Comments on: Chantix Tops New Report On Serious Side Effects

By: Anne

Anne — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:40:58 +0000

I cannot believe they still have this still on the market and are doing trials for it’s use with alcohol!!! I am outraged. I got a prescription for Chantix from my doctor during my routine physical in January of 2009 and started taking it in July of 2009. I took it for one month and experienced vivid dreams, not unlike what I had experienced with the nicotine patch previously, and also threw up with no notice. Then I had a dream where I actually died in the dream and it was so pleasant that I was no longer fearing death, in fact….looking forward to it. The next day I discontinued use and returned the second unopened box to CVS.
Then the really weird side effects took me over. I was extremely anxious and fearful, afraid to face the day, completely doomed, hopeless and unable to handle every day issues. I couldn’t perform my regular duties at my job and seemed like I had no idea what I was doing even though I worked there for five years. My emotions were going crazy, I was freaking out. It was as if a part of my brain had gone haywire, completely out of control. I couldn’t shut off my brain at night and couldn’t sleep at all. I couldn’t bear to face another day and was still feeling that peace from dying I had experienced in the dream. I made an appt to see my doctor, fearing that I would kill myself.
At the time I had no idea that any of these side effects were connected to Chantix until I then started looking on line prior to my appt. I went to my doctor, who had prescribed this drug for me and she immediately could see the difference in my behaviour though she refused to admit that it might be related to this drug. She put me on Celexa, an anti-depressant, Xanax for the anxiety and Ambien for sleep. After trying for a few weeks and still not getting enough sleep, Ambien was replaced with another anti-depressant that also helps with sleep called Trazadone.
I have been on these three drugs for now, two and a half years and although it has helped me get sleep and has corrected the haywire craziness I was experiencing, it has not brought me back to my original state. I do not anticipate that I will ever be the same again. I also do not believe I will ever be able to get off these medications.
The problems I experienced from this drug that are still very much a part of my life is the lack of desire to continue living. I am only looking forward to my death. I am not afraid of dying, still dream about death and afterlife regularly and am looking forward to it. This drug not only took away the pleasure of smoking, it took away the pleasure of everything else. I could care less now. I still love my daughters very much and can enjoy a beautiful sunset but the feelings are no longer stored in my brain. I believe the section of the brain that this drug effects is very important and they do not fully understand what the drug does to the other functions of that part of the brain. This drug takes away the natural pursuit of happiness, the desire to live and the fear of death.
It is not surprising to me that many people are committing suicide. This drug should be taken off the market. I believe that they should do a study of this drug in the following way….
They should take 1000 of Pfizer’s top executives, researchers, doctors and phamicists and take MRIs of their brains. Then they should put them on Chantix for two months and then do another MRI on their brains. If they do not smoke, they can start prior to the study. Then we will see what the deal is here with Chantix.

By: industry insider

industry insider — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:10:54 +0000

Rob, here’s a better idea. See link below:

http://www.aa.org/?Media=PlayFlash

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:16:37 +0000

I’m in a clinical trial to see if it’ll stop me from drinking. When I first started taking it, I had weird dreams - like I was on acid or something. As the doses increased, I started going to sleep immediately with hallucinating & seeing flashes of light & psychadelic colors on my walls. I’m calling today to get out of this trial!!!

By: mary porter

mary porter — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 02:29:56 +0000

Please help. My husband took chantix for a montd now is almost non functional. He Is dizzy has headache chronic fatigue. If anyone has infom i would lov e to here it so we can help him. He has been of it for two weeksw still he feels horrible.

By: David Fry

David Fry — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:40:14 +0000

See

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Cigarette_Smoking_and_Cancer.asp

and

http://www.naag.org/adoption-of-fire-safe-cigarettes-by-tobacco-industry-may-save-countless-lives.php

440,000 people a year die from smoking related diseases. 1000 a year die from smoking related fire deaths and tens of thousands are seriously maimed. The cost of smoking throughout a lifetime is in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The quality of life of a smoker is greatly diminished. Some of alternative treatments to CHANTIX probably should be tried first by most smokers but have a very low success rate.
CHANTIX has by far the best success rate. I smoked for 30, tried every method in the book to quit. Was starting to have some of the more serious smoking related health problems, and CHANTIX worked like a charm. For me it was a life saving miracle drug.

Most chemo therapies have serious side effects that make the side effects of CHANTIX look mild. Nobody in their right mind would be screaming about those side effects.
Smokers who want to quit should not have CHANTIX taken away as a means of quitting.

