Ouch!

Help. :o

Last Friday was my last dose of Chantix. Yippee, right. Well, my elbow joint, right now feels like it is on fire and hurts worse than a toothache.

Can I be experiencing joint pain as a result of the Chantix leaving my system. I just took some advil, but it hurts so darn bad I can barely see straight. It runs from my elbow down to my fingers.


Thank you.

p.s. Chantix is the medicine that helps you to stop smoking.

I'd type more, but it hurts :(

I cannot see where this could be the cause of your pain AH dear.

Because it is relatively new, it is not in my 2007 Mosby's Drug Reference so I did some digging on the internet and I do not see this as a withdrawal symptom. However, since it is so new, it may be a symptom that has not yet been reported, or possibly under reported.

You may want to try calling your pharmacist on this one as s/he will have all of the latest up-to-date info on Chantix.

J_9,

I was going to SOS you specifically. I was going to hit the Looney bin next looking for you, LOL.

Great idea about calling the pharmisist. The advil is helping. Boy, I really don't like medicine at all :)

J_9 thank you so much for responding so fast. After I hit send, I put my head on my desk and said, J_9, where are you? I need you :):).

Thanks again. I will let you know what the pharmasist says.

WoW that was a pleasant call. The lady was so nice.

The pharmasist said that he is going to research it and for me to call back. Just like you had said J_9, the medicine is so new, not a whole lot is known. He didn't hear of joint aches, but is going to look into it.

Kind of scares me a little, taking a med that is so new. Anyway, I truly do appreciate J_9 and will share whatever I do find out.

Thanks again

AH, you are one of the most wonderful caring individuals I have met. Even if I had been in clinicals all day I would have heard you calling and come running to your aid.

Advil does work wonders, when that wears off you might want to try some Aleve, I heard that works really well.

Please keep me posted on what he says. I love to learn about new meds.

Oh J_9 I wish I could give you a hug. Thank you so much!! I really was going to send up smoke signals for you, but I didn't want to get any monkey special treatement :).

Thinking of calling my docs office as well. Just to see if they heard anything.

Maybe alls it really means is I really do belong in the Looney bin. And that's okay, because I love it there :).

I will pick up some Aleve as well.

Thanks again J-9.

Well I ended up call Chantix themselves. (877-242-6849) Boy, they were sure very very pleasant. Here's what they told me:

Joint pain has been reported, during the studies, while people are taking Chantix.
When finishing Chantix, increased irratability has been reported.

Now, being the backwards person that I am, this makes sense. I feel less crabby being off the medicine and all of my joints started aching once I stopped Chantix, with my right elbow craving most of the attention. The very nice lady at Chantix (who was a pharmasist) said it takes 5 -7 days for the medicine to leave your system. Today is day 7 for me, so I guess it is going out with a bang.

Hopefully it will all works its way out. In the meantime, I will take the Aleve.

J-9 - Again thanks so much. Felt so good to have someone and where to go to :).

I have just finished 3 months of Chantix also, and am smoke free. After my 3rd day off I started severe joint and muscle pain. My knees and ankles hurt so bad I can hardly walk. My elbows, wrists and hands hurt also. I went to my Dr. I have no arthritis. Last night I went to Google and found this site: Joint and muscular pain after taking chantix - Page 3 - WrongDiagnosis Forums (http://forums.wrongdiagnosis.com/showthread.php?t=2301&page=3)

I couldn't believe it! Many other people experiencing the same thing! Shouldn't Pfizer start addressing some of these issues? I called them and they said my case was "very isolated" and they did not know of any others. After reading the website I say BULL! I'm wondering now if I should have tapered off instead of just quitting? Should I start back again? This is just awful, I feel like I am 80 years old. I normally exercise and run each day but now I can hardly make it from room to room. I am really at a loss as what to do. Any advice would be very welcome. Thanks in advance.

