Helen’s Story
Hello there, My name is Helen and I am a single mum of two very amazing children. I nearly lost my life and leaving them without a mum thanks to Chantix or as it is known in Australia Champix. At this very moment I am fighting to keep myself together for them. On Thursday night, after being on Champix for only three weeks and having quit the medication for a week I suffered the most horrible moment in my life. I couldn’t cope with anything anymore I rang my ex-husband to come and pick up the kids { he lives at the top of Australia I’m at the bottom}. I rang my current partner who was several hundred kilometres away and told them both and my kids that I didn’t want to live anymore. What the hell? Even in some of my darkest moments I have always been able to find a positive. Not only did I frighten everybody I scared the living hell out of myself.
If that is hard enough to cope with I have all the other symptoms as well. Dry mouth, sleep disturbances, paranoia, tingling in my face and right hand, tremors in my hands, gastric problems and I’m certain menstruation was due over a week ago. Last night whilst I was trying to sleep again…..I ruptured a blood vessel in my leg so my knee is black. I’m also losing weight which I don’t need as I am only 48 kilos as it is. I am a nurse by trade and cannot get how It can be that a very slim woman and a man of double the size can be given the same dose! What amazes me even more is there is nothing you can do to help with the symptoms except just ride it out. I’d rather be towed out the back of a huge wave with a boogie board and know that I don’t swim very well than go through this crap.
If it wasn’t for the support of my ex{who is here looking after the kids} and my current partner is doing is best to look after me even though I sometimes have another melt down over nothing I don’t know if I’d still be here now. Thank you so much for providing this site to vent my feelings and for providing so much info on Chantix. Up until I read it I really thought I was a nut case who needed to head for the nearest Psychiatric hospital
