Any Way To Reverse Long-term Chantix Side Effects? (Page 3) (Top voted first)

My mother took Chantix several years ago in an effort to quit smoking. Well, she quit for a year. During that time, however, she became unbearably depressed. She has no history of depression.

She consulted a doctor several times and tried 3 different prescriptions, 1 of them being Zoloft. She stopped because she said they made her feel like she was just in a constant haze. She hasn't been to a doctor or a psychologist since then. In the mean time, she started smoking again because she thought that it would make the depression go away. It didn't.

Because of her experience with the 3 prescriptions, she is unwilling to go back to a doctor, and dismisses any notion of going to a psychologist. Our family has pleaded with her to keep trying, even if she has to tell whoever she sees that she won't try any drug for fear of the side effects; even if her only option is therapy, we want her to at least see someone. She is reluctant.

This side effect of major depression has persisted for years now, long after she stopped taking Chantix. Does anybody have any advice, or experience with the reversal of such severe side effects? My mother, and the rest of my family, is terrified that this is permanent, and she is terrified of the possibility that another prescription will result in even worse side effects.

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Sid, please read posts #36 abd #106. I am going to get my son to try it. She says it is a long process but worth it! Good luck to you! I wish you all the best! Know that your not alone in this and we are all trying to find help with this aweful side effect from this terrible drug!

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Various users of Chantix are complaining about the side effects linked to Chantix, which is made with metoclopramide (generic Reglan). While some users have committed suicide after taking Chantix, others have suffered from neurological conditions. This is no surprise to Reglan users, many of whom have developed various different neurological conditions after taking Reglan. The most common of those disorders is tardive dyskinesia, which is characterized with patients experiencing symptoms that mimic Parkinson’s disease. Some of those symptoms include involuntary movements of the extremities, excessive blinking, lip smacking, grimacing and tongue protrusion.

While Pfizer has tried to prevent in-person testimony, the court has decided to force three top executives at Pfizer to testify, and CEO Ian Read is among them. Last month, Pfizer was able to reach a settlement in a case that was originally supposed to go to trial in October. That case involved a Chantix user that had committed suicide after taking the drug.

The next case, which is set to go to trial in January 2013, was filed Billy Bedsole. He is claiming that Chantix use made him suffer from suicidal thoughts and act out in a way that forced his institutionalization. The FDA has acknowledged the risks involved with Chantix use and issued a black box warning about the drug in 2009. The drug was once considered dangerous specifically for the Reglan-related side effects, but since then, Chantix has been found to be far more dangerous than at first perceived.

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Yes exercise helps but you can't exercise all day long! Though if i didn't exercise at all it would be a lot worse!Sundays are days i don't and they are hard days! I have quit now almost 2 months! I will not give in to smoking again after all i have gone through to get here! I just pray this depression or anxiety or what ever it is goes away soon! I know i read some where that people who took and quit chantix it took them between 4 to 6 months before they felt normal again it's a long time but hope it is all it will take! I just have to remind myself that this will not rule me, i will get pass this at some point! Our minds are very tricky too and is very mad that you took something away from it you have done for 20 to 30 years!

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5 Natural Ways to Boost Serotonin

1. Diet:

Ditch the processed food that drains your stores and provides nothing in the way of nutrition. Limit high-sugar foods or simple carbs – such as white rice or flour – that create “false happiness” for short periods of time before causing your system to crash.

If you have issues with maintaining serotonin, avoid caffeine as well since it suppresses production of the hormone. Drinking plenty of water will keep you hydrated as well.

A good rule of thumb is protein three times every day and lots of colorful fruits and vegetables. Adding serotonin-producing foods such as wild seafood, organic meats (especially turkey) and eggs, beans, nuts, peanut butter, bananas, flaxseeds, and dark chocolate to your daily intake, is how to boost serotonin from the inside out.

2. Exercise:

Even when it’s cold or you’re stuck inside, you can dance in your office or follow along to a yoga video to get your body moving. It causes a spike in tryptophan which leads to more serotonin.

The effect of working out – even low impact – lasts for hours after you’re done!

3. Reduce Stress:

The presence of chronic stress means an excess of cortisol (the stress hormone) pumping through your body. Not only does cortisol deplete serotonin, it leads to chronic inflammation that is the root cause of many serious diseases. Lowering your physical, mental, and emotional stress is vital to your entire body.

An excellent B-complex vitamin may help you better deal with everyday stresses. Vitamin B6 is important for the manufacture of serotonin, melatonin, and dopamine – all hormones that contribute to overall mood.

4. Sunlight:

Serotonin levels are highest during the summer months and in tropical climates. During the winter months and for those who live in a perpetually cloudy or cold environment, serotonin levels can drop dangerously low.

Bringing as much light into your indoor space and taking a vitamin D3 supplement may alleviate the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Getting 15 minutes of sun exposure on your bare face and hands during the morning or late afternoon will boost vitamin D levels naturally, which signals the production of serotonin and dopamine.

5. Positive Activities:

Listening to music, treating yourself to a massage, practicing twenty minutes of meditation, or expressing yourself creatively are excellent ways to sooth stress, calm the body, and boost serotonin.

Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to rest so your body can recuperate from the daily wear and tear you probably experience in our modern world. Try to get eight solid hours every night for optimal benefit. Spend time with friends and loved ones, engage in conversation, or take up a hobby that has always interested you.

