Chantrix is a stop smoking drug, so as much as I don't trust pharmaceuticals, I have to wonder if it is the drug that causes violent behavior - or the nicotine withdrawal.
If you've ever tried to quit smoking - or have quit - you probably remember feeling just a bit hostile.
Nevertheless, our newspaper doctor said this week that Chantrix is known to make people violent - even with people they dearly love - and that particular side effect can be accelerated by using alcohol while taking it. So, if you're trying to quit and taking Chantrix, be aware of mood swings. If you start screaming at people you love or punching holes in the wall, go back to your doctor and ask for something different.
Too Many Pills!
In another Q&A, a woman wrote to ask if her Mother's prescriptions might be causing her forgetfulness and dizziness. Then she listed 12 prescriptions the poor woman was taking every day. The doctor's reaction was that some of those drugs weren't even appropriate for an elderly person, and that several of them could cause her symptoms - most especially when taken with the others.
That letter made me think of my Grandmother and what she went through before she changed doctors. I don't know if she was taking a dozen pills - it might have been 20. But she was becoming progressively sicker during my teen years. She even had monthly blood transfusions, and had pretty much withdrawn from everyone. She told me later that she had quit talking because she figured she was dying and so why get interested in anything.
Then, her doctor couldn't think of any more pills to push (this was 40+ years ago, remember), so referred her to a blood specialist.
He took her off everything and began trying just one remedy at a time until he found what worked. And... I got my Grandmother back. We enjoyed her company, and her involvement in our lives for almost another 30 years.
My wish for everyone is to find a doctor like him - dedicated to helping patients be well.
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