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Chantix Breaks the Nicotine Habit but also Breaks Families

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Topeka, KSThe prescription drug Chantix helps people break their smoking addiction, but it has also caused severe behavioral changes, from moodiness and insomnia to depression and even suicide. And it has broken families. "I am now in the process of a divorce, I have lost my job due to a loss of focus and depression and have lost the custody of my daughter, all as a direct result of Chantix", says Lorraine.

Chantix DivorceLorraine isn't the only one whose family has been wrecked, allegedly due to Chantix. And it doesn't seem to matter how long you are on this drug: Lorraine only took it for 3 months before she attempted suicide and became violent. "This drug caused me to hit my husband…it needs to be pulled from the market," she says.

"I am having serious trouble with my family as far as getting along," says Dan. "Chantix caused serious side effects and I wanted to die--I still feel this way. I am very depressed, feel hopeless, I feel like giving up."

Brian (not his real name) says he took Chantix for two months then began having "suicidal and homicidal ideations…and more aggression than I have ever had." Brian tried taking Chantix a year ago but was arrested for violent behavior toward his ex-wife. Now he has an arrest record, and it may prevent him from seeing his kids. "My ex and children are scared to death of me," Brian says. He went through a terrible divorce and he blames Chantix.

"The next time I tried this drug to quit smoking, I actually sat in my friend's apartment and loaded my weapons, and hid them throughout the apartment, thinking the police were coming to get me. I have been off the Chantix for about a week now, and I'm just starting to come down and feel normal again. During this whole ordeal my doctor put me on Prozac, which seemed to intensify the problem. I have had nightmares, insomnia, aggression, and serious thoughts about killing myself and others first. I just want to see this drug taken off the market."

Chantix works by blocking the receptors commonly stimulated by nicotine. It reduces the positive feelings that come from cigarettes. But because the drug is new (it has only been on the market since 2006) it is not known whether these side effects are the result of withdrawal from nicotine or due to the drug itself. However, how many people have experienced severe behavioral disorders such as those described above by withdrawal from nicotine by other means, such as Zyban, the nicotine patch, or cold turkey?

When Chantix was first approved by the FDA, Pfizer, the giant drug manufacturer, allegedly failed to adequately research their medication or provide adequate warnings to users and the medical community about the potential side effects which could increase the risk of suicide or unusual behavior changes. In the wake of hundreds of reports, the drug was given a warning label about the psychiatric side effects and risks associated with the use of Chantix.

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READER COMMENTS

Posted by

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My ex took chantix for a few months somewhere around 2008-2009. I still shudder when I hear the prescription commercials that advise of changes in mood, depression and particularly the caution against worsening existing mental illness. Either his doctor never told him about these consequences or he lied to me about not knowing. He even was diagnosed with bipolar years ago yet was still prescribed chantix.

What followed broke our marriage. He was an insufferable jerk, constantly mean, constantly and profoundly paranoid, talking to himself while imagining arguments that never happened, blaming me for every slight inconvenience that touched his life, and claiming amnesia of the times he flipped out.

He quit chantix, kept smoking, but the mean behavior continued. He teased and mocked and projected his insecurity. I didn't want to have sex with him because he was mean to me. He said he was mean to me because I didn't have sex with him. Even though we bluntly discussed it, we couldn't break out of the cycle the right way. He even gave me a book about the five love languages with passages underlined about how women must break the cycle by having sex with the mean husband.

Evening arguments became regular. Or rather, he would yell while I would cry. About his head arguments. One day, he almost wrecked the car on purpose because he was so mad that I didn't have any input on where we should go for dinner. That evening he said he was concerned about not feeling right. He said he might put himself in a mental hospital the next day. I didn't believe him.

The next morning he dropped me off at work and said he had some errands to do. His boss called me an hour later and said he committed himself. When I visited him in the hospital he was weepy and said he felt like he was letting our family down and needed some help getting his head together. He was so so sorry for everything. The next day he was slightly weepy but lamented that they didn't allow smoking. The next day he said he asked to leave but they held him involuntarily for two more days. At the end of it, he came home and promised my mom that he would be a better husband and son in law. This was all for our family.

He immediately started abusing his medications. He became intensely obsessive about his own diagnoses and read them to me over and over again. He was either so doped up he couldn't function, or asleep. Except when he laid off his meds long enough to function well enough to drive down the street for cigarettes.

Several days later, he finally admitted to me that he hospitalized himself because he felt an uncontrollable urge to hurt and kill his coworkers. I asked him if he ever had the urge to hurt me. He did. He continued to blame, to concoct, to forget, and eventually tried to cut me off from my family. I left the next day, alerted his boss to the potential threat, and divorce was completed months after.

