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Give and get support around quitting

lola2
Member

BEWARE OF CHANTIX

After smoking heavily for the better part of 25 years, I made a commitment to quit.
Although I am glad to be 2 years smoke free, I destroyed my life in the process of quitting, and I am here in hopes of stopping other people from quitting the way I did. I unknowingly poisoned my body to help myself quit. I trusted the Pfizer drug Chantix because it was FDA approved, later to learn that Chantix would cause neurological problems. I only took a 2-month supply of Chantix, spread over 3 months, ending in March of 2007, but the adverse reactions are extremely bad to this day!
It starts with all over joint, muscle and bone pain, then it led me to further damage, such as neuropathy, and a partially paralyzed right foot, and severe myopathy. The damage mimics M.S., but no M.S. was found on a brain scan.
Not just me, but there are hundreds of others online complaining about the same reactions from Chantix, but the FDA doesn't care. Obviously they are on Pfizer's payroll too.
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91 Replies
lola2
Member

I heard Walmart has a $10. drug program, have you looked into it? It names the eligible drugs on their site too. If not Costco is cheaper than most pharmacies.

Lola
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lola2
Member

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christine2007
Member

With all the people I know and the ones my doc has prescribed to... and he told us to our face that everyone he's given it to has quit... why we don't hear or have first hand knowledge of these problems. I will say that I'm skeptical of the first website you listed. There was an article about how the tobacco companies are doing everything they can to shoot down meds that "work"... and I wonder if some of this isn't related to that.

Secondly, this med has been in place in Europe for years before it hit the US. Americans are highly litigious... and will sue over a hangnail.

Trust your doctor... don't trust undocumented websites that may or may not be fronts for Big TOBACCO.
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lola2
Member

Here is ythe shorter version of my Chantix experience:
On day 3 of taking Chantix, I was getting random pains all over, as if I was in a snake pit. I thought I had the flu, but it never went away. Next my joints became extremely painful, and my muscles too. Ever since, I spent 90% of my days in a chair. I was always afraid to move because the slightest movement caused big pain. After a year, it turned into weak leg muscles, neuropathy, and I was unable to walk. I walk like a 90-year old to this day.....two years later......and I am only in my 40's.
There was also depression, and loss of pleasure centers in the brain. I am now de-sensitized to a lot of feelings. Its a detached feeling, nothing excites me anymore, and I think that is the feeling that made 50 people commit suicide while taking Chantix.

I knew it was the Chantix that did this to me, so I googled "Chantix pain" and thats how I found all of these sites with hundreds of Chantix users complaining of the exact same reactions!

I am not sure why it only affects certain people. Maybe it's a certain gene we have? I requested the list from Pfizer of all reactions reported to them, because by law they have to send it to you. They sent me a huge printout of complaints, over 50 pages long!

These web sites are for real, I know because I suffer with these people. I have spoken to Pfizer about it, they don't care. But when the FDA scientists recently sent a letter to Obama telling of the corruption in the FDA, I was hoping he would listen.
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christine2007
Member

Ok, I went to one of the legal-ish websites that you listed, that is actually a blog site... with legal-ese as editors of the blog site... and I filled out the registration and posted my results. Oddly, they don't show up. I've waited and checked back... and they should be immediate. But no, nothing. BE WARE of websites created to discredit this wonderful medication.

The other is a topic site and is not monitored and has no credentials either. So, beware.
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christine2007
Member

I don't want to appear insensitive but have you ever seen the hundreds of pages of side affects from Nicotine??? Many of the things you experienced can also be attributed to nicotine.

I guess I will be a believer when I know anyone who has had any of the symptoms that big tobacco would like us to believe. I have had a heart attack because of nicotine... I had high blood pressure and now that's a thing of the past... I have been treated for GERD - also had no change when I took 'Chantix... I have arthritis and even this is MUCH better - I think because I quit smoking... but none of my health issues got worse with Chantix... not even one! Go figure.
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lola2
Member

Nicotine is definitely a bad thing! But I just wish I would have quit cold-turkey, without damaging my body and ruining my life and in turn the quality of my family's life as well.
I had no way of knowing that I would be damaged permanently by Chantix.
The things Chantix did to me were proven by a neurologist that did nerve and muscle tests on me. The damage is clear in these tests.

I know many people that were lucky like you, and had no bad reaction to Chantix. But it is still a mystery to me, why it affects some and not others.
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bev2
Member

I too think Chantex caused neurological problems with me, after I started taking Chantex I began having a burning, needle pricking feeling in my buttocks, my inner thighs and the backs of my upper legs, so severe that it is hard to sit. This has been going on now for about 1 1/2 years. I have tried many things to try and stop the pain.
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christine2007
Member

I now know another group of people who have used Chantix without any side affects worse than a little nausea. I really think whatever physical issues you're having... they have been triggered by something other than Chantix such as your own genetics and family history, environmental issues, other foods or medications or psychological problems. Especially considering that this medication has been available for many years in Europe before being approved in the US.
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sheryl2
Member

Oh man, this is scarey stuff. I have been on the Champix for 3 1/2 months but only one pill the past two weeks. I haven't had an really adverse effects from the medication except for the broken sleep and vivid dreams. Once I went back to one pill, they stopped. I am concerned though as I developed a facial neuralgia in Jan and been on medication for that. I wonder if the two can be related.
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