A few questions about Chantix

[mart-eye]

Hello, I have heard that some folks have had problems with suicidal thoughts while on Chantix and this worries me a bit because of my past and suicidal attempts years past. I have beaten most of it now, but I sure don't desire to return to those bad old days..Have any of you experienced problems along these lines?
Secondly, the cost.. I'm on more than a limited income.. it';s nearly non exsistant some days.. I read Chantix has a program to help get it paid for by the pharm co.. any help there?
I'm a former heroin addict and still using methadone. I used up to 145 mgs daily of methadone and now have come down to 95 mgs..so I'm in the quitting process there too..I've been off of heroin over 5 yrs now.. YEY me I suppose... I wonder if trying to quit smoking now would be less than a horror story or not or if I should perhaps wait it out till I'm through with the "done" so I don't have a double monkey turned 80000 pound whale-gorilla on my back..
Any thoughts/suggestions? And please...I don't need a lecture about H or methadone.. save that for church or wherever you might feel like lecturing. I'm not saying anyone will, but I have heard enough of that kind of dribble to last 9 lifetimes online.

Thanks 😉

[gail3]

Yeah, my first guess is that you shouldn't try this just yet. You've got to wait till you're in a better place. Many might disagree but they wouldn't be people in any 12 step program. I suggest you start there. And it's hard to know what side effects you might have but i'm glad i've got an array of stomach meds because the nausea can be rough. The sleep thing is the reason you might want to wait awhile. And there's some talk here of anxiety symptoms. Good luck to you. They say this is as hard to kick as heroin. i'd sure like to know if that's true - and how come WE don't get rehab centers for nicotine addiction?
You can get Chantix through their website - lots of hoops to go through.
And long ago i knew a heroin user who would sit there tightening that belt around his arm and give ME a lecture on the evils of heroin use. I never used.

[luvsroses_barb]

Mart-eye, I haven't had suicidal thoughts while on the Chantix, and haven't known anybody who has. I have been a drug addict and alcoholic, not heroine, but cocaine. I freed myself from those habits and now am working on the smoking issue.

I don't know what your going through with the heroine or the meth and I'm not going to try to pretend I do. But I've read that quitting smoking is compared to quitting heroine. I've also known people who've quit heroine and meth, and know that meth is harder to kick then heroine.

My suggestion is that you talk with your doctor and get his/her opinion on this. If you have a good relationship with him/her, they would be the best to determine what is best for you at this point in time. It is always best to work closely with you doctor when taking any medicine like this. If you have side effects that concern you in any way you should notify them right away. That is the best way to have a safe and healthy quit while on this medication.

Best of luck to you.

Barb
d106

[birdygal]

I would think it would be too hard to kick both at the same time also. Since Ciggarettes are the lesser of the 2 evlls you may want to wait also unless you could really be watched by a doctor. When I used Chantix I only had the nasua feeling when I took the pill but didn't have a problem if I ate a banana with it. I did not notice any difference in my sleeping at all I had vivid dreams all my life waking up 4 or 5 times a night has always been normal for me. I had some anxiety when I cam off chantix but it was specifically related to personal issues and not quitting smoking

[mart-eye]

Well, I'm not going to debate whether nicotine addiction should or should not be allowed to have rehab centers and I'm not going to apologize. The two addictions are totally and completely different with how the human body reacts to them. Cigarettes are something that have been widely advertised and accepted in the recent past and heroin hasn't for many, many years if ever.
Heroin isn't a problem any longer for me, methadone is. And methadone is much like nicotine in that it lasts much longer in our systems than some other substances. My biggest problem is can I manage the two at the same time. Can I manage nicotine withdraw and methadone withdraw simultaneously? I have been slowly lowering my methadone dosage over the past several months, but unfortunately nicotine isn't something anyone can effectively do the same with.
Of course years ago I was arrested and not allowed either while locked up and when I was released I didn't even want a cigarette nor H, but I eventually went back to both. BIG mistakes... That's another story though and doesn't really pertain here.
It isn't so much the problem of nicotine withdraw by itself.. I can probably deal with it even though I might feel like killing little baby puppies and kitties, but..well that's off the table anyway.. I do worry if Chantix will or wont cause some of the nasty side effects I have heard of in the news over the past few months or are those all just like so many other drugs on the market and there seems to be a group that always wants to make outrageous claims? After all, some people will abuse any drug no matter what and I'm sure Chantix is no exception... I guess I wonder how real those claims really are.
Nausea I can live without, but sleeplessness has been a constant companion of mine since I don't know when.. I'm already having some side effects from methadone withdraw so I guess you're probably both right. I should just wait it out. I have about a year or less to go with methadone and when I finally am sure I'm done with it i can entertain the idea of beating nicotine... I just hate the thought of putting it off any longer... I've put both off for well over 5 years and nicotine much longer. Now I have a very good friend who is in a panic over money and that panic is never ending. I have to listen to it every day over and over and over...Not a good time to try to quit..

Thanks for your replies..

[deborah15]

I started using chantix July 12. I was on an emotional roller coaster. I new I was getting more and more depressed but I figured if I quit smoking it would be worth it. I was wrong it made me suicidal and a little crazy. So I stopped taking the chantix after 3 wks. My marriage hasnt been going too well and last week we got into a huge arguement and I told him I was going to by a pack of cigarettes and drive up to the mountains and drive off a cliff. He acted like he didnt care so I bought a pack of cigarettes and drove up a mountain and sat at the edge of a hanging cliff. And I thought about how my life was too valuable. I think he's now going to leave me. About 7 yrs ago I had issues with depression and being suicidal after my best friend passed. I do not reccomend anyone who has ever had a past of depression take chantix.

