BP is normal but he has a feeling of vagueness and shortness of breath. He is 41 and was perfectly healthy before the Chantix.
I gotta tell you, I’m worried for all of us… is this a fen-phen episode all over again? I wish I had never taken it.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:48 am
I have been taking Chantix for about 1 month now and am starting to get a little nervous and scared about the side effects. I have not smoked for 2 weeks but I am always in a bad mood now, often exploding on my family for no reason. The other night I started feeling sick to my stomach(more than usual,common feeling with this drug) while watching a movie. All of a sudden I had this sharp pinching feeling in my chest that shot through to my back and then my right arm started to go numb. I have never felt this type of pain before so it scared me. Thank God after about 2 hours of debating what to do and praying that I wasn’t going to die, I finally dozed off. I was scared to go to sleep, fearing that I would not wake up. My physician gave me this prescription without any directions or advice about taking it and he doesn’t seemed concerned about monitoring it. He seems to think all health problems will be solved if you quit smoking. So I guess he is all for it. I am really happy about not smoking but I really am considering quitting Chantix. My dilemma now is what will happen when I quit taking it. What a mess.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Wow. I just started taking Chantix 3 days ago and after reading through all of this I am thinking about stopping! Everything I am reading is scaring me. The good news is that since the day I started taking it I have not wanted a cig.
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:45 am
My suggestion to anyone taking it is to stop. Over the course of a few days you should be able to cut back and stop. The less time you take something, the less time it has to do any damage, if in fact damage is being caused.
I agree that doctors think that all ills are cured by stopping smoking and we all know we shouldn’t smoke, but I also agree that the methods to quitting aren’t monitored. Chantix is a very new drug and I think we’re all guineau pigs in this. The amount and variety of chemicals in cigarettes and who know what just cutting those out does to a person. That alone should be monitored.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Hi,
I am very upset reading your message about you and your heart attack after taking Chantix.
My husband a heavy smoker for over 40 years has tried so many different things to quit smoking…. wellbutrin, patches, gum, hypnosis, acupuncture, you name it…..
We started seeing the Chantix commercial and figured maybe this will work.
This was appx. 6 months ago…The next Dr. visit he asked for the prescription.
It was not long after that, I will check records that the trouble began…
He would start feeling very week, minutes later chest pains, sweating, and breathing problems…. The episode would last about 10 min. and go away.
That day it only happened one time. A few days later.. It happened again…. Stronger….That time it happened 3 times in one day…This time he went to the hospital emergency, They said it was most likely indigestion, and sent him home…
This continued with over 10 times this happening.
After going to the hospital a second time…. They did an angiogram… It came back , no blockage, normal cholesterol, no high blood pressure…. They sent him home a few days later with no medication.
Appx 2 weeks later….. It happened again…. each time was more intense…. This time we had to go to the closest hospital because he was almost in full cardiac arrest.
They did another angiogram and said he had a blockage on top of his heart and put a stent.
He felt much better…. They were still giving him the Chantix in the hospital…. the side effects said nothing about heart attacks. Now he is on Plavex, Lipitor, Coreg, & Altace….
He quit taking the Chantix not long after the hospital, only because he felt comfortable that he quit, and our insurance company would not pay for this expensive drug. We even went out of our way to recommend this drug to family and friends who smoke.
About a week ago…. The smoking pangs came back…. So he started taking it again… 2 days later he had one episode of chest pains that lasted about 5 min. The next day it happened about 4 times… Yesterday it happened about 4 times…. They didn’t last long …. Just like they did in the beginning of taking the drug for the first time.
He hasn’t taken any Chantix for 2 days now… He didn’t stop because of the heart….. We didn’t even put 2 & 2 together until last night and started searching and seen letters of others…
I’m hoping this is the problem, although I will be very upset that the Doctor’s didn’t know this…. We will know he will be okay if he stops the Chantix.
What I would like to know is if this is kind of how it happened to you?
My husband does have rheumatoid arthritis too…
Chantix was the only new drug he was taking.
Any response would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Kathy B.
March 24th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I started taking chantix in Dec,06. I was on this med for 1 month only, Iwas instantly nauseas and later began having silver wiggly lines in my eyesite sometimes I couldnt see properly.I didnt know if I was having migraines without the headache or what it was.I have since had weird sensations in my eyesite and hurting in my joints as well .The vision and memory problems and strange sensations like muscle weakness and a slow mental response to brain signaling to my body have been the most noticable changes.I agree the medication does take away the desire to smoke but you cant get past the side effect to enjoy it . If there is a class action suit please let me know ,this drug is very scary and I am still trying to quit smoking after all this.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I have contacted two law firms online so far and gotten no response. I guess I will go to a local attorney to see what he thinks. But yeah, there’s going to be a lawsuit, at least from me!
March 25th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I took Chantix over a 3 or so week period and gradually went downhill in a depression. I would make mountains out of molehills so to speak. The last day I took Chantix I tried to commit suicide and almost succeeded!! I downed over 100 pills and didnt even think before doing it. Last thing I remember was sitting in my recliner with all the empty pill bottles in a bag (as requested for the ER). After I took the pills I realized what I did and called for help but I almost didnt make it. I woke up 2 days later in the ICU. I was there for 8 days and then to a mental hospital for another 8.
I filled out info for an attorney online and they sent me information and paperwork to fill out, but why bother.
See, I had been diagnosed bipolar before taking chantix. And in this lawyers paperwork it explains that if you have social security or medicaid you have a slim chance of being compensated for this. WHAT CRAP!!!!!!! I AM STILL A HUMAN BEING WHO ENDED UP ALMOST DYING. I HAD TO BE INTUBATED AND EVERYTHING THEY ALMOST LOST ME, ACTUALLY HAD VERY LITTLE HOPE OF ME WAKING UP. BUT I GUESS SINCE IM
1. BIPOLAR (ALREADY HAS DEPRESSIVE EPISODES)
2. SOCIAL SECURITY (AM DISABLED DUE TO BIPOLAR)
I DO NOT NEED A SETTLEMENT IN PEOPLES EYES.
HMMMM, I WONDER IF OTHERS WHO HAVE TAKEN CHANTIX AND LIVE TO TELL OF THEIR MISERY AND CONTINUING SUFFERING WILL APPLY FOR DISABILITY? (OTHERS WHO HAVE SINCE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH BIPOLAR, FIBROMYALGIA AND HEART DISEASES) THESE PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY ALSO. BUT IT SURE DOESNT MEAN THEY ARENT INTITLED TO COMPENSATION FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING ON TOP OF THEIR MEDICAL BILLS.
I GUESS WHAT I’M SAYING IS….IF YOUR ON SOCIAL SECURITY OR MEDICAID YOUR SUFFERING AND PERMANENT DAMAGE AND FUTURE PAIN DOESNT MATTER. WHAT BULLCRAP.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Hi,
Yes, just like your husband after 2-3 days I had the pain and I thought it was acid reflux. When I went to the hospital the pain had passed, but I told the doctor I’m here you might as well do the tests. They did tests and the enzymes showed I had a heart attack. I did not take any medications until Chantix. I did not have a heart condition, high blood pressure or cholesterol. I blame Chantix but I can’t prove it.
I have stopped taking the Chantix and the pains have gone away, But now the damage is done and I have a cholesterol problem.
The doctor won’t say it was the pills. In my opinion the Chantix caused the blockage. I would like to know how long the Chantix remains in the system.
My hope is others will come forward so people can be warned and prevent further damage to other peoples’ lives.
I have been okay for 8 weeks now.
Thanks for letting me know about your husband.
Keep in touch.
Gabriel P.
—– Original Message —–
From: kat72
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2008 1:48 pm
Subject: chantix My husband too had Heart Attacks!
To: cenjr@optonline.net
Cc: danny7292@hotmail.com
> Hi,
>
> I am very upset reading your message about you and your heart
> attack after taking Chantix.
>
> My husband a heavy smoker for over 40 years has tried so many
> different things to quit smoking…. wellbutrin, patches, gum,
> hypnosis, acupuncture, you name it…..
> We started seeing the Chantix commercial and figured maybe this
> will work.
> This was appx. 6 months ago…The next Dr. visit he asked for
> the prescription.
>
> It was not long after that, I will check records that the
> trouble began…
> He would start feeling very week, minutes later chest pains,
> sweating, and breathing problems…. The episode would last
> about 10 min. and go away.
> That day it only happened one time. A few days later.. It
> happened again…. Stronger….That time it happened 3 times in
> one day…This time he went to the hospital emergency, They
> said it was most likely indigestion, and sent him home…
> This continued with over 10 times this happening.
> After going to the hospital a second time…. They did an
> angiogram… It came back , no blockage, normal cholesterol, no
> high blood pressure…. They sent him home a few days later with
> no medication.
>
> Appx 2 weeks later….. It happened again…. each time was more
> intense…. This time we had to go to the closest hospital
> because he was almost in full cardiac arrest.
> They did another angiogram and said he had a blockage on top of
> his heart and put a stent.
> He felt much better…. They were still giving him the Chantix
> in the hospital…. the side effects said nothing about heart
> attacks. Now he is on Plavex, Lipitor, Coreg, & Altace….
>
> He quit taking the Chantix not long after the hospital, only
> because he felt comfortable that he quit, and our insurance
> company would not pay for this expensive drug. We even went out
> of our way to recommend this drug to family and friends who smoke.
>
> About a week ago…. The smoking pangs came back…. So he
> started taking it again… 2 days later he had one episode of
> chest pains that lasted about 5 min. The next day it happened
> about 4 times… Yesterday it happened about 4 times…. They
> didn’t last long …. Just like they did in the beginning of
> taking the drug for the first time.
>
> He hasn’t taken any Chantix for 2 days now… He didn’t stop
> because of the heart….. We didn’t even put 2 & 2 together
> until last night and started searching and seen letters of others…
>
> I’m hoping this is the problem, although I will be very upset
> that the Doctor’s didn’t know this…. We will know he will be
> okay if he stops the Chantix.
>
> What I would like to know is if this is kind of how it happened
> to you?
>
> My husband does have rheumatoid arthritis too…
>
> Chantix was the only new drug he was taking.
>
> Any response would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Kathy B.
> Kat72@bellsouth.net
March 27th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Heart attack… Michael, I am also 32, and I have been taking chantix for 8 days now. My doctor is closley montioring me, I’m sick as a dog right now, but I bleave I’m sick due to the flu.
As far as your heart attack goes, I just went through a stress test, 2 days in the hospital, and a ct scan, to find out nothing…. All this days before I started taking chantix. My heart is fine, and there is no blockage.
Hopefully I’m fine after I kick the habbit. But if something does happen, there is alot of information on me and on my condition before I started taking chantix.
I’ll repost in a about 11 weeks.
Good Luck
Michael Bocek
March 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I’m a 29 year old male who has smoked for around 10 years now.
I started taking Chantix back in September of 2007, and I’m still taking it now because I still haven’t quit smoking… go figure.
But I’ve not had any of the side effects you guys have mentioned, aside from the dreams. And to be honest with you, I kind of like remembering my dreams - some of ‘em are pretty darned funny.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Thank you for sharing the information. My Dr. just prescribed me Chantix to quit smoking based upon it successes with that aspect. I had my doubts and I am glad I checked it out. There is no way, I will find another way to resolve my addiction…knowledge is power. Thanks again, I will say a prayer for all those who it caused a problem for…
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I started chantix first week of jan. 08 and stayed on it only for a week due to side effects. Well, I still can hardly sleep. I used to fall asleep so easily and if I was upset about anything one tylenol pm would put me out. Now nothing seems to help. The doctor has prescribed two sleeping meds and they work for a few hours and that’s it. The aching in my hips, knees, and ankles has not gone away either. I feel so sad, I feel alone. My life has changed dramatically. I am an upbeat, ambitious person normally. Nothing gets me down, I don’t get sick! I’m just not me anymore and I’m so sad. It’s not getting better and has been over 2 and half months now since I’ve taken it. :*(
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I had read up on this medicine and thought I knew what the risks and side effects were so I decided to take it. I wish I had seen this site before I took chantix, I had some of the basic side effects very tired, massive headaches, brain fog, and forgetfulness. I was also quick to lose my temper much more so than usual. By the morning of day 6, I woke up with severe left sided pain just below my ribs. I went to work came home and did a search for severe left sided pain while taking chantix. I came across this site as well as some others. The things I have read as well as experienced have made me regret ever taking this drug. I stoped taking Chantix on the 7th day after going to my cardiologist, and he recommended to stop taking it. It has been 3 weeks since I have taken Chantix and I still feel like crap, the pain in my left side subsided after about 3 days after I stopped taking it. But I’m still suffering from daily headaches, feeling very worn out and aches and pains, more so than usual. I don’t know what the answer is but I feel as though there’s alot more risk involved with taking this drug than I was ever led to believe. I have to admit I still haven’t felt right or like myself and it’s scary. My doctors were very quick to recommend Chantix, obviously smoking isn’t good for you but I’m convinced neither is chantix.
April 4th, 2008 at 7:17 am
My 41 year old husband of 20 years died of a massive heart attack 9-22-2006. He had taken Chantix for 6 weeks and was off it for the week he died. Never had a chest pain in his life. He was in great shape. 32 inch waist. I know in my heart it was the Chantix. Now, me and our four children are left here to grieve. Feel free to email me at klim714@aol.com
Dina
April 6th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I took Chantix last year (2007) and quit smoking in 10 days. HOWEVER, I became so ill I could barely function. I had horrible stomach problems and could not keep any food down for long. Sometimes I would be almost ok for a few days and then for days and days the vomiting would be back. I began to think that this is how the drug works: you vomit so much and are so ill you can’t put anything in your mouth without barfing.
People ask me now if I feel better since I quit and I tell them honestly that I don’t feel ANY better. I still have stomach problems since the Chantix and I have been tortured with SMELLS since I quit smoking. I almost wish this supposed blessing of enhanced ability to smell were removed.
I notice that the media does not seem to bombard us as often as before with the ads for the drug.
As a final note, I thought the depression aspect was just me! Maybe the other way the drug works (after making the victim/user sick to the stomach) is to cause the person to have total inability to experience pleasure … whether from nicotine, food, drink … life itself!
April 7th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Does anyone know if there are any lawsiuts for chantix?
They need to get this drug off the market ASAP, before more people die from it or get seriously ill like me.
Will I ever be normal again?
April 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Hello all,
I took Chantix for 3 weeks and it is a wonder drug it erased any yearning for nicotine i had for the last 37 years.
I did have some weird stuff happen depression, brain fog, but after being off of it for 2 months i still have the brain fog / light headaches.
Always in the forehead area a little off to the right side.
It is with me 24/7 sometime just a light pressure sometimes a real headache.
I am 55 years old
Does anyone else have these symptoms?
April 14th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I’m a 47 yr old male and started taking Chantix Jan. 8th 2008. I’ve had Asthma all my life but only suffered occasional , once or twice a year, problems with my breathing. After taking Chantix for a couple weeks my asthma began to worsen. I continued to take it, not realizing the relationship between the drug and my breathing problems. After a 1 1/2 months on the drug, my wife suggested my problems may be related to the Chantix. At that point I agreed and stopped taking the drug. It’s been a couple months now since I quit and my breathing problems have only worsened, I can’t even tie my shoes without running out of breath and having to use my inhaler for temporary relief. Thanks to being a dog owner, I used to walk one or two miles a day, I can’t even walk around the block now, this SUCKS!
Has anyone experienced similar problems with breathing, and if so, have you found anything to alleviate the problem?
Thanks,
Jeff
April 17th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I have been taking Chantix for 2 weeks and to be honest, the only side effect I’ve had is the vivid dreams, which I don’t mind. Folks have to understand that ALL drugs are dangerous and will effect everyone differently. Even Tylenol can evetually destroy your liver and kill you. The side effects from Chantix are an absolute joy compared to those in Zyban, which I tried a few times to try and quit. Talk about feelings of depression and suicide, that stuff makes you feel emotionless and dead inside. My heart goes out to those who’ve had serious ailments or had a loved one who has, but I don’t think there are enough cases to warrant a class action suit. Maybe it’s because the drug is so new or maybe it’s because when you look at the serious cases vs. the 10’s of millions who have taken, their far less then other drugs.
April 17th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I took the Chantix from March 2007 until about May 2007. The dreams were exhausting and the nausea just not worth putting up with. I was also becoming more forgetful then usual. I got the flu in november of 2007 and that was when the muscle aches and spasms started. The pain is horrible. I am exhausted all the time.
It got so bad that in January 2008 I thought I was having a heart attack and went to the ER. My heart is fine and there are no clots or blockages. My family doctor said he felt it was Fibromyalgia. I thought differently. I just saw a rhematologist who ran a battery of tests and found that my Vitamin D level was seriously low, which would cause most of the symptoms. Since I am a milk drinker and sun worshipper, I thought it was a bit odd. He said that smoking would affect the level. I have to wonder if the Chantix somehow affected how I process the vitamin D or is it just coincidence? I hope this will be the answer and that the pain will go away. I just started taking the prescription D supplement so I haven’t seen a change yet. If you haven’t had your D level checked you may want to but be sure to go to a specialist. My family doctor ordered the wrong type of D test. I will keep you posted.
Ally
April 21st, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I am so glad to have found this site. I have been taking Chantix for a month and stopped on Friday due to my friends saying that I had been out of control since I started taking it. I cancelled work today due to extreme anxiety and a general feeling of being out of it. I didn’t sleep at all last night because I had the worst dreams I’ve ever had….violent, disgusting dreams. I even remember saying in my dream that I was depressed.
However, the biggest thing is that I have never been a drug user in my life. I always said I would never touch drugs and right after starting Chantix, I became reckless and started doing cocaine. Looking back, the past month is a total blur. I’ve talked to friends today who all have said that they’ve been very worried about me because for the past month I have been a totally different person. They said that sometimes I just stare off into space and that I’ve been doing things they never thought I would do. To me, it almost seems as if Chantix triggered a manic episode in me. I have never had any severe mental episodes except a few bouts of anxiety and depression. I”m also 28. Now putting two and two together, I am apalled at who I’ve been and what I’ve done after starting this medication. I’m definitely finding a lawyer. We all have to fight this. I’m very worried that I’m not out of the woods yet and am afraid of what is going to happen now that I’m not taking it anymore.
