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It's Chantix, not Chantax. And that article is misleading to extremes.
Here's the real answer:
Dangerous drugs to beware of: ANY drugs that don't mix with your own personal physiology. If you have a risk of blood clots, you shouldn't take any birth control pills. ALL birth control pills come with a risk of blood clots, among other things. And, they are all known to reduce acne. That's why the pharmaceutical companies came up with the idea in the first place. Acne reduction was a known side-effect of the Pill, and has been known for several decades by patients and by the doctors who prescribed it.
I took Chantix for almost three weeks. Other than being gassy and feeling vaguely distant and "off" emotionally, I was fine, and have been smoke-free for going on three years as a result. These drugs all come with warnings letting the patient know about the risks. There is no secret to any of them. Even the antidepressants now all have black box warnings, and detailed information in the patient info sheet. It's the responsibility of the patient to read this information.
Scare tactics aside, it's important that people read the information when they're prescribed medications. And it's important that they ask questions. And it's important to let the doctor know of ALL the drugs you're taking - even if they're illegal. People have died from mixing prescription meds that their doctors knew about, with meds that their doctor didn't know about - all because the patient chose not to tell the doctor about it.
The responsibility is on the patient to educate himself - not just by reading scary stories on the internet, but by researching the sources of those stories. And by first checking the actual official documentation that comes with the medication itself. You'd be surprised at how much of the information on some of these fear-mongering sites isn't news at all, and is well-documented as known risks for taking those meds. It's not shocking news, in other words. It's stuff you would've known about if you had simply read the patient information sheet.
There's been a surge of ads for Abilify and Seroquel, both antipsychotics, being used to "augment" antidepressants. This is misleading and dangerous, not to mention useless. OK, so I take Seroquel, but not for depression. It's a shame that the FDA doesn't step in and do something. These drugs really shouldn't be marketed direct-to-consumer, anyways.
There's been a surge of ads for Abilify and Seroquel, both antipsychotics, being used to "augment" antidepressants. This is misleading and dangerous, not to mention useless. OK, so I take Seroquel, but not for depression. It's a shame that the FDA doesn't step in and do something. These drugs really shouldn't be marketed direct-to-consumer, anyways.
My Pdoc gave me Seroquel once for bi-polar depression and I thought I was going to die. That stuff is STRONG!!! I've never taken anything like that which could make me so "out of it". I sure wouldn't recommend it to anyone. This drug should not be marketed direct-to-consumer because the average consumer probably doesn't know the strength of this medication and what it will do.
My Pdoc gave me Seroquel once for bi-polar depression and I thought I was going to die. That stuff is STRONG!!! I've never taken anything like that which could make me so "out of it". I sure wouldn't recommend it to anyone. This drug should not be marketed direct-to-consumer because the average consumer probably doesn't know the strength of this medication and what it will do.
The whole thing really boils down to using (and doctors prescribing) medications for appropriate reasons.
Seroquel might have been totally inappropriate for you, which was why you had such a severe response to it. But someone who actually -needs- it for psychosis treatment, might not have the same response, and might respond positively.
Perfect example: a relative of mine has epilepsy, and has to take Dilantin every day to control it. Once, I had a migraine. And the relative dug into their little pill box to give me a tylenol cap. Not paying attention to what I was taking, I swallowed it quickly. It turned out to be a Dilantin. Needless to say, I was zoned out for several hours, more or less incapacitated. And yet, my relative experiences none of this when he takes them, and in fact would end up having grand mal seizures if he didn't take them. The only thing he experiences when he takes them - is a decisive lack of seizures.
Any drug that has neurological effects can produce odd results in people who don't actually need them.
I think Chantix is much safer than smoking cigarettes that's for sure. Personally, I think it's amazing how any educated person this day and age can ever start to and continue to smoke.
I'm lucky Big Pharma has not shoved any of these pills down my throat....or any others for that matter. I believe we shove our medicines down our own throat.
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