New York, NYRobert says he wasn't aware of any Chantix side effects; he couldn't understand why he was living under a dark cloud of depression, even though life was good and he was about to get married. But after his first Chantix suicide attempt, Robert called his doctor.
"Leading up to my suicide attempt, my fiancé had gone on a cruise with her girlfriend and I didn't feel like talking or seeing anyone," says Robert. "I should tell you at this point that I was a heroin addict, but I stopped using many years ago. However, I knew how to overdose. Luckily my best friend came over and he knew exactly what to do. I went to a harm reduction program years ago and they gave out Narcan--overdose kits. 'Where is the kit?' he screamed. I immediately came down and I couldn't tell him why I did this.
I actually thought about suicide once or twice in my years of drug use, but I never tried. This was the only time I actually attempted it. And I was still on Chantix because I didn't know any better.
It was only a few weeks back that I heard about Chantix and its association with depression and suicide, through other people talking about it. I stopped taking it immediately. I was pissed off to say the least; both at the prescribing doctor who knew my background and really pissed at the drug company. At least with cigarettes you know the deal, it is all over the pack. Who reads those Chantix flyers -- 50,000 paragraphs and the smallest print you need a magnifying glass to read? I guess the makers of Chantix just write it to adhere to the law. They probably wouldn't write anything unless they were forced to.
I called my doctor and asked her what she knew about Chantix. ''Well some people experience bloating, blah blah,' she replied, but she was avoiding the big question. 'What about depression,' I asked. 'Well I did hear about that.' Then I asked her if she ever heard of attempted suicide from taking Chantix.
'Ohmigod, ohmigod,' she said, panicked. 'Why would you do that?' She might be thinking twice about prescribing any more Chantix…
I never told my fiancé about this—I don't know how she would handle it. I won't use Chantix ever again, not even in a controlled environment, not even for $20,000 a day. This drug just creeps up on you.
And you never blame the drug—you always expect a good outcome, maybe with a few side effects. But if you do it right, you will attempt suicide only once. Thank god my friend came over. He said I should just start smoking and stay away from that Chantix stuff."