Chantix and thyroid problems

[kitty5095]

Chantix is a drug to quit smoking and works on the neurotransmitters in the brain.  After I took this drug for two months my thyroid problems kicked in.  I did have a nodule pre-Chantix, but it was being watched and there was no growth.  Now I'm having big-time thyroid problems.  Went to a x-mas party and two other women had thyroid problems, fibromyalgia type symptoms also.  Any others out there with similar scenarios???

[Barb135]

When you smoke - the nicotine attaches to the "feel good" receptors in your brain - that's why it's so satisfying to have a cigarette.  Chantix basically does the same thing - it attaches to those same "feel good" receptors so the nicotine can't, which makes smoking pointless...........

I took Chantix, beginning in Aug 2007 after having smoked for over 40 years.  I had a choice of quitting smoking or not being able to talk due to excess tissue build up on my vocal cords from a combination of smoking and acid reflux...........THAT was a no brainer........  I took the Chantix as prescribed, quit smoking and have been smoke free for 2 years as of Aug 13 ---- ........... In late 2007, I underwent 2 separate surgeries to remove the tissue from my vocal cords and for the first time in my adult life, I sound like a normal female instead of like a man and it doesn't hurt to actually MAKE sound.  

My thyroid was not dx'd until June 2008, but I'd had symptoms for many years - I believe flip flopping from hypER to hypO. *I* didn't know enough about thyroid issues to even KNOW the symptoms (shame on me) and no doctor ever picked up on it either - it was easier to pass out the script for Wellbutrin, Paxil, etc ----------

I had already begun to gain weight from my thyroid several months before I ever started on the Chantix - I managed to pack on about 30 pounds in just a matter of a few months - still no one attributed it to my thyroid.  It wasn't until I started researching "fatigue, weight gain, constipation, body aches/pains, hair loss" etc that I came up with THYROID and begged my doctor to let me get tested.......about that time, I found out that one of my sisters had also just been dx'd with hypO - and she never took Chantix........

My husband also started on Chantix, then read some of the side effects (mainly depression - which he deals with anyway) so he got scared and quit taking it.  He's still smoking.  

I know Chantix has some pretty rough side effects, and like all meds, it affects different people in different ways.  The worst side effect I had was the constipation - but was that really from the Chantix or the thyroid??  I still have that problem (constipation) and haven't taken Chantix for nearly 2 years.

Was the Chantix instrumental in worsening my thyroid symptoms to the point I was at just prior to being dx'd???  I can't answer that - but if it WAS instrumental in worsening my symptoms, I guess I'd have to be thankful because otherwise I might still not be dx'd ---------  

Oh - I also find it interesting that since I've been dx'd with hypo/hashi's and am getting my thyroid issues under control, I'm off ALL the meds for my acid reflux - and I took aciphex, which is one of the newest, strongest for at least 6 years prior to being dx'd........Oh, the fights I had with insurance because they didn't want to pay for aciphex (they finally quit paying anything for it and it was all out of pocket - $235/mo) and it's new enough not to have a generic, but was the only thing that worked for me.  Now if I do get an occasional bout (maybe every couple weeks or so) of acid reflux/heartburn/GERD - I take an OTC omeprazole and it goes away....coincidence??

[stella5349]

Chantix inhibits the function of the pitutiary to doing it optimal job - when it doesn't properly tell the thyroid to pump correctly the body falls thyroid ill.

Chantix is not good for the thyroid and there are studies supporting that.

YES - smoking also is linked again to the thyroid - it a stimulant - just like Chantix - except it stimulates opposite ways. Smoking is linked to Graves disease antibodies TSI and TSII - so eventually Graves will rear it's head and eat the he// out of the thyroid until it loses it function entirely and you are now hypothyroid permanently. That is if the Graves doesn't read to hard and kill you with cardio failure.

My point is : - ANY co inhibitors of brain function regardless of the meds WILL CAUSE endocrine and hormonal failure. Stay clear of those drugs and quit cold turkey. Dealing with the withdrawal is better than dealing with organ failure.

[yoopie]

I don't think the CHANTIX is to blame for your thyroid problem.

Back in 1998 I quit smoking.  I just cut back and then quit...no patches, no pills, nothing.  Within 3 months of quitting smoking, it was discovered that my thyroid was conking out and I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism.

I did take up smoking again but recently I quit and used Chantix.
I will say that I did feel the Chantix may have inhibited the absorbtion of my thyroid meds because I did feel more fatigue and fibromyalgia pains.

My point is...I will agree Chantix has some not so fun side effects (bloating, mild nausea) but I don't think the CHANTIX is causing any of you to have thyroid problems....there is a long history and LINK between smoking and thyroid issues WITHOUT Chantix being involved.  So, do your research and overall I used Chantix for two weeks.  I have now been a non smoker for 10 days.  I just needed the Chantix for that initial push and it has helped and I do not intend to ever pick up another cigarette to smoke again.

Thanks for reading.

*Yoopie*

[Cynnieb4]

thanks for the posts, ill just be doing it cold turkey LOL:)

[Katatak]

The first time I took Chantix was in March 2007...and I had no idea that it could cause such neck stiffness/pain IF you did not drink enough fluids while on the medication!  On Mother's Day I was in the ER being given a muscle relaxer by injection because my neck was so locked up I couldn't move it at all.  

So, I waited quite a while and gave it another go early January 2008...by January 14th I was drinking tons of fluid and marked my 1st full day without smoking.  At about 2 weeks in the nightmares stopped...and about 6 weeks in I quit taking the Chantix completely...It was causing me to be horribly sick to my stomach in the evenings...the daytime dosage didn't bother me though...thinking I needed a full stomach to tolerate the med.

I've been smoke free since and been thankful for it at least giving me the boost I needed to make it through the rough patches.

I do not have a thyroid anymore...so I wonder if maybe that is why it didn't effect me.

Kat

[pen887]

I took Chantix and I too was diagnosed with Hyperthyroid. My heart races and now I take a medication for that and my doctor increased my B/P medication, can not sleep at night, and I gained at least 20lbs. I now take medication to treat my hyperthyroid disease. This week I will have a stress test to see if there is any other reason my heart is racing. My neck becomes very stiff and it hurts, and my doctor told me to take Ibuprofen for the pain. I did stop smoking for two months, but once I started feeling like s---. I stop the Chantix.  My brother took Chantix for two weeks and quit, without any side effects, and he smoked for 40 yrs. I will never take this medication again, and I would not recommend this medication to anyone.