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• January 26, 2010 4:43 p.m.

  I tried wellbutrin at one time to quit smoking. After the 2nd week on the stuff, I began to have feelings of abject hopelessness which I guess was depression. It was so bad that I quit the stuff and have never taken anything else. I still smoke and still setting the goal with ever cigar I smoke that it will be my last. However, I've read to not be too hard on myself and to keep trying and that's what I've been doing seems like forever now. These things are going to kill me if I can't beat them.

  - larry

• January 25, 2010 9:50 a.m.

  I took Chantix last January to quit smoking. I was on Lexapro at the time and was able to stop smoking, but it took my anxiety and depression into hyper-drive. I am now on Pristiq/Chlonopin and am nor doing well at all. Plus, I started smoking again. Stay away from Chantix if you have any doubts about how it will affect you. It has made a mess of me.

  - CAM

• January 5, 2010 9:57 a.m.

  I took Chantix about 3 years ago to quit smoking with tremendous success. I had not side effects whatsoever with the exception of vivid dreams. Unfortunately I started smoking again due to some personal issues after almost a year and just recently quit again. This time around I had ALOT of side effects from the Chantix...anxiety, depression, EXTREME irritability, and not listed - major chest pain (1 ER visit, thousands of dollars worth of chest and nothing is wrong) . I had to quit taking it after just 3 weeks. It did help me to quit smoking, but I could not continue to take it. I always thought people over exaggerated the side effects of Chantix. I mean, you are QUITTING SMOKING, of course your are going to be irritable, depressed, etc. I learned this time around, however, that these side effects can be very real. Don't know how it is that it effected me so intensely this time and not the last, but I do know both my parents took it and it worked wonders for them with absolutely no side effects at all. Bottom line, it can be a miracle drug for some but pretty bad for others sometimes. After just 3 days of quitting Chantix I felt a marked improvement in my mood...and have not started smoking again. I do credit Chanitx with helping me in my initial quit week, though. If you decide to take Chantix, just pay close attention to your mood and stop taking it if this happens to you.

  - Jessica

• December 31, 2009 5:02 p.m.

  I AM TAKING PRISTIQ FOR GENERALIZED ANXIETY & HAVE A PRESCRIPTION FOR CHANTRIX TO QUIT SMOKING; I WOULD LIKE REASSURANCE THAT THESE TWO DRUGS WILL NOT CAUSE ADVERSE INTERACTIONS. PLEASE ADVISE.

  - MARIE

• November 10, 2009 7:52 a.m.

  I wonder if the new personal vaporizers could help? I have researched them and they seem like a potentially powerful tool for smoking cessation, however, the existing eliquids are possibly over purified. The liquid contains only the nicotine and the other alkaloids are processed out. The result is that some smokers still have problems quitting altogether while others have no problem and some even quit using any nicotine in them. Possibly someone here could weigh in on the reason for that and the possible benefit to those trying to quit smoking.

  - frankie

• October 14, 2009 7:33 p.m.

  After a hysterectomy 10 years ago, I was put on depression medication in leu of estrogen. I used Chantix (for 6 weeks) 3 month ago, and I am a walking disaster. The chemical imbalance that my brain has created from Chantix, Lexapro, other meds. and the lack of nicotine in my system has turned my life inside out. I don't know who I am anymore. I became severely depressed, I was in the hospital for shortness of breath, blood pressure was high, chest pains etc. All checked out. I now have panic attacks, I can't think straight, it is effecting my work and my personal life. I have had suicidle thoughts but too stubborn for this to take me down. Yet I only have questions and no one really has answers. God Bless all of you and remember this: With addictions of any kind, we fight the same battle and it starts in our mind.

  - Bonnie

• October 14, 2009 1:15 p.m.

  While I was not aware any increase in depression I did experience severe chest pain. Contacting Cantix providers I was told there had been other reports of chest pain . Be aware.

  - Lynn

• October 6, 2009 2:52 p.m.

  10-07-09 Thanks for the warning on the products to stop smoking. I successfully quit in 1975 and did it by fasting, sweating, and water. It was rough a few days thereafter, but I continued with determination. There is no excuse for smoking something that can addict you to kill you. However, I did not know these products like Zyban could cause a person suicidal tendencies. Here is another one:Suppra. I just completed a food workshop. The product is made allegedly from cow milk and is better for us than those chemical sweetners? Suppra also can cause depression, and a few other things as well. Compound THAT with the zyban that causes the depression and you could be finishing the killing that the cigareetes were doing to you in the first place!

  - Valerie

• September 30, 2009 11:26 a.m.

  My husband has had a heart attack and a stroke and still smokes. He used Wellbutrin under the name Zyban to help him quit smoking before and it improved his mood tremedously. He was clinically depressed at the time and didn't know he was taking an antidepressant. Now after the stroke I'm afraid for him to try Wellbutrin again since it has a small chance of causes seizure. So does the brain damage from his stroke. Not a good mix. A therapist has been recommending the Chantrix to him, so I'm glad to see some information on it. Marcia is right, nicotine is a powerful addiction. It took our doctor 5 times to quit. I don't allow my husband to smoke in the house or anywhere around me. I'm sensitive to the smoke, and yes it stinks and when it's humid, it clings to his clothing. Sometimes I tell him to go back outside and air himself off. Quitting isn't easy. That's why there are so many products on the market to help smokers. But they have to be willing and ready to quit. My husband is down to 2-3 cigarettes/day. To me it seems silly not to quit now. But it's his body and his lungs. Just keep it away from me.

  - Anita

• September 29, 2009 3:04 p.m.

  I AM ON DEPRESSION MEDS AND TRIED TO TAKE CHANTIX. MY ADDITUDE, I WANTED TO SCREAM, I HATED EVERY THING THAT GOT IN MY WAY. THAT WAS NOT ME. WITH CHANTIX MY WHOLE THINKING CHANGED. SO BE CAREFUL TAKING CHANTIX.

  - MARCIA