I have just finished 3 months of Chantix also, and am smoke free. After my 3rd day off I started severe joint and muscle pain. My knees and ankles hurt so bad I can hardly walk. My elbows, wrists and hands hurt also. I went to my Dr. I have no arthritis. Last night I went to Google and found this site: Joint and muscular pain after taking chantix - Page 3 - WrongDiagnosis Forums (http://forums.wrongdiagnosis.com/showthread.php?t=2301&page=3)

I couldn't believe it! Many other people experiencing the same thing! Shouldn't Pfizer start addressing some of these issues? I called them and they said my case was "very isolated" and they did not know of any others. After reading the website I say BULL! I'm wondering now if I should have tapered off instead of just quitting? Should I start back again? This is just awful, I feel like I am 80 years old. I normally exercise and run each day but now I can hardly make it from room to room. I am really at a loss as what to do. Any advice would be very welcome. Thanks in advance.


Oh bless you bless you bless you. I hope you don't mind, but I am a very passionate perosn and I am now going to give you a big hug (... ). I thought I was plum losing my mind and coming here and talking it out with J_9 really helped me.

First, congrats on stop smoking. The pain will subside - I promise you. It took about 10 days for my body to deal with not having Chantix in it anymore. My husband was so worried thinking I was having a stroke. My right arm looked like that because the elbow hurt so bad. I honestly was near tears.

I took Advil and I think J_9 said alleve is good as well. Try and not stay stiff. Take walks if you can. Or just try and get some rest. I promise you it will pass.

DO NOT GO BACK TO SMOKING!! If you do, you will make me smoke :D

Here's another hug. Please continue to let us know how you are feeling.

My best to you,
Allheart

I was checking out online what had to be said about Chantix as well because my Dr prescribed it. I have tried EVERY other way to quit smoking and was not successful. Now, that may be me because I have the weakest will on earth. Anyway, after reading what it said on some of the web sites, I wonder if this drug is too new to take the chance. Those poor people on wrongdiagnosis.com were miserable to say the least. I am on my 3rd day and I have no problems so far except a few bizarre dreams and moodiness. I just pray that this time I will be able to kick this awful addiction for good. I am sooo sick of smelling like an ashtray and feeling like an outcast, not to mention looking forward to all the illnesses that smoking causes! I commend anyone out there that can value your life enough to endure whatever symptoms you go through to stop smoking(or drinking and drugs for that matter!) I know that prayer is powerful so that is my avenue. God bless and congrats on your success! Hang in there!

Try Hylaronic acid. I take it all the time so my knees don't creak. Vets give it to race horses. I buy mine at Wal Marts in the vitamin aisle. It takes about a month to build up in your system but your joints feel like brand new. It is good no matter what the cause and I take it all the time.
The spices turmeric and ginger are also good for joint pain.
Try drinking chamomile tea before bedtime too.
From what I am reading about Chantix on other sites, my guess is that the Chantix does not cause the joint pain but if your body is susceptible to joint pain the Chantix may flair it up.

I started taking chantix to quit a nitotine gum habit (40mgs a day).

I finished my three month chantix treatment 8 days ago. Since the day I finished my treatment I have felt terrible. Wondering if this is related to not taking chantix anymore. Wondering if these problems will go away soon?

I should say that I felt great while taking chantix, as it took away the nicotine cravings, my only minor side effects were nausea right after taking chantix, also sneezing about 30 minutes after taking.

Now that I am finished with the chantix I am experiencing major brain fog and tremors throughout my body. These are things I was suffering from before starting the chantix and they went right away while I was on chantix, now they are back with a vengeance! Anyone else experience this? I assumed the brain fog and tremors were related to the nicotine addiction and it's effect on my brain chemistry. I had hoped they would go away after quitting the nicotine. This is very troubling to me and really affects my ability to function at 100% (even at 75%)

As an aside, what I thought was an unrelated problem is a very painful right shoulder joint/muscle that started bothering me shortly aftyer starting the chantix. I never thought it was a side effect of the chantix until I read that others on chantix experienced joint/muscle pain. I am going to an Orthopedic specialist this week to get it checked out.

Hey Apple and Congrats!!

