Champix
What happend after I took Champix:
Well for the first two weeks of taking Champix, I decided I would need to remove all stress from my life. So i went took a house out in the country by the beach where i could just relax for the next few months, while I FINALLY quit smoking after being a pack a day addict since i was 18years old. i was now 31 and sick of the habit.
I had tried:
patches which helped (mostly - but i would still have about 5 a day)
hypnotherapy (didnt work)
Cutting back to benson and hedges 1mg (white) cigarettes - kind of worked but i still smoked the whole pack in a day but obviously i was getting my levels down.
Cold turkey - with herbal cigarettes - no nicotine - after 5 days woke up in bed in tears and HAD to have a cigarette - couldnt take it anymore
After all that i was sick of it and decided to finally give up and go on Champix.
Within the first 3 days I noticed I wasn’t enjoying cigarettes and cut back to about 10. Within the first 7 days of Champix, I’d cut back to about 5 - but now the side effects were kicking in:
Incredibly lazy, could barely get off the couch, falling asleep all the time.
Nausea straight after taking the tablet even if taken with food
Spaced out head - short term memory loss, i would forget what i was doing from the kitchen to lounge room in a matter of seconds.
Completed the two weeks dose and stopped for a month and a half or so.
Then thought “Im still smoking- now only 5 a day - Im going to try this again”, and went back on Champix for another 2-3 weeks.
This time the side effects were even worse. I became incredibly depressed, felt sick to my stomach and the sucidial ideation kicked in along with long term memory loss - barely knew what my name was or what i was doing half the time
Being a yoga student, i know how to battle with my thoughts and kept a zen like “these are just passing thoughts” attitude to the whole thing. But they’ve never gone away. I still feel bad ALL the time and continue to battle with these thoughts and depression that i cant control. I eventually just became numb, both mentally and physically.
I dropped a very heavy LCD tv on my stomach when it fell out of my car - while moving house - ended up with a giant black and blue bruise on my stomach - but didn’t feel a thing.
It would take a lot for me to be able to feel anything physically to the point it was dangerous.
I thought this wont last its just while Im taking the drug - once its out of my system everything will return to normal. NO IT DIDNT.
In 2013, within around 5 months after completing the two courses of Champix, I tried to go back to my normal life in the city but being so forgetful, “out of it” and literally stupid - I just couldn’t.
Well at this point my breasts had also enlarged to DD’s, my periods had become regular to 28days after previously being irregular and scattered anywhere from 30 to 32 to 37 day cycles and a small pea sized lump appeared at the bottom of my left nipple. “Apparently” just an adenoma and nothing to worry about. But it wasn’t.
Champix had messed with my endocrine system and i was now having estrogen overdose and dominance that was not being controlled.
Its now 2018 and in January i was diagnosed with Breast Cancer Stage IV, DCIS invasive that has apparently spread to my bones.
Im still stupid, lazy, tired all the time with memory loss along with a breast cancer diagnosis.
Nikki I am super sorry to hear this. I also feel I have experienced permanent damage from being on Champix (not breast cancer but mood disorder triggered by Champix use). I am so sorry about what you've experienced. For me, it was last year when I decided to quit smoking - I had been smoking for 17 years (I am 36) and nothing had worked. I realized I was using as a crutch for stress and anxiety, and when I began dating a wonderful, really relaxed guy who didn't smoke I decided it was time to quit for once and for all. I decided to go on champix and it worked like a charm. Within the first week I was down to one cigarette a day, then nothing. I kept taking champix in spite of strong nausea when taking the tablet (manageable) and crazy dreams (no biggie). Then after a month on the pills I decided I no longer needed them. Then my dog got sick and within a few days she passed away from a very aggressive form of cancer. I went straight back to smoking, thinking it was relatively easy to quit last time, this time should be no problem, i'll just let myself have a cheat week/month/3 months.
However, using Champix this time did not agree with me at all. Wild mood swings, aggression, violent outbursts (I didn't physically harm anyone or myself but felt like it), wanted to throw things across the room, burst into tears, felt depressed, angry, discouraged, and suicidal on pretty much a daily basis. My poor boyfriend was put through the wringer. In my more irritable moments I unleashed crazy fury at him for no reason, yelling, saying horrible horrible things, then afterwards by the time I'd come to my senses I'd apologize, feel terrible, hate myself, not understand where the outburst came from, want to break up with him so he wouldn't have to deal with me, just wanted to die. Life became so hard.