Has anyone else had a similar story?
April 25th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
I started taking Chantix in October 2007. By the end of week one on the drug I had stopped smoking. I continued to take the rest of the month’s pills and then quit (still smoke free). Everything was great until the depression kicked in a few weeks after I stopped taking the medicine. I tried to hide the depression and the confusion in hopes that it would just go away. Of course it did not and continued to worsen until all I could think about was wanting to die.
I finally broke down and told my doctor who prescribed Effexor. It has not helped at all; he has since increased the dosage but it is still not helping. I can not think straight or remember things that I know I knew a couple of months ago.
I was completely fine before taking Chantix and now I am a complete mess. It boggles my mind to think that this drug could make me feel this way for so long after stopping it.
I have had to quit my job because of this depression. I couldn’t force myself to do the work I was given. I would go hide in the rest room and just cry for no reason. I have never been more embarrassed and scared in my life. I scare myself with the crazy thoughts that are going thru my mind.
My family doesn’t understand and I don’t know how to explain it. I honestly feel like a crazy person.
April 26th, 2008 at 4:23 am
I took chantix about 2 and a half months ago. I stopped when my heart started to skipping the whole day. I went to bed thinking I wouldn’t wake up in the morning. I waited to see the doctor thinking it would go away but it hasn’t. I have never had any problems with my heart until I took chantix. I went to the doctor just over a week ago and am waiting to hear back about the heart moniter the doctor ordered. I have contacted a law firm about what chantix has done. not sure if they will take my case or not but do believe that people should know about what this drug can do to the heart. I had no idea this would happen and it wasn’t on the warning on the side effects. The only class action suite that I have seen and attorneys are only taking the suicide cases. I just hope this firm takes this case. I have asked my husband to take over for me in case I don’t make it.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Four weeks ago my very good friend died unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack. He was 56 years old and had no history of heart problems. He had been taking Chantix for 16 days. He just came home from work, layed down on the couch and died. His autopsy showed no cause of death. I had taken Chantix for 2 1/2 months and when I heard my friend had been on it, I knew the Chantix caused the heart attack because of the symptoms I had experienced while on the drug. My heart would seem to stop and start about every 4th beat the first day I was on it. I called Chantix help line and was told my body was just getting used to the new medication and to see a doctor if it persisted. The next day I felt more normal and didn’t follow up with the doctor, but stopped the chantix because of the multiple other symptoms I had experienced. Tell your loved ones not to take this drug. My friend’s wife is willing to join a class action suit. If you hear of one contact me @marycontrary99@hotmail.com
May 13th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I tried Chantix in April, 2007 with the one month supply and wasn’t successful. I started taking it again in November, Great American Smoke Out Day, and can say that as of tomorrow, it will be a full 6 months with absolutely no desire to smoke, but then who could smoke feeling like I do.
We vacationed in Florida in February of 2008 and I had stopped taking the Chantix January 31st. On February 17th, while going back to the house we rent in Florida, I began to have terrible pain in both feet. I have had nothing but pain since. I worked the week we returned from Florida and went to my Dr. complaining of the Flu like symtoms, aching head to toe. All blood tests were normal, he is at a loss. I can’t concentrate, can’t stop gaining weight, 40 lbs in 6 months and eating less and less and I do eat well balanced meals/snacks as I have been seeing a Nutritionalist for several years now. I have never been a depressed person, always very friendly, but lately I could care less, I have trouble getting going and just feel useless overall.
I’m sure this is from the Chantix and would not suggest anyone else use it just because of these side effects.
Chantix free for 3 months and the symptoms are not getting better, instead they are increasingly worse.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I started smoking when I was 17, I am now 24. I have only been taking Chantix for 3 days and I am already experiencing side effects. The first day that I took this drug, I started feeling sick (uncontrollable coughing w/ phlegm/mucus, nausea, chills and body aches, loss of energy etc.) Today I took my third and FINAL pill this morning. By the afternooon, I had an anxiety attack. I have had anxiety attacks before, but they are very infrequent. I have them approximately 1 every 6 months. I never know when it wil come on because there are never any warning signs or symptoms. It started with sharp abdominal pain (I felt like someone was stabbing me with a dull knife) and then hyperventilation. When I am experiencing an attack I feel like I would rather die than to continue experiencing the pain. This one lasted for almost 30 minutes. After reading all of the previous entries and talking to my doctor about my and other people’s side effects, we have decided that I should no longer take Chantix. In a way, I feel lucky to have only taken the first 3 pills. Hopefully the drug will be flushed out of system quickly (as I have been drinking a lot of water) so that there may not be any permanent damage done. Good luck to all of you! If you are reading this and are currently taking Chantix, STOP IMMEDIATELY…I WOULDN’T TELL MY WORST ENEMY TO TAKE CHANTIX. I would rather die from smoking!
May 14th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
have sore hearthurts right now and am thinking these pigs(mental health) are black listing me cause i speak out against the mental health and pharmaceutical INDUSTRY.been having nausea, strange dreams,suicidal thoughts.anti sematics are in the penticton mental health industry.i am not jewish or black but HATE nazism just the same.
support your local nazi bashin organization.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I took Chantix for about 5 weeks and have not stopped because the urge to smoke came back because of feeling bad, (just sat in a chair all day,) and the stress. I have now stopped the Chantix and now have a constant pain in my shoulder/back and very short of breath when I do anything, muscle weakness and I think I’m having some depression. I only took one a day when taking it because of not being able to sleep when I would take two daily. I feel I am going to have a heart attack because the pain gets worse in my left shoulder/back whenever I do anything, so I’m still sitting in my chair. Is this happening to anyone else?
May 15th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Correction: I have NOW stopped and gone back to smoking.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Here is a little hope, after months of hell my doctor seems to have stabilized my condition with valproic acid, paxil, and I sometimes take Xanex too. The valproic acid is commonly used for seizures and bi-polar disorders. Valproic acid got my life going, but I am forgetting what I used to be. Short term memory loss has become a BIG issue. When someone decides to to take up the lawsuit I am in….contact me folks if you need anything.
scotttbowers@comcast.net
May 15th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
i was taking chantix for 2 weeks when it caused me to have 2 granny seizures that almost killed me and i have to take medicens for the rest of my life. all the tests the dr. run come back normal. he said it was from the chantix.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
im sorry i didnt know it would post on this suit. i thought i was emailing a lawyer. i am looking for a lawyer to file a lawsuit with, if anyone knows of one please contac me at angelincrazyville38@yahoo.com
May 16th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I started Chantix in May of 07. When I first started taking it I thought it was the miracle drug. Had absolutely no desire to smoke. Went 8 months smoke free, but at the same time I was far from myself. Severe anxiety, mood swings, uncontrollable thoughts racing in my head, and crying spells. I never had experienced anything like that in my life. My girlfriend was pregnant also, and the way i was acting pretty much ruined the whole experience for me. It has been a year since and after the help from Lexapro for the anxiety and Wellbutrin for the depression, I finally start feeling like myself again. The maker of Chantix tries to put it off as the withdrawal from the nicotine, but there is no way that nicotine withdrawal lasts more than a month. I started smoking after 8 months and the same symptoms were there even while I smoked. I have a wonderful 3 month old son and have missed out on most of hie early life because my girlfriend has dealt with so much that I had to move out. I am almost completely normal now and I wish that I never pissed with Chantix. With all the people that have had issues with it, the company had to be aware of the possible effects when it was tested. In my eyes the pharm giants have no reguards for ruining lives with their products when it comes to the amount of money that is being made for them. All of the people that had issues need to get together as one angry disgruntled group and maybe some compensation could be obtained. The pharm giants wont blink an eye at individuals but if a group were to confront them it might generate more of a push to get compensated for the harm their product has caused many.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I am a 52 year old male who took Chantix for 6 weeks. I somked for 30 years and have not had a cigarette in two months now. That part of Chantix worked fine. I have experienced mild recurring depression and periods of melancholy that I usually cure with alcohol. I’ve never been a “regular” drinker, but I find myself drinking almost every day now. I also have experienced a loss in “the level of euphoria” I usually experience at sexual climax. It simply doesn’t feel as good as it used to. Has anyone else had sexual affectations?
May 19th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I got a prescription of Chantix in January to quit a 11 year smoking habit, I started it in march. For two months know I have been going through a severe depression, with aggression to those in my own home. I recently checked myself into the mental health ward to deal with overwhelming thoughts of suicide. They did nothing to treat my symptoms for they could not find anything wrong with me. It is the chantix. I am just glad I don’t own a gun. I still think these thoughts daily. If anyone knows a lawyer who will take this case please contact me. atoraxia@yahoo.com. Do not take this drug.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I have been smoking for 10 years. I was born with asthma, but was still addicted! Thanks to Chantix I have been quit for 7 months (and off the medicine for 5).
I think most of you people are full of crap! I am saddened by how everyones out to make a quick dishonest buck…
May 20th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
My Wife and I took Chantix. Me for 1 month and her for 2 weeks at the end of 2007. I have had extreme muscle pain since and my Wife has contracted a disease called Dermatomyositis. It’s a crippling Muscle disease. It states in Pfizer’s web page on Chantix that it can cause Myositis, although rare. There is no known cure for the disease according to our Neurologist. Please contact me if anyone else has had this kind of side effect from taking Chantix. Randy at ranpaint@bellsouth.net.
Tell everybody you know about the side effects of this drug. It’s DEADLY
May 21st, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I’m 57 Have taken Chantix 15 weeks …. actually quit smoking for 160 days and was so happy … Thought I had smoking done with. Nope … within a couple weeks I got super stressed and bought a pack of smokes …. smoked for a few months and tried again … same thing happened; smoking again after a stress.
My issues are depression and anxiety and NOW I’ve diagnosed with PAD and am having an operation in two weeks (either angioplasty or stint depending on what they find inside).
My legs have always been my strength … I play tennis … and have fairly good stamina …. NOW the pain in my calves is BIG because of this PAD that I never had before …. I dunno but after reading others here I’m not going to take anymore Chantix … and will watch what develops … The FDA second warning today is how I landed here.
May 21st, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I too have been experiencing horrible behavior changes. My husband says I’m intolerable. I am depressed, angry, and hopeless. I did quit smoking though. I also have terrible joint pain in my fingers and elbows. I never had any problems before this drug. I also have a strange chest pain. I am on medication for depression since taking Chantix. I too had horrible real dreams, almost more like hallucinations. My family, especially my husband, can’t stand me anymore. I was only on it for 6 weeks, but I am still, seven months later, experiencing these side effects. I never had any of these problems before Chantix.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I was a smoker for 22 years, chantix did help me quit, I took the drug for 3 weeks stopped because of numbing sensation I was feeling in my arm, it has been 4 weeks since I have stopped taking this drug I still get this numbing sensation in my arm I can’t wait to talk to my doctor on my next appt in 2 weeks. If you really want to stop smoking all you need is the desire and support foreveryone you know chantix is a good crutch, but I do not recommend it, it is a powerful drug. In Europe it has been taken off the market, THAT ALONE SHOULD BE A WARNING.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I now have arrhythmias. They didn’t start until I was on this stuff. I wish I would have known this stuff first. I wouldn’t have taken it. Who knows what damage I did to myself. Funny, I used to suck down beer like no tomorrow. During chantix, I lost “desire” to drink my usual six pack. Ended up down to 3 beers maybe. Now, I ‘ve been smoke free AND alcohol free for 3 months. No desire to drink. Chanitx is some weird stuff.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
October 2006, I started taking Chantix and the 1st month was okay other than being very agitated. My friends and family kept telling me I did not act like my self. Into the 2nd month I begin have very vivid and real like dreams. To this day I can remember the first and all to follow. I would wake up thinking was that real or a dream. I was almost always agitated and did not trust any one. In November 2006, after a confirtation with the person I thought was my friend and someone I help grow the business even putting my own money in to the business, I knew I could not handle the situation. She is bipolar and at the time I was not sure what was going on in my life. My next to the last client, I hit my elbow on the wall. The client screamed because it scared her. I went home and went straight to bed. At 3AM, I woke up remembering someone had grabbed me from behind, and I was fighting them off with my elbows. After I woke up, I remember thinking that was the wierdest dream I had ever had. I rolled over and realize my right arm was in pain. I got out of the bed and could not get back in due to my bed is really high. After going to get it xrayed, my elbow was dislocated and I was sent to an orthopedic surgeon. He immediatedly came to the conclusion that I had been in a car accident or motorcycle accident. I could only tell him the truth as I remembered and he said he was sending me to a elbow specialist in Savannah. He never once touched my arm. He told me it may be the next day before they called. Thanks to my sister, she called an Orthopedic doctor in Augusta and by the time we got there, they tried to pop my elbow back in joint, but it was already three times the normal size with fluids seeping out of my pores. I was in the hospital for 1 week and had 2 surgeries in 3 days. The first was a life threating limb surgery. I was told if I had waited another hour I would have lost my arm at the shoulder. Next week, I will have surgery again on my arm to move the ulnar nerve to the front of my arm. This has been the worst experience of my life and has cost me so much out of pocket expenses. I am single and self employed and depend on my arms for my business. Many times I have thought this is no life….
The first orthopedic surgeon sent me a bill for $110.00 and I sent him a letter back stating how could he send me a bill when he degraded me, never touched my arm and to this day I have never heard from him.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
If anyone knows anyone that may have gone through the same experience please let me know. I ended up throwing 1/2 box of Chantix in the garbage.
May 24th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
My brother started taking Chantix 1 week ago, today he died. Massive heart attack. He was 61 year old. He had an EKG in January and the doctor wanted him to get a stress test because he didn’t like what he saw on the EKG. Coincidence?…maybe, maybe not.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
My wife smoked for nearly 40 years. I quit 15 years ago; cold turkey. My wife has tried, and succeeded for a couple of weeks, but was never able to carry it out for the long term. In August of last year, I suffered a heart attack. Her doctors had been on her case, to the point of near ridicule and coercion, to stop. Now, they told her, it was a danger to me if she didn’t quit. She was prescribed Chantix. She started the drug in September 2007. After 23 days, she suffered a stroke. When asked about the possible connection between the stroke and Chantix, we don’t get a real good feeling that the doctors are completely honest with us; opting instead to shake their heads and say, “I don’t think so.” Now, she has short term memory loss, severe bouts of loss of concentration, dperession, pain, anger, bad dreams, panic attacks, irregular heart beat, and vision issues that severely impact her driving capability. There is a serious aneurysm behind her right eye. Not one of her physcians can explain where the stroke came from or the aneurysm. Whatever she has lost as a result of the stroke will never be regained, but the fact that it is now coming out that a lot of her psychiatric issues are most likely the residual affect of taking Chantix, it makes some of this more bearable. She would like to have her life back, as it was. But, folks, the damage is done. Most of the issues presented in these comments are real and things that she has experienced. One person, says “I think most of you people are full of crap! I am saddened by how everyones out to make a quick dishonest buck…” I pray that this person does not suffer the consequences of taking Chantix like others. It is not the people here that are trying to make a “dishonest buck” my dear uninformed Chris. It is Pfizer who has put profit above the health of an unsuspecting public, to include the doctors encouraged to prescribe this very dangerous drug.
May 27th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I’m a 46 year old female. I started taking Chantix on June 17, 2007. I quit smoking on June 24 and continued to take Chantix until August 17. I am still smoke free even though I live with smokers. I don’t crave them or miss them at all and I was a two pack a day smoker for 30 years.
BUT….in late August, 2007, I took a trip to ER for heat exhaustion. I had been moving cases of drinks from my kids’ school to my car. It was a very hot day, but I have always been in good health and this would never have been a problem a month or two before that. Then about 2 weeks later, another trip to ER. This time with severe flu-like symptoms. A high temperature and terrible joint pain. I was so tired I couldn’t hold my head up and felt like every part of my body was on fire. The diagnosis was rheumatoid arthritis. A trip to my family doctor confirmed it with more blood tests to rule out other problems.
Today, almost a year later, I have joint pain every day of my life. My hands are always inflamed and swollen and lately so are my feet. I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning and have to get from the bed to a chair to sit a few minutes before I can get around at all. I was taking online classes to get an associate’s degree in early childhood but had to discontinue them because the fatigue is so bad I can’t stay alert enough to concentrate.
I also have developed severe acid reflux and I find that my eyesight is growing dimmer by the day. I have gained over 50 pounds from the steriods I have been given to try and get the arthritis in check. There is a ringing in my ears that NEVER stops and I find that I can’t remember how to do even simple things that I’ve done hundreds of times before. I grasp for words when I’m trying to talk and start to do something and forget what it was before I get there.
Every night when I lay down, I pray to wake up in the morning because I have a fear that I will die in my sleep. Sometimes, I wake up in the night with my heart pounding feeling like I’m dieing. I can’t get a good breath and I really thought that would get better after stopping smoking.
I am grateful that Chantix has helped with my nicotine addiction but before I took it, I was a slim, healthy active person. My biggest health concern was getting bronchitis a couple times a year.
I thought quitting smoking was supposed to make me feel better!!!!!
May 27th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I started Chantix approximately 5 weeks ago. I stopped smoking on the 10th day. It has been absolutely great with no urges to smoke - but I had started noticing in the last few days that I was getting shortness of breath again (I do have asthma) and my chest has really been hurting, my heart seems to be racing. I decided to google chantix and see if any other people were having the same problem. SO…now I am a bit afraid and not sure what to do - I need to quit smoking and don’t want to start again but I am afraid I will have a heart attack or a asthma attack. I am 54 years old.
May 27th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Cris, WHERE DO YOU GET OFF SAYING MOST OF US PEOPLE ARE FULL OF CRAP? Just because chantix worked for you doesn’t mean it works for everyone. I had a stroke and blame it on chantix. I was HEALTHY until chantix, what a price to pay for wanting to quit smoking. Now I FEEL LIKE CRAP, yes CRAP and all because of this little blue pill called chantix.
