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 ... 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

 

[Psykosis]

Currently about 2 weeks in on Chantix - most days there are little side effects besides a slightly iffy belly, but some days I have almost uncontrollable rage over nothing - something that I really never experienced before taking the drug (and this occurred, incidentally, before I "quit"). As far as the quiting smoking aspect, the urge is still there, although perhaps slightly muted from my attempts in the past (patch, gum, cold-turkey). I haven't lasted a whole day yet without smoking - however I am out of normal cigs now and charg'in up my e-cig to see if it can help.

A little worried about quiting Chantix now after reading this thread - although I have missed a dose a few times without any adverse effects.

 

[CollapsiblePony]

I also had Chantix prescribed to me by a doctor who oddly enough couldn't tell me much more about it than "it helps reduce cravings" at that point I was pretty desperate to quit and so I threw down the 100 bucks/month for it. It was great for the first month or so, but somewhere into month 2 I started having terrible problems with insomnia. This coming from a girl who is generally out by 10pm on a friday, 9 on a weekday like clockwork regardless of where I'm at (yes, I've fallen asleep at late night movies in the theater!). I had never had problems falling asleep until I was on this drug. I was getting something like 3 hours of sleep a night, it was terrible for work preformance. I started cutting out the nightly pill, reducing my intake by half, and the problems persisted for a couple weeks, so I stopped taking it all together.

I started it back up a few months later, and based on advice from another forum, cut the pills in half and only took 1/2 in the morning. This worked pretty well, the pills lasted longer and there was no insomnia, and really helped through the that first "hell week" off cigs. After a couple weeks I would start craving the cigs again, willpower would work for a while and then BAM some life event would drive me back to smoking. Long story somewhat short, I gave up on it. Still have a month and a half worth of pills in my medicine cabinet, and an ecig that has really saved the day for me.

A good friend of mine also just quit taking the pills after he had the same serious insomnia problems after about a month of use...... The crazy dreams though, we both decided they were an entertaining side effect.....

Neither one of us had some of the crazy withdrawl symptoms I've heard reported. I admitedly weaned myself off of them by reducing my dosage, but my friend did not. Of course, neither one of us could handle it for the full 3 months, we both quit after about 2.

 

[mlady]

i am about to start taking "champix" (the canadian spelling) it says in the product manifest NOT to use any NRT...so here's the question. the people on the forum who have used the e cig, how has the e cig helped when using "champix"

 

[TropicalBob]

I've used both -- but not at the same time. Chantix is supposed to block the brain's nicotine receptors. You thus would get no pleasure from smoking. Theoretically, you could smoke, but it would be a waste, since you'd get no kick, no pleasure. I had the BAD side effects, but finished the Chantix I'd paid for. I never want to see that stuff again. It shut down ALL pleasure, from food to life, and made me miserable at the same time.

E-smoking while taking Chantix should not be a problem, except that you'll get nothing out of it. So why bother? One or the other. Many have quit cigarettes by turning to e-cigs. I'd suggest you try them instead of Chantix.

 

[malyden]

I tried using Chantix (insurance didn't cover the cost) used it for 2 weeks and had to quit because it made me so ill. I couldn't stand being around anyone - not a good side effect when you deal with people for a living! My experience with e-cigs is 100% better and I'm much nicer to be around lol

 

[BadAxe]

Just to show the other side of Chantix, I used it, loved it, and actually quit with it. Did what it was supposed to do. Got no satisfaction from cigs, so the brain got trained to not reach for a cig when I got a nic attack because I knew it would not help. Quit for 3 months. Stupid me started back up again though (of course I had stopped taking the Chantix by then). But I was never successful at quiiting before till Chantix. I had a few weird dreams the 1st couple days, but other than that, I had zero side effects. Its definitely worth looking into for quitting.

 

[jamie]

Prior to starting ecigs I looked into Chantix, A LOT, to the point of calling the manufacturer and Dept of Health and FDA as well as reading the studies and many user forums. My conclusion: Folks who have minimal side effects and are successfully quit, god bless 'em and I fully understand why they think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I really do. And I'm happy for them. However I decided not to take it and I believe it will eventually be banned, as did several of the professionals with which I spoke. I understand that it still has more FDA-reported serious injury and death claims than any other medication. When I called the manufacturer hotline I had to listen to their automated message warning "Avoid driving while using Chantix" while I was on hold. (Do doctors writing the scrips tell their patients that? HAHA) Most transportation pros aren't allowed to use it.

Again, I would never criticize a successful user and am as thrilled as they are at a real quit. At the same time, I wouldn't touch it. Also, as BadAxe noted, the "quit" effect -the temporary action on nicotine receptors - is over as soon as you stop taking the medication. However many of the "serious adverse effects" are NOT over when the medication is stopped and they don't know how to fix them. Because they don't really know how it works. As their own website says, "It is believed CHANTIX also activates..." Saying 'believed' is a legal and medical noncommit meaning "We suspect that maybe possibly..." - and not even a "We believe", they use a passive past tense instead!

What we DO know is that folks have differing actions from their nicotine receptors, that's why we smoke different amounts, different strengths, some don't get hooked at all, some are hooked faster than others, etc. And genetic studies prove genetic differences in nicotine metabolism. Chantix is a one-size-fits-all bang on the nicotine receptors (and other brain functions) and that probably has something to do with the crapshoot that it is.

 

[TropicalBob]

What a great post, Jamie. Good to see you posting again. You nailed it.

Without too much elaboration, I think the Chantix that blocked my nicotine receptors made some permanent changes in my brain. No massive problem, mind you, but I don't want ANY drug making unknown and permanent changes in my brain.

Seems to me that e-smoking is a far better way to stay away from tobacco's nicotine. In the end, nicotine may prove more benign than Chantix.

 

[sherid]

Without too much elaboration, I think the Chantix that blocked my nicotine receptors made some permanent changes in my brain. No massive problem, mind you, but I don't want ANY drug making unknown and permanent changes in my brain.

Effexor did that to me....again nothing massive, but a definite drop in my ability to experience many emotions, especially the pleasurable ones. I'm afraid that one day we will see a rapid increase in brain diseases in the millions of people who are now or have once taken anti-depressants. How many school shooters were on anti-depressants and then quit taking them? Columbine killers, maybe the VA Tech killer, the most recent college shooter, etc: a very scary but quite possible scenario.

 

[Computer Extreme]

So, chantix is still ok until its finally pulled off the market....

FDA continues probe of Chantix - Addictions- msnbc.com