Scary Rage Reaction to Chantix and Booze

I took chantix when it first came out. I thought it was great as I walked away from a 30 yr smoking habit. Then one day I was driving over a bridge and whammp had a panic attack. I never had one previously. Drs. couldn't say if it was the drug so I stopped taking it myself. In the following days I was petrified to drive anywhere let alone a bridge. Unfortunately I went back to smoking but the drug left me with a fear of driving long trips and bridges on occasion. That was a few yrs ago and I still experience problems. I have been prescribed xanax and Zoloft to help but the fear is not gone. I hope and pray they take that drug off the market. It ruined my happy driving self!

I took Chantix 1 1/2 years ago with great results & the only side effect was the gas. I stopped smoking for 6 months then started back due to stress in my life. On Thursday 5/7 I started Chantix again by Saturday 5/9 the side effects began to really effect me....The nausea is almost unbearable...the depression is really bad....can't be around anyone at this point....has made me feel my life is worthless.....I quit taking this poisonous pill Sunday 5/10 & still having side effects but feel the depression is getting better. Praying for a much better day tomorrow. I have not smoked since Saturday & hope I never do again....but one thing is for sure I will never take Chantix again..

I know I sent an email to peoplespharmacy with all my symptoms. I have been damaged by this drug now for 2 years. Sometimes I wonder if I haven't died and went to hell...

My husband and took this pill over 1 1/2 months ago. I had such severe abdominal pains and vomiting after two weeks of taking the pill that I had to stop, I continue to have such severe diarrhea that I am now taking 2 immodiums/ day and 4 IBS pills every day with no relief. My husband had the same issues with the rage. Of course his doctors just put him on medication too but we didn't have these problems before taking Chantix. We are still not smoking, however we still feel the urge to, and we are now both changed people. My opinion is that the pill is not worth the side effects.

I first took Chantix about 3 years ago. The drug itself was great for the purpose taken, I was able to stop smoking. However, the side effects that I experienced that I attributed to taking the medication was unbearable. I had horrible nightmares, felt very agitated and a had constant uneasy feeling. It also caused me to have horrible stomach issues. Every time I would eat a meal, I would have sudden and painful diarrhea.

At first I didn't put two and two together, I was perplexed as to what could have caused me to have all of these new experiences. It wasn't until I was talking with a good friend about my issues that I learned that she and her husband had also began taking Chantix and were experiencing some/all of the same issues. That is when I realized that it was Chantix that was causing my problems.

Therefore, I decided to stop taking the medication and took on the challenge of continuing to not be a smoker without the medication. Shortly, if not immediately, after I stopped taking Chantix the nightmares went away. Several months after I stopped taking the Chantix I had a weak moment and began smoking again. Some time later I decided that I would try Chantix again, since it worked so well the first time (minus the side effects) and I was able to stop smoking while taking the drug.

The before-mentioned side effects immediately returned upon beginning the drug for the second time. Again, I stopped taking the drug and was not able to maintain my "ex-smoker" status. Now I'm a year plus post Chantix user and I am smoking again and have a continued problem with IBS, which I had never had a problem with before using Chantix. I would tell someone that if they are a smoker and have decided to quit smoking, to do it without taking Chantix. The residual problems that I still suffer from are not worth it.

I have recently been on the drug Chantix, and would NOT recommend it to anyone.

I started the drug 3 months ago, and during that time, i have been terminated from my job due to hostility and aggression, and before using the medication, i prided myself in being very anti-aggressive, i would do anything to try to turn a hostile situation into a peaceful one.

Secondly, i have had a constant headache that nothing will alleviate right in the front of my left side. added to this, i have seriously violent dreams, and what scares me most, is that i enjoyed them, then wake up 3-4 times a night. As well i believe i spend more time in the bathroom than anywhere else now.

i stopped using this medication after my second prescription ended, over 1 month ago, and all the symptoms still remain. I should also add that the entire time i was on this, i still had the urge to smoke, not nearly as much as before, but non the less i still had a constant urge. I an mow smoking about a pack a week, and hoping all these side effects will soon dissipate.

I believe I had minor stomach problems in my past, but hard to remember them. I took Chantix to quit smoking in July 2008 and quit smoking after 25 years. By October 2008 my stomach was so miserable, I decided to never eat again!! I had bloating, diarrhea, cramping. I immediately stopped the Chantix when I realized that was the only thing new to my system.

It is now April 2010 and I have the same symptoms above every day, but now I have uncontrollable nausea for weeks at a time. They have me on anti-nausea medicine they give cancer patients!!! I have been to several doctors and have had several tests and they have no idea what is wrong with me. They think I may now have IBS. It is hard to work, to eat, to play, to LIVE dealing with this everyday. ALL DAY!

Even though this may not happen to you, trust me, it is not worth taking a chance. Find another way!
And on top of that, I started smoking again!!!!
I wish I HAD NEVER TAKEN CHANTIX!!!!!!!

I've used Chantix for about 5 months, I've had fits of rage, drinking caused blackouts after only 4-5 beers. Strange dreams, First few weeks, I'd be soooo tired, and need to sleep all the time.

But I did quit smoking which I thought I never would. Strange enough, that 5 months I been on chantix, I smoked all the way through, then 2 days after stopping the drug. I never touched, wanted, craved a cigg.. Been 1 year now.