I hope they pull this drug off the market before more people start dieing from it.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
My name is Andrea and I started taking chantix around the end of Feb 2008 because my doctors told me I needed to quit smoking. 3 weeks after taking the pills I was emailing co-workers and telling them more or less how rude they were and that’s something I would never do. I started becoming frustrated with my husband and crying a lot. I was called into my directors office at work because I refused to go to a meeting and that’s something I would never do. She informed me that she was told that I was abrasive and I know I’m a very kind hearted person. I kept having really bad stomach aches, every time I ate the food go right thru me and now I still have the problem off and on now. I had to go to the er because my stomach, back and body hurt so bad and they could not find anything wrong with me. I do have a stomach condition but I control it with proper eating. Now I’m being told I have a kidney disease. I cry alot now which my husband will tell anyone my wife does not cry. After the er visit I took myself off of the chantix because I really think it has done something to my digestive tract and now I have kidney disease. I went to see the kidney doctor and told him I took myself off the drug because of the incident with having to go to the er. I do have Fibromyalgia but my body never felt so bad. I use to just have pain in my muscles now it’s in my joints, I kept headaches. I really think that this drug is very dangerous. I have back pain, and stomach pain constantly now. I live in the bathroom. I feel like I can’t get out of the bed some days because my knees, ankles, wrist, stomach, shoulders and back hurt so bad.
May 29th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I have to numerous Doctor’s appointments, ER visits in the last three months, and nobody has been able to diagnose me. A co-worker told me to Google Chantix and heart trouble because she heard that the FAA just banned the drug from pilots and air traffic control agents.
I was amazed, here I was reading all of my symptoms, and I think I just found out what has caused all of my recent health issues….. CHANTIX.
I have horrible edema that is all over my body. I think that it is mostly in my abdomen and chest area but it is also in my extremities. My ankles have pitting edema and we pressed my thumb print will stay in there for 20 minutes. I am always short of breath but, when the edema is bad I can hardly breathe at all. Lasix and Potassium do not help too much, but they do bring some relieve. It seems that the only thing that keeps it manageable is lying down and doing absolutely nothing. Anything that makes my heart beat a little harder causes the edema to come back.
My body and joints hurt so bad I can barely walk up a flight of stairs. When I am successful at reaching the top, I am completely out of breath and my heart feels like it is going to explode right out of my chest.
I have weird body twitching going on and have no idea what this is. Sometimes my hands start to turn blue and if I lay down it goes away. My joints and muscles all hurt, I cannot breathe very well, my mind is in a fog, I have chest pains, and now I am beginning to get lumps in my body behind my knees and my inner forearms.
I am at the doctor, ER or getting some medical treatment about 2-3 times, a week, and they cannot find anything yet but they tell me that something is wrong and it appears to be my heart or circulatory system but they cannot find the cause. The only test that I have not done is MRI’s and Angiogram. I have had numerous CT Scans, Ultrasounds, Echocardiogram, Echo Stress Test, X-Rays, Blood Test, and other lab work.
My liver enzymes are elevated (ALT, ALP and one other) and I am anemic now and had a few other things that were a little off slightly. I have gained about 60lbs in about 4 months and my abdomen is much distended.
When I go to bed at night, I am so afraid that I may not wake up in the morning. When I am awake, I am afraid that I am going to pass out or have a heart attack. I do not feel good and I know that I am getting worse. I see that people are posting all of the problems that they blame on Chantix but has anyone found a reversal for these side effects. I can’t keep living like this, I am miserable and I hurt on a daily basis.
Please post something that I can do to alleviate some of this pain. I feel like I have a blocked artery or something, should I get an angiogram to confirm or deny this? This is really the only test that I haven’t done.
Please give some advice on what I am to do. I just faxed my doctors copies of these blogs and news article on Chantix.
Thanks,
PM
May 29th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
I used it, I stopped… as someone else pointed out, I “cure” the bouts of depression and whatnot with alcohol, and have too found myself drinking every day. In general I am inclined, as was before the drug, to become down and out and stare into space. In some respects, such as the drinking, I feel I have replaced one vice with another. My heart has always been weak. I am 28 and wouldn’t be surprised if I too had a mild heart attack while on the drug. Aside from the cigarettes I was slightly underweight, more or less fit, and mostly in good spirits. I do find I don’t get the same pleasure from things I used to enjoy, but that started after using Zyban… whatever. My point, if I have one, is that different drugs CLEARLY affect people differently. I quit, I’m done… I didn’t finish out the prescription because of the strange dreams and farting, in fact I think I only did it for one package and a half. I found this site due to the lawsuit junk mail I got. I don’t think I’m any more fucked up than I was before, aside from that weird chest pain I got on one occasion… not saying it’s worth it, but do agree they needed more testing. I don’t really know what I’m trying to say because I’ve been drinking.. y’know… to replace smoking. The fucking government needs to ban smoking altogether.. it’s the biggest strain (and tax gain) we seem to have on our “free” society. Smokers are a dying breed… pun intended. But they don’t need to die from some “Miracle Drug” to quit… ramble ramble…
May 30th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
This is the second time I used chantix to quit this time again I quit for 4 months and now am back smoking becuse I fill like crap again and this time after going back to the doctors I have to take an anti depressent and I also have to take a sugar pile. I never had sugar before but now I do.
June 5th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
My borther in-law was on chantix for 4 week. On sept. 10 2007 his 3 children came home from school and found him on the floor dead. The doctor said he died of a heart attack . This man was 42 and that stop smoking for his family. Stop this drug, the bigest side affect is are broken hearts
June 5th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I took Chantix last summer to stop smoking. It was working but I was having horrible dreams about murdering my family and other abnormal feelings and thoughts. Almost every night I was on Chantix I had horrible dreams which made me wake up crying. The only thing in my life at that time that changed was the fact I was taking the drug. After two months I finally stopped taking the drug and my behaviors and mannerisms went back to normal. I didn’t want to see my doctor for fear of being prescribed an anti-psychotic to counteract the side effects of this drug, plus like most Americans I couldn’t afford to visit the doctor.
June 9th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Hi I also took this drug omg Im still having nose bleeds musle pain & alot of weight gain ! I have had knee surgery and in pain most of the time. I also had suicidal thoughts very eratic behavior & pain pain pain allthough I did quit smoking was it worth it ? I think not! After the first week I quit that was 9 28 07 But Im still in pain! I was so upset with the doctor for giving this drug to me that I refused to see her.Well guess what the pain is too much I see her next week. I cant wait to see this bill.The nurse said they will most likely sen me to mri.Wish me luck!!!!!WOW WHAT A RIDE dont take this crap!!!!
June 9th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I also took chantix for 2 months. And it made my life crazy. I was so mean and irritable especially when I was drinking It almost cost me a relationship with the woman I love more than anything. You need to get checked out head to toe after taking this drug. My personality changed and I blamed everything but the chantix. I went to counseling and eventually my girl made me see a really Doctor. Been on meds now for 6 weeks and really starting to feel like myself again. go to a doctor and get yourself checked out.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I quit smoking January 1, 2008 using Chantix for 1 month. It worked like a charm for me. I am 56 and had smoked sometime ago and struggled quiting and had been without for almost 10 years. About two years ago I began smoking again. The Chantix worked for me. There is only one problem that I am having; the crazy, off the chart, vivid dreams are still with me.
Anyone else still having the “think I’m going mad” DREAMS?
June 12th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I took Chantix for approx. 4 months. It was doing a wonderful job. I had quit smoking for 2 months. One afternoon, I was driving home on my way from work. Apparently, I had pulled over, called my husband and told him I thought I was having a heart attack. The next thing I new I was in the emergency room. They did cat scans, ekgs, and blood work. They could find nothing wrong with me. Yet, I was still having chest pains, rapid heart beat, trouble breathing, memory loss, anxiety, and severe pain and immobility on my left side. I have followed up with my family physician and a cardiologist. Neither have found anything, but I still have the chest pains, rapid heart rate and anxiety. So far, nothing has been done about it. I am warning everyone…PLEASE, DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION!
June 12th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I forgot to mention in my previous post that I had also gained about 30 pounds during the time I was on this medication. It wasn’t due to overeating. I was on a diet of basically nothing but salad.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Hi, I was on Champix for two weeks and then threw them away.
After the first few days I did not feel like smoking anymore and thought it would be a good thing. After a week I started to feel really depressed, and feeling angry all the time.
I verbally lashed out at people, it cost me friends and my position at the place I did my volunteer work, made enemies and problems at work, and my family were actually scared of me.
I’ve always been healthy. The doctors would always say, “Healthy as a horse”. I had a blood test one week after starting Champix and had a call from the doctor that my Cholesterol was a little high. Until I saw this website I didn’t really link the two, or see the possibility, but I was baffled at how ‘out of the blue’ the whole cholesterol came about.
I have also been feeling, ‘not my self’ since stopping them. For the first time in my life I was disorientated walking home and have had short term memory, and headache problems.
Stop anyone who is thinking taking this pill!! I am a lucky one compared to lots on this list - my support in spirit goes out to you all.
June 17th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
My quit date with Chantix was 6/7/08. At 2pm on that date, I started having severe chest pains and when to the emergency room. I had NEVER had chest pains before. Now I have a stent in my heart, and I have no doubt it was the Chantix. I had vivid dreams, mostly of my relatives who have passed away. I quit taking it yesterday 6/16/08. I would rather take my chances smoking than dying of something that is suppose to help you quit smoking. I have been on the patch before, and am going on it again. I had no side effects whatsoever when I tried to quit 4 years ago, I just did not want to quit as badly as I do now. I have no medical insurance, and I hate to see what my hospital bill, radiology, etc will be from my stay from 6/7-6/10 in the hospital. Please e-mail me if you know of a class action law suit. I am in Indiana. ellengrant97@hotmail.com.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I have read most of the posts above me and now I am convinced there is something to this. I quit smoking with Chantix over three months ago and have not felt well since. My diabetes skyrocketed out of control and now requires insulin, I can’t sleep for shit, I am extremely depressed everyday, and I wish I had never taken the Chantix. I hope someday someone will win over this Pfizer monster so I can at least know that my quality of life went in the toilet for nothing.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:38 pm
This has been extremely helpful. We are dealing with the loss of my father in law at this time. We seriously believe the drug was to blame. Never had a single heart problem in his life, dead before the age of 50. Scary to think that this happens to so many families. Its simply not fair.
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:02 am
I was on Chantix from April 07 til sept 07. during that time I had all the bad side effects mentioned including feeling like I was out of my mind. During that time I did quit, but after a month I started again but I smoked only a few cigs a week. Then the next month a few cigs a day and so on.
In Sept I was feeling like crap and couldn’t take anymore. Now back up to a half a pack a day, I felt it wasn’t worth continuing. In the next two weeks after I quit I almost passed out while driving my car apx 4 times. I had so many things going on in my body and my head I felt as though my body was under attack. I was like a crazy person that you would see in a movie just sitting there holding my head rocking back and forth murmuring to myself. I feel as though I am permanently damaged. I felt great in comparison when I smoked before I took Chantix. I’m having all I can do just to hold my thoughts together to write this. I would debate things with people and now I get flustered and forget where I was. I’m only 47. A year ago I had women in there late twenties telling me I looked 35 or 38, now I’m told I look so tired all the time and I look sixty, one girl guest. I’ve aged so much since last Sept. I feel like I’m in that movie “Click” with Adam Sandler. I’ve lost the ability to think effectively, I am always fatigued, I’m having heart problems, I’ve lost half of my muscle mass, I have a thing with my lungs. I could fill pages. I’m so worried all the time, so far the Drs have found nothing other than the heart Arrhythmia. One Dr decided to rubber stamp me with Fibromyalgia, which is like saying a staff infection, meaning they have no clue. Another Dr said I have Osteo Arthritis which I never had before. My mind is doing something and it’s getting worse. This drug affects dopamine levels right?, so maybe your body never resumes the proper levels of dopamine after you quit the drug.
I don’t know, but before I end up putting a bullet through my head, figuring my kids would be better off, I’m definitely going to find out how good the security is at Pfizer.
You would think that getting this off my chest would make me feel better but I just feel futile, I feel like what ever I do I can’t fix it, and I can’t get anything done because I feel like such shit. Damn them to hell, and all the pharmaceutical companies pumping out all these pills that are supposed to cure something as long as you don’t die first. Why do we allow it….. why do we allow the gas prices or the insurance premiums or the healthcare. We’re all too busy working twice as hard to get half as much as our parents did because big businesses are sending our jobs to another country while giving our jobs here, to people on work visa’s.
My mind….went off topic there sorry… you can add uncontrollable tangents to the list.
Is there a real law firm taking this seriously or what.
Has anyone found a Doctor that believes us and is checking for a cure?
I need help fast. I’m divorced and have two daughters that need me and I’m worthless like this.
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Wow. I think most of the people on this blog need to take a look at the symptoms of emphysema, lung cancer, or the side effects of chemo and radiation therapy. Side effects from Chantix pale in comparison. Of course, there’s no easy money in that is there? You are the same people that cry about those nasty tobacco companies while you’ve got a Marlboro light hanging out of your greedy mouth. I am a 30 year smoker that followed the directions, took Chantix for 12 weeks, and it did everything it was supposed to with side effect that were never more than an inconvenience. People that leap at any excuse to sue drug manufacturers are why prescription drugs cost so doggone much. There is no guarantee that all drugs will work for all people; what if penicillin had been done away with because of the handful of people that are allergic? Oh, and by the way, the guy mentioned at the beginning of this blog, Carter Albrecht, had an blood alcohol level of .029. Where’s the blog to sue Budweiser? Shame on the bunch of you…
June 25th, 2008 at 11:32 am
I took chantix for one in Jan. started getting depressed my doctor had just found about it causing depression (it was not part of their side effects until Jan). Because as I have heard (don’t know if is true or not) they have shut down most of the pleasure receptors in the brain, making antidepessant pills worthless. I may have to live with this the rest of my life. I will tell you this it will be a short life.
June 29th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Chris, I guess you and I were one of the lucky ones. I took chantix for about a week. Though it made me sick to my stomach ( so I stopped taking it, thank god)I haven’t had any side effects but that doesn’t give you the right to accuse others of trying to make an easy buck. I have a friend who was in perfect health and after taking chantix for about 2 weeks, he almost died from a heart attack.People suffer side effects differently. It doesn’t mean all these people are lying. I hope you don’t suffer from side effects in the near future. Although reading your nasty reply I’m starting to wonder!!!!!
June 29th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I have had two bypasses and I am 65 years old. I have been smoking 53 years. I informed my Doctor I needed and wanted to stop smoking.I inquired about side effects and he informed me the side effects from smoking were worse tthen taking Chantix. After reading the comments I am not going to take it. Thank you for the information.
June 29th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I have had two bypasses and I am 65 years old. I have been smoking 53 years. I informed my Doctor I needed and wanted to stop smoking.I inquired about side effects and he informed me the side effects from smoking were worse then taking Chantix. After reading the comments I am not going to take it. Thank you for the information.
July 1st, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Steve,
PFizer can keep their blood money, I am here hoping to find answers to why I am suffering every day for 18 months now, as I pray for a solution. I can hardly walk anymore. You have no idea what suffering this long without a day off from crippling pain and depression feels like, so you wouldn’t understand. My life was stolen from me, and money can’t bring it back!
July 9th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Does anyone realize, smoking can cause “heart attack and strokes”? this is right on a pack of smokes! After smoking long term your risk increases.
I have been on Chantix for a year, today is a year I quite smoking. But I do not take it for that anymore. I am a REM, or “night terror” patient. Suffered 25 yrs. even had multiple studies, Johns Hopkins and Univ of MD to name a few. Tried evey med there is for depression, and seizures. Nothing. I started Chantix and wow, I started dreaming, and no more screaming at night! I have the vivid dreams, who cares, I like dreaming and for anyone who has this disorder would agree. Chantix did mess w/ my monthly cycle, and I did have muscle pain. But it went away. I only take 0.5mg everynight before bed, and it’s the best night sleep I have had in 25 yrs! I am 33yr female, smoked for 18yrs. I know I am higher risk for heart attack and stroke, but I knew that when I read the pack 18yrs ago.
I am going to Mayo Clinic, they are wanting to reasearch why Chantix has cured this. the sad thing is, Pfizer wanted nothing to do w/ this. Sorry about their loss.
I am sure this is something I will always need to take. I did stop for 2 weeks, I was nasty and short, but I started back up, and it was all better, and I went right back to screaming at night when I stopped, so there is a link to this.
There is something bad with every drug not just Chantix, it has helped me in more ways then one!
Thanks Chantix! kmw828@hotmail.com
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:49 am
i hear about how people suffered all these side effects. I guess Im one of the lucky ones. I quit smoking with the help of chantix. (35 years of smoking) its been over a year. the only side effect is I breath better. don’t cough. however, while on chantix I did sleep 16 hours aday.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I have been taking Chantix for six weeks now. I have quit smoking but I am not sure at what cost. I am very tired all the time, have teriible gas, muscle aches, chest and shoulder pains, surreal dreams and depression. I am very worried these things will not go away. After reading these comments I have chosen to quit the Chantix immediately. Headaches are also common as well as some shaking. I hope my life will get back to normal after quitting Chantix but now I am worried for my health after reading all of your comments. Good luck to all who have contaminated their body with this poison.
July 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I am writing again to give a update. I have been smoke free for 3 months now. I am absolutely thrilled I quit smoking but have gained 35 pounds. I realize that this weight will come off and this will be the next thing I am going to tackle. BUt for now I am so happy to quit smoking. My problems have seemed to get worse as time has gone by. My joints and muscle ache so terribly now I have trouble walking sometimes due to the pain. I also have horrible digestive problems (could be the weight gain) but I have always been healthy and I am really having some problems with my overall health. I am so sore and in pain most of the time. Is this associated with Chantix?
