FDA gets 5,000 Chantix complaints

I smoked for 40 years. I took Chantix for two months and stopped smoking without any crazy withdrawl symptoms or anything like described in this article. I haven't smoked for six months now, and I haven't killed myself or anyone else. I also know of other people that took Chantix and had nothing like this happen to them. To me, and other people, Chantix is a miracle drug.

I have several patients who successfully quit smoking with Chantix. The Number One behavior modification action that can prolong life is to quit smoking. It is an excellent drug for people who have been unsuccessful over many years and many attempts to quit smoking. But it is apparent that we need to be more vigilent and straightforward with our patients about possible severe (and possibly disastrous) side effects. If there is any history of psychiatric problems at all, we might consider hospitalizing the patient in an observation status to prepare for the possibility of these side effects. Quitting smoking, however, is a worthwhile goal in every case.

I started taking this medication and stopped it after about one month. It seemed to be working, however I continued to smoke periodically. I chalked it up to lack of motivation and a general unwillingness to put forth my best effort to quit smoking. So I restarted it recently and I must say that in the first few days it did seem to cause feelings of mental instability. I remember thinking to myself, "Oh my, I'm cracking up here." I'm not going to go into detail, but it was a bit disturbing. The effects were transient and therefore I am unable to blame the drug with 100 percent certainty. I can see how it may be hard for the FDA to reach a conclusive stance on it. Now as I am sitting here, I am not having any of those uncharacteristically bizarre thoughts that I was having a few mornings ago. I would advise anyone on this drug to be prepared for strange thought processes and to seek help if you are having bizarre ideation. And don't use alcohol while you are taking it. It seems to be a good tool to help quit. You still need a strong resolve. That is the bottom line. I have a feeling that this drug will not remain on the market for long as more stories develop.

I used Chantix to quit smoking and it has been 6 mo. smokefree now. However, during my time on Chantix I did have feelings of rage, poor concentration, wanting to be hospitalized "to get away from it all for a while" type feeling and ever since and even after stopping the drug, the anxiety is horrible. I lost my job and think Chantix may be the reason.

I have been on Chantix since Dec 3rd. It has worked great for me. I have been smoke free for 6 weeks. However for the last month I have had feelings of depression, thoughts of wanting to end my life and burst of physical and violent outrage at a loved one. I blew it all off wondering where the thoughts were coming from...until my mother called me today saying I should stop taking chantix do to the current reports on it. I did a little web searching and am now reading of others having the same feelings and thoughts. Could it be from chantix???