Chantix Feedback

If you've used Chantix, please help others by sharing your experience with side effects. What would you tell your best friend about this product? Please remember that we do not give medical advice. That is for your local health care provider, who is familiar with your medical history.

Insurance premium
Date: 1/3/2012
My insurance carrier has just start paying for Chantix. My question is if I use my Rx card to pay for the Chantix, will my insurance carrier increase my premium. They have me listed as a nonsmoker and I pay a nonsmokers rate for my health insurance. Could they increase my premium?
Rosanne

AskDocWeb: Chantix is specifically indicated for use as an aid to smoking cessation treatment. As far as we know, it not prescribed for any other reason. In order to get a prescription for Chantix you have to admit, at least to your doctor, that you are a smoker. If you do that then you are betting on whether or not your insurance company sees the connection. We think it is likely that they would just because it is so obvious.

From the insurance company's point of view this is fraud and they can do more than just raise your premium, they can cancel your coverage. In some situations you may also face criminal prosecution for falsifying insurance information. We suggest you give some serious thought to the possible consequences.

Date: 3/21/2012
I give Plasmia too time a week. I wont to know if I take Chantix to quit smoking if it would hart my Plasmia. Or my white blood cell. Plese let me know?
Dave

AskDocWeb: The rules and restrictions on donating plasma change over time but here are the medical guidelines we have on file:

Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol): may be taken in normal moderate doses before a donation
Accutane: four-week deferral
Allergy medication: can donate
Antibiotics: 72-hour deferral after infection is healed
Anti-inflammatory drugs (Advil, Ibuprofen, Motrin and Naprosyn): may not be taken within 24 hours before a platelet donation (other rules may also apply)
Aspirin-containing products or Feldene and Lodine XL: may not donate within 36 hours before platelet donation
Birth control pills: can donate
Blood pressure medication: can donate under present FDA and American Red Cross standards in force
Depression medication: can donate
Diabetic medication - Injected bovine (beef) insulin since 1980; can not donate
Diet pills: can donate
Diuretics: can donate
Female hormone pills: can donate
Any human pituitary-derived hormone (i.e. growth hormone): can not donate
Soriatane (Acitretin): three-year deferral
Tegison (used to treat a severe skin disorder): can not donate if ever taken
Thyroid medication: can donate if stabilized

As you can see Chantix is not on the list but you'll have to check with your local clinic to be sure it is okay.

Chantix and Alcohol
Date: 3/24/2012
All the tests confirm that chantix also blocks the effects of alcohol. So what about the person that has a few drinks and drives home thinking they are fine? The scientific tests say that when using chantix and alcohol, one does not feel the signs of intoxication. Is this NOT DANGEROUS!!!!!!
Char

AskDocWeb: Your concern is legitimate. Chantix users report "feeling" less intoxicated when they drink alcohol. This has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, not getting the buzz may make a person less likely to drink. On the negative side, not feeling the effects may impair the judgement for deciding when to stop consumption.

Side effects after discontinuing Chantix
Date: 3/29/2012
I have not used chantix in a year. However I am still having side effects. Anixiety, depression, muscle cramps, hostility, mood swings, restlessness, hypertension and I am just wondering if they will every go away or what I can do. Also what is hot flush? Because I am sweating excessly, day and night.
Johnnie

AskDocWeb: Hot flushes are also known as hot flashes, or night sweats if they happen at night. It's a sudden, brief sensation of heat or warmth, often over the entire body, caused by a transient dilation of the blood vessels in the skin. How long the side effects may persist is still unknown.

Go by your own experience
Date: 5/2/2012
I'm not sure I noticed all the side effects listed but I have been using Chantix off and on for 3 yrs. It does work. I feel it was I who failed not the drug. A little nausea is worth the end result. I feel the drug works and we need to manage the side effects and take the drug until something else that is proven to work is available.

I was a smoker for 35+ yrs and nothing else has managed the cravings that come every hour of every day. I was able to better manage the symptoms better by decreasing the dose (after asking my doctor). It allowed the drug to work, it just took a little longer (4-5 mths).

This addiction has been compaired to herion addiction and smoking kills for a fact! People talk about depression, I am here to tell you that the power you feel once you stop smoking (I'm sure the hardest thing you have ever done) is uncomparable to any. You will go forward knowing you can do anything even when you have been addicted for years. Give it a fair try. Go by your own experience.
Michelle

Back pain is excruciating!
Date: 5/5/2012
I started smoking after quitting for 20 years. I decided to talk to my dr about chantix when I started smoking a pack a day again. I started it on April 26, 2012. I am very active or was. My mood is fine, but my lower back pain is excruciating! I missed 2 days of work 5-1/5-2 and cannot walk or stand more than 10 minutes. It hurts to sit, lie down, stand. Dr said it's not related to chantix and is sending me to a orthopedic surgeon next week. I went to the Chiropractior up the street, he said it's not bone or muscle, seems more internal (kidney's or ovaries). I just want relief. I stopped the Chantix but when the doctor said the pain wasn't due to that I started it again. I'm going off it for good. Praying my backache and now shooting pains into my legs and feet get better soon. I am starting to get depressed due to this pain. Did have the nausea from the pills but tolerable because it did help the urge of smoking to go away. I'm going to quit on my own, becuase I feel the chantix is not worth this pain.
Tlandaj

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This website is protected by copyright © 2002-2012 Askdocweb, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This is a layman's report on Chantix and is not intended to replace discussions with a health care provider. Do not use the information on this forum as a substitute for your doctor's advice. Always consult your doctor before taking any drug and follow your doctor's directions. Source material: Food and Drug Administration, Medline, Physician's Desk Reference, and the largest community of people in the world, those who are concerned about side effects and healthcare.