July 29th, 2008 at 10:41 am
OMG! This is awful. I started taking Chantix early 2007. I was on and off it 3 times for almost a year. I would quit smoking and then after being off the medicine for a while I would start again! The whole times on Chantix I had horrible dreams they were so real that I couldnt stop thinking about them for weeks. I was very depressed and couldn’t cope with everyday life. My doctor kept telling me it was just STRESS from being a single mom with 5 kids and a full time job, guitar lessons, cross country practice, etc. Well all that was present before I started Chantix and I was normal and “coping” just fine. I became very mean and nasty especially toward my children and I couldnt understand why. One morning it was so bad that i just started screaming that I should run the car into a tree. What was I thinking? Well, I wasnt because I would NEVER say anything like that. I slipped into a horrible depression. 1 month after starting the Chantix I began having horrible heart palpitations that lasted all day for about a month. After about 6 trips to the ER and a battle with my doctor, I finally got an appointment with a cardiologist. Yes, I was having irregular EKG due to pre ventriculat contraction (PVC’s). They said most people don’t even feel them but mine were out of control. It felt like I was choking and my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I was prescribed a Beta Blocker to help them stop and it did but I still take it as needed. No one ever told me to stop the Chantix, actually my cardiologist said to stay on it and it will work. I never had a problem with my heart, I am 34 and was always in good health. Now that I have stopped taking the Chantix, I have been having dizzy spells, confusion, numbing in my face and head, blurry vision, weekness in my arms and legs. I was hospitalized in Jan 08 because they thought I was having a stroke! What is going on with me? Every day is a struggle just to get up and make it through the day. I have no quality of life anymore, I cant enjoy my kids , I have no social life I constantly feel like something awful is going to happen to me . This is consuming me everyday. I have been to ENT, a neurologist, the cardiologist and they all say there is nothing wrong. They want me to think that I am crazy and keep sending me to mental health. Well, I AM NOT CRAZY this is REAL and I want my life back!
July 30th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
My mom has missed two days of work as of today. She woke up my 13 year old sister in a daze early this morning and told her to call work. She was complaining of back pain and seemed confused. She stumbled.
She has been on and off CHANTIX for a few months now, maybe five or six. She would start and the first two weeks would be awful. She was bitchy, irritable, mean and sarcastic. She was fine after the medicine kicked in. She would get severely nauseous every now and then but be fine after a day or two. She just went back on CHANTIX after missing about two weeks of the medicine. Yesterday she seemed sad, dazed and exhausted. She didn’t really know what was going on. Then today, with the sister thing at about 8:00. SHe said she hadn’t slept all night. Today, she slept all day. Then around 5:15, she stumbled down the stairs and nearly collapsed. I helped her into a chair. She said she was in extreme pain all over. Her heart was racing and she couldn’t breathe. All this came out in short breaths. It seemed as though she couldn’t hear me either, because she kept repeating ‘what?’.
She’s upstairs right now and I’m not sure what to do. It seems like she is having a heart attack, but doesn’t want to go to the doctor. Chantix is awful. I’d rather have a mom that smokes than scares the shit out of her kids with these effects.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I, too, thought all the years of smoking caught up with me. I had never had heart or sugar problems before taking Chantix. I was generally in good health. On Feb. 14th, 2007 I quit smoking. I was amazed that Chantix seemed to take away the pleasure and helped the cravings. On March 15th, give or take a few days, I went by ambulance to the hospital. I could not breathe. My lungs were so backed up with fluid that I was treated for double pnuemonia. The next day, though, the pulmonary doctor say it wasn’t my lungs, but that I was in congestive heart failure. I was in the hospital for a week before I was stable enough to go home. I thought my body may have gone into shock after smoking for about 35 years and then having no nicotine. In July I went to the hospital again and was kept for 3 days. My blood sugar was over 500 an I had never had any signs of diabetes. It does not run in my family. I even asked my cardiologis if my heart problem could be a result of chantix. He said no. To this day, I believe both conditions are a direct result.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Please share your stories at http://chantixsucks.com/. My husband was diagnosed with Type 3 Diabetes after taking Chantix. It made him very sick. His blood sugar was 890 when he was admitted in the ER. He could have died. Chantix is very dangerous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 28th, 2008 at 7:32 am
MY HUSBAND TOOK CHANTIX FOR SIX MONTHS HE WAS HEALTHY AND EASY GOING. AFTER HE STOPPED TAKING IT . HE NOW HAS HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HE HAS BODY ACHES AND PAINS THAT WONT GO AWAY.
VERY VERY BAD TEMPER PROBLEMS, ANYTHING WILL SET HIM OFF.
WE HAVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR 30 YEARS. HE HAS NEVER ACTED LIKE THIS BEFORE AND IT SCARES ME. I WOULD VERY MUCH BE INTERESTED IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT,
August 28th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
I too started to take Chantix and took it for about 3 weeks before I decided I had enough. Each day in the morning usually I would want to cry or I would actually Cry. It has been awhile since I quit taking it but I am still going to mental Health therapy for depression, still have 4 more sessions of this and I am finally starting to feel like my old self again after 12 appointments and now on my third antidepresent drug
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:36 am
I took Chantix for about two months and successfully stopped smoking. Shortly before stopping the medicine and more frequently after, I started having severe anxiety attacks, since then I’ve battled anxiety, heart palpitations and increased heart rate, I have also experienced short term memory loss, joint and muscle pain /weakness, shortness of breath, and server depression. I no longer care about anything that I use to, even my job which I use to love, now it is all I can do to drag myself out of bed and make it to work. If it weren’t for my 15 year old son, I don’t believe I would be here now. Four months have gone by since I quit taking Chantix, but I am getting increasingly anxious about all of the information that I am reading about and what others are experiencing, I think I need to schedule an appointment with my cardiologist. I don’t believe there was enough information provided to the users about this drug concerning the side effects, there certainly was not any mentioning of what would happen after stopping Chantix. I too would be very much interested in a Class Action Lawsuit. Contact me Lady_Jane500@yahoo.com
September 10th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Hello:
After reading all these posts, I am rather paranoid about continuing my Chantix course. I have been taking Chantix for three weeks now, I am surprised by its ability to help me quit smoking, I have no symptoms as mentioned above except for some Nausea, which passes away within 10 minutes of the dosage. I workout regularly, more so after I quit smoking and it feels good so far.
I am 32 years old and it seems like there are plenty of people on this post even as young as myself, who are having heart attacks or symptoms. I hope this is not some sought of mass hysteria effect or financial interest from punitive damages on pre existing conditions. With all due respect to people and their medical circumstances please publish realistic and unbiased comments, so people like myself who find this drug rather promising do not stop taking it and loose a great opportunity to quit smoking.
BTW I do feel very mild persistence discomfort on the left side of my chest, but it seems almost insignificant to make it a condition. Perhaps it maybe phychological. Please contact me with more insight at nadkarniv@yahoo.com.
September 14th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I’ve been on this stuff for about ten days or so now. No serious side effects, other than the first week I had some very out-of-the-ordinary dreams. But what’s with all the farting? Good grief, I can’t even stand myself at times, much less anyone else tolerate me. It’s so horrible I even manage to run myself out of the room at times! Was that in the brochure?
September 15th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
t has been over one year since I stopped smoking (32 yr habit). June 27, 2007 was the date that I am very proud of. BUT, I have gained over 100 pounds and the mental and physical pain is beyond words. I cried the whole time on Chantix. I wanted to die. I had the worst dreams and feared going to be and even waking up. I think today, what is worst is my doctor thinks it’s nothing I weigh over 100 pounds and now am diabetic with high blood pressure and yet, I am eating the same if not less. The joint/muscle pain and swelling never goes away now.
I have no idea if it is the chantix or if it’s another illness. My doctor is afraid now to see me.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I also was advised to stop taking Chantix due to depression. I took it for one month. My family & friends noticed a change and urged me to see my doctor. I didn’t know if I was just having withdrawal symptoms and if it was normal or not. I smoked 1 1/2 - 2 pks a day for 18 years. I was prescribed and am taking an anti-depressant medication at the present time. Anger, depression & aniexty issues. My doctor said she will report her findings to the drug company.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I just posted my blog and let me tell you how angry it makes me to see people assuming this is all a way to get money from some blood sucking company that I trusted, because my doctor trusted! God help you, I can only hope you never feel the way I feel from this “blunder drug”.Like I wrote in my blog,all the money in the world couldnt make me feel better or bring back the loved ones it has taken from others.I wish I had never taken it,my children who have watched as thier mother,a usually happy go lucky woman,has gone down hill physically and mentally,ya they wish thier mother never tried to quit smoking,because for a drug that was supposed to improved my health has made it worse….Again I hope none of what any of us are going through happens to you who are criticizing those of us who really are having these problems…God bless
September 19th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
On April 27, 2008 my father commited suicide. Our family had no clue about the information on Chantix and the problems it caused until last week. We are don’t know what we should do about it. My father started taking Chantix and soon after he started acting very strange and became very violent. My father was not the type to kill himself. He loved his family and grandchildren very much, that is the reason he was trying to quit smokeing. He did not want to get cancer and leave his children alone. Well he did die and by his own hand at that. I am certian that after all the things I have read Chantix caused this to happen to our family. It left my step mom with bills gallor, my sister and I both mental damaged. We barely found a way to pay for a funeral and now my stepmom is barley paying her bills. I miss my dad everyday and I would advise anyone not to take this drug for your family and your health. We don’t know if we have a case but would like to speak to someone about our case.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
i took chantix for only a month that was all i could stand i did stop smoking for three months the chantix made me sick as all get out and i would have bad dreams but after i would take my dose in the mornings i would have to lay down and drool would come from my mouth felt like i was on the edge of a stroke heart racing i stopped taking them and of course fell back to smoking i hate it but there was no way i could have took them longer than a month i had a girlfriend that passed away at 40 after taking the chantix she had appeard fine before she had took them then she was dead 6 months later with heart failure she told me the chantix got her sick and she never got better i believe her always will i am trying to stop smoking now but if i cant do it on my own with out the pills then i would just rather smoke
September 29th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Hi,
I just looked up Chantix on google and came across this site. I was in the hospital the week before for 4 nights and 5 days with pneumonia. I was not on Chantix at the time. But I was extremely stressed out and had major anxiety due to a family crisis the beginning of the month. I had even picked up smoking again after quitting for almost 11 years. When I was in the hospital, my doctor put me on Chantix. When I was discharged, he decided not to unless I felt I needed it. At the time, I didn’t because I wasn’t feeling good. But a few days later, I had the urge to smoke. I called my doctor and last Wednesday started Chantix. I have nausea, vomiting, headache, muscle aches and I am either too hot or too cold. I go see my doctor today for a checkup and I am going to tell him that I do not want to take it anymore. Hopefully, I will have not taken it long enough to have any lasting side effects. I would like to know why the FDA has not pulled this drug off the market? They seem to pull other’s like Vioxx and Zelnorm. How many deaths does it take for the FDA to take action?
September 30th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I started taking chantix a few months ago. I haven’t quit smoking yet, I ‘ve been depressed almost since the beginning of starting chantix . I’m beginning to wonder if I love my husband anymore after 35 years of marriage, my temper has become a quick trigger. I have even thought of ways to put my husband out of my misery. My husband and I have always been in love and were best friends. Now after taking chantix I feel like I hate him, where I loved him for 35 years.
October 4th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
It will be almost 2 years this Febuary since I have taken Chantix. At first, I thought this was a miracle drug because I did quit smoking. Now reading all of the news and side effects of this medication I think I would rather be a smoker. I’ve had anxiety/ depression in the past and this was before I took the Chantix. I had some high strung anxiety moments than depressing moments. I went to my doctor and we tried a few different types of med’s for treatment. After a little while on medication I felt that I could manage my anxiety without medication. I quit taking all anxiety and depression medication and felt great. I finally had this under control, I thought. Sometime in there I started taking the Chantix because I heard about it through a friend and it was working for them. I didn’t really have many side effects other than belly pain if I smoked while taking Chantix and a type of tunnel vision from time to time. After 2-3 months of taking this medicine, I quit smoking. So soon after I quit taking the medication, Chantix. Well, every since then my anxiety / depression has gotten worse and worse. I was having social anxiety very bad, wouldn’t leave my home (my home was my safe place), mood swings, racing thoughts, sleepless nights and repetative thoughts. If it was there for me to think about, it was there for me to worry about. I worried about anything and everything. It drove me nuts. My anxiety has definitely worsen since I took Chantix. I had such bad anxiety about going to the doctor, I put it off and put it off and would not go. But during the past 2 months I’ve been dealing with Sleep Apnia and started using a CPAP machine. CPAP is a breathing machine that I have to wear during sleep. My sleep medicine doctor asked me what kind of problems I am having, basically what is waking me up and what is keeping me from falling back to sleep? She asked if it was the breathing machine? I replied no. I simply wake up toss around and eventually I am in full concentration mode of worrying about this and that. Staring at the ceiling thinking about pointless things @ 3:00 a.m. isn’t a pleasant night. The sleep doctor recommended getting put back on anxiety and depression medication. She said the anxiety could be causing the sleep apnia. I finally made a doctors appointment to get anxiety treatment. Honestly, it was because my wife made me. She’s seen what I’ve been going through. But anyways, my doctor put me on 2 kinds of medicine for my problems, Celexa and Klonopin. I’ve been on them five weeks and the medicine seems to have started doing what its suppose to. It just sucks that I had this anxiety under control and now I’m worse off than I ever was in the first place. I don’t know if the medicine is to blame for my condition, but this is my story and experience. I guess the reason I waited going to the doctor for so long was that I hated the fact that I have this problem and needed medicine for it. I had a hard time accepting the fact, but by going to the doctor and getting med’s, I have realized that I have this health problem and I’d rather be more comfortable by taking the med’s, being able to sleep and being active outside of my home than staying cooped up in the house freaking out. I truely am sorry for writing a book but this is my store since taking Chantix.
October 4th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I am taking Chantix and have yet to have any issues. This drug has been a godsend to me. Everyone blaming the FDA for allowing this drug needs to redirect their energy to tobacco. Why does our country legalize the tobacco drug which causes far more deaths and disease than Chantix? Instead of wanting to sue for money, we should all take the blame for lighting up our first cigarette. Furthermore, no one forced us to swallow the pill either!!! Stop looking for links between a drug and various illnesses, we all smoked—hello—- we werent the picture of health.
October 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I find it so scary that these drugs are put on the market with not enought research or time to know what realy side effects we may see. My mother took Chantix to help her quit smoking and it was very successful. She was able to quit smoking but started to become very tired and sleepy and sufer from headaches which was not normal for her. She thought it was her allergys and brushed it off. Then thought it was her bloodpressure medicine making her tired.
She left her day job and headed to her night job feeling great with no complaints. She went to the restroom prior to starting her shift when all of a sudden (as she explained it) she got the worst pain of her life in her head. She begged god to get her out of the stall and that someone please come in the restroom. They rushed my mom around the corner to the hospital where she was diangosed with an anyusem of the brain. She was transfered to another hospital for a coiling procedure. Thank goodness my mother made it throuhg but felt that chantix was the major cause of the anuyesm as she never had any issues prior to taking this medication.
Well the story does not end so well there. She was recovering and noticed that more coils were needed. She went in for a simple procedure and did not make it through. I only ask that if this medication was the cause of my mother demise that God make sure it is taken off the shelf so no other family will have to suffer the loss of a family member befor their time. My mother has left behind a 18 year old son, 21 and 31 year old daughter. She will never know her grandchildren, Never see her two other kids get married or graduate from college.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Holly,
Ironic you started taking Chantix October 4. That’s the day I went to my sister’s funeral. She had taken it 2 days and ended up dead. Her daughter’s saw her that evening and said Mom started taking a new drug and is acting crazy. Someone tried to get her to a doctor and she said she was fine. Now she’s dead. I guess the good news is she no longer smokes. Good luck with your journey.
October 13th, 2008 at 2:49 am
I took Chantix for 6 months and quit smoking for 10 months…. started back smoking,back in August, —last week of Aug—-, when I had my first set of finals….hellacious week it was…I have had no problems what so ever with Chantix.. no racing heart beat….no heart attacks ….nothing….and I take and did take 2 anti-depressants with an anti-psychotic when I took the Chantix. Now it might be time to go back to the Chantix and quit smoking….
October 19th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I think Holly really needs to shut her mouth, go to the phillip morris board, or the phizer site and pass this crap off on them. Quite frankly, being able to lift a small motorcycle, literally, six weeks before taking chantix, then being unable to take my wallet out of my back pocket, six weeks later is not due to smoking or non smoking. Sorry kiddo, it dont happen that fast. My Mom who is pushing 80 has better range of motion than I do at 42. Should I blame it on Chantix? To be honest I dont know. What I do know is that as a 4 pack a day smoker of Marlboro Reds, I walked close to three miles a day to get to and from work; on the weekends, I rode my 22 speed bicycle 10 miles at a clip without the least amount of muscle soreness, and now after a year of pain, where my shoulders feel like my arms are being ripped out of my sockets, I can barely muster enough strength to push myself up from a chair or the ground. This pain started right after I started taking chantix and started weening off of smoking.
October 21st, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I am 53 years old and have been smoking since I was 14. One day I decided to it was time to quit but I needed help. I made an appointment with my doctor and he gave me all of my options. I had already heard of the successes and side effects of Chantix but at a 40% success rate I figured I would give it a try. My doctor described all of the possible side effects associated with the drug and made sure I understood. He gave me a 2 month prescription and told me if I wanted to continue after the 2 months I would have to see him again so he can evaluate my condition. During the 2 months I was taking it I did experience some mild side effects but I was so elated at not having the craving I was willing to put up with the minor problems. Some of the side effects I experienced were headaches, gas, bad nights of sleeping and some fleeting disorientation. After 2 months I decided to stop taking it and so far so good. I still have some mild cravings but they are manageable and I still have some minor side effects but they are decreasing. I am just so happy I was able to stop smoking that the feeling alone gives me a whole new outlook on life.
October 21st, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Why is it everytime I come on here those of you who do not have any symptoms of side effects are out and out rude? When I first took Chantix I thought it was a God sent too.I quit smoking for a about a month,but the shakes and feeling like I was having a heart attack or stroke kinda urged me to stop taking the pills.No noone put the pills down my throat,but I like my dr.were NOT informed of All the side effects ,by the company that makes Chantix…only recently did they list the side effects.I can only hope you don’t EVER go through what I am going through even over a year later.Do you actually know how many illnesses and deaths are linked to drugs?Street and prescriptions?How could you write such a statement”stop looking for links between a drug and various illnesses”?Most of us were taking Chantix to better our health and it only got worse,and sadly some died.If there wasnt a link between the two there wouldnt be a class action lawsuit against the company…which there is,for suicidal tendencies(and/or)death,on saught of diebetes with out a family history…..anyone interested is urged to look it up online there is a # to call and they will call you back to see if you have the symptoms that are included in the law suit…..I hope this goes away soon but,after all this time im not very hopeful……..
