Anti-smoking drug may be tied to suicide risks

MSNBC ^ | February 1, 2008 | MSNBC/AP

[Netizen]

I used One Step to quit

http://www.quitsmoking.com/onestep.htm

Been smoke free for 4 years now. I think these filters work because by reducing the nicotine, you slowly ween your system off it.

[FLAMING DEATH]

I believe I posted on that thread. Got the Chantix near the end of Feb./beginning of March. They say you’re supposed to take it for a minimum of 3 months, recommended to go 6 months. I took it for a month and a half, and simply started forgetting taking my daily pill. Some of my friends thought the pill itself would be addictive, or that my cravings would come back when I quit taking it. Neither of these occurred. Obviously, I did not commit suicide either.

Happy little buzz when you take the first one. Supposed to make your dreams really vivid, but that never happened to me (kinda disappointing, really...I signed on for vivid dreams).

Bottom line...the stuff works. It doesn’t take all cravings away, it just makes them easier to deal with. They last for a split second instead of minutes and they’re easy to ignore, and get easier as time goes on. That’s the good thing about starting...each day gets easier. Now, over a year later, I get a craving about 1-2 times a month, and I wouldn’t even call it a craving...just my subconsious noticing that I don’t do something that I used to. More like when your favorite TV show gets canceled than getting over an addiciton.

It would be difficult for me to become a smoker now. I tried cigarettes a few times since and they made me physically ill, just like the first one that I ever smoked. It reset my brain to day one.

Biggest problems: none to speak of while taking it. As I said, I never had suicidal thoughts. More along the lines of apathy, at first. Nothing really bothered me much, which is good when you’re trying to quit.

Afterward, I gained weight. That was the biggest problem. I waited until I had the cigarette habit out of my system before I tried to do anything about it, too, and I’d recommend the same for you if you have that problem. You can only tackle one thing at a time. I’ve lost nearly 20 lbs. now, however.

I have recommended this to all my friends, most of whom are not yet ready to quit. My brother tried it, but his stated goal was to smoke less, not stop altogether. He did slow down, but only while he took the medicine. And, he didn’t take it regularly. That won’t work. You have to make it your goal to quit, and use as directed.

And, as I said earlier I only took the starter pack and got one refill, of which I finished half. I don’t recommend this method for everyone, but it worked for me and saved me some $$$.

I hope this helps. I’d recommend the stuff wholeheartedly to anyone interested in quitting.

[FLAMING DEATH]

I’m thinking his rage probably had something to do with the amount of alcohol he’d consumed, too (he was at 0.29 when they did an autopsy). Not good to mix prescription drugs and alcohol of any kind. I never had any problems, except for weight gain.

[chrisser]

I took Chantix last year. Went through the starter pack and quit. Then started smoking again. Went through another starter pack, same deal. Looking back, I just wasn’t ready.

I’m married now, and we’re trying to have kids. I really want to quit - the personal stakes are a lot higher now. I’m just about through the starter pack, and I convinced my doc to give me the continuing prescription up front, so I can have those pills on hand before I run out.

I have had a lot of the normal side effects. Some nausea and this time much constipation (sorry for sharing). Don’t remember those last time, but one I have always experienced is the vivid dreams/nightmares and sleep interruption. That’s the hardest to deal with IMHO as I’m often more exhausted when I wake up than when I go to sleep. I also frequently go to bed, wake up three hours later wide awake, and then lay in bed for 3+ hours, then fall asleep an hour or two before I have to wake up. Frustrating, to say the least.

Right now (I’ve been on for three weeks, with two weeks no smoking), I have a craving once every four or five days, and its no big deal. I don’t have the addiction symptoms, but I still have the occassional desire for a smoke because, to be frank, I really liked smoking. However, now its more like the desire to have a huge hot fudge sundae or some other treat - sure, I’d like to have one, but I’m a big boy and can live without it. I really like a nice cold sugar-filled Coke, but I haven’t had one of those in months, so I can live without another smoke.

I’ve committed to myself to stay on for twelve weeks unless the side effects get unbearable. If that happens, I’ll at least try lowering the dosage first, but I want to cement this quit by staying on that long. That’ll take me to June, and I figure that there’s so much to do in the summertime, that I’ll be able to keep busy.

Would be nice to get a good nights’ sleep in the meantime, but I didn’t exactly sleep well when smoking either.

One thing I’ve noticed, and I’ve also seen this on other boards - the Chantix symptoms seem to get worse each time you try it. If you suspect you’ll have a bad reaction, its best to get it over with the first time.