Oh how I ached like a fool after stopping. It lasted about two weeks. The pain was like a took ache in my elbows. I could barely move my hand from the pain.

It lasted about 2 weeks and then I was fine.

But, I would still write down your symptoms and call your doctor, just to be sure.

I wish you great success with stop smoking. It's been a little over a year for me and I miss them every day still, but I do physically feel better and refuse to go back.

All the best to you!!

My mom was on chantex. She read some real crazy stuff about it. Their supposed to stop perscribing people to that. It makes people real suicidal and its supposed to just be real bad for you. Be careful :]

I have read that too. They have a class action suit because of suicides related to it.

Please put in Google "joint pain Chantix" and begin to read the best thread on line in Wrong Diagnosis regarding the Pain associated with Chantix and the possibility of it becoming permanent. There are so many people with their life's changed, for the worse with the nonexistance testing of this poison. I am also a victom of Pfizer's newest money maker. Don't expect any doctor to side with you. Please read these threads and you will become very awakened.

Rene

Last Friday was my last dose of Chantix. Yippee, right. Well, my elbow joint, right now feels like it is on fire and hurts worse than a toothache.

Can I be experiencing joint pain as a result of the Chantix leaving my system. I just took some advil, but it hurts so darn bad I can barely see straight. It runs from my elbow down to my fingers.


Thank you.

p.s. Chantix is the medicine that helps you to stop smoking.

I'd type more, but it hurts :([/QUOTE]

There are a lot of problems associated with smoking which people face like problem with respiratory system, heart and many more. Chantix (http://www.chantixhome.com/) helps you to get over this smoking habit and it works on the body by giving you the same feel good effect as smoking and hence reduces the craving for nicotine. There is one thing which I would like to share and which helped me a lot initially, try having a glass of water when you feel craving the most. It a tough road but it's worth so best luck to all those who want to give up smoking.

:( Allheart hasn't been here in at least two months.
Hope she is doing okay.

I took Chantix to stop smoking and just celebrated six months smoke free. I was a slave to nicotine which is a natural rat poison, for 28 years and developed emphysema. Chantix does have side effects, like any med out there, read the warnings... talk to your doctor make sure you are being monitored. It helped me when nothing else has in all these years.
My goodness... look at all the garbage that is in cigarettes... talk about poison.

