Q. My boyfriend and I both wanted to quit smoking, so we asked for a prescription for Chantix about a month ago. The first week was fine, but then things got nasty.
One night I got upset and tried to kill myself. This is not like me, since I have two young kids. My mother committed suicide and I never want to do that to them. My boyfriend restrained me but it took a while for me to calm down.
I was still quite moody, and a few nights later I tried to kill myself again. At that point my boyfriend bashed my head into the concrete floor, which is totally unlike him.
He stopped taking Chantix after that and soon returned to the loving caring man that he is. I continued to take the drug and feel suicidal.
Tonight, after overdosing on Chantix, I looked up what happens when you do and found lots of stories from others who have had trouble with violent or suicidal feelings. Doctors really need to warn patients about this.
A. Doctors must caution patients about the side effects of this stop-smoking medicine. You should have been warned about symptoms such as agitation, hostility, depression or thoughts of suicide. If such symptoms arise, the drug should be stopped and the doctor contacted immediately.
