Chantix

[TropicalBob]

There are those kept sane by smoking. And there are those who go insane without their "medication." Proof?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/he...tml?ref=health

[Queen Pigness]

I have a friend who tried Chantix. It didn't work. She's still smoking.

[camidaddy]

Chantix was the WORST thing I could have tried. Yes, it works if it doesn't turn you and your home into the Amityville Horror like it almost did for my family.

I actually had my kids BEGGING me to start smoking again...and I did after the wife threw the Chantix away.

[Vocalek]

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

I think the point people were making is that if the side-effects are unbearable, then you stop taking the drug. That has nothing to do with will-power. The whole point of the drug is that it is supposed to take care of those pesky cravings so that you don't need a boatload of will-power, but it accomplishes this by blocking dopamine receptors.

The theory behind this drug is that smokers only do it to "get high" and if you take away the pleasure, you extinguish the smoking behavior. The problem is that they ignored other functions of dopamine receptors, such as contributing to being able to self-regulate your mood (i.e. ward off depression and anxiety, keep you even-tempered instead of angry and irritable) and to assist in regulating memory and concentration. So folks who are prone to have problems with those things suffer through the worst of the so-called "withdrawal" symptoms while taking the drug and can't even resort to lighting up a cigarette for a little relief. Oh, they can light up, but it won't help.

So you were lucky on two fronts: No nasty side-effects and you are not one of the people who has severe mood, memory, and concentration problems when you abstain from nicotine.

I don't have any medical problems that cause chronic pain, so it is easy for me to have enough will-power to refrain from taking pain medication on a daily basis.

[fatdad]

I tries Chantix without any sid effects. I quit smoking for several months but then got back on the habit while working all day with smokers. I tried Chantix again. I did not work. The doctor that prescribed the product to me was himself a smoker and had to stop due to nightmares of an unfortunate event in his life. I have triead every know method known to man to give up analogs and none have had staying power. Electronic cigarettes I believe are my slavation.

[Mordred]

I have no first-hand experience of Chantix, but a friend of mine quit with it, so it certainly works for some people.

That said, you have to weigh the pros vs the cons. It is my firm belief, that we don't yet have full knowledge of how tobacco addiction works (i.e. nicotine vs MAOIs and possibly other substances) so messing with your brain chemistry some more sounds to me like a last resort. It seems MUCH preferable to stick with e-cigs/snus/snuff, since they a) work and b) are proven to be safe.

[redeye]

I tried Chantix on two different occasions. Everyone is different and the results are all across the board, but for me it was the worst 2 attempts I ever made in quitting. I didn't get depressed or suicidal at all, but I had some of the wildest dreams (what little bit I actually slept). The first time around I stuck with it for a month, the second I only lasted two weeks. I never really quit smoking at all for more that a couple of days. The bigger problem for me wasn't the fact that I was dead tired all the time from lack of sleep, but that it really bound me up-if you know what I'm sayin... Thankfully, I got mine for free as my company paid for it both times. I would have been really cranky if I hadn't slept or had a BM for weeks and was out 100 dugs to boot!

[Fortuna]

My husband tried Chantix a few months ago. It was truly awful. I wouldn't say he became depressed, but just extremely irritable and grumpy, even confrontational. Frankly, he was an a-hole for those weeks he was on it. It did help decrease his urge to smoke a little. After a few weeks he quit taking it, as he knew something wasn't right. Thank God!

[curiousJan]

I don't think so Giant- I too have Crohn's disease- and it's an autoimmune problem- not somethign caused by something else- The actual mechanics of autoimmune diseases is quite complicated, but it is highly unlikely that somethign liek Chantix is to blame- you probably and most likely had Crohn's long before you went on Chantix, but it hadn't worsened yet- it's juct coincidence that it started flaring while on Chantix- now, it may be that Chantix irritated hte Crohn's although I've not read anyhting abotu htis heppneing, and I too tried Chantix and didn't suffer any ill effects Crohn's disease wise- and I have very advanced Crohn's too.

It is well known that any number of factors, stress included, can trigger the first incidence of an auto-immune flare. I wouldn't be so quick to rule out that a medication with many known horrible side effects might have stressed the system and triggered initial onset for the poster to whom you're responding.

Especially with auto-immune disease, correlation of symptoms across patients doesn't always result in sound conclusions.

Jan

[Daifne]

My doctor has twice now tried to get me to take Chantix. Both times I have told him, since I had become suicidal on Wellbutran/Zyban, that I didn't think it was a very good idea for me. He continues to insist that they are not the same and that Chantix does not have that side effect. I think I may change doctors...

The suicidal thoughts from Zyban were really weird. It was like I was another person watching myself contemplate suicide. I could not control or even influence my other self. Absolutely terrifying.