I started Chantix on Sept. 6th, two days after my 35th birthday. I took it just as prescribed and everything seemed to be going splendidly. I stopped smoking on the seventh day and didn't look back. The only side effects I noticed were: 1) Frequent Urination during the night. I mean every hour on the hour and sometimes twice an hour. 2) Restless Insomnia. I couldn't settle into sleep for anything. I was just restless, tossing and turning in bed. That really didn't matter to me seeing that I was urinating so often that if I could sleep I would probably just wake up soon after to pee. 3) Vivid Dreams. When I did manage to fall asleep I had very vivid dreams. This did not bother me, in fact I kind of dug it. I saw and talked to people in my dreams that I had not thought of in a long time. It was during week three, Sept. 27 to be exact, that I noticed something. As I took of my shirt in the morning to shower I noticed itchy hives all over my chest. They had to have popped up very quickly as they were not there earlier in the morning. I'm allergic to certain penicillin and that is exactly what it looked like to me. So I knew straight off that I was having some sort of an allergic reaction and since Chantix was the only medication I was on I put one and one together. I rushed to the doctor whom prescribed the Chantix. She said that she had never heard of this sort of thing happening and if it was the Chantix it seemed to her that it would have caused and allergic reaction sooner (suffice it to say I will never go to her again. It was like she was in the back pocket of pfizer pharmaceuticals, denying and denying). The nurse preceded to give me a shot of Kenalog (cortisone)and that stopped the itching. She also said to quit taking the Chantix and if in a week the hives were gone to go back on it! I couldn't believe what she was saying. She wanted me to go back on the very drug I was having an allergic reaction to! Un-freaking believable. I no longer have any doubt that this doctor was and is receiving some sort of benefit from pfizer. I quit the Chantix cold turkey. By 5:00 in the afternoon the itching started to come back and the worst was yet to come. I called the pharmacist and after I told him the story of my day he replied that I could take some benadryl to relieve the itching and that by tomorrow I should see a difference. I took two benadryl and sure enough the itching was somewhat relieved. But as I lay in bed a every nerve in my body gradually began to shoot off. It was like someone pricking me with a needle all over my body. It became constant. A prick on my arm then my side, my leg, my back, my other arm, my neck. It was almost unbearable. The benadryl relieved some of the itching but not this. I did not rest at all that night. Around 4:30 in the morning my nerves finally seemed to calm down. There were many times that night that I almost drove myself to the ER. The next day I noticed something else. My knees. Both knees were hurting. It was almost like I had developed severe arthritis over night. I couldn't believe it. It hurt to bend down, to go up or down stairs, even getting up off the couch hurt. I would moan like an old man and I had only been 35 for not even a month. It is now Oct. 4th and my knees are still very much hurting. I really do feel as if have aged 40 years in the matter of a week. I'm hoping that once my body finally purges itself of this dangerous drug that the pain will stop. The only hope I have is that it is because of the Chantix that I am this sore and in this much pain. Even when I move in bed my knees feel horribly sore. I read somewhere online that it takes 7-10 days for the Chantix to leave ones body. This is day 7. I pray that by the weekend I'll be pain free. I still have not smoked and don't plan on it. I'm going to take advantage of this situation as much as I can. Please don't take Chantix, I'm not sure if the pay off is worth it. Stop smoking, but please try another course of action. I will try to remember to update this in a few days. Please send out prayers or positive vibes to the universe that my knees will stop hurting. I'm only 35 and have a lot more years in front of me where I don't need my knees feeling like this. Thanks for reading and listening.

-Eric M.

Thank you for reporting your experience with this drug. Your experience may well help others.

Your experience with hives is listed as a Severe side effect of Chantix. (http://www.drugs.com/cdi/varenicline.html)


Chantix (varenicline) has some very serious side effects. See FDA mandated WARNING (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000351/). Anyone using this medication should be fully informed as to the possible side effects and carefully weigh the potential harm against the advantages.

In relation to the research that demonstrates the “effectiveness” of this drug is also important to know that “[a]lmost all of the trials were sponsored by the company that manufactures varenicline.” (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0005132/) reports the National Institutes of Health.

You allude to the influence of drug companies on the prescription practices of your physician. You are not alone. That has been a long shadow hanging over medical practice for years. In fact, this impression is so pervasive that beginning in 2013 any payment from a pharmaceutical company to a licensed physician must be reported. To a limited extent some information is currently available.

Check on drug company payments to your doctor. While the full force of the law is delayed until 2013, some companies are already reporting such payments. Some voluntarily. Some by court order. You can check the information available on your doctor by linking to:

Dollars for Docs - ProPublica (http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/)

Tying these factors together, varenicline has been associated with cardiovascular problems (http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm259161.htm) (just one of the many reported problems associated with this drug). However, 2010 research looked at this factor and determined “Varenicline is effective for smoking cessation in smokers with cardiovascular disease. It was well tolerated and did not increase cardiovascular events or mortality;” (http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/121/2/221.full)

Reading the abstract (summary) of this recent study (that's what most people do) would tend to dampen concern about cardiovascular events. However, at the end of the article you will find the now required disclosure. The study was funded by the manufacturer, Pfizer, and the lead researcher (and at least one other) have a previous history of payments from Pfizer.

Now enter the names of each researcher into the Dollars for Docs database (link above) for other payments made by Pfizer to the researchers. I believe you will find that a very substantial part of the scientific research demonstrating both efficacy and safety of Chantix involved two researchers, both of whom have a substantial history of payments from the manufacturer.

While payment from drug companies to scientific researchers (or practicing physicians) is not per se evidence of malfeasance such payments are a factor that should be given consideration by both prescribing physicians and patients.