Posted on 05/27/2011 5:45:17 PM PDT by Cardhu
Hundreds of reports of suicides, psychotic reactions and other serious problems tied to the popular stop-smoking drug Chantix were left out of a crucial government safety review because Pfizer Inc., the drug’s manufacturer, submitted years of data through “improper channels.”
Some 150 suicides — more than doubling those previously known — were among 589 delayed reports of severe issues turned up in a new analysis by the non-profit Institute for Safe Medication Practices.
“We’ve had a major breakdown in safety surveillance,” said Thomas J. Moore, the ISMP senior scientist who analyzed the data. The serious problems — including reports of completed suicides, suicide attempts, aggression and hostility and depression — had been mixed among some 26,000 records of non-serious side effects such as nausea and rashes, with some dating back to 2006, the year Chantix, or varenicline, was approved.
They echo previous claims that the drug can induce extreme reactions in people trying to quit cigarettes, including vivid nightmares, crippling depression and sudden, violent outbursts.
“It’s really chilling,” said Moore, who analyzed 26 Chantix reactions in a paper published in the September 2010 issue of the Journal of Pharmacotherapy. "This seems to unleash something in people. It can be violence to anything around."
Moore's case studies describe "inexplicable and unprovoked" reactions in Chantix patients with no previous history of violence or mental illness, including:
•A 24-year-old woman who started beating her boyfriend in bed because "he looked so peaceful" and later attempted suicide; •A 42-year-old man who punched a stranger at a bowling alley; •A 47-year-old woman who died after she came out of a room, yelled at her daughters and then shot herself.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I tried it.
It gave me bad dreams and left me emotionless.
No, I did not want a smoke...
or food, or drink, or laughter, or human interaction, or anything else.
It is a zombie drug.
And yet Chantix is perfectly legal, and encouraged by the nanny-state, while the e-cig is vilified by the “won’t somebody think about the children” crowd.
So you have had first hand experience of the drug.
There are so many drugs that are approved for one condition and then used for other conditions which cause awful side effects.
It seems approval is being stretched to peddle these drugs across the board.
I’m in favor of anything that helps people quit smoking, but when I hear TV ads taking about “suicidal tendencies” and other crazy stuff, that’s a red flag right there.
I just got prescribed something with similar disclaimers. Scared the shit out of me. I was afraid to take it at home alone. I waited till I went to work and told a few people what was up and to keep an eye out for odd behavior.
Guess what? Nothing happened, and it made my pain go away. It's been 2 weeks and everything seems fine.
Everyone reacts to these drugs differently and some of the side effects are scary as hell.
I am sorry you had that bad experience and glad that you got off the drug ASAP.
I dont like drugs.
Give me a ciggie and a beer every time ☺
I just got prescribed something with similar disclaimers. Scared the shit out of me. I was afraid to take it at home alone. I waited till I went to work and told a few people what was up and to keep an eye out for odd behavior.
Guess what? Nothing happened, and it made my pain go away. It's been 2 weeks and everything seems fine.
Everyone reacts to these drugs differently and some of the side effects are scary as hell.
I am sorry you had that bad experience and glad that you got off the drug ASAP.
I dont like drugs.
Give me a ciggie and a beer every time ☺
I quit cold-turkey, but talked to my Dr. about alternatives beforehand.
Basically, he said the pills made about half the people nuts.
You more or less took the words out of my mouth. E-cigs are the best thing since sliced bread for smokers.
Maybe the Chantix failed and the jones for a smoke finally overwhelmed the patient’s sanity. Never get between a committed smoker and his or her weed.
little cigar and miller beer ping!
I’ve been on it twice. The first time I had no side effects but this go around (and by the way, I’m smoke-free now) just gave me weird dreams. I finished the last prescription off a couple of weeks ago.....not getting it refilled since I haven’t smoked in 3 months. Do I want a cig? You bet I do but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I lit up again. I feel terrible for those who had these extreme reactions to Chantix.
PBR LoL
I did chantix and quit after the first week.
It was easy!
no side effects.
I recommend it without reservation.
Smoked for 30 years pack a day camels
If you’re thinking about taking Chantix, instead, eat a urinal crystal...... they’re much safer.
I tried that drug... bad, bad, bad. It didn’t make me suicidal, but it made me difficult to be around and I almost went back to burying dead bodies under my house.
I later used the patch... tough, but I no longer smoke.
Pfizer ping
Wow. How many days did it take to start feeling like that? This isn’t just a health, but a national security risk.
I quit about 20 years ago without drugs - each day I thought it would get worse but it didn’t - I went through the motions of looking for a cigarette for about a year but after that you have conquered it.
Of course some people can some people can’t there is no magic formula.
Lots of horror stories out there.
I kept telling him about what all I was reading about this drug & told him to get off it.
Good news. ...hasn't smoked since.
I tried the patch, but I couldn’t keep it lit.
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