Chantix

[Kimmiegrif]

I did take chantix. Wow how fustrating you crave nic and when you try and smoke it's like your mouth is numb and so is your lungs...no kick...no nic thrill. It sucked but I did stop smoking for...a while. But when I went to test my quit, something no one should do. I went right back on the nic wagon and didn't look back. I would never take chantix again. It affected me in a lot of other ways to. Insomina, bad dreams, depression, weight gain, do I have to add more? but initially it really does make smoking those sneaky cigs not appealing, but didn't rid me of the craving.

[SMILIN]

Good for you. At least now you have a "healthy obsession." I, too, love my e-devices. They help with both addiction and habit.

I could not agree moreand it's fun to boot

[Tex]

my doctor prescribed me chantix a few months ago. i never filled the scribe.

from my research online are large number of people get extreme pain in the joints. dexterity is part of my job so that's not good at all. its unknown of this joint damage is permanent or not.

other common side effects are extreme fatigue and tiredness. whoa. i don't know about you but i have a desk job this crap would get me fired!

then lastly there is a good portion of users who are no longer addicted to nicotine but addicted to chantix. no thanks.

this is bad stuff.

btw when i asked my doctor about it when he first wrote the scribe he said " only side effect is headache and nausea."

sounds to me like he was getting a little bonus from the drug company

sorry if anyone had a good experience with chantix but many don't and i find it very high risk

My husband took Chantix it didn't help his craving at all and he was in so much pain, to the point of not even able to hardly get out of bed because of the joint pain. So the side effects can be horrid for some people

also I called his Dr. and got the same bull about only side effects being headache and nausea..

Husband stopped taking Chantix and all joint pain stopped.

[ladybug51]

I've heard about dreams being affected, but seeing as how I dream off-beat anyhow, that part doesn't bother me. I'm contemplating Chantix right now...once I use the e-cig to get down to a pack a day or so, but I don't want my kids to suffer weird mood swings.
My question is...if you have negative side effects, you can't just stop taking it, right? It's not like, say, depo--an injection that lasts three months and if there's bad side effects you have to wait it out.
Has anyone had ANY luck with Chantix???

I took Chantix for 84 days. It did help some but the side effects were really bad for me. I'd still smoke a few each day. I had bad stomach cramping and constipation. My whole body felt achy but I really wanted to quit so I stuck to it. The only thing I liked were the vivid dreams. I finally couldn't handle it and just stopped it. Nothing bad happened except I smoked again. Everyone is different. And everyone is out to make a buck. I even want a fag now from time to time and I just vape more and it goes away. I can honestly say the e-cigs have helped the most and I've tried everything. I think it's because I really don't want to quit. I want the nicotine in a way it doesn't make me sick or harmful in fags. I have cut down and maybe someday I'll just do 0mg.

[bluewolf]

Chantix just plain made me sick.......... ruined my vacation trying it.

[JamesD]

Wow, reading these posts and having worked in the research end of psych drugs many years ago, reminds me of just how corrupt the whole big pharma thing is.

Amazing how SO MANY dangerous incidents can be linked to a drug like Chantix and all they do is THINK about putting some more warning labels on it.

When pharma and other concerns want something approved, they get it practically overnight. In my days of doing pharmaceutical research, we got a contract to do a study on the use of Wellbutrin (which was already approved as an antidepressant) in smoking cessation. The study was full of volunteers, but before trials could kick off, Glaxo cancelled on us because they had gotten a sudden "thumbs-up" from the FDA to label it for that particular use. I'm not sure they ever even finished up any of the trials that were ongoing, but I really don't know for certain. I just know it was fast and our contact at Glaxo said that it was unepected.

Cynically, GSK began marketing it as Zyban (it's the same thing as Wellbutrin), a "new" medication for smoking cessation. They warn not to use Wellbutrin if you're on Zyban... that's because you're getting a double dose if you're already on it, but they mislead patients by not telling them it's the same thing.

Meanwhile, people try to out and out ban the electronic nicotine inhaler sight unseen and without a single actual anecdote about harm. In fact, there are thousands of reports in this forum alone that sing the praises of how it's getting people off the deadly analogs. Not only that, it's fun. Not even really any willpower involved!

JamesD

[JamesD]

So I agree that the docs must be getting something from the drug companies.

Yes, the doctors and researchers DO get stuff from the drug companies. It's just a regular way of doing business. Oh, and by the way, it really is business more than it is a public service. I got everything from the typical (if better than average) SWAG like pens and clocks and nice carry-on bags to expensive dinners and free trips to conferences (San Francisco and Disneyland, to name just a couple). The doc I work for got even better stuff (including TONS of cash). Believe me, that guy would pressure us to manipulate the heck out of a study to make it come out the way he knew big pharma wanted it to.

Since leaving the healthcare field, I work in academia (now in the humanities, teaching English and theatre), where the perks are much less. Now I go to conferences at places like Southeastern Louisiana University (I pay for the trip and get reimbursed). There I get a pen and a pad of paper with the school logo on it and we may have a little pizza party. It's so much better, though, because I know I'm doing the right (human) thing!

JamesD

[restever99]

Chantix was prescribed to me by a doctor, a little more than a year ago, who had Starbucks coffee delivered to his office daily by Wellbutrin. I know because there were little Wellbutrin stickers on all the Starbucks stuff that came in. His magazines were from Lamictal. His tissues, Xanax.

He would sit in a chair, ask me how I feel, take a bite of scone, a sip of coffee, blow his nose, scribble some notes, a prescription, and then send me off to the pharmacy. He was concerned with my smoking since I was more or less a chimney during that time so he prescribed me Chantix. It worked for about six months. It worked because it made me so sick to my stomach I never wanted to do anything but vomit.

Just thought I'd share.

[rsmith76]

I took chantix for the 3 months required and had no side effects from it. I was able to quit analog cigs for a period of 5 months. I admit I did start again, but have not had a real cig for the lat 5 months, thanks to the e-cig.. Chantix will work great for some people, but not for everyone. The key is "willpower". I love my e-cig, a DSE 901b, but must admit they are not for everyone. There again, the key is "willpower". Weigh the pros and cons, and select what you feel is right for you. Experience is costly, but it's the only way for each individual to find what works for them. Bottom line: Chantix and e-cigs are not for everybody. Just my opinon.

Rick Smith

[rsmith76]

I took chantix for the 3 months required and had no side effects from it. I was able to quit analog cigs for a period of 5 months. I admit I did start again, but have not had a real cig for the last 5 months, thanks to the e-cig.. Chantix will work great for some people, but not for everyone. The key is "willpower". I love my e-cig, a DSE 901b, but must admit they are not for everyone. There again, the key is "willpower". Weigh the pros and cons, and select what you feel is right for you. Experience is costly, but it's the only way for each individual to find what works for them. Bottom line: Chantix and e-cigs are not for everybody. Just my opinon.

Rick Smith