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:10 am
my name is Nigel Whitworth from Queensland Australia. Back in Feb 08 I started to take Chantix. Within 1 week I was in suffering chest pains or severe tightening of the chest. I went to the hospital and ended up in Intensive care for 1 day and hospital ward for another 2 days. I too am convinced that Chantix was the whole cause. I now have an abnormal heart rate. The specialist said it was abnormal but nothing to worry about. I’m still unsure about that response. Since I stopped taking Chantix I don’t seem to have any symptoms. Although ekg is still abnormal. I have given up smoking though. Since I started to take chantix I have been in hospital for 14 days as i now have ‘Ulcerative Colitis’, which is also a reaction of giving up smoking, but not related to Chantix. I think!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 pm
It’s been almost a year since I took chantix, and just like everyone else says..It really was a miracle drug. But it was too good to be true. I had heart palpitations, but when i went to the dr, they couldn’t’ find anything wrong. I was depressed really bad, I didn’t want to talk to anyone or see anyone, I had really bad mood swings, and I had trouble focusing on things. I would try to read and couldn’t understand what I just read. Even my eyesight was foggy. Has anyone else experienced that? After a year, I’m finally almost back to my old self.
Does anyone know what sort of steps I can take, if there are any, as far as a lawyer? Even though I didn’t suffer any severe injuries, I don’t think a lawyer can do anything for me. I’m just so pissed at Chantix for screwing with my head. I want full normalcy back!
October 26th, 2008 at 7:22 am
I am 51 female, smoked for over 30 years , tried several times To quit smoking, several different ways, so I thought I would try chantix, took it for maybe two weeks and felt I was losing my mind, the dreams or nightmares were unreal, and every night getting worse, I was on edge about everything, everyone I ran into or came to my home ask what is wrong with you, I felt angry all the time, heart palpatations, sweating to the point my body was wet and had to change clothes, this went on a couple weeks , and I slowley stopped taking chantix, I was sooo depressed, I would sit in,my yard and say to my self whats the point, this went on for days , since I have been sick with stomach problems that I have never had, heart palpatations, I don’t feel like myself inside and yes I am smoking again and hating myself for it, when will this end , I’m sick of feeling sick and I ‘m still smoking, someone has to stop this, someone has to help all of us who have had our lives turned upside down all because we want to stop smoking
October 28th, 2008 at 12:08 am
I took champix for the full 3? months during which i had awfully vivid dreams. There were times when i would confuse reality with what i was dreaming, because of which i became a monster. I would snap at a drop of a hat, yell at my wife and other terrible things. I read the box so i knew that the dreams would happen, as well as the horrible taste that i just could not get rid of, and i figured that the severe mood swings were due to nicotine withdraw. I figured that my nightmare would be over after i was finished, but it had only begun. After completing my champix program i begun to have to go to the bathroom anywhere between 10-15 times a day and it was accompanied with blood. I had to go through a battery of tests which only ended in a gigantic question mark from my doctor. If that wasn’t enough the nicotine cravings stayed… and only got worse. However those are just minor things compared to the nightmare that is in my own head day in and out. I can not stop thinking about suicide, somedays its almost constant….. there have been a couple times that i was close to ending it all… thankfully i stopped myself… I thought it was only the stress… ive had problems like this in the past, but nothing like this, i had dealt with everything and i was in a great place in my life.
The worst part is the anxiety i feel now… at times it feels like my heart is going to leap out of my chest… other times i feel it stutter.. and a couple of times ive felt it pause completely for a couple beats. I have no idea where i am going to go from here. i have been attempting to deal with this all on my own.. i hate worrying my wife and i do not have any insurance as of currently. Champix was the thing i thought was going to truely make a huge difference and improve my life…. now … i dont know.
October 30th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
My husband started taking Chantix and within a few weeks he started to become very violent. He would scream at the top of his lungs at me, back me up against the wall and hit the wall. This happened several times and I was becoming very scared. I felt like I was always walking on egg shells around him. One night he became very upset with me and I felt it was over nothing. He left, came home around 3am and destroyed our house. He pulled the bathroom vanity off the wall with one hand, broke lots of things in our house, and I left with my kids. I called friends and family to go check on him and they called the police and EMS. He had taken an entire bottle of meds and tried to kill himself. I’ll never forget that day… March 1st 2007. It was my daughters 10th birthday and I never got to see her. I spent the entire day at the hospital with my husband and she celebrated with my parents. Someone needs to pay for what this is doing to people.
October 30th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I didn’t have the suicidal tenancies others had. I was closer to the other side of wanting to do it to the other guy. I became a real loose cannon, embarassing myself time and again, but just not caring.
I took the drug for 6 months under doctor supervision. I did quit smoking during this time and 6 months more. Kidneys hurt from time to time, nothing major.
What I would like to convey is my cognative reasoning, especially math and memory have been affected. Its a real struggle to stay focused and am feeling a little hair-brained more so than not.
I wish I had never taken the drug. I stated smoking again just to feel as sane as I used to, but to no avail. Hopefully this will wear off some day and am keeping my fingers crossed and pushing it on.
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I took Chantix for one month, ending in April. I STILL have unbearable dreams and wake up anxious, depressed andalmost unable to do anything. My doctor said it could not be the Chantix! Now I know it is. I just want to be meyself again! Please tell me what to do. I am ready to find a lawyer.
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I took Chantix for one month, ending in April. I STILL have unbearable dreams and wake up anxious, depressed andalmost unable to do anything. My doctor said it could not be the Chantix! Now I know it is.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I started chantix on May 13, 2008 and ended today, November 4, 2008. I quit smoking seven days after I started the drug. I beleive chantix really did help me. I tried many times to quit, and only with chantix was I able. I have been reading through the side effects on this site, and I have not experienced any of the effects except for the joint aches. I walk 7 miles a day, four in the morning and three at night. Looking back, I have had major ankle, leg, and lower back pain when I walk. I am now taking motrin before I walk, so I can make it through. I now wonder if its the chantix that is causing the pain?
November 5th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
My husband had severe side effects to Chantix. Personality changes, Aggression, Insomnia, night terrors and memory loss. He took the drug in May 2008. We have been told his reaction was due to MTHFR Polymorphism. This is a genetic mutation that is a deficiency of folic acid. His blood work showed normal levels of folic acid. But when he was tested for the mutation it came back positive. He was put on Deplin. This may be a piece to the puzzle?
I am still trying to get closer for what we have gone through regarding Chantix. I pray for all who has been hurt by the side effects of this drug.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I finished taking Chantix last September. I quit smoking after 35 years. Problem is what to do about these Rages I’m having? They’re not me at all. It’s been a year. Suicidal thoughts still plague me. My family knows me as happy-go-lucky, patience of a saint, etc. Who is this spontaneous maniac I have to suddenly deal with?
November 6th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I to started Chantix after two of my friends told me how “great it was”, I had smoked for years, and really wanted to quit. I did years ago quit cold turkey that lasts for five years, but due to stresses in my life I started again. It was when I started the second package that I noticed some nasty changes happening to me. I was always angry, and if not angry then I was sad. It got so bad that my family and friends told me to quit taking it because something was going terrible wrong. Since then like many others who have been on this great drug, I suffer from a great deal of illnesses, everything from headaches, to body aches, my lympnodes are always swollen, I have pain in my legs, ankles, and feet. Occasionally I have problems with everything from sadness to angry outbursts, to just not caring if I lived or died or anyone else around me did either. I was a 4.0 student , and I can’t retain or deal with anthing slightly related to school. I have found myself crying for no reason and at times thinking about killing myself to the point I have called for help because I was so frighten that I was going to do it. I have a problem with my eye sight, I’ve gain about 15 pounds in a handful of months, and occasionlly have a problem swallowing to the point I have to chew gum at all times to keep my mind off of it. i HAVE HAD PAINS IN MY CHEST, NECK, AND ARMS, AND AT TIMES numbness in half of my face. Now I hope you remember that this started the second week on the medicine. It’s been about a year now and nothing has gotten better, Ithink my doctor really screwed up putting me on the medicine since I was been treated for thyroid issues before starting the pill. No I am not looking for a settlement, but more of the thruth about what they really gave us and what are the real side effects and will we ever be normal again. BY the way I’m only 44 years old and look and feel like death is at my door.
November 9th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Hello,
I have taken Chantix 2x’s. First I had the dreams but it worked well and dreams stopped when I stopped the drug. Second time dreams came back and never left! Even when I stopped the drug due to this! I feel like I have been up all night - every night!! (But know I “slept” due to the weird “dreams” I had!?) Does this sound familiar?! I am exhausted! It feels like the drug woke up a “bad” part of my brain?!? I hoped it would go away as it did the first time but it hasn’t this time! I want it to stop! I stopped the drug why hasn’t the side effect stopped this time? Anyone that has had this and any ideas to help make the dreams stop?! Makes me wonder about the suicide part…maybe they are sleep deprived and driven to it by their dreams!? I know some mornings I am horrified for long periods even though I realize they were dreams…. eventually! Some mornings I am forced to establish they were dreams for it seems like I have lived a lifetime - and not a pleasant one - each and every night!!!! I need the dreams to stop! Any ideas or help?! Thanks!
November 9th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
After reading some of the other messages I am wondering about my other recent health issues… I didn’t associate anything else with the drug but the dreams! I wish everyone the best!
November 11th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I took Chanitx for six weeks from Jan1-Feb 13, 2008. I did stop smoking at week two, started to taper off the drug (because I really felt I didn’t need it) and completely stopped taking it on Feb. 13, 2008. Not everything happened at once. The anger, hostility and inability to get along with anybody happened pretty quickly, within four weeks. The depression has gotten worse and thoughts of suicide are never very far away. I was and am taking Zoloft so I already had an anxiety issue (mental illness runs in my family) Finally after celebrating my 56th birthday alone watching “The Bridge” a commentary regarding suicide did I finally admit to myself that I needed to get some help. The last time I went to see my dr. and told him of my depression he said “well take 200 mg then”. Over the course of these 10 months I’ve stopped working out
(use to go four days a week and liked the social networking), constanly on edge and the worst thing is the depression.
I have an appointment with a psychiatrist to see what the best course of action is. I miss myself. I’m so tired of crying.
isolated myself,
November 13th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I am horrified everytime I come on here and read blogs…well horrified and thankful at the same time…I have all the symptoms everyone has talked about..heart palpatations,weakness af my arms and legs,trouble swallowing,waking up not breathing,headaches for weeks at a time,on and off blurred vision….ive had more tests in the past year than i have in my whole life…yet it remains a mystery as to what is wrong with me..no blood work,mri’s,cat scans,x-rays,and numerous visits to specialists has told me what is wrong….December 11th marks the 1 year date this crap all started…I just want to be able to be a mom to my children again…I dont know how to go about getting this monster drug off the market!!!!Please is this great country of ours word of mouth has always been the best advertisement if you EVER hear anyone mention this drug to any one STOP THEM and tell them to read the blogs first…God knows I wish I did…..
November 14th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I took Chantix for two months in January and February 2008. I never quit smoking. I never had any health problems and have great health. I then had a stroke. My nuerologist, my cardiologist and general practioner are all baffled as to what caused it. Have you had this experience???
November 14th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I decided to try Chantix also, and for the first week I was fine. Going into the 2nd week my smoking did decrease but my attitude and mood changed dramatically. People at work noticed it and pretty much stayed away from me. On the 3rd week I got so bad with the moods and depression as I began losing my mind, I called my doctor and was prescribed lexapro, due to the fact that welburtrin I had was not working at all. I finished out the month supply without killing anyone or myself and continued to stay on lexapro for awhile.
I come to the conclusion that I can die from smoking or die from depression. Least I won’t be alone when I die from smoking, but there could of been a chance that I would of died alone or hurt others if I stayed on Chantix. A few of my others friends tried Chantix also, and had to quiet due to depression and thoughts that was unlike them.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
For anyone who’s interested, here’s a site of some attorneys that are dealing with Chantix victims for some justice. http://www.chantixsuicidelawsuit.com/
November 17th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Please access Injuryboard using this link:
http://westpalmbeach.injuryboard.com/defective-and-dangerous-products/chantix-why-the-rush.aspx?googleid=251638
You are welcome to read: “Chantix: Why the Rush?”
December 1st, 2008 at 12:08 am
I am a 30 year old female who had no health problems before taking chantix. I did however smoke for nearly 20 years in the past. I took the pill for 3 days and had no urge to smoke, but on the 3rd day I ended up in the ER with severe heart palpatations. My blood work and EKG came back normal. I have stopped taking the pill now for about 6 days and I am still having frequent palpatations that take my breathe away and leave my heart pounding for several minutes, 6-8 times a day. These are not anxiety or panic attacks. I am afraid I am going to have a heart attack. Has anyone experienced this in such short time, and will these symptoms I’m having go away? I still have not smoked.
December 1st, 2008 at 9:23 am
Hi, I’m from Brazil and I have been taking Chantix for 12 days and I’m stopping today. Last night I thought I was going to die. Around 11:00 PM my heart was beating too fast, I could feel my heart beat in my neck and eyes. I went to sleep and the heart pain started. It’s like someone is putting a nail in my heart. Right now I’m starting to feel better, my beating rate has decreased but I’m still feeling some pain. Before that, the only side effect I had was some headache. I still fear having some kind of heart attack, god help me.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Hello all, My wife has been taking Chantix for (hold your breath for this one) - about a year now. Although she has not displayed any of the more severe side effects mentioned on this page, she has neverthless experience all the minor side effects in one capacity or another. What really worries me is that when she does stop taking the medication, that is when the real ‘FUN’ will start. I just hope things go smoother for her than the majority of these posts have been. One of the worst things is that even though she has been taking the drug for about a year - constantly, she still occasionally smokes.
Good luck to all
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:32 pm
My husband had started taking Chantix at the beginning of this year (2008). He stopped before he could even finish all of the pills. October 18th rolls around and he passes away suddenly. Autotopsy reports come back and they state myocarditis was presumed cause of death. He was 29. Never had heart issues before. I have heard that this drug very well may be linked to heart attacks and other heart problems. Even though i have recieved the autopsy report, i still feel like the answer to my question of HOW HE DIED, still hasnt been answered…
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 pm
I guess i’m a little confused by all of these comments, only because i know 5 people who have taken this drug, have successfully quit, and this was months ago, and neither of them have had any problems, they said just the opposite, that chantix helped them to quit, like no other drug before this one, and they couldn’t feel better.
i’m not saying that these things didn’t happen to these people, but you would think that out of the 5 people that i personally know if this stuff does indeed happen as described above, you would think at least one of them would have had something happen to them. i’ll need to complete some more research, just doesn’t make sense
December 27th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I have been off Chantix for over 2 1/2 years now. I had smoke for 47 years and had tried to quit numerous times before that. Many of the symptoms I see here (mood changes, rages, sullen, depressed, etc) I experienced each time I quit smoking so I wouldn’t attribute those to Chantix. My moods changed dramatically and people I associated with noticed the changes. Chantix did not produce those changes. As noted here, the habit part remains, but that strong overpowering addiction is under control. It was easier to handle the habit without the addiction. I still want a cigarette, but that is the habit part of me.
My problem is this: I have no interest in anything anymore. My mind is dull and I find it almost impossible to be creative in anything. I have no energy and no desire to do things that used to interest me: genealogy, reading, traveling, etc. I think Chantix does irreversible damage to the brain, especially that part that experiences pleasure from smoking. The Chantix did work and I have not smoked for 2 1/2 years, but I’m not sure the result was worth it. I have also gained about 40 pounds so I have traded one health problem for another. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced the “dullness” and lack of interest symptoms.
January 1st, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I tried chantex after my mom had died i wanted my life to get healthier i woke up after having terrible night mares and thought what do i need to live for i was on theses pills for almost two weeks i could not eat nor sleep nor sit still for very long . i became mean to my childern and they would not come to visit me. I locked myself in my house trying to keep everyone out and away from me i felt i was not loved and they hated me. that afternoon i took bottles and bottles of pills. my best friend Teresa had a house key my oldest daughter called here worried because i had not answered the phone all day. when they got in the house they found i had taken the pills and i almost died i was in a vent for a few days . my youngest daughter had to learn how to shuching me while i was in the hospital. at that time i did not know why i tried killing myself i did not blame those pills. another year later passed i still wanted to stop smoking so i tried it again. i woke up shaking i realized it was theses meds that made me do what i did before. i called the number in the package and spoke to a dr there they told me to stop taking it and get someone close to me there. i was not able to eat sleep for days. my sugar went high now i am on insulin because of this meds. what was so sad is my kids had to go threw this and see me with tubes down my nose and mouth and worry if i was going to live or die and people using things on me to bring me back to life .. i will never be as i was before. and i pray to God no one else tries this terrible medicine.
January 5th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I started taking Chantix in November 2007. I had no problems at 1st. I quit smoking without a hitch. I am 38yrs old overweight diabetic which is the reason I decided I needed to make some drastic changes in my life. I took the complete dosage recommended I never smoked until 5 days after I was off the medicine. I thought it was just me. At this time I never new of people having any issues with this drug whatsoever so I asked my doctor to put me on the medicine again which he did without any warnings. I finished with this recommended dosage and the same urge to smoke came back again this is when I decided to Google the name Chantix and to my amazement I find blog after blog of these poor people suffering due to this drug . Lately I have noticed that I have been suffering from some sort of depression (I am not myself) and I have been having bad trouble with my short term memory (I thought it was an age thing, lol). I don’t know what I should do since now after reading these blogs I just wonder what other problems are waiting for me. Good luck to you all.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:07 am
KJB would you please email me to discuss this further? I tend to agree on some points and have done a lot of research. gpsweatheart@hotmail.com I believe it is in the effects of the a7 receptors. Thanks in advance for your response.
