Seattle, WAAfter taking her first Chantix pill, Kimberly felt irritable—no surprise for someone trying to quit smoking. "I figure that withdrawal from nicotine was a small price to pay, and knowing that nicotine only stays in your system for 72 hours, I looked forward to having a better mood soon," Kimberly says. Instead, the Chantix side effects got a lot worse…
She began to have trouble falling asleep and when she was able to sleep, Kimberly says she had very traumatic dreams. She could have handled that too, but there was more in store.
"After only five days on Chantix I became increasingly agitated and started arguments with my boyfriend (now ex) just to get the anger out that I was feeling inside. He didn't stick around; he said he couldn't handle me and went away for the weekend. Fine! I was beginning to feel depressed anyway and wanted to be alone.
"The house was a mess, but I didn't care—there was no energy in me to clean, to eat or even to sleep.
"I was beginning to feel paranoid, something was happening to my mind! I locked all of the doors, closed the blinds and went upstairs to my bedroom. (Things get sort of fuzzy here as my mental state began to deteriorate.) I just sat in bed, just sat there, not even aware of anything. After sitting in bed from 1:00 pm until 3:00 am, I decided (Did I decide? It didn't feel like a conscious effort; my body was making decisions without notifying me!) to fill the bathtub, and I got in with my clothes still on.
"Great! Now I was hearing things! And it seemed like black clouds of smoke (demons) were flashing past my peripheral vision. As I sat in the hot bath, I began to hear music playing and for some reason this bothered me. I got out of the bath to go hunt the music down but I couldn't find it, so I came back upstairs and sat in bed...in soaking wet clothes, totally oblivious! The black clouds that scared me so badly took on more human shapes. This was getting scary! Who is talking downstairs? I kept hearing voices now and I got scared thinking someone was in the house and wanted to harm me. I locked the bedroom door and sat in bed staring at the handle until late Saturday night, not once getting out of bed, or sleeping, or even diverting my view of the door handle.
"It was impossible to sleep; there was no desire to even try. After being up for three days straight, I believe psychosis began to set in as my hallucinations became worse, auditory and visual. Depression became worse, and I hadn't eaten anything; I knew this was all so bad but I didn't care.
"On Sunday I just started laughing and swallowing Tylenol PM, along with handfuls of my Chantix. I took a lot of pills that night and passed out. It was amazing to wake up the next morning because the amount I took was enough to kill most any adult.
"There was no more Chantix left for any more days of treatment! Problem solved! Thankfully my ex-boyfriend came home Monday morning…
"Since the Chantix overdose, I have had constant heart palpitations, and last week, after having a general check-up, my doctor noticed that my heart was fast and this prompted an ECG, which showed Sinus Tachycardia and an enlargement of the right side of my heart. I've never had heart problems; I know it had to be the Chantix and I wish I had known the drug was so dangerous. Even now, five months later, I still do not feel like myself. Please don't let anyone you love take this drug!"
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