[purplesage]

I'm a bipolar, and take Lamictal, Seroquel and now lithium. I've been taking the first two for about 2 years now, with moderate success. Life was mostly livable.

Then I decided to quit smoking. To increase my chances of success I took Chantix / Champix (generic Varenocline, I believe). Well... after about a week I started having the time of my life - utter, total, unstoppable euphoria! Running at the mouth to no end! Inappropriate everything!

In other words, I was having a serious manic episode. I didn't recognize it as such because my mania is expressed as anger, rage and irritability -- only once have I had the classic euphoric mania, and that was when an idiot doctor prescribed me an SSRI. This was the other time, and I didn't recognize it at the time.

Well, now I'm off Chantix / Champix, depressed as hell, and actually went to a lawyer to get my will made out (I'm in my 30s). I am seriously, seriously, screwed.

My doctor said (afterwards, of course) that while Chantix / Champix isn't contraindicated for bipolar that's to be expected since drug companies use essentially perfectly healthy people for their trials.

He also said that I'm the 6th patient he's had go on Champix / Chantix, and that two of us (in the same week) simply flew off the handle. And I can't emphasize how much I flew off the handle in this case - it was UNPRECEDENTED for me.

So stay the hell away from this drug -- you're safer smoking yourself to death than using this garbage to quit and then going suicidal.