Fuck, I'd take my chances with lung cancer....

[WCGreen]

Instead of going through all the shit that can happen to you if you take Chantix...


From their website....

Some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions while using CHANTIX to help them quit smoking. Some people had these symptoms when they began taking CHANTIX, and others developed them after several weeks of treatment or after stopping CHANTIX. If you, your family, or caregiver notice agitation, hostility, depression, or changes in behavior, thinking, or mood that are not typical for you, or you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, anxiety, panic, aggression, anger, mania, abnormal sensations, hallucinations, paranoia, or confusion, stop taking CHANTIX and call your doctor right away. Also tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems before taking CHANTIX, as these symptoms may worsen while taking CHANTIX.

Some people can have serious skin reactions while taking CHANTIX, some of which can become life-threatening. These can include rash, swelling, redness, and peeling of the skin. Some people can have allergic reactions to CHANTIX, some of which can be life-threatening and include: swelling of the face, mouth, and throat that can cause trouble breathing. If you have these symptoms or have a rash with peeling skin or blisters in your mouth, stop taking CHANTIX and get medical attention right away.

The most common side effects include nausea (30%), sleep problems, constipation, gas, and/or vomiting. If you have side effects that bother you or don’t go away, tell your doctor.

You may have trouble sleeping, vivid, unusual, or strange dreams while taking CHANTIX. Use caution driving or operating machinery until you know how CHANTIX may affect you.

CHANTIX should not be taken with other quit-smoking products. You may need a lower dose of CHANTIX if you have kidney problems or get dialysis.

Before starting CHANTIX, tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or if you take insulin, asthma medicines, or blood thinners. Medicines like these may work differently when you quit smoking.

[TZ]

1. As someone whose stepfather is having his lung cancer and part of his lung

Removed in surgery today and is heading for weeks of painful recovery thats an idiotic statement . Thank god he used Chantix to help him quit his two pack a day forty years of smoking habit last year. Oh and all drugs are legally bound to mention any and all sede effects but that doesn't mean they are common. This might be one of THE dumbest posts I have ever read on DU. Cancer is a horrific disease. :grr:

[Deep13]

21. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

:pals:

[flying_wahini]

25. your post is a lot more offensive to me than his....

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. The pharmas (and much of our culture) love to push the idea that we need never ever die.

And that if we don't bankrupt ourselves or try every pill or treatment ever created, that we are somehow morally reprehensible.

I'm glad that there is at least a strong hospice movement and a great acceptance of people deciding to just forgo the bullshit and go home so they can die in a decent, living, loving place.

But we still have a long ways to go.

The myth that we can live forever, and that we must do everything we possibly can to ensure that we live forever, is just that: a myth. And a damned unhealthy one.

[WCGreen]

3. I have a severe disability and have already maped out the treatment

to take and then when to say enough is enough...

[Lindsey]

10. I'm picking up a prescription of Chantix tomorrow. I relapsed

in 2007 for three months. Chantix was excellent for me (I did have really weird dreams) but it eliminated the desire to smoke completely. I relapsed this time due to an extremely difficult year. Chantix is really one of those medications that truly effects different people in incredibly different ways. I only had the dream thing but it was actually a relief because most of my life I have had very, very disturbing dreams. When I was taking Chantix, my dreams were interesting and not disturbing, which is a big difference. I hope the same thing happens this time.

[WCGreen]

13. Interesting is good, disturbing, not so much....

[TZ]

4. Well rabrrrrrr

You conveniently ignored my post . If anyone doesn't realize that Cancer is an absolutely horrific disease and one of the worst ways to die, than that's sheer ignorance. Quitting destructive behavior that effects not only themselves but those around them is a good thing. Oh and as a medical researcher for Biopharma looking to cure chronic diseases can I say fuck you and you ignorant opinion?

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Ah, so the rule now is that to comment on a post, I have to comment on EVERY post?

Okay.

Thanks for clarifying. You're going to spend your life in constant disappointment, but thanks for clarifying anyway.

And how you spun my words into equating me not realizing that cancer is a horrific disease is... well, it's unscientific.

For someone who purports to be a scientist, I'd expect a much more scientifically defensible exegesis of my note.

[murielm99]

5. I took Chantix.

I became a different person. I was hostile and enraged all the time. I nearly lost my job. I knew what I was doing, and I knew the drug was causing it, but I could not stop my behavior.

I had to be off the stuff for six weeks before I noticed a difference.

I do understand that this will not happen to most people. It was a shame my behavior changed so radically, because the treatment was working for me.

