I wouldn’t recommend this drug to ANYONE not even my worst enemy!!! I was on the drug for 2 weeks. By the end of 2 weeks—I was having PURE RAGE outbursts. I had never ever in my life ever felt this way! I quit taking the drug cuz I truly feared I would hurt my children. I couldn’t cope w/ ANY stress what so ever — i had thoughts of jumping in my car & just leaving all behind. I wanted to die. I can only come close to the description by saying it was like being completely intoxicated! I couldn’t connect my thoughts w/ my mouth – I felt like I was talking soooo slow cuz I had to concentrate soo hard on connecting what I wanted to say…what’s scary though is everybody else said I was talking 90mph & was asking my slow down. I had conversations w/ people that I had absolutely NO recollection of!! And I couldn’t ‘track’ w/ my eye’s very well. I felt drunk. I couldn’t drive for THREE days that is how BAD this drug was on me. My dreams were HORRIBLY VIOLENT— and VIVID!!! It took 3 days to drive again. It took about a week for my rage to completely subside & about 5 days before I felt like my eyes & thoughts were working normally. And about a month for depression/anxiety to clear up.

I don’t think the RISK of taking this drug is worth it!! NOT AT ALL!!! I have history of depression in my younger years but have had NO depression for almost 5 years – and I drank no alcohol!!

I wanted to add one more thought —- I think your mind gets trapped. As my rage progressively got worse – I thought I was losing my mind. I kept asking myself “Am I normally like this?” When the rage & physcological effects got soo severe I found myself trying to ‘bargain’ w/ myself – I thought Okay now that I know it’s the drug – I can handle the side effects just until I can quit smoking. You want to quit sooooo bad!! It’s not worth it. IF you happen to be one who has side effects like I did – it’s NOT worth a RISK to yourself OR your family!!

BTW, I did research on Chantix before I started by googling “Chantix” —- I didn’t read anything really negative about this drug — oh, some said they had anxiety. I thought well, quitting smoking w/ some anxiety is probably normal. My doctor DID NOT tell me any of these possible side effects! It wasn’t until that day when I realized I HAD to get off this drug that I called my doctor & she said get off immediately!! She said she has had so much success but there were some & even though there is no official warnings from the FDA they have wondered. WHAT?!?! AFTER the fact?!?!

I then google’d “Chantix & Rage”. WOW-WEE!!! That’s where you find all the NEGATIVE side effects that people are experiencing & I discovered that I wasn’t alone & there were hundreds upon hundreds of others w/ my same experience if NOT worse!!

This drug is going to cause LOTS of suicides & LOTS of murders (cuz of the uncontrollable rage) before they pull this drug off the shelf!! And that saddens me deeply.

It gave my wife gas… I’m the one ready to kill myself.

She is going through menopause without the hormone therapy, so I didn’t notice the increase in rage.

I used Chantix and it was wonderful! Neverl had any issues relative to depression, etc. In fact, I was in better spirits than before and that may have been in part due to the fact that the medication worked so well I couldn’t ‘feel’ any effects at all but only that the urge to smoke just was not there. This may not be so with everyone who chooses to try Chantix but with me it was nothing short of miracullous!

I took this medication and it was wonderful. I followed directions and only had to take the drug 1 1/2 months and did not have any trouble with wanting a cigarette. The ones who have had problems with mental health issue before are the ones having difficulty. This is by far the best thing I have ever taken.

I work at a state mental health facility. We went tobacco free in 2007. The hospital put residential patients on Chantix. I now wonder if there are even more long-term effects on their already mentallly -ill state. By the way the patients were put on this involuntarily.

9:19 AM Pacific I just saw a doctor on Fox News who’s opinon that Chantx is worth the risk. IT IS NOT.
I am a normal, cheerful man (50s). I went through such a change that I could not recognize myself.
I personally know two other folks who also had terrible reactions. One woman nearly had to rely on her husband so as to not start a fight on an airliner.

May I suggest that Fox news stay on this subject and challenge anyone on the Fed review board to see if they have taken this drug. I promise you they have not. Messing with dopamine receptors is a big deal.

I have been on Chantix starting on my second month. I have not experienced the effects that Lindsey has had. I am experiencing a very mellow attitude, not really wanting to talk and sorta in a funk, so to speak. Good news is, I am well on my way to quitting. I too did research on the drug prior to starting to take it. I googled Chantix and read all of the positives and all of the negatives as well. Read about the suicide attempts etc. Also read that when researched it was found that the patients that experienced these effects had some sort of mental problems already existing. I also spoke with 2 people that had taken the drug and specifically asked about rage and suicide thoughts and they did not experience any of those symptoms either.

I think it is a personal decision to weigh whether or not to assume that risk. I do agree that there should be some sort of a risk analysis done by the doctor prior to perscribing to their patients. So far so go for me.