It's hard to forgive someone for their wrongdoings when they deny it happened, claim amnesia of the events, or when medication caused their behavior. Perhaps he was only a pathologically lying narcissist whose abusive behavior just bubbled to the surface, not-so-gently encouraged by an anti-smoking drug. Ultimately I guess I'm thankful that he at least committed himself and prevented the physical violence. But how can a wife stick around knowing that's lurking inside his head?

Please if you're reading this DO NOT TAKE CHANTIX. It will ruin your life, your family, and most importantly YOUR SANITY!!

Posted by

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I was married to the love of my life and I believe I lost her to Chantix.... It started with her openly talking to one of her co-workers boyfriends about inappropriate subjects. I thought it was just a case of to much to drink, then came the beating I took at a restaurant... just totally out of the blue, its was like someone flipped a switch. Next day she remembered nothing. It was like she was living in a nightmare. We were married just short of six years, all good, we never fought, she is still the love of my life... One day she just left, no note, call , text, email... just nothing. She has been off the drug for a few years now, but I feel she is still suffering the effects... More than just pulling the product, I would like to see a study on the long term effects of this product, what is does to an individual over a longer period of time...

Posted by

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My husband took chantrix for only a short period of time and had severe behavior changes including thoughts of suicide. One evening he took chantrix While drinking alcohol and became a completely different person. He went as far as kissing my friend and now I believe this drug is responsible for breaking up our friendships and possibly family.

Posted by

on
Oh my gosh. That is exactly what my wife did. Only she was on citalopram. They are all the same poison. They are all ssri drugs. Amazing that the user always says they are thinking more clearly than ever. Go check out marriages destroyed by ssri,s

Posted by

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Jennifer, let me help put your mind at ease. I, too, took Chantix, two scrips back/back in '07 and endured two, long, hospital and psyche unit stays in '08.

Long story short, I, too, begged my husband of 37 years for a divorce. I HATED him! Never have I ever felt such incredible rage and disdain!! I spent weekends going thru display apartments and furniture stores. Mean, hateful words spewed from my mouth like venom. I could not stop myself.

Had I not taken this drug myself, I would have a hard time believing the stories...but, it's true. this little blue pill is extremely powerful...dangerous and totally unpredictable. Once in your system, only God knows how/where you'll land. Forgiveness and patience will go a long way here. Trust me, your husband is not himself and has NO CONTROL over this pill. It literally distorts your mind, thoughts, dreams and actions. It's bizarre.

Chantix needs to be removed from the market. Undoubtedly, there will be a windfall of lawsuits...as the longer it stays on the shelves, the more lives will be affected, relationships destroyed and lives lost.

Posted by

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y husband began taking Chantix 7 days ago in order to stop his tobacco habit. I did notice a change in him almost immediately but nothing too out of the ordinary. Then today, he woke up and decided he wanted a divorce. We are about 10 days away from closing on our dream home and my husband called the realtor and wanted to cancel the purchase of the house and wanted the realtor to meet with him right then to cancel paperwork (we've put thousands on escrow and fee's which we don't get back!) Then he took off his wedding ring and said he is filing for divorce and wants it done now and he would be back in a couple days to get the rest of his belongings. If that weren't enough, he then began processing a new auto loan to get my name off our car title. He also called in to his work to take time off so he could take care of his errands that have to be done now. He has never acted like this. We are very happily married. Infact, last week he was asking about making plans for our next vacation to Paris. I tried talking sense to him, but he said that his mind is clearer than it's ever been and now he see's all the surface of everything?? He said he is not happy and he had a long, but irrational, explanation for why he thought what he thought. It didn't make any sense but to him it made perfect sense. He was very combative and wanted to argue his point to everything he said and why i was wrong and why he was right.

This whole situation this morning took me completely off guard. This is never how he has acted and is completely out of character. He took off this morning in order to make financial transactions on refinancing or trading in our vehicle which already has a very low interest rate and we just purchased our vehicle three months ago, so he wants to trade in a brand new car! Combined with wanting to cancel the mortgage loan with just a matter of days before closing and not taking into consideration the thousands of dollars we put into the house.

I began reading the online information about Chantix today after my husbands episode and I am appalled people do not speak up at getting this off the market. In my opinion, after what has occurred today, I would highly advise people to not take Chantix. I would consider taking a different medication or a different method to quit smoking. My husbands family is now trying to talk sense in to him to stop taking the medication. I've read what the after affects of Chantix has caused some people even after taking it for a short time. I hope my husband is one of the lucky people that is not permanently damaged by Chantix. I hope this experience will allow other people to see what has happened so you won't have to go through something bad.

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