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.

Strange flashes
Date: 8/9/2015
I was taking Chantix for 2 months. Did stop smoking but couldn’t take some side effects anymore. Now that I stopped I’m getting these strange flashes running through my body. Mostly when laying down and trying to sleep. It’s been 3 days off the drug now. Is this normal and will it go away? Driving me nuts…..

Brian

AskDocWeb: The manufacturer of Chantix (Pfizer) lists hot flush (hot flashes) as one of the “frequent” adverse events reported by those taking this drug. Always tell your doctor if any side effect is severe or does not go away.

Liver damage?
Date: 9/19/2015
I started chantix 3 weeks ago and it worked wonders for the cravings. But at 2 1/2 weeks I started feeling sick with stomach pains (nausea/vomiting) right underneath the rib cage. I was told by the ER that my liver enzymes are almost doubled. This freaks me out and it will be a a couple weeks till I can see a G.I. ls this something is really bad?

Brittney

AskDocWeb: This is one of the areas where we think that the black box warning is failing to cover. Monitoring early side effects can prevent serious consequences. For example, if a side effect of a medication is liver damage, then monitoring a patient’s liver enzymes for evidence of early liver injury can prevent serious disease by alerting the physician to this side effect so that the medication can be discontinued before it causes actual liver damage.

Chantix review – Success
Date: 10/27/2015
My husband took Chantix and stopped smoking 8 years ago this October! He still can’t believe that he is a non-smoker. He tried every other way to stop before with no success. He started as prescribed by his Dr. and smoked the first week. By the second, third and fourth weeks he was down to a few cigs per day. The only side effects he had to that point was crazy dreams which were fun to hear about the next day and coffee didn’t taste good to him so he stopped drinking it and switched to tea. (Wow).

He was down to 1 cig. per day by week 5 1/2 and started to be a little too angry about small things. I was ready to call his Dr. to ask when she was to see him again and tell her I noticed a change in mood. That same day he told me that it was making him feel weird and was going to stop smoking all together because he said that it was stupid to keep smoking only one per day. He was ready to Quit. I told him that was good and explained my concern of his recent mood change. He agreed but did not understand my full concern. It took 5 1/2 weeks to stop smoking on Chantix.

After 3 months of no smoking or Chantix he started to drink coffee again but it is just 1 or maybe 2 cups per day. Obviously we are happy, but we did discuss the side effects when he started the medication so at least one of us would recognize the changes the minute something seemed different. I feel that you must have someone close to you that can monitor you while you are using this just in case.

It’s heartbreaking now for my husband who’s mother has been a lifelong smoker and was just diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Even with his good results she refused to try to stop and now it is too late. Good luck and I would say that if you have tried every other way to quit, give this a try.

PS After first day no cigarettes, he stopped his horrible snoring. Day 3 the whites of his eyes were completely clear. It only got better for him. Even after 8 years he has said that during a stressful day at work it will pop into his mind that a cigarette would taste good. He says that the thought lasts 3 seconds and then it goes away, so you must want to truly stop and you will.

RPM

blurry vision
Date: 12/12/2015
I took it for four weeks, stopped smoking three weeks in. I smoked up to three packs a day. The problem is my vision is so blurry, I think I’d been better off smoking.

Sandy

Ecstasy while on Chantix?
Date: 5/5/2016
I am taking Chantix for my smoking to help me quit and I want to know what the reaction would be if I were to take ecstasy while on a Chantix regimen.

Michelle

AskDocWeb: To our knowledge that has not been studied. However, our best guess is that after the temporary high wore off you would find that your ability to experience pleasure would be reduced to some degree for the rest of your life.

Urine tests?
Date: 5/25/2016
Does chantix show up on urine tests?

Teejay

AskDocWeb: No. For an extensive list of things that might show up on urine tests for drugs of abuse see the page about False Positives.

Not worth it
Date: 9/10/2016
Took chantix in November 2015 thanks giving my poor mom went through h**l. I was a demon on it I threw it in trash stop smoking was not worth putting loved ones through it.

Linda

Horrible skin breakout and serious brain fog
Date: 12/14/2016
I took chantix for a few months while trying to quit smoking. I was a 2- 2 1/2 pack a day smoker. I did finally quit after 3 months of chantix. 3 days after my last cigarette I had a horrible skin breakout. I’ve been dealing with it for almost 4 years now. I’ve seen 3 dermatologist and 3 general doctors. To almost no avail. The best thing they have done is give me doxycyclene for a year. then switched me to minocyclene. Those almost control the breakouts. but if I travel and miss a day or two it comes right back and takes weeks to get rid of again. Is there something else I can do, take? has there been another diagnosis for this problem?

Also, another side effect I have is a serious Brain Fog. I used to love to read. Now, it seems I can’t keep my concentration up for 5 pages. I can’t keep focused on things during the day. I have a hard time retaining what I do learn. It’s like I have to do things 4-5 times to get it. I also have a hard time losing and keeping weight off. I have noticed since that time some hard lumps of fat. Had a biopsy done and they’re just Lipoma’s. But I have around 10 of them. Does anyone else report these problems? Is there a way to clear up the brain fog?

Jamey

AskDocWeb: One of the claims of the new Brain Pill is that it eliminates brain fog. If you try it let us know how it works for your situation.

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