Chantix Can Drive You Batty

Seattle, WA"I have never in my life experienced any psychological problems until I took Chantix," says Charlie, who says he tried to commit suicide??"twice. "I would like to see Chantix taken off the market right now."

Charlie (not his real name) took the smoking cessation drug for about 45 days in 2008. Chantix side effects weren't well known two years ago, but they are now. Charlie saw an ad on TV linking the drug to suicidal thoughts and psychotic episodes. "The lightbulb turned on then I went online and read about so many other Chantix users who also tried to kill themselves??"I couldn't believe this drug was still on the market," he says.

"Not long after I was on Chantix my temperament went through the window. I tried to quit smoking several times previously but nothing like this happened. Sure, I was edgy when I tried quitting before, but nothing like this. It's hard to put into words how I felt: I was scared of everything; I thought there was something wrong with me. I stayed in my room for weeks at a time. If there was anything in my room that was sharp I got rid of it, because I didn't want anything in the room that I could use to kill myself. I was scared of life because I really thought there was something wrong with me, because of the suicide attempts.

For a while I was scared to sleep (because of the nightmares) and I was scared to stay awake because I might kill myself. Then I just said to myself,' I've had enough,' and I took a massive overdose of pharmaceutical drugs, twice. My roommate found me??"if not for him, I would likely not be having this conversation with you. He called an ambulance and I was given lots of meds at the hospital to counteract what I had taken. I was in hospital for about a week and then transferred to the psych unit for another week or so??"both times.

The doctors knew I was on Chantix in both the hospital and the psych ward, but nobody talked to me about discontinuing the drug. However, that was two years ago: the FDA knew, according to online sites, but I don't think all of the medical community was aware of Chantix.

Once I found out that Chantix could have killed me, I was so mad. I found one lawsuit after another online. Why is this drug still being sold and why doesn't the FDA do something about it? I thought government agencies were supposed to protect us. I'm still blown away that the government won't intervene: they had to know about these suicidal side effects because it has happened to so many people. It's a simple fact. I also read that the Chantix manufacturers didn't do much research, especially on people predisposed to a psychotic episode. I say that because I am not predisposed to those conditions so I can't imagine how it could affect others. I believe this drug would drive some people batty.

In a way, Chantix has driven me a bit batty: these episodes have bothered me because I couldn't justify my actions; it was totally out of character.

By the way, I quit smoking cold turkey."