That's when I started to read up on Champix - side effects, issues and severe changes in mood, etc. I was bewildered since it had worked relatively well the first time. I decided to go off of it immediately, but the issues continued even after months of not being on champix. I try so hard not to blow up at my boyfriend but I feel out of control sometimes. I feel like my emotions have strapped me into a crazy out of control roller coaster and I can't get out. I know this is NOT ME. I've always been a warm loving person, patient, kind (I mean I get frustrated but not like this). I've read stories of people who developed mood disorders from being on champix, and it persisted long after they went off of it. Perhaps this is something that champix triggers? I don't know. All I know is my quality of life has been severely affected... I wish I could go back in time and never have taken it. Now I am considering starting anti-anxiety meds because that is where we are at... And before people start commenting... I exercise literally every day (to help with anxiety/stress) and I eat well, vegetarian, lots of fruits and veggies, don't drink coffee or much alcohol, and try to meditate daily with varying levels of success. I know my body and I know this all began with champix. It's possible that my mood has been severely affected by quitting smoking or losing my dog but you would think my behaviors wouldn't be this affected for this long??
Hang in the Nikki... I hope you can find some peace... and that you have the love and support of family friends and loved ones xo
Thanks for your reply. I have the same mood disorder going on and don't remember really being like that before champix! It is a rollercoaster and you can't control it. But honestly it's the least of my current problems lol I just ride those waves and yell and my ex bf would find me hilarious and just make me laugh and I would realise how nuts I was being lol (we broke up for other reasons btw lol - I think...maybe not)
I believe the mood disorders made me take irrational decisions and i kept trying to find a way to feel good and balanced somehow anyway. Very bi-polar.
But the fatigue was the worst when I first had Champix that along with a lot of stiffness in my hips and absolute laziness. Which has not stopped. However this may have been the cancer beginning.
All we can hope for is the scientific FACT that EVERY CELL in your body is entirely replaced every 7-9YRS. If we detox by juicing etc we can rid our bodies more quickly of drug residue as drugs are stored in the fat cells of the body. I don't know what else to do. So I'm vegan now with a bit of fish and do daily green smoothies etc. I really hope this doesn't last beyond 7yrs! I'm on 6yrs come June.
Honestly it needs to be taken off the market - they're messing around with processes in the brain and body that are crucial to health and balance. And they really don't understand how it works.
I can't see the logic in stimulating nicotine receptor sites in the brain when nicotine has a direct link to breast cancer.
Additionally if you already have a small cancer tumor that you are not aware of - the stimulation that nicotine causes- by the drug or smoking -on the receptors also stimulates the proliferation of cancer tumors cells - causing it to grow bigger.
In small doses such as a few cigarettes your body can cope and detox. At high doses such as in constant stimulation as champix does, the body can't keep up and it just goes whacko.
I'm baffled how the scientists believed this drug was a good idea? It doesn't even make logical sense?! NO LOGIC?
My conclusion is that "pill nation" encouraged by doctors and pharmaceutical companies- where you can fix everything with a pill is absolute rubbish!
Addictions and smoking in particular are a mind body spirit addiction. Everything needs to be assesed and balanced - hormones, stress, thyroid issues - WHATS THE REASON YOU ARE SMOKING??? Not just "heres a pill thatll do".
It's proof of how incompetent the health industry is in providing us with real supported, guided, knowledgeable solutions to our problems.
Maybe a cancer screening test is needed before using champix or a breast CELL inhibitor is offered with champix for women in particular. Mental health assessments for people with any possible history of disturbed thoughts. However it seems mentally healthy people are suddenly becoming very sick after champix.
I think Just get rid of champix. There's just too many awful stories and the list of people damaged by it continues to grow. Only problem- its PFIZER's (the pharmaceutical company that makes it) BIGGEST MONEY MAKER! Theyre known for being very aggressive in the market.
So we may have trouble finishing this one and getting it removed.
Honestly it's not the way to quit smoking. The price is too high
Xxxx