January 7th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Nov 2007 I began to take the Chantix/Champix. By December I was a raving lunatic. Come Jan. I was still on them and began to suffer symptoms of Anxiety. My heart would pound, had trouble breathing, panic attacks is something I’ve never gone through until then.
Depression set in so badly , the feelings of doom and gloom invaded my life. One day I was driving home in a fog when I saw a logging truck approach me. I wondered what it would be like to just turn my steering wheel just a little bit to the left, and plow right into it.
Misery was my middle name
That day I knew that something was very wrong, and even complained to my doctor how i did not like my thoughts. He told me to continue on with the Chantix..
I am now diagnozed with Fibromyalgea, and depression and taking meds for those.
GET THAT ROTTEN POISON OFF THE MARKET NOW !!
January 7th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
i started on chantix 2 years ago. and stopped smoking. but recently found out i was diabetic. type 2. i saw an ad on t.v. but forgot the number about lawsuit concerning this. please help. thanks
January 7th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Hi KJB, Well, this is I think my 3rd time writting here. It has been approx. 11 months since I had my mini stroke, which I blame on chantix. Prior to starting chantix I was a healthy 53 year old gramma, you couldn’t keep up with me, I was always go go go, now forget it, I don’t even want to get out of bed. How this drug changed my life forever.
Well, I quit 5 days after starting the chantix program, the middle of jan. 2007, felt GREAT, but was told to keep taking it until I finished the 3 mo program. What a BIG MISTAKE, I had a mini stroke 2 weeks into my second month (fed 28th) taking chantix and I have not been the same since. It seems to be getting worse.
I have been suffering from severe depression (I am not myself ever since taking this drug) I have memory loss, forget a lot of thing and don’t remember things, I use to be active all the time, you couldn’t slow me down, now I get winded all the time, all I want to do is sleep, have no ambition to do anything, my grandchildren are afraid of me, I snap at them all the time, I will catch myself and walk away. My daughter see’s the change in me. I know I’m not myself, but I can’t help it.
You can’t tell me these are the symptoms for quitting smoking. Cause I had quit before and never ever felt like this. If I knew what I know now about this drug, I would have never taken it and maybe I would still be myself
I don’t know what this drug did to me, how long the effects are, but I do know, I seem to be getting worse, Now I know why people want to kill themselves ……..
PLEASE DON’T TAKE THIS DRUG!!!!!!!!!!
January 9th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
I saw a comercial on TV regarding Chantix and now I can’t believe all of this online about Chantix. I took it after over 40 yrs of smoking. It worked, however, I am a type 2 diabetic and have been since 2003. I have an A1C test done every 3 months to check my average. It went from 7.0… to 7.9 since I quit smoking and stopped taking Chantix. I also had to have my blood pressure meds upped because it’s out of control. I guess the old saying” if it’s sounds too good to be true, it usually is” has never been more appropriate. I think we all need to keep on this to stop the distribution of it to other unexpecting ppl. ??? Who knew???
January 12th, 2009 at 6:55 am
Hello, i am a 30 year old male who never been to the hospital before in his life. After taking Chantix last year, i now have a pacemaker installed after going to the dr and hospital numerous times for heart palpitations. Feelings were that of left arm going numb, severe chest pain, really bad migraine headaches that do not go away and just feeling short of breath and that i am about to die at any time. And FYI, it’s a year later and i still have the same things happening and the doctors can’t seem to find anything.
January 12th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I found this site looking for a possible explanation of what’s wrong with me and had no idea there are so many of us. Frightening. I took Chantix for 3 weeks in April 2008 and quit smoking for the duration of the medication. Unfortunately, it not only took the urge to smoke away, it took every feeling of pleasure or passion along with it. I can definitely relate to the “dullness” and lack of interest that KJB and several others describe, as well as the mood swings and depression. About 2 months after I stopped taking Chantix, I was crossing a railroad track and almost got hit by a train. You’d think that would have scared the *** out of me (it certainly did my passengers), but it didn’t even make my heart beat fast. I have a dream job, but now it takes every ounce of energy I have now just to get there. I’ve gained 30 lbs even though I haven’t changed exercise/eating habits. It’s like my metabolism went to 0. I don’t take any medications and am in good health…except for the smoking I guess. I, too, would like to have *me* back. I was a cool, funny, energetic person. If there’s a class action suit in the works, count me in.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:11 am
I started taking Chantix in December of 2007. With a family history of emphysema it seemed like the right thing to do. I was 35 at the time and was the kind of guy that you don’t want to mess with being a very powerful 6’-1” 275# man. I had to quit taking the medication after one month on it at the request of my wife. She was terrified of the dreams I was have and thought I would hurt her. I stopped taking the chantix but I am not the same man. I have been on different combinations of celexa, wellbutin, lexapro, and klonopin for almost 10 months now and still have no control over myself. I go to the doctor in two days to see if I can be put on some sort of short term disability because I can no longer concentrate on my work. Every time he tries a new medication it takes months for my body to get used to it and I get in trouble at work for sleeping or not remembering to some thing that I was just told to do. I am 36 now and I weigh 360#, I have no energy and have to use abuterol just to make it up a flight of stairs. Sex with my wife is not what it was because I don’t have the energy to keep up anymore. I can remember what temp barley mash turns to fermentable sugar but I can’t remember if I brushed my teeth. I have full on panic attacks and constant anxiety. I ended up in the hospital over a heart attack that turned out to be nothing. The doctor blamed it on stress but I swore I was dying. I wish I never took that drug.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:54 am
i’d imagine the gaping hole in albrecht face and/or chest was probably the cause of death, not chantix. i fail to see the causal relationship between the script and the lunatic who saw it necessary to shoot someone.
more importantly, what prescription was rathbone on? lithium? or just a drunk?
i’ve been on chantix for a few months now. my experience has been that of a light version of quitting cold turkey: mild, sporadic bouts of dizziness, needing a little more sleep, mild irritation.
however, my sense of taste is back. plus, i can breathe again. the whole respiration thing has outweighed any risks i imagined. i can flipping breathe without railing like a wet accordian.
January 15th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I am 21 yrs old. I decided to quite smoking 4 days ago. I didnt look up Chantix until I had been on the medication for 3 days. The only reason I looked it up, was because I am feeling very depressed and anxious. I didnt think any side affects would happen so quickly. Can hardly eat, and cry alot. I am always on the verge of crying but once I leave work I immediately cry for hours. The depression is bad. I feel so down and mad at the world….I haven’t had any other side affects minus neaseua thank god. I haven’t taken the pill this morning, and I think I have decided to quite taking them now. I am going to try to quite cold turkey…Not worth being depressed and anxious….
January 19th, 2009 at 7:19 am
I’m 46, been on chantix for over 2 weeks now. I am beginning to feel joint pains, aches and pains, tightness in my chest. I had a very bad headache last week and the Friday before last I totally went off on my supervisor at work. After reading the posts above I believe it’s time I got off chantix and make a visit to my doctor!!!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I am a 57 year old man who has smoked for the last 40 plus years. I had a heart atack a couple of months ago and was told to stop smokeing or die. So the doctor in the hosipital gave me the Chantix and I took it. The first night I had the most vivid dream that I’ve ever had not just any dream but a nightmare beyond nightmares. I didn’t think it was the drug I was takeing for smokeing. After a week of different nightmares all bad I looked up the side afects of the Chantix and ther it was. It said causes vivid dreams. Well anyway when I wold wake up during these dreams I would sit on the edge of my bed and let all the dreams be forgotten. Had to do this at least every night. a few of those nights I feel back asleep stting on my bed hen would fall off my bed afew times hitting my head on the night stand next to me. Trying to catch myself from falling I landed on my ankle broke that and hit my head on th edge of my dresser witch I got 15 stitches in. Needless to say I threw the wonder drug away. Still after 2 days still having the nightmares. Hopefully this won’t keep on.
January 21st, 2009 at 6:22 am
I took Chantix fall of 2007. I think I experienced almost every bad side effect possible. I quit taking the drug and started smoking again. Its been over a year and Im still experiencing effects…depression - was never depressed before taking the drug. Almost committed suicide while on it! Intense muscle/joint pain. I’m only 37. I hope there is accountibility out there! Waiting for a law suit! PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG! IT IS BAD NEWS!!!!
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:14 pm
These are interesting journals. They certainly have a lot in common. I am a 53 yr old female and I have been taking xanax for 23 days. It is quite an understatement to say that we may experience nausea. I am having aversion problems and having to practically hide the drug in my food so I can take it without throwing up. I too notice rapid heart beat, unexplainable sweats, amazing dreams (good and bad), ringing in my ears, and feeling so weak that I may faint if I don’t sit down. I want desperately not to smoke. This drug keeps me so sick that I don’t want to smoke just thinking that I will have to take Chantix again to quit. I too am biting everyone’s head off. Fortunately I am realizing it and apologizing right away. I do have a suggestion that IS working well for me. I take a Xanax, I get in my bed and I read the Bible every night until I fall to sleep. At least my mind is “trained” toward loving, peaceful, Godly thoughts and my dreams are good ones. I read where some persons are or have craved SUGAR!!!! like crazy. I am too. Perhaps this is a result of not having the nicotine and other trash in my system. I have been trying to give the dumbing down and memory loss credit to withdrawal from the cigarettes. The feeling like I am going to faint is kind of scary for me though. Next week I plan on taking halves for the next month then less and less till I wean off the Chantix. Wish me luck.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Please beware of this medicine. My mother began taking this in early November 2008 to quit smoking- she was the epitome of a healthy, fun-loving 48 year old. The night before my sister and I were going to head back to college from Thanksgiving break, we awoke to screams from our father. Our mother, the once happy and most loving woman we have have ever know, had killed herself. We struggled about why this happened until yesterday…a quick google search revealed she was not alone.
We look forward to bringing justice to Pfizer.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I have been reading these posts for the last two hours while my fiancee is in icu in florida hospital south. After one month of being on chantix i found him collapsed and gurgling in his shower this morning. Luckily i responded within a minute of hearing the thud and performed cpr while waiting for paramedics. My fiancee is 27 years old and has absolutely no history of heart disease or abnormal heart rate yet he is unconcious and was said to have suffered from ventricular fribrillation which caused his cardiac arrest. He recently had a physical as well which gave him a clean bill of health. Doctors keep asking me if he took drugs or complained of headaches or pain the evening before but none applied to him. He was healthy and the only thing he took was chantix. After reading all these posts i am really beginning to wonder how doctors dismiss this drug as being a cause of conditions like this or worse?! I realize this doesnt happen to everyone, but if it has affected only a few people as well as their families, it deserves to be investigated. My heart goes out to people who have had to go through this as i am now one of you. The most important person in my life is fighting for his possibly because a simple quit-smoking drug is continuously being overlooked.
February 1st, 2009 at 10:41 am
Hello all, My husband Randy was on Chantix for 5 weeks and quit smoking. He started again a week or so later. He resumed taking Chantix for 3 weeks or so. He went back overseas to Kuwait for work. About one month after being in Kuwait he suffered a heart attack he is 55 years old but dont let the age or the years of smoking fool you. He has never had any blood pressure problems and is not over weight he’s 6 foot 3″ and around 230 lbs. So I amy pretty sure Chantix had ALOT if not EVERHING to do with his heart attack. He needs a stent put in the doctor said. BUT in Kuwait even if you have insurance it’s 5000.00 for the surgery CASH up front. We dont have that and I dont want him to fly 23 hours over the ocean to come home he may have another with no help available. Im wondering has anyone contacted a lawyer on a lawsuit ??? If so could you please e-mail me with the information at lynnesmiles04@yahoo.com
Thenkyou very much and good luck to all.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
I just returned from the E.R. but before I go any further, let me tell u my background….I have better than excellent health and my Dr.’s charts and family history will attest to that. I am/was a smoker for 26 years. I successfully quit about 10 years ago for about 1 month, I did so without any medication or problems. Nicotine withdrawals did not affect me in any way shape or form. (let me emphasize that last statement). I turned 40 and decided this “was my time to quit for good”. I did my homework and understood all of the written side effects of Chantix. I heard lots of success stories but also have heard the horror stories. I figured since I am in perfect mental and physical health, I should have no horror stories….right? oh soooo wrong………I have been on Chantix since Jan 18th 2009. I choose the 0.5mg once daily because the 1mg just made me feel down right not myself (and I am very in tune with my mind and body). I have experienced ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THE WRITTEN SIDE EFFECTS STATED BY PFIZER. Which is great, am 99% nicotine free, which is AWESOME but today, I rushed my self to the emergency room because I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest and my left arm turned numb. This happened to me on Sunday on two occasions, but it was not as severe and it scared me a little bit…wasn’t sure what was going on…never felt that way before in my life. When I told them my symptons, The E.R. took me right in, and performed all kinds of tests on my heart……..after 3 hours of heart test, my heart is perfect!!!! We’ll of course my heart is perfect, I am a healthy human being until now!!!!!!! I am assuming they are panic attacks? Don’t know am diagnosing myself at this point? I go to my normal Dr. in the morning …..but still, why is my left arm still numb and tingly, and its just my left arm, nothing else???? this is what I asked the doctor today in the ER?…..and ya know what they told me before I left as an overall prognosis, could be the symptons of Nicotine withdrawals….(I’m thinking to myself, WTF kinda crap is that? No, its not)!!!! I’m an educated woman and fairly smart…I did not feel this way prior to Jan 18th, why all the sudden am I feeling this way now, I did not have these feelings 10 years ago during my first attempt to quit. My strong belief is that Pfizer did not test this drug on a wide enough range of people and it was not tested for a long enough period of time…Period. Yes, different drugs affect different people, I know this, blah blah blah…but why are soooo many people feeling the same weird unannounced side effects? …. There were obvious loop holes during the release process of this drug w/ the FDA….Period. There’s something very dangerous and scary in this drug and someone needs to recognize it, Period….I am a very well educated woman and I know when something is not right…and as far as the person about making the comment about sueing Jiff Peanut Butter, are you saying I am allergic to Chantix? If so, then either tell me, or tell me the side effects of my allergic reaction and alert me as a consumer and paying customer. Period……..I’m sure if Jiff Peanut Butter made you feel the way the other million of us feel, you would be VERY concerned too.
February 14th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I started taking chantix after having a heart attack an 3 stints put in.I have been a 2 pack or more daily smoker for 50 years,I had bad dreams an some nights couldn’t sleep was very irritable at times but manged to control myself. Now about 4 months later Ive developed diabetes, I went to the hospital not knowing where I was or who I was. thank god for a good friend that was with me,I feel like chantix had something to do with me developing this I never had sugar problems before. If you value your life don’t take chantix. Believe me its not wort it there are other ways to quit smoking.
February 16th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
First, let me say that the good news is, I did stop smoking and it has been over a year now, but after reading all the info from others who took Chantix, I am wondering at what cost I have quit smoking.
When I started the drug, I had the usual side effects..vivid nightmares, head aches, a bit moodier than usual, but nothing so bad that I considered stopping the medication because I wanted to stop smoking and nothing had worked for me so far…so I continued taking the recommended dosage for several months in 2007 and actually took it for a couple of months over the recommended length of time because there was no warning from the drug company nor my doctor that it could be more detrimental to my health than smoking…
In January of 2008 I took the last of my final perscription of Chantix. Other than having gained a few extra pounds (maybe 10 at this time), I seemed fine…Spring of 2008, in May, I was working out in our yard getting our garden ready, running a gas powered tiller..not too strenous, certainly not overly strenous, but as I was the picture of health, not concerned because it was not very hot and the thiller was doing all the work.
About an hour into tilling, I started having what I thought were cramps in my left side/chest area..I went to sit down and rest because I thought I had pulled a muscle or something…the pain abated briefly, so I went back to work…about 30 minutes later, I was on the way to the hospital in the grips of a full on heart attack. I was 46 at the time and never had any previous heart problems, never had a physical or medical exam which indicated even the possibility of heart problems.
I have recovered mostly from that experience, but have short term memory issues, I am constantly tired, which I have been attributing to my heart medications, have no desire to do the things that I used to enjoy, and just generally feel I have to force myself to get out of bed every day…after reading the other comments, I am now concerned that all of these issues may be traced back to the Chantix…since many people seem to have had or are having the same problems…also my metabolism is like non existant and I am up to about 40lbs overweight now…scary if the Chantix can be tied in to all of this…if it can be and there is a law suit, count me in just because of the pain of the heart attack!
February 19th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I took chantix but after about a month I started to have a rash that I have never had before. It’s gotten worse and I have been to the hospital and a Dermotologist, been tested for every disease known to man kind and have none of them. The only thing it can be attributed to is the chantix. I also have been very emotionally unstable and lash out all the time. I also forget things, events and people.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:15 am
have taken chantix twice in the last 6 months, the first time I took it for about a month, I had dizzy spells, I ask my doctor about it and he said the dizzy spills were due to nicotine withdrawl, I started smoking again and quit chantix. The second time I started taking chantix, I was on it for about two weeks, I had a seizure while driving my vehicle and did some real damage to my truck, I was in the hospital for two and half days, while in the hospital I was tested for stroke (MRI) and for any other brain damage, (EEG), and heart problems (EKG), all tests were negitve, there were no problems found, the neurologist said that it was quite possible that chantix was the problem, right now I’m not driving for a month to make sure that I don’t have another seizure, I have thrown the rest of the chantix away, and have had no other dizzy spells, just a lot of pain from being in the wreck.
February 20th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I’m almost finished with my third week of pills and have successfully avoided cigarettes entirely for nearly 12 days. I admit to having some minimal signs of side effects. These are mostly the tolerable ones disclosed by the enclosed Chantix disclaimer and additional information. Also, I did have some discomfort in my chest several days ago, but it does seem to have passed and wasn’t anything to rush me to the hospital for. It was concerning, though.
Still, I can’t be sure of what to do from here, even after reading most of the comments above. If we do the math, there seems to be far more success stories than horror stories. While I appreciate the pain and suffering described by everyone, the stories only represent a fraction of those that have taken the drug. Also, too many of the stories here could very well be terrible coincidence, although I understand you will all be quick to insist otherwise.