[gail3]

can't agree about the depression. if you're sure it's past and/or you're taking meds for it, the Chantix might work for you as long as you get the sleep - and that's napping, too. but i know real life intervenes. ---------- i can suggest weaning from cigarettes. it's the only method before that's really come close to working. you have to time yourself with the initial days being the same number you usually smoke only spaced out evenly. after a few days you start to lower the number, a day or so at a time each time. this evens out the levels of nicotine in your system and you don't notice the change as dramatically. when i'm at the 2-hour intervals, i tended to beat the clock a bit. but then i go to the 3 hour intervals and would often forget to look at the clock. having a timer of some kind makes it simpler. -------------- i don't think it's possible for anyone not doing methadone and cigs to know how that would feel. would be very complicated. good luck and keep it light.

[mart-eye]

Thanks everyone so far. I hope I didn't offend anyone with my standoffishness (Yes, I am permitted to invent words 😉 about not apologizing, etc.. I've dealt with people so many times that seem to expect it so i hope nobody has taken me as someone who thinks I'm better than anyone else. I know better than that or I wouldn't be sitting here admitting to being on methadone in the first place. I happen to agree they probably should have rehabs for nicotine, but that's another argument I would never win anyway.
Deborah, I'm sorry to hear your situation. I lost my mate of 22 years a while back too and it came at a bad time..as IF there is a good time?
I sat under a bridge one day bawling like a baby and thinking seriously of walking in front of the train that was speeding along just in front of me. Somewhere along that time I began to pray and like the typical miracle I soon stood up, stopped crying and walked back from whence I came and didn't have that thought again since.. I don't go to church and don't push any religion nor will I, but I still am at a loss to explain it other than to think there was some sort of divine intervention. Before that moment I swore there was no such thing...Now I'm not so sure..
Anyway..I'm glad you didn't jump or drive off the cliff and if he doesn't care then you're likely better off without someone who doesn't care if you do that. I can't imagine being so uncaring..or so arrogant to think they know your heart so well as to deny any compassion in your time of need.
So, anyway.. I'm at 90 mgs daily of methadone (for anyone who doesn't know, methadone is a doctor prescribed medication to replace heroin and to get rid of the overwhelming withdraw symptoms. Heroin withdraw is extremely painful and produces violent physical reactions. It's probably not as hard to quit as nicotine only because nicotine is legal and nobody is locked up for the habit. It's long been associated with the morning coffee, drinking, relaxation, etc. while heroin is none of the above. Heroin is widely misunderstood as a simple weakness and moral issue and I guess nicotine is too to some degree, but the withdraw of nicotine produces only mild withdraw symptoms in comparison..
And one other thing..please don't think I'm picking on you.. heroin is spelled without a final 'e'.. That would be a female hero.. How ironic, eh?..
Oh yeah.. I was going to mention that my 90 mgs goes down about 5 mgs a week now. Some weeks it's less, some more depending on my body's reaction which can be severe..
Thanks once again.. I do believe I will wait and report back then. I'm rolling my own cigs now.. They're OK though. I use filters still..

Tata..and thanks
Mart eye

[stylequeen]

If you have a history of depression and particularly suicidal thoughts, then I would definitely try all the other methods before trying Chantix. It's a powerful drug, which has both pros and cons. That being said, I do plan to go on it again (tried it about 9 months ago). I had some nausea from the a.m. pills but mostly had very hallucinigenic dreams at night that messed up my ability to sleep. I would wake up and feel like I'd been running all night. I've had bad reactions to nicotine patches and gum/lozenges which is why I'm going to try Chantix again. If you do take Chantix, take notice of how you're feeling and stop if you're you START feeling strange before it gets too far. Sorry if I'm preaching. Everyone's body/mind reacts differently so I'm just afraid of someone putting fuel on a fire.

[mart-eye]

I hear ya. My history is a little further than just thoughts. I went the entire nine yards of poisoning myself repeatedly, overdosing, etc, but that was mainly in my younger days and when I was in the deepest part of heroin addiction and desperately wanting off of it. I was going though constant withdraw from H nearly every day and like so many other addicts I could barely afford to keep my habit going. I was never and never will be a thief so when I was broke I stayed broke and broke as a heroin addict is not a pretty picture. It's 100 times worse than being out of cigarettes and it can really dump someone so deep into depression so fast it's incredible. I would venture to guess that about 90% of all heroin overdose deaths are intentional just wanting it to all end, but I have no hard stats to back that up, but nobody has any hard facts or stats to refute it either.
The reason I bring this up is because my reasons for suicidal thoughts and actions were mostly because of my addiction and not just life and depression in general though I did battle that early in life in my teens and early 20s..
I still want off these things badly, but now as i type I am craving big time because I ran out about two hours ago. (tobacco for rolling my own cigs)..
What to do...what to do.. I just hope I don't sit here and end up talking myself into staying at the status quo.. I've been down that hair pin road many many times already as have almost everyone else here. At least we're still alive and able to discuss it.. That is good anyway..

M