Contrary to the previous poster’s experience, I went through the entire 12 week treatment cycle with Chantix and never developed any side effects whatsoever. For me, Chantix was amazing. It completely aleviated my urges and anxiety, which is where cold turkey and nicotine gum failed. I was a relatively light smoker, however, I used smokeless tobacco with much greater frequency. As noted in the study, Chantix (like any other receptor drug) can cause side effects such as depression, anxiety, etc in certain people. As for me, I am happily tobacco free for the last 10 months.

I am sorry that you had a bad experience with Chantix, but for me, it was a miracle drug. I started taking it in the middle of Dec 07, and stopped smoking on Dec 31st, and have been smoke free to date. I had been smoking since I was 15 years old, and never thought I could stop this nasty habit, but with this drug, I have had great sucess. If you have a history of depression, perhaps this is not the drug for you, but for the masses that want to quit, go for it !!!!!!!

I have to comment on this story. I started taking Chantix on the recommendation of my doctor.
I had smoked cigarettes for 52 years, in amounts varying from 1 pack to as much as 2+ packs a day. After taking Chantix according to the directions for SIX weeks, I quit smoking anything, no cigarettes , no cigars, no pipe.. nothing. That was 13 months ago and today I have no desire to smoke. Do I still want a cigarette sometimes? Honestly, yes I do, but would I dare light one? Not a chance. I can barely stand the smell of cigarette smoke.

I had absolutely NO adverse effects from taking Chantix and have recommended it to several people I know who wanted to quit. I have not heard of any of them having any adverse effects. One has to be serious about quitting and be dedicated to making it work. If someone has the adverse effects effects of rage, etc., I would guess they probably had these “problems” before they began taking Chantix and it only enhanced their “problem” not the cause of it.

I have been using Chantix for 7 weeks now, stopped smoking Apr 1, and have been very satified with the results so far. Not a single craving for a cigarette for the past 6 weeks. I was not a heavy smoker (1 to 1-1/2 packs per day) but I would try to cram 2 to 3 cigarettes in during a 15 minute break at work. I have not experienced any periods of rage nor have I felt out of control during this period, however, I may be a little more irratable than in the past but this may just be my own perception as my family has not raised any concerns and only has encouragement for me to continue on the path to a smoke free life.

The best advise I received before beginning the program was from my doctor who told me that if I started to have behavioral changes or nightmares that all I simply needed to do was to stop taking the medication, the body leaches this out in as little as 48 hours, and we’ll try something else. That is advise that I think everyone taking or thinking about taking Chantix should have.

I used Chantix and it was wonderful! Neverl had any issues relative to depression, etc. In fact, I was in better spirits than before and that may have been in part due to the fact that the medication worked so well I couldn’t ‘feel’ any effects at all but only that the urge to smoke just was not there. This may not be so with everyone who chooses to try Chantix but with me it was nothing short of miracullous!

Same for me Alice. Miracullous. Thank you to my doctor who suggested I try it.

During the time I took Chantix, my dreams were great, very vivid…

Yes – CT works about 2-3% of the time. NRT’s only work about 7 % of the time. For people that take Chantix/Champix for 6 months, the success rate is over 50%.
I smoked over 40 years, much of that 2 packs a day, and tried everything except acupuncture and nothing seemed to work. Trying CT, I never made it through one day. Chantix eases the withdrawal symptoms and the craving/urges to smoke. It enables the user to get through those critical first few days.
I would and have recommended this medicine to anyone. I am in an online support group with over 1800 members that are quitting using Chantix.
Talk to your doc if you have a history of psychological problems. Be aware that smoking cessation alone can cause depression, which can lead to suicidal ideation.

Chantix was awesome for me!! SLight depression for about 3 weeks, but smoke free for 8 months now!! Maybe you would need a predisposition to depression/rage to experience these side-effects? I experienced none of this and would recommend it to any smoker who wants to quit.

This month has been 1 yr ago that I started taking Chantix. I “was” a smoker for over 30 yrs.
I would call it a mirical drug. To this day I have no desire to smoke and had tried, like many others, for years to quit.

Don’t rob the people who’s lives this could save. I’m not trying to sound unconcerned but the depression & thoughts of suicide… never a part of my side effects. A few crazy dreams and had to take it with food so not to get sick.

Greatest thing ever to help with the ADDICTION of smoking.

Thank you,
Cathy

I am on my second go-around with chantix and it worked the first time, I just stopped taking it too soon along with going on a couples vacation for several weeks with smokers. I caved in….
But now I am doing the series again with more focus and positive thinking because I know that this can work for me. Side-effect…. I am finding myself much more sensitive to situations, and from a rather non-cryer. things have had that effect. But the bright side is that this will be the last series for me and I AM EXCITED!

My brother-in-law used Chantix and committed suicide a couple of weeks later. This happened last September and is one of the FDA’s reported Chantix suicide incidents. I personally believe that he’d still be with us if not for Chantix.