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Champix is causing problems in the brain. Many drugs and poisons are enzyme inhibitors, varenicline is an enzyme inhibitor. Inhibitors are molecules that decrease enzyme activity. Activators are molecules that increase activity. Both RDA and DNA are nucleic acids, which are base pairs nucleotides as a complementary language that can be converted back and forth from DNA to RDA by action of the correct enzymes. A DNA sequence is read by an RNA polymerase, which produces a complementary, antiparallel RDA strand. As opposed to DNA replication. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur. The set of enzymes made in a cell determines which metabolic pathways occur in cell. Metabolic pathways are series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. In each pathway, a principal chemical is modified by a series of chemical reactions, enzymes catalyze these reactions, and often require dietary minerals, vitamins, and other cofactors in order to function properly. This is why it is like playing poker, with peoples lives. If you have a mutation gene, or a vitamin deficiency, it can make champix not work how it should, interferes with transcription of the gene, resulting in a deficiency of the protein encoded in that gene. Once brain cells die you don t make them again. This is why people need to have a gene analysis done before they take this tablet, because without one, you would not know who it is going to affect and who it is not.

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I totally agree with you. I would never recommend Chantix to anyone.

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Re: free again (# 8)

I first took chantix almost 3 years ago along with working out and a fairly big change in lifestyle. It worked awesome! ..but I relapsed and went off for over a year. ..Started chantix again the same dosage with massively different effects, I went DARK..suicidal, angry unmotivated... so bad I reported to health Canada through my pharmacy.

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I took Champix. It has since erased any ability for me to have short term memory. I wish I had never taken it. It is like a piece of my brain has been taken out.

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I would like to hear more about what type of acupuncture he used. I asked my acupuncturist about it and he denied it would be helpful for smoking cessation but I would rather pursue it if I had more info. A safer way to go, etc.

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What is a Amen clinic?

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Three and a half years ago I stopped smoking crack cocaine.After being clean for 90 day I felt great so I decided to try and quit smoking.I took Chantix.I became so depressed that i relapsed for a couple of months.i I stopped the Chantix, resumed smoking,and I am clean for three years now.But I am STILL depressed.If you are a recovering addict and want to quit smoking,do it cold turkey Do Not Take Chantix!

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I took Chantix in 2010, and I did indeed quit smoking during that time. I did also develop depression during that time. I was trying to plan a way for me to kill myself and still have my life insurance policies pay out. In a moment of clarity I called my doctor and was prescribed Wellbutrin and stopped taking the Chantix. I started smoking again and the depression has never left. It has gotten so much worse. I am now in therapy and seeing a psychiatrist. I have tried every SSRI, with no good results. The side effects of those medications are so awful for me that I can't get through the first week of treatment. I am also taking Buspar, which helps just a bit. The depression is worsening and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I even remembered that this all started when I was taking the Chantix. I am afraid that this might be a permanent issue. I know when I was taking Chantix, not only did it make smoking unappealing, but it made everything including breathing unappealing. Soon after stopping the Chantix (a month or so) I stopped wanting to die, but I haven't been happy since.

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I took chantix and now for several week have severe anxiety and panic attacks that they havnt been able to regulate as of yet.

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Hi Laura and Riegan
not sure what you are talking about? Perhaps too deep for me? but I would really like to know more about Rhodiola Rosea....Please in Layman's terms...
thanks much!

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My brother in law is exhibiting long term side affects from taking chantix. You posted in a 2012 form discussing this problem that there may a neurobiological cause. Please reply to this if you have additional on the possibility that this is true. Thanks for any information you may have.

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MNKISLAND... if u can find a supplement with Rosea Rhodiola in it, and you take those, you will feel a change for the best, within a week or so. If u post again, when I get home from work I will tell u what the supplement I had, is. But in the interim, contact a health store and ask for one with the highest dosage of this great herb. Good luck.

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I've been experiencing ongoing dizziness/vertigo/balance issue/ringing in my ears/angry outbursts/ and high levels of anxiety/memory loss/bad headaches since April 2014. My doctor initially thought it was the result of a mild concussion. The symptoms have not gone away, in fact, have gotten much worse as time has gone on. Considering that, I started researching, and came across many sites loaded with many people experiencing the same issues. I too, have been on Chantix (twice - once back in 2011, and then again, started taking it a week before I hit my head in April 2014). I stopped taking it after 8 weeks, thinking that it may be adding to the symptoms of my head hit.

I then started to realize, I have been experiencing these symptoms since the first time I tried it. The symptoms were not very pronounced after the first try, but since the second try, these symptoms have gotten much worse. I'm at the point now where I can barely function some days. I am now convinced that Chantix has ruined my life instead of making it better.

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I too have the same issues with violent anger, depression etc avyear after taking chantix, my life is no longer the same

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Get out of there now. My husband started getting violent mood swings and said horrofic hurtful things to me and the kids. He never got physically violent but came close. He stopped months ago but he's not the same person anymore. It's quite sad. Go to a safe place and tell him to stop taking it.

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I have spent 4 years of hell from taking champix. I didn't realise the change it at the time but I was severely depressed and mood swings and became violent against my loved ones. I am not normally that temperament. They say smoking is dangerous to your health but in hindsight the massive amount of destruction that I have left over the past 4 years has been a night mare. I finally realised the consequences on boxing day after I violently left my husband and spat the dummy big time. It was the worse thing I did. Over the past 3 months I am finally getting it back together. I stopped taking the champix but have had to go on anti depressants. I am doing a lot of self hypnosis on anxiety and habits and I am finally starting to feel a peacefulness again. Luckily my husband knew it wasn't the real me and has also taken me back. Even my 16 year old daughter told me I had become a psychopath. For all those in the dark. It is hard work, you have to start a gratitude diary and do lots of self hypnosis when going to sleep and then slowly you start feeling like yourself again.

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