I took Champix in March of '08 and I am still suffering from most of the side effects of this drug. I started to feel some of the bad effects (nausea, mental fog, vivid dreams, trouble sleeping, sore eyes, constipation, gas) of Champix while taking it but I was determined to quit smoking.

For the first month I felt exceptionally good and I was telling everyone how great it was, but the euphoria came crashing down and I went into a deep depression. I would dream the entire night and feel as though I was only partially asleep. I would wake up frequently throughout the night sometimes with abdominal pain and get a bite to eat, drink, or urinate. When I woke up in the morning my eyes would be sore and I felt as though I had barely slept.

My inability to sleep made me constantly tired all the time and it continued to get worse. I was determined to quit smoking so I made it through the full 3 month course. I thought I could handle the sleep deprivation and that it would go away once I stopped taking the pills but the vivid dreams continued for many months after I stopped taking it and still to this day I cannot sleep as soundly as I once could.

When I stopped taking Champix is when I really got messed up. I developed Psychosis NOS, Major Depressive Disorder, suicidal, Emotional instability, aggression, rage, panic attacks, hallucination, Somatoform Disorder, Depersonalization, Delusional Parasitosis (bug crawling sensations all over my body), Cholinaergic Prurritus, Hyperacusis (sensitivity to certain frequencies of sound causing severe pain and pressure in my ears), Severe Insomnia, Memory Loss, Brain Fog, Lowered Inhibitions, Hair was constantly hurting all of the time and lost lots of it (27 year old male), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (started as extreme constipation and gas, fatigue, Severe Eye pain, unsightly puffy bags under eyes, excessive weight gain, gingivitis, prostate pain, frequent urination, black out and become out of control when drinking, decreased sexual pleasure and ability to maintain erections. I think that is everything!!!

I went to the psych ward recently due to being suicidal and at a breaking point with my symptoms and I was treated like scum and given brain damaging neuroleptic (anti-psychotic) drugs against my will. I have made some small improvements since taking Champix but it looks like the nightmare will never truly end. If you are one of the many that gets burned by this medication be warned that the doctors will probably not be able to help you and will most likely deny that anything is even happening to you or that it is related to Champix and the side effects may be permanent.

I had a similar reaction in respect to rage and dis-inhibition from taking Zoloft when I was younger which altered my life substantially and now Champix has put the nail in the coffin. Apparently Pfizer marketed the drug not mentioning any of the neuro-psychiatric and mind altering side effects of the drug when it first hit the market in order to boost sales of their drug. The medical community has know for quite some time that dopamine plays a role in mood regulation and the fact the Champix targets the “pleasure centre” of the brain makes them grossly negligent for not investigating this further and informing consumers of the potential effects.

Many people including myself (I turned down a prescription of Zyban due to my experience with Zoloft) would not have taken it if we would have been informed of the risks and Pfizer obviously knew that. SHAME ON THEM FOR RUINING MY LIFE AND MANY OTHERS INCLUDING THOSE WHOM ENDED THE MISERY BY TAKING THEIR OWN LIFE.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

Please spread the word. If you have already taken Champix please report any side effects to Health Canada, FDA etc so that they will take this off the market before it destroys more lives. Doctors are not obligated to report adverse reactions so you must do it yourself. The regulatory bodies are just as much to blame for not requiring Pfizer to inform patients of the risks early on and they continue to minimize them as best they can. Still it is important to report all your side effects since they are obligated to record them and eventually they shall be taken to task for it through the help of adverse reaction reports and the legal system.

My girlfriend of six years started taking Chantix earlier this year. We had never had a major fight in those years. Disagreements were worked through. She started acting completely irrational and going into fits of rage over small things. Her moods were all over the place. I am not sure how to describe it except to say she got mean.

She said horrible things to me, things I had never heard her say to anyone before, especially me. She would be almost manic at times, not sleeping, becoming obsessed with things. Once she started tapering off the Chantix, she was very irritable and had insomnia. She then started taking sleeping pills. After a couple of months on the sleeping pills, she was still acting strange. We finally split up. It is a shame because we had what I thought was a good relationship, but the person she became was an angry, violent stranger.

I also wish I had done a lot more research about Chantix before deciding to use it. All of the comments on the internet would have stopped me from using it.
I have several family members that have used Chantix successfully so I thought it could work for me as well.

My game plan was to use it just for 2 weeks and then stop. That was OK except a week and a half into using the pills I went out for 2 low alcohol drinks and can't remember anything after the 2nd drink I blacked out and don't remember a thing about the whole evening.The really weird thing about it is that I can function and have full conversations with everyone they all think I am fine but, I absolutely can not remember what I have done or said.

I have to ask the people I was with what I did and said. I wish that one time was the end of it but, now anytime I drink 2 alcoholic beverages I blackout and make a fool of myself.

I got online and checked out the other comments to see if anyone else has had the same problem and I did find a few people out there. Thought I was the only one with that strange side effect.

I guess it's an easy fix don't drink! Sure is a bummer though I liked being a social drinker. I did stop smoking-I still would have stopped smoking with other forms of cessation tools as well.

I DON'T recommend taking chantix for anyone. Is it really worth the risks and for many people it is long term. My heart goes out to all of the people that have suffered taking this drug.