Pasadena, MD"I pray that my story can help someone decide not to take Chantix and end their life," says Connie, whose fiancé committed suicide while using the smoking cessation drug. "I took Chantix too but I would prefer to smoke than hang myself…"
Connie takes a deep breath before she continues. "This drug has turned my whole life upside down but I am trying to hang on to my sense of humor. Eugene and I both wanted to quit smoking, so in November 2008 we went to the doctor and he prescribed us Chantix. He didn't say anything about side effects, and there was nothing mentioned in the brochure we both read.
"If we were warned of the possible side effects, Eugene's death could have been prevented."
"It took us some time to mentally prepare ourselves to quit smoking. I stopped taking Chantix after just three days because I had horrible nightmares (we heard rumors that Chantix could cause bad dreams) and Eugene struggled with it—he would stop and start.
"We were together for seven years and he was always an upbeat, happy person—no prior history of depression—so it was surprising that he got into these mood swings. It was like he turned into another person. Eugene lost his job and we had financial problems, which I attributed to his mental state. Of course there is no way of knowing that this would have happened if he hadn't lost his job. He was a truck driver—there is always a trucking job. He didn't need to worry about being unemployed.
"On March 24, Eugene got angry for no reason and stormed out of the house (he was on the Chantix full time, at least two weeks by now). He took off in my car and came back about 30 minutes later, revving the engine, with a horrible look on his face.
"The next morning he didn't say a word to anyone—he was gone. My car wouldn't start so I called my boss and he picked me up. That evening my sister brought me home and we waited and waited for Eugene. At 10 pm Eugene's son found him in the shed, hanging from a rafter with my serpentine belt. The police wanted me to ID him in the shed but I wouldn't go—I didn't want that to be my last memory of Eugene…
"Last September I was watching an ad on TV about Chantix and its link to mood swings and suicidal thoughts—I never thought a medication could cause suicide. Now I see ads all over the Internet and TV warning the public of these side effects--they certainly weren't around when we took Chantix.
"I can't believe warnings weren't put on the Chantix label when the drug was approved. The Chantix manufacturer had to know about these side effects—how could they not? If we were warned of the possible side effects, Eugene's death could have been prevented because we would have known what to look for. I would have had Eugene go back to the doctor and stop taking Chantix as soon as he started those mood swings."
Connie says she never told their doctor about Eugene's suicide, she was so distraught after his death. Now, Connie wants to get the word out to both the public and the medical community: Do not take Chantix.
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