Do you still trust your Dr.? Re: Chantix

[omyeyes]

Why would any Dr. prescribe this medication knowing all the risks involved??
When I went to my Dr. after 2 months of vaping, she did hear a noticeable change in my lungs and I told her why. She did not care to listen to the "how" I quit smoking. I'm still irked by this since I'm the one relying on her for my health care.
I know many peeps here took this Rx as well, and I was wondering how you all feel about your Dr. now?

https://www.chantix.com/safety-information-side-effects.aspx

 

[riouxk]

I would never take a brain chemistry altering pill for anything. Chantix has some nasty side effects

 

[Recycled Roadkill]

I took Chantix for a couple of months and actually quit smoking for a month. I gained 25 lbs and none of my clothes fit. Working a very stressful job finally took its toll and I was smoking again.

No thoughts of suicide although I consider killing my new bosses several times.

 

[ScottP]

Considering I only go to the Dr when I need something sewed back on, sure I trust then for that.

 

[Tom Servo]

So, I should take a byzantine chemical compound with serious, documented side effects because it's FDA approved.

I should avoid e-cigarettes because, even though I know what's in them, the government hasn't put their stamp of approval on them.

That makes perfect sense.

 

[optsmk]

I did one of those double blind studies for this stuff years ago. It had to have been at lease 15 years ago, maybe more. I'm quite sure I got the real stuff and not the placebo because after a couple weeks it just made me stupid. I mean really stupid. It was so bad that I ended up quitting the study just so that I could get my old brain back.

 

[Little White Cloud]

So, I should take a byzantine chemical compound with serious, documented side effects because it's FDA approved.

I should avoid e-cigarettes because, even though I know what's in them, the government hasn't put their stamp of approval on them.

That makes perfect sense.

It is amazing how quickly the FDA approves so many drugs that kill people so quickly yet vaping has been around for almost 10 years and killed no one. They say there is no data yet here we are.

The only thing I go to western doctors for is antibiotics because I need a prescription to get them. Seeing as how western medicine has only been around for 100 years and still only consists of popping unknown substances for "treatment", I have No confidence in it. I find it funny that they separate the brain or mind from the body for "treatment", when they are never separate. I now go to eastern medicine that is relatively holistic. I have first hand experience with western ineptitude after being bounced back and fourth between doctors for the same complaint. Then don't know how to reliably heal but the most basic problems.

 

[JaxMike]

I don't blame the doctors, for the most part. Their hands are tied by liability and regulation.

I consider my docs pretty much as working class guys, more like victims of the 'system' than architects of it. The problem is government, not medical practitioners.

 

[ScottP]

I don't blame the doctors, for the most part. Their hands are tied by liability and regulation.

I consider my docs pretty much as working class guys, more like victims of the 'system' than architects of it. The problem is government, not medical practitioners.

Actually it is largely the practitioners fault. Most of them have turned their offices into assembly lines designed to optimize "billable hours" instead of helping people.

 

[JaxMike]

They don't have much choice, Scott.

 

[Tomthern]

I tried Chantix. It didn't work and extremely expensive. My mind wouldn't stop. My doctor thought he was doing the right thing and I had asked. Much more careful now. People wanta pill for everything. I don't get that and tend to avoid the doctor

 

[leerm8680]

I took Chantix for a year while deployed to Iraq. Side effects were explained to me by the doctor. I had no problems with side effects. I kept smoking.

Get up in the morning... have a smoke.
Finish PT... have a smoke.
Walk to the mess hall... have a smoke.
Walk back from mess hall... have a smoke.
10 minutes to go until formation... have a smoke.
etc.

See the picture? I didn't have the cravings, but the triggers kept me smoking. I do agree with Recycled Roadkill... wanting to kill your boss is not Chantix related.

 

[ScottP]

They don't have much choice, Scott.

Sure they do. We found a GP for the wife and I and a pediatrician for the daughter, neither of which run their office that way. They schedule plenty of time for the patient and are interested in finding root causes of a problem before deciding on treatment options. Most Dr. Offices only allow 5 min or less of actual Dr time before a prescription is written and you are sent to the front desk to pay.

I have had experiences when I was still mid-description of a problem and the Dr was already writing a script, when he finished he handed it to me and walked out. I walked out without paying, and threw the the script in the trash knowing that it likely had zero relevance to the problem. We also had previous pediatricians trying to prescribe antibiotics for what THEY said was a virus. When I pointed out that antibiotics ONLY kill bacteria they started backpedaling and using words like umm and well before admitting I was right. That level of douchebaggery is totally their choice.

 

[Fir3b1rd]

My dr has been rather supportive. Even after the failure of the drugs. I have allot of other health things though; being I'm a spinal cord injury. I've had a few open wounds that won't heal partially because of the smoking and decreased blood flow due to no muscle movement in my lower extremities which also lowers blood pressure. So all my dr was concerned with was the cessation of smoking cigarettes and cigars. Since i put them down the wounds have healed a tremendous amount!


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[Racehorse]

I took Chantix and it worked good for me. I quit smoking for 5 years. Then my dog died and I picked up a cigarette and was back on them.

My brother took aspirins and ended up with a stomach ulcer.

This proves chemicals work differently in everyone's body, but if you have a doctor you don't trust, then fire 'em and find another one. I would never pay an office visit to anyone i don't trust with my health.

 

[Little White Cloud]

They don't have much choice, Scott.

We all make choices.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Yes, absolutely. When I asked for Chantix, I got read the side effects and given Very Stern Warnings to call immediately if I showed any signs of emotional destabilization.

I did, I called, I got readjusted (and taken off the Chantix). But since I knew what was happening, it wasn't a stress.

So I didn't quit smoking, but I also didn't suffer any major problems and went into this knowing what might happen...courtesy of the doctor.

 

[mamaclairbear]

When I tried to quit smoking the first time I went to my doctor to talk about taking Chantix. He recommended AGAINST it. When I told him I had quit smoking by vaping he wanted to know more about it. So far I've gotten a few phone calls from people that he gave my number to with my permission.

My doctor and I are close though. He and my mom used to work together at the hospital and he has a kid my age that I grew up with. I'm very grateful to have such a wonderful doctor.

 

[coalyard]

Most medicine is a form of poison to you, it is really just a matter of whether or not the benefits of taking it outweigh the harm it does. I took Chantix, and it got me from 3PAD to under 10 cigs a day. Then I began vaping, and stopped smoking altogether. I don't know if I would have successfully quit without using it.

Everyone is different. We are also all adults who are presumably capable of making decisions about our health and bodies based upon the information we have. If you cannot trust your MD, perhaps you should be seeing someone else. Jus sayin'

 

[Spazmelda]

I asked my doctor about Chantix, and he recommended strongly against it. He explained why and then wrote me a prescription, but encouraged me NOT to fill it. He told me the majority of his patients who had quit smoking had done so cold turkey (this was well before ecigs became so common). He told me if I did get the scrip filled and started taking it to please call his office and get scheduled for monitoring. I ended up not getting it filled, and continued smoking until I discovered ecigs.

I had tried Wellbutrin many years ago, and it gave me screaming nightmares. These nightmares were so vivid, I can still describe and remember them in detail today, and it was oh... 10 years ago that I took the drug.