[TZ]

7. My stepfather had vivid dreams

That was it. Sorry you had a bad experience. Some people just react badly to it. My stepfather tried Wellbutrin first with no luck . Have you tried that? Oh and anyone who thinks Chantix is a bad drug should read the side effects of some of the medicine I routinely take, like interferon and yet I'm alive . Plus read all the possible outcomes to even minor surgical procedures. Everything possible has to be legally listed but most of the things listed aren't likely.

[murielm99]

12. Most people will not have the experience I had.

That is why I added the comment that it was working. I would have continued had it not been for the side effects.

Wellbutrin affected me badly, too. I broke out in hives so terrible that my arms and legs were swollen. I had a rash on my arms for months. The doctor made me come in right away. He gave me an antihistamine to take in decreasing strengths each day.

I take four prescriptions daily. None of them have ever given me a problem. I was totally surprised that I showed such sensitivity to these two medications.

[hippywife]

23. I had the same experience.

It did help curb my cravings but I was so aggitated it was crazy. I look back on it now (I stopped taking it about six months ago) and it's amazing how I could not control my emotions and my temper. I couldn't even pretend to be pleasant.

[Quantess]

6. That isn't the same as the patch, is it?

Is Chantix pills?

[TZ]

8. Yeah it's by script only

You have to be supervised by a doctor.

[Lindsey]

14. Sometimes I wonder about the intent of the post. If the poster's

job is affiliated with a particular industry they're going to be slanted that way or if someone just doesn't want to quit they're going to be slanted that way too - it could be so many things. Another poster had an excellent response. A lot of medications give warnings that are even worse. We just don't know how medication is going to effect us because we're all wired so differently.

[Petrushka]

11. Give the following link a look-see ===>

http://www.quitsmokingonline.com/

After more than a half-century of cigarette smoking,
I found that website six years ago; and I haven't
smoked since then.

[Lindsey]

16. Wow! I just checked out the first page and was definitely

intrigued. Thanks!

[velvet]

19. VERY interesting

Thanks for the link. :)

[SeattleGirl]

15. I did not have any problems with CHANTIX, but I know that

some folks do.

[MilesColtrane]

17. My friends who knew Carter Albrecht believe that it provoked actions that led to his death.

He was intoxicated, but alcohol alone couldn't have caused him to completely go insane.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Albrecht

[crispini]

26. Yep. Carter was the sweetest guy around.

Talented too. Still miss him in the local music scene.

[momto3]

18. This is standard as TZ mentioned up post.

Pharma is required to list every side effect that occured during clinical trials of the drug. Even if the effect was probably not related to the drug itself.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

20. its not as bad as cancer however there are ways to quit smoking that dont necessarily involve

chantix.

the patch worked well for me

[unpossibles]

22. I've been ramping down for the final quit tomorrow

And I may not even smoke tomorrow night. I'm a light/social smoker, but I smoked a bunch around my birthday because I went out a lot, and I realized how awful they make me feel, so I decided to quit. In the past three weeks I've barely smoked with the goal of quitting altogether on New Years, but not as a typical resolution type of thing, and frankly have been doing well. The last one I had was Monday night and had not had one before than since Friday, and frankly that one cigarette made me feel like shit the next morning, so... fuck the tobacco companies. I'm done with 'em.

[greenbriar]

24. I tried it. It made me sick and shakey

it was not pleasant

[marzipanni]

27. Nicotine Patch Plus Lozenge Best for Quitting Smoking

<snip>
MONDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The first head-to-head comparison of different quit-smoking products finds that a nicotine patch combined with a nicotine lozenge had the most success.
More than other methods, including antidepressants, this combination best mimics the actual highs and lows of smoking to help smokers kick their habit, experts said.
"The study shows that, yes, one therapy came out on top, the patch and the lozenge ," said Dr. Jonathan H. Whiteson, co-director of the Joan and Joel Smilow Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
http://www.healthfinder.gov/newsletters/general110909.aspx#3508468

[dysfunctional press]

28. a rheumatologist wanted me to take enbrel for my ankylosing spondylitis, but i refused.

especially after i read about the possible side effects. things like 'lymphoma' kinda freak me out.
medicine was developed for rheumatoid arthritis, and what it basically does is turn off a big chunk of your immune system. thanks, but no thanks.

i did my own research and found altering my diet to be a much safer and effective solution to controlling the condition. i also take opiates for pain- but overall they are a very safe and benign class of drugs- i'll be taking them for the rest of my life due to the mechanical damage to my spine, so addiction isn't an issue.