Most powerful drugs on the market, regardless of the company producing them, have possible side effects that might be big or small. Chantix is not unique with complaints about it needing to be removed from the market. We could probably Google the names of various other drugs and find plenty of complaints about them and desires to have lawsuits started.
I don’t want to have health problems as a result of my quest to quit smoking, but I don’t want to give up something that might be perfect for me either. I hesitate to make a change, but I do now have a fear of the worst.
I’m afraid of that possibility that I could regret my prescription that has been pretty good so far, and end up posting my own sob story here later. At this point, I think I’ll have to stick it out a bit longer, and wish you all brighter futures as I pass through. Good luck.
February 25th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I took chantix for about 1 1/2 months and thought I was losing my mind— I would forget thing (short term) that happened only days ago and my back ,shoulder and head would hurt so bad at times that I got very short tempered and I helped my cousin at a Day Care and was having a very bad day– one of the kids would not take a nap and I almost hit them for it—I have NEVER HURT ANYONE physcial so needless to say I was teriffied that I had almost hurt a child and started to cry. I left and later that night call my cousin and told her that I could not help her anymore and told her why. i talked to my DR about it and my memory loss thinking that it was alshimers— I have been hurting almost daily—- I really don’t know if it was the chantix or not but with what I have read here today makes me believe that it could be….
February 27th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
I am currently taking Chantix. It is the only thing that ever worked for me and I have been desperate to give up smoking. I had nausea, and vivid dreams but nothing else. If I do find anything I’ll return and post it. I have read about the side effects, knew of them going into it. But I’d prefer to risk side effects then die of cancer. My Step-Mom, grandfather, and a close friend all died due to cancer likely from smoking. I think it should be a persons choice as long as they are given the proper information. I mean so many things have side effects but they are no off the market, cigarettes for one. If they were outlawed we would have no choice but to quit. They have no good use but to addict people and kill them. Alcohol is another substance that is legal and can have deadly side effects. Just examples of the things on the market, pretty much most medicines do have some negative side effects. As long as they are properly labeled I think I should have the right to choose. Quiting smoking itself also has side effects. Can effect mood, state of mind ect… Just my opinion..
February 27th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
My daughter was just given Chantix (3 days ago), she has already started with knee pain and moodiness. Mom and dad told her to throw the pills down the drain after reading all the post. I(mom) thank you and her 2 children thank you. She says she is going to try the patch. Someone gave a good remedy get the mint flavored toothpicks and chew on them when wanting a cigarette. To me it seems alot cheaper and healthier. I’ll keep everyone in my prayers.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 am
I began taking Chantix in the early part of 2008 and got my 2nd refill in April and by Aug. of 2008 I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2. I have a physical every year, including blood workup and never was this a problem
until after I had taken this drug. I too am having problems with short term memory loss!
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:47 am
I had started taking Chantix in November of 2008 - The first two weeks were awesome.. I quit and all was good.. but I noticed that I no longer had any tolerance, I was impatient, moodly and angry ALL THE TIME, it was like border line RAGE. I was lucky enough to know myself well enough to know this wasnt right for me so I stopped taking the drug and am still not smoking, but the side effects are still there… I can not get back to the calm and collected person I was BEFORE the chantix. I was wondering what should i do? Will the side effects ever really go away?
March 4th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
My wife took this medication to quit smoking last year. Per the instructions, you take a half dose for a week and on the day she went to the full dose, two hours after taking the full dose, she lost feeling in her left leg. She quit taking the Chantix and went to doctors, they ruled out MS and various other possibilities ( stroke) since she is only 46 and in perfect health. She had trouble walking for 2 months and slowly she adjusted to the new reality of no feeling in her leg. I have since met another person who took this and lost 50% of the vision in his left eye PERMENANTLY after taking chantix. What is up with this AWFUL AND DESTRUCTIVE DRUG!!!!!!
March 5th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I am a 46 year old female. I took the champix for about 4 weeks during Apri 2008. Shortly after my potasium spiked and kidneys started to fail. I suffer from Lupus, bi polar and kidney disease. So everyone has chalked it up to that. I am getting salivary gland stones, When this happens I lose my ability to speak. The dr’s have run numerous tests and there is no diagnois just a bunch of nothing. I am used to specialists but I have seen so many and gone through so many tests in the past 4 months with no answers. I have always said that I felt better whan I smoked. I have been sick ever since I quit.. I have also been told that I have a touch of emphysema??? If anyone hads had any of these kind of symtoms. Please post it. They have added aspirin to my daily dose of blood thinner so I don’t have a full blown stroke. Thank God I found this site I havve been saying for months this has to be related to Champix. The dr’s have told me no way it should have been out of my system long ago. How much damage has been done and will continue to effect all of us?
March 6th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I started taking Chantix in February of 08. While taking Chantix I experienced both nausea at the morning dose and very dramatic dreams while sleeping. I quit smoking the same day as my set goal. I have not smoked since, nor do I want to. I never once thought of suicide nor were there mind altering thoughts or actions that took place. I was actually communicationg to others about the dreams being generated. During the following months after quiting smoking and only taking 1/2 the prescription to do this I felt very poorly. I continued to jokingly tell friends that I was going to start smoking again because I have felt like SH** since I quit. In July, six months later I was placed in the hospital and was close to death. I had pulminary embolisms, thought to have come from thrombosis in my legs. These come to find out are side effects of Chantix. I missed 2 months of work and I am still on warfarin to prevent more clots. I when reading the side effects of the chantix, was not as familiar with these terms as I am now. BLOOD clots in my mind were BLOOD clots.
This has changed my whole life. I had had no trauma or surgeries, I went to specialist and had CT after CT. Scarring is now evident in my lungs where an x/ray in FEB 08 by NIOSH had said I was fine. A fellow worker also had clots in his legs and missed work and was put on warfarin. He had had no trauma nor surgeries. The only common denominator was we had both takin Chantix. I have communicated this with PHIZER the dist/manufacturer and have heard no response. I am fifty five years old and was quiting smoking to add a year or two. Now I have scarred lungs and short on breath, worse than before taking the prescription. I should have stayed a smoker it was a slower killer.
March 6th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
i belong to a group called chantixsucks.com we are trying to get as many of us together as we can to get this devil drug off the market. the groups founders name is brenda. i am also leaving my email address thank you. lisa lisadmcd@sbcglobal.net
March 6th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
sorry, you can email brends at chantixsucks@yahoo.com
March 8th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I began taking Chantix the 3rd monday in July 2007. I managed to take the starter pack with no problems. At the end of taking the 2nd pack I began to have a constant pain in the right side of my stomache. I began the 3rd pack ( I just wanted to quit smoking due to the fact that I had just helped my father pass on due to cancer) and the pain became worse. I quit taking the chantix thinking that the pain would go away after the drug got out of my system. In October 2007 I gained 20 lbs. in 30 days. By December 2007 I had gained another 10lbs. and since then I have gained a total of 50 lbs. which is accompanied with painful abdominal swelling. In fact the swelling got so bad I looked 9 months pregnant, my stomache was firm like I was carrying child and my ribs felt like they were being pushed apart. And it doesn’t stop there. I now have had elevated liver enzymes since Nov. 2007, I suffer from a swollen liver, swollen stomache, swelling in my entire body, especailly stomache, arms, hands, legs, and feet (I could actually feel the swelling it is very painful and each time the swelling increases I feel it) and severe pain in both feet. All the blood work my doctor has run on my shows that the liver enzymes are elevated. I now have to take a cholesterol pill, because coincidently by cholesterol profile went sky high, and prilosec. My feet still hurt and some days I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk. My liver is still swollen(you can still lay your hands on me and feel the outline of it), the enzymes are still elevated, my stomache is still producing way too much acid and is still enlarged and I am on my way to a liver specialist. I remain smoke free, but my life is signifiantly different and I am in constant pain. Use this medicine at your own risk. I wish I would have known more prior to taking Chantix. It would have affected my decision. If there are any class action lawsuits going on, please contact me at pipsqueek92@att.net, I would very much like to part of it.
March 9th, 2009 at 12:03 am
My 24yr. old son took Chantix about 1 1/2 yrs. ago. He took it for about 5 weeks and stopped due to some of the side effects. After he stopped taking the drug everyone had noticed a difference in him. He was totally different in the way he was thinking. He became very easily irritated and angry. He was obsessed with working out, running 2 times a day and working out every day. He became obsessed with the way he looked and became very hard on himself with every part of his life. He lost about 50 lbs. He now weighs 124 and is 5′9″ tall. He definately has an eating disorder. He reads everything that has to do with eating and nutrition and knows all of it inside and out. He eats very healthy and will never eat anything else.(which is not all bad, just he is very robotic and obsessive).
We tried to get him to go to the Dr. and he would never go. Then he started feeling very tired and very depressed. He then made an appointment and found out that he had high liver enzymes and very anemic and not caused by iron deficiency. He just had a liver biopsy done and we are waiting to hear the outcome.
He made the commit when sitting in the waiting room to go back and see the Dr that he feels that he has never felt the same since taking Chantix,h
And feels like something in the drug had changed him in the way he feels and thinks.
I do feel that there was a big change in him when he started taking this drug and he has not been the same since. He says that he doesn’t have any feelings anymore and nothing makes him happy. I do feel that there is some kind of link between this and him taking Chantix.
I am very worried and would like to have my funny and full of life son back. It is hard to see him like this. It is almost like he is trapped in his own mind and body and can’t get out…
Please if anyone else has had or knows of someone that has had any of these side effects, please write and let me know. It would be much appreciated..
March 14th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I started taking chantix the first of May, 2008, 19 days later my blood pressure droppe very low and my heart rate dropped to 30. I ended in the ICU for 3 days. Yes I have take Meds for HIGH blood pressure but never for Low. My heart rate always ran 90 and above. I sure would like to know why my B/P and heart rate dropped after 19 days of being on Chantix. I would gladly sign up for a class action lawsuit against chantix if there is one. any one can contact me at sherlyag@peoplepc.com
March 24th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
In May of 2007 I was given Chantix in order to help me quit smoking. My doctor reassured me that the side affects were not bad and that I would just get sick to my stomache after awhile if I tried smoking. Well, that happened as well as the horrible nightmares. I finally ended up going back to the doctor as I started crying and could not stop - I was in a severe depression. I was then put on anti-depressants and told to stop taking the Chantix.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
My husband took Chantix in January 2008. He was on an anti-depressant and some mild heart medication. Shortly after starting on Chantix he stopped going to work. He said he couldn’t go out into a group of people. He was more depressed than ever and later told me he considered suicide. He lost his job and hasn’t worked since. The doctor prescribing his anti-depressant has changed it, but my husband is still depressed and can’t work. The doctor suggtests he file for disability. Having read some of the posts, I now wonder if his inability to sleep, tiredness, and joint pain are also side effects. He says his brain is fried. This does feel like a permanent side effect. He is not the person he was before taking Chantix.
April 5th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I started taking Chantix at the end of February 09 and shortly after starting the continuing pack I started to “not just feel right.” I am 36 years old and have smoked on and off for the last 18 years. I decided to quit smoking not just because all 6 of my kids kept asking me to quit but also because of financial reasons.
My husband and I both smoked. He also quit the same time I did to help me out. He did not go on Chantix he used an herbal product. He was moody for a couple of days and then his mood subsided and he is fine. He and i have both been smoke free for over a month. He, however, is greatful he did not take Chantix.
I keep reading from people that they would experience symptoms of a heart attack, especially the women who stated that it was the left side that had been affected. That startled me because I went to the doctor’s and he performed an EKG and said it was normal, he did state that I presented all the classic signs of a heart attack, however, I was the wrong sex. I kept stating to the nurse and the doctor that I felt it was Chantix that was responsible for this feeling and was told by my doctor “No!” The only side effects are nausea and weird dreams. He did subsequently order a stress test to be done. No blood work was ordered.
I just think it’s funny because I keep reading from different individuals who blame the side effects I am having as just withdrawl symptoms. If that were true why isn’t my husband having the same side effects or anythig simular. He is not having blurred vision, numbiness in the left arm, chest pain, sharp pain the shoulder blade, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and jaw pain. He hasn’t even had weight gain. I’ve gained 10 pounds in 1 month and eat the same if not less than what I ate before.
SO for those individuals who think that everyone is just out for money, I say bull. I am not out for anything, I just want the truth. I want my doctor and every other doctor who prescribes this medicine to know that there are potetial life altering side effects and I want Pfizer to study and see how long these side effects will last or even if they are permanent.
By the way, I asked my doctor whether to syop taking the drug or if he would put me on the lower dose because I am suppose to take 2-1mg pills per day and he repeated the same thing to me, “No!” It’s not the drug.
April 5th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Please let me add this, I have a blood pressure of 98/60, no cholestrol problems, no sugar problems, no vision problems, no known heart problems, no kidney, everything is ususally normal and I have all the medical paperwork to show that I am a healthy individual.
I never felt like this any other time in my life.
By the way, if anyone is wondering what herbal medicine my husband took, it is Smoke Away.
April 10th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
We just got home from the hospital. My husband had been admitted after suffering a grand mal seizure while taking Chantix. We spent two days there. This was about the last week of his prescription/ We won’t fing out what type of damage if any was done to his brain until next week. He’s unable to drive so that makes work a real problem. Anyone know of any lawyers working on these types of cases?
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I am 33 yrs old with a history of mental ilness. After five years of treatment for psychosis caused by previous menthanphetamine use I was cleared by the psychiatrist to quit taking my medications. I have been medication free for months and decided that after quitting drugs I could quit smoking for sure. I have been taking chantix for 3 days and today went by ambulance to the hospital for rapid heartbeat. my pulse stayed a 160 and the drugs they were giving me to slow my heart were not working. They had to put me to sleep and shock me in order to get my heart to slow down. I just had a physical last year and have NO previous medical problems except with mental health. This was so scary I thought I was going to die!!! I have never experienced something so terrifying in my whole life, and believe me I have been through a ringer with my mental issues. I hope that no one takes this drug!!!!! HOW ARE THEY GIVING THIS TO PEOPLE STILL!!!!!??????? I hope I will be ok after this. I would rather smoke than try that crap EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!
April 26th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
I started taking chantix to quit smoking in March of 09. The first week was pretty miserable for me. I could not sleep, I was having bad anxiety, I did not want to even go out in public. I stuck with it though and things got better. Today I have been smoke free for almost a month.
What is crazy is that I just got back from an extended stay at the hospital. On the April 19,2009 I woke up at about two in the morning to my heart racing incredibly fast and I figured it was just anxiety coming back again from the chantix. I dealt with it through the night waking every two to three hours and just tried to calm myself down. It got so bad around noon of this day that I called my sister and asked her to take me to the hospital.
When I got to the hospital I was scared to death. I am 36 years old, slightly over weight but stay active. I thought i was having a heart attack or something. They connected me to the machines and I had a heart rate of 256 steady. This had been going on since three that morning I would say. Well I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and cardiac flutters. I was placed in ICU and told that medications would take care of this that I had nothing to worry about. This went on till Wednesday when the doctor got aggravated because everything that he threw at my heart would not lower my heart rate and put me back into normal rhythm. He told me that he was going to have to do a TEE on me and if i had no clots present in my heart that he was going to do a cardioversion. Which scared me to death considering I am 36 years old dealing with problems of a 60-70 year old person.
Throughout this whole process I kept telling my doctor that I was taking chantix and that this had been the only variation in my life style. The ER doctor that I saw said how horrible the drug was and that he has seen it do things to people that pfizer does not even say in there drug card and that it was known to cause heart problems. My cardiologist, seemed to be in shock over this and researched but did not decide conclusive if this was the problem.
Well here I am one day out the hospital now, having to take medications to control my rhythm and thing my blood. All of this because in my opinion I was taking this drug chantix. I warn everyone to think about it before using this drug. I have been smoke free for almost a month now, but the health problems i felt that came because of this drug does not compare. Just be careful and ask your doctor as many questions as possible.
If there are any class action lawsuits going on, please contact me at djsasquatchx@hotmail.com , I would very much like to fight this company that has changed the rest of my life forever.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Denise it is the drug! Doctors don’t read the side effects or they would know it is the drug and ones like yours are dangerous. Find another doctor before this one kills you. Chantix mimics the effects of nicotine. Nicotine causes heart problems … chantix causes them faster.
April 30th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
My husband decided after 20 years to quit smoking, he took Chantix to help him. For a week or two he was fine no real side effects…One day he came home and said he was sooo tired. I told him lets lay down after dinner. We both fell asleep, I awoke to a loud crash and went in to find my husband face down on my bedroom floor. I screamed at him and finally he came around, he remembered nothing. After a few minutes he said we needed to go to the emergency room and he felt like he was having a heart attack. When we got to the ER his heart rate was 189,,,within half an hour it was up over 210. They couldnt get it down and admitted him to ICU. Finally at 2:30 it came back to normal…They did all sorts of EKG’s, Stress Tests ect. They found nothing!! He stopped taking the Chantix immediatly and has been symptom free and smoke free ever since!! Now I have hospital bills, but I would rather have them then a dead husband.
May 1st, 2009 at 1:08 pm
heart attack and thoughts of sucied con cerning chantrix
May 10th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I am 30 years old, and have smoked now for 16 years. I used Chantix for about 3 weeks in the summer of 08. I had just reached my quit date and was continuing to take the Chantix when I began to experience not just one or 2 side effects but 7. I had the vivid dreams and the naseus stomach and the headaches and was always tired, I would sleep almost 18 out of 24 hours, but the one that bothered me the most was the fact that I felt like I could not breathe and my throat was constantly dry and sore as if I was suffocating. I made a list and called my Dr. and after they went through the list (they called me back an hour later) to tell me to stop taking it an dgo to the ER because I was allergic to it and that my throat was swollen. They were right. Needless to say I did not quit smoking. I realize this is probably not grounds for a lawsuit, but I wanted to share my story with others.
May 10th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I was a healthy, 6 foot 180 pound 53 year old with no blood pressure, cholesterol, or other medical problems. In September of 2007 after a month of using Chantix to quit smoking, I too had a heart attack. Even my Cardiologist said it came out of the blue.
I truly wanted to stop smoking, but it took the heart attack to scare me into quiting, not the drug. Chantix is unsafe as evidenced by all the side affects discussed on this page.