If even 1 tenth of the people who die or are injured each year of smoking caused fires alone are saved that fate the positive effects of CHANTIX would out weigh the negative effects.

The way these drugs should be evaluated is by making an honest weighing of the positive against the negative, not by a mindless focus on the negative alone. When I was prescribed the drug my doctor was very careful in making sure that I was aware that the drug had known side effects, and probably had some unknown side effects, but that the success rate was so high that I’d be crazy not to try it. This same doctor had refused to prescribe me ZYBAN several year prior to CHANTIX coming out, because he felt the side effects of ZYBAN were to severe to justify the possible benefits.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!! TAKE A RATIONAL APPROACH TO EVALUATING CHANTIX

By: belinda smith

belinda smith — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:17:46 +0000

My doctor perscribed chantix to me october 2007 and I have not been the same person since. I have horrible dreams of dying and deamons trying to kill me. I am a truck driver and I am now 44years old, I am a mother of three children. My children help me with my buisness. There ages are 24,21 and 19, they wanted me to quit smoking so I asked my doctor for help and he perscribed chantix and since I have very bad mood swing out of know were my children are affaid of me. I have threatened to hurt them and hurt myself and I have also threatened to hurt my husband I cry all the time an I am always have suicidle thoughts and I always cry for know reason. I have lost two ontracts behind this problem. I need some help for myself and the safety of my family. I have a new grandbaby and love her and my family more than anything in this world. I did not realze that something was wrong with me until my sister told me that the medicine chantix that I took had bad effects and people jave died. need help because I cant stop crying, I cry day and night for no reason. I want my life back I feel like I am going to die

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:36:36 +0000

I have written this before but the reason that Chantix is allowed the leeway that it is granted is because of the anti-smoking crusaders inside and outside of government. I know this is not the only reason because Chantix is only marginally more effective then Bupropien over the course of 52 weeks and Bupropien (Zyban) no longer enjoys patent protection.
The new ads mention the psychiatric symptoms but they fail to disclose the more serious physical side effects that manufacturers of other drugs are required to disclose in their ads; other drugs mention the risk of lymphoma as a possible adverse event and I am sure that this side effect is listed as Rare in the Prescribing Information.

By: John Q

John Q — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:09:55 +0000

My point is why and how is this happening? There are experts that are arguing the fact that any “real” side effects are not happening while patients are suffering and dying and at the same time the FDA refuses to handle this crises.

OK, try it like this. Put any name you want with Chantix. Call it any drug you can think of and then put that in the contents of Chantix and the reports from the ISMP(the FDA has confirmed the reports). It has caused many deaths and AEs quickly after its launch. Reports have only gotten worse and the FDA has turned a blind eye, and doctors do not want to talk about it as their “experts” have assured them it is not the drug causing these heart attacks, suffocation, psychiatric disorders etc.

How has this happened? How have we let pharma rule in this manner? If this is not handled in a manner that disallows pharma from paying for data, experts and even the FDA, the medical field will be playing “doctor” with the general population as the patient will know more about the true nature of the drug than the real doctors.

By: James R

James R — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:40:05 +0000

We could talk all day about AE’s and their innacurate assertions about Chantix. Pfizer does seems confused to how they should handle this time-bomb.
With that said, Chantix is a whole different animal. It seems that this drug deeply affects many patients, making basic thinking processes diffucult or sometimes impossible.
More testing and trials are definitely appropiate with this drug. Until that time, reports of severe psychotic side effects will continue to rise.
Apparently, Pfizer has chosen to blame patients who have reported their experiences to the FDA via the MedWatch reporting system. They also claim that nicotine withdrawal is a resonable explanation as to why patients have had phychotic episodes. I find that hard to believe. Maybe Pfizer should concentrate on how this medicine causes changes in the brain’s normal functions, including how long it may take for patients to start feeling normal again, if ever

By: Justice in MI

Justice in MI — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:58:19 +0000

the leter below sent:

Dear Dr. Masri:

I was shocked to learn that Therapeutics Initiative is facing the possibility of
discontinuation. I personally rely on TI, and I use it as an example of evidence-based
medicine in my courses at the University of Michigan.

If it is discontinued, I will continue to use it as an example - not only of EBM, but of
what happens to EBM within the current climate. Indeed, exploring TI’s fate, the reasons
for it, and the individuals and interests involved, will itself become a research project
in my course.

Regards,