Are there any lawsuits in the works envolving heart attacks caused by the drug? I would like to know.
May 15th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Please beware of this medcine Chantix!!!
My mother start taking this medcine a month ago. She has become very distant. She cry all the times. She easily get upset now. Her head, back and legs hurt all the time. She states that she have very vived dreams. She is not her normal happy self anymore. I am in the process of taking her back and forth to doctors. Her speech is slur and she shakes alot. Are there any lawsuits in the work against this drug? I would like to know in Indiana. This drug have mess my my mother up and I want justice!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 15th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I Don’t know what to do. I am 25 years old and started chantix a few months ago. It did nothing for the first few weeks and then It started working and worked great. I didn’t want a cigg much at all, and all was good for a week or so, and then the irritability started. It was so bad that I stopped taking it, I have not touched chantix in about 3-4 weeks and I am still extremely irritable. It is ruining my life. I feel so mad almost all the time and go off over anything. I have never in all my life felt like I feel, and its all because I wanted to quit smoking. I know they put there little warning on the label or whatnot but if I had any idea what so ever what It would be like I would with out a doubt never taken the stuff. So pretty much I paid a few hundred bucks to have my life turned upside down.
May 15th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I am a 27 year old who took Chantix for only 2 or 3 weeks. I was so affected by it that I couldn’t sleep. When I did fall asleep, it was very difficult to wake up in the morning. I was so nauseous after taking it, that I had to lay down for 30 minutes every time I took my dose. I quit taking Chantix when I started having irregular heartbeats and palpitations. When I saw my doctor, she informed me that I now have a heart murmur. At 27 years old, this is outrageous. I couldn’t believe it. I now also have high blood pressure to boot.
May 16th, 2009 at 10:56 am
I was a smoker since I was in my teen’s. Now in my 30’s I’ve tried just about everything to quit and was hopeful about Chantix. I took the drug from my physician and it worked for a while. It’s been 3 years since I first took Chantix I have been on this drug twice now. It did not occur to me that my chest pains, anxiety and my quick cruel temper were anything but a coincidence after taking Chantix.
I am no longer on Chantix but it has left me with the chest pains anxiety and I have alienated my family with this erratic temper. I want to be me again! I was never like this before taking this drug. I have read many of the stories on this site like many of you I too have subjected myself to lengthy doctor visits and exams only to find nothing is wrong with me. How am I suppose to convince my doctor the chest pains and mood swings are real.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
i was a heavy smoker for about 25 years and needed to quit, so i took the chantix. was on it for roughly 18 months before i was able to stop smoking. i stopped taking the drug in dec. 08. i now have thoughts that normaly had never surfaced in my life, personal injury, injury to others, just dark thoughts that i would never have before. i have a high level of anxiety when left alone, fear, for lack of a better word. i have heart palpitations that go from 60 to 190 in the blink of an eye. since i have stopped taking it my atomach has gotten back to normal. i had some surgey during this period of time and was told by my doctor to stop taking chantix immediatly, but i really wanted to quit smoking so i kept taking it. i wish i had known what this drug was capable of in the begining. pfizer should be held accountable as should the fda (like that will happen), the side effects of this drug was not deeply researched enough. wish they would ban this drug before more people suffer the after effects of it. i thought i was only one of a few, but it appears that there are many that have symptoms of numerous side effects.
May 19th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I recently lost my father and I consider the fact that he was taking Chantix was what made him commit suicide. My father was a strong man and would never have taken a cheap way out to solve his problems or cause pain and suffering to anyone in his family. He was a religious and prideful person and this was not the way he would have left this world. I would be very interested in any class action lawsuits against Pfizer and try to get this Suicidal drug off the market. Any help would be appreciated. You can contact me at jt2kool@yahoo.com
May 19th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I started taking Chantix in Feb. 2008.A week and a half later i had tried to commit suicide twice and had never been suicidal before although i do have a history of depression and anxiety.Needless to say the second time I tried to commit suicide children services was called and I had to sign my rights over.I still do not have my children back and am only allowed to see them supervised 2 times a month for 3 hours.Chantix has destroyed my life,my childrens lives and my family.I more than likely will never have my children back until they are 18 which breaks my heart.To me Pfizer is money hungry and obviously will do anything to make money even if it costs people there lives and health.Pfizers not worth the powder it would take to blow them to hell.I am in no way a mean person and i am usually very forgiving but Im not sure if I can ever forgive this company for all the lives it has destroyed and I will sure never forget.If anyone has any suggestions for me on getting my children back or at least getting more time with them please email me at leadorrough@aol.com.By the way the medical costs I have now because of Chantix does not allow me to hire a lawyer to fight.God Bless to all and I pray that justice will be served soon.
May 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Took Chantix for 3 weeks. Had nausea at first which lessened when I waited until about 10 am to take the morning pill. If taken on a full stomach, I had no nausea. The 4th week, on day 2, I started having chest pain (heart), and shoulder pain, radiating to my left arm. Stayed close to home so I would be close to a hospital in case it was a heart attack. I also got on the internet and found similar symptoms. I have had NO mental disturbances, including vivid dreams, just the heart pain. I do noticethat I am short and abrupt with my family, but that might be from not smoking. Here is excerpt from letter i wrote to a guy that had a heart attack attributed to Chantix. I just emailed it to him. HERE IT IS: Thank you for responding, Morten. I’m glad you’re still alive and kickin’!! I read more letters from people having heart symptoms today. I stopped the Chantix, and took none yesterday or today. I did find something of interest that might help. One woman had severe joint pain, along with the other symptoms, and ended up seeing a rheumatologist. One of the tests showed a very low vitamin D level. Her family doc had run a a similar test, but the new doc said the test the family doc ran wasn’t specific enough, in other words, not the correct test. She has put the lady on prescription Vitamin D pills. So, knowing that it could be the Chantix causing the Vit D deficiency, I just started on 400 iu of Vitamin D (my husband has to take it for secondary hyperparathyroidism, so we had it in the house). I am not a doctor, but have done a huge amount of reading over the years, and I know that a deficiency in certain vitamins can cause bone pain, spasms, etc. The heart is a big muscle so maybe the Vitamin D affects the heart muscle…. I don’t think it’ll hurt to take the Vitamin D for a while. The pain is not as acute today, and from what I read today, from the people suffering from chest pain, all the tests the hospitals run come up negative anyway. I hope you have recovered from the heart attack. I sometimes feel like the pharmaceutical industry is using the general public as their “drug trials”, without our consent. END OF EMAIL…..Anyway, I hope that I stopped the Chantix before any actual damage was done. Although I have smoked for many years, my heart and lungs were in pretty good shape. I was very active for the first thirty years of my life, very physical, so maybe that has helped me maintain good health as I have gotten older. I have pretty back back problems from injuries in the late 70’s, which prohibits much physical exercise now. But I felt pretty good, and usually never get sick. I really have felt bad the last few days, with the pain in my chest. I hope it doesn’t kill me!!
May 26th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I have smoked for 12 years, I started taking Chantix about a year ago. The first week went without incident. Then in the second week the drug kicked in and it worked great, I never even thought about smoking and thought “this is it, Im done whoo hoo” Then the nausea, It was okay at first lasting only 5 or 10 minutes after I took the pill. Slowly the pain became worse and worse. Then came the thoughts of suicide. Not that I was depressed it just seemed like a good idea. I did think to myself that this was bad but I knew it was one of the side effects of this drug so I wrote it off and continued using the drug. Week 4 was really bad, I was “talking” myself OUT of killing myself. I had no reason to feel this way but it seemed like a good idea. I told my family about what was going on and we all agreed that it would be better if I just quit (smoking) the old fashioned way and quit taking Chantix. I did stop taking the pill and picked up smoking again almost right off the bat.
Im not depressed, Im very happy in life and if this pill can do this to me it WILL do it to you. I recommend no one takes this pill.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Chantix users who aren’t young/in good health/have cardiac history: Please see recent comment from FAMS.OZ-Man regarding cardiac events.
May 29th, 2009 at 9:53 am
I wanted to quit and in NOV of 2008 I took Chantix and after a week on it I started having funny feeling in my chest (PVC) I was scared and went ot Doc did a EKG and it was abnormal. I was refered to a Cardio and before I could get an appointment i was in the Hospital with Atrial Fib. Heart rate was 280-290 and took 14hrs to come dn. The issues got worse. I am like and old man. I hurt in my legs back and head. I have seen ENT, Neuro, had everytest known and still no answers. And i get some issue weekly legs swelling so on. HAve had Heart surgery to stop Heart racing and fib. had stress test. Lumbar puntures it goes on and on. Until that date I didn’t even have a primary Doc and had not ever spent the night in hospital. I have had four surgerys and stayed 20 days in hospital. I have a Normal heart and mild levels of cholest. Someone please sue them!!!
May 31st, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Was told to look into this as my 58-year-old beautiful, vibrant, smart sister started taking Chantix in January 09, after decades of smoking. She was happy, healthy and full of life, looking forward to the rest of her life smoke-free!
Well, guess what? SHE’s DEAD FROM A HEART ATTACK … yes, in her sleep … SHE TOOK CHANTIX FOR THREE MONTHS … We thought smokers died slow deaths, didn’t know smokers just have heart attacks in their sleep! She passed away April 23, ‘09.
MOST family and friends feel it was the Chantix, but with such a pharm giant as Pfizer, can’t prove it! Also, it was her Dentist, of all doctors, who prescribed it!
It’s taken me this long to finally WRITE about this as something seems very mysterious re: her passing. No heart warnings, nothing.
Although it will never bring my sister back, may she rip, is there a lawsuit going on re: Pfizer’s latest killer? If so, please email me at: andiecav@yahoo.com … and please tell every one: DO NOT TAKE CHANTIX …
May 31st, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Just noticed my post is awaiting moderation … whom is moderating this? Just hope it is not Pfizer’s CEOs! If so, none of this will be on this board. Again, andiecav@yahoo.com if anyone else has lost a dear one taking this ‘medication’
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:22 am
I took Chantix from September to November of 2006. After 7 weeks I started having emotional breakdowns for no reason at all and memory loss.
I had panic attacks until April the following year anytime I left the house. It was very hard to drive to work everyday.
I also lost interest in many things like foods, hobbies, sex, vacationing, travel or just watching television. I enjoyed hunting and fishing and I have done neither since I took Chantix. 2 and a half years later I believe I’m still suffering the side effects from Chantix.
Chantix was working the way it claimed and I promoted it before I became ill. I had stopped smoking until my doctor said I was having an allergic reaction to the drug and I should stop taking it. I went back to smoking soon after.
June 7th, 2009 at 9:54 am
26 years old, good health.
Recently starting taking Chantix to help quit smoking. It took me 6 days on the pill to quit, and I haven’t smoked in 12 days now, so I took it for close to 3 weeks total. I stopped taking Chantix 2 days ago, mainly because I kept forgetting to take it. I haven’t experienced any major or serious sideeffects. Mainly just crazy dreams, each and every night, the dreams themselves dont bother me, but they seem to make sleep not as restful. Mild nausea, but just eat some pudding prior to taking the ill it helps. I do see some irritability, such as snapping for dumb little things that I usually wouldn’t, but who knows if that is from Chantix or because I am no longer smoking.
No suicidal thoughts or depression as of yet, hopefully never.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
I took chantix twice one month at a time about 8 months apart and quit smoking august 2007. I still to this day have terrible nightmares and I finally want to report it. I thought they would stop but they persist. Where do i go for help?
June 9th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
My husband and I were both prescribed Chantix back in January of 2008.
I was and still am having very irregular heart beats yet the doctors found nothing wrong with me. My husband and I while on it became very violent which is very abnormal for the both of us. We had to quit taking it because we literally thought we were going to kill each other. Since then I have had
bouts with depression, I’m angry, very irritable, and very short fused. I do believe I have heart issues but have no health ins. to get it checked out.
My husband and I are both tired all of the time too and we are both only 39 years old. I caution everyone to stay away from that drug. I think it not only messes with your mind but the rest of your body as well. I hate to see the long term affects of this drug.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I am on chantix right now, everyday and every hour I feel like puking my guts out. I am dizzy all the time, a couple of days ago It was so bad that the room appeared to be literally spinning around me. My body is weak and I have no appetite what so ever. I haven’t stopped smoking although I have noticed I am not smoking as much. How long am I going to be sick, i have to quit and I have no control over the nicotine I am that addicted and it makes me sick to think our governemnt has found away to profit off our demize and death like this, its all about profit and we are teh ones who are paying and suffering and our government and the tobacco companies are profitting and there isn’t anythign we can do?
June 13th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I was prescribed chantix for 5 months to help me quit smoking. I managed to quit, but what a mess I became! While on the chantix, I suffered severe headaches and nausea. Fortunately, my parents were visiting at the time, as I was unable to even drive to school to pick up my children. They were concerned for my physical as well as mental state while on that drug. I began to lay down when I felt sick, and I ended up sleeping for most of the day and night. When I was awake and actually trying to function, I felt extremely frustrated with everyone and everything around me. I became very depressed, and very upset with my life. Many times I felt suicidal. My husband and I had many ugly and disturbing arguments. I was not myself. I still do not feel right. My husband tells me to calm down almost daily, but I do not see for myself that I need to calm down. I believe I am acting rationally, yet he tells me I am raising my voice and my eyes look enraged. I often visualize scenarios where I can accomplish a successful suicide without anyone discovering me until it is over and there is no chance for survival. I often think about how simple it would be to go out on the interstate and crash at a high speed to insure success. I was not like this until I took the chantix. I thought it was just a side effect of giving up cigarettes.
June 14th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Hello my name is Tiffany and my husband David recently had to quit taking chantex due to the fact that he became very violent towards me and our two small boys he was so horrable we had became scared to be around him at times but yes that pill is no god and warn everyone trying to quit to go other routes not the pill.
June 15th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I have only been taking Chantix for 10 days I quit it yesterday my chest has been annoying me and my left shoulder has been hurting hand has been tingiling, I went to the Physician who prescribed the Chantix to me my blood pressure was 159 top he told me to lay down for a day and I should feel better should I listen to him or get a 2nd opinion he does not seem to smart?
June 20th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
my husband for all intense and purposes had a TIA(ministroke) last week. He had been taking chantix for two weeks, had headaches and vivid nightmares so the doctor told him to stop. the episode happened 4 weeks after he stopped taking the chantix. We have been to two hospitals and had every test done short of a spinal tap and all are negative for a TIA. His right eye is weak, he has very servere vertigo, lists to the right and until today had a splitting headache( when normally he doesn’t even get sinus headaches). Everything on his left side of his body feels hot instead of cold when he touches a cold object. He has to walk with a walker.
We are going back to the neurologist this week. I have asked the dr. to look up everything he can on chantix so maybe he can help my husband. If you know anyone who is going to take this drug, they better think again !!
June 20th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I took chantix for three weeks and ended up in the emergency room for irregular heartbeat. From about the age of 16 I would get a very rare palpitation or if I drank caffine it woud make them appear. Ever since I took chantix they became more and more frequent. I had to wear a heart monitor, have two ekg’s, an ecocardiogram and an MRI. Whatever is in this drug it has made some damage as never in my life had I had such a bad and frightening experience of such frequent irregularites. They need to take it off the market altogether.
June 21st, 2009 at 10:42 am
Hey Jeff, If I were you I would look further into it. When I told my Dr. about the issues I had on Chantix he seemed very unaware. They were aware of the weird dreams and nausea but caridac issues not at all.You should go and get this checked out further. I have been off chantix for 2 months now and I am still getting PVC’s everyday and more and more frequent
Hi Dabstoy I am so sorry to hear about your husband and please god his condition will get better. Please keep us posted on how is he doing.
If you hear of anyone wanting to take chantix tell them NO or they are waiting for a disaster to happen. Not only has it been harmful but its cost is ridiculous not to mention the $20.000 in cost for medical care because of it. I am lucky I have medical insurance but I think of all those people who do not. CHANTIX does more damage than good.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:02 pm
I am just finding out that this hell i have gone through for the last nine months is possible due to Chantix. I took Chantix for almost 10 months; during that time my syptoms were mild. Couple crazy dreams, some mood swings, depression…but I mananged to quit. Since that time, I have developed extreme edema in my upper thighs…swells so much my inner legs are right together. other part of me swell aslo, hands and finger; can barely hold anything sometimes. and the pain is excruciating in my legs especially.. have been thru cr scans, ekg’s, eeg’s mri and all kind of blood test and they come up negative. but something is wrong with me. I am not losing my mind. someone please help. thank you
June 25th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I’ve been a hard core working man all my life, eager to work. Normally,when I get layed off “which is typical in union costruction”, I immediately initiate a job search.
Presently, I’ve been out of work for about 6 months.For the strangest reason I do not care if I ever work again.I’m typically, happy, Joyful & gregarious.However,I have just experienced several crying sessions of the day,for no good reason I just tear up.OOOPPPSS,there I go again.
I was born in 1960, growing up in the USA I was convinced that smoking was the coolest thing to do,considering everybody on TV had a cigarette sticking out of there mouths. As a impressionable child I lit up also,smoke rings & all
As I grew older and saw that most of may male relatives died of smoking related diseases,I tried every technique known to man to QUIT SMOKING. So when my mother “a smoker of 30-40 years” raved about CHANTIX & that she quit ,I decided to try!!!
From 2007 to 2009 I took 3 full prescriptions of Chantix. With the first 2 prescriptions I started noticing floaters in my eyes, I started having headaches, was irritable, very depressed, and was having horrific dreams. To date, after my 3rd prescription I have been unsuccessful at quiting smoking with the aid of Chantix and all of its side effects. Presently I am tobacco free for 3 weeks having done so cold turkey.
Since being off Chantix, I have recognized a distinct short term memory loss, coupled with depression and anxiety. Which had never existed before. All in all, I’ve suffered physical and mental deficits as a result of taking Chantix.
June 27th, 2009 at 11:40 am
New on set diabetes, erratic behavior, violent outbursts. That’s Chantix. Don’t take this drug. It has ruined my health, and my personal life. I am now divorced, my children are afraid of me , and I have type 1 diabetes.