Girlfriend Blames Chantix for Violent Episode
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In the wake of the shooting death of Sorta keyboardist, Carter Albrecht, last Monday, more attention has been given to the stop smoking aid Chantix. Chantix is a prescription medication that was approved last year to assist people in quitting smoking. Users almost always describe changes in their dreams, which they have nicknamed "Chantix dreams."
While some only report crazy dreams, others have reported fits of depression and suicidal thoughts. There are a slew of warnings for the drug including "suicidal ideation" and "psychotic disorder" but serious side effects claim to be rare. There has been no link in studies to bouts of rage, but there also have not been extensive studies with alcohol and Chantix being combined.
Experts say that alcohol mixed with the drug could cause strange reactions and possibly even delusions. Albrecht had apparently beat up his girlfriend before approaching the nieghbor's house where he was eventually shot and killed while trying to kick in the door. The girlfriend, Ryan Rathbone, says that she believes that Chantix is to blame. She claims that he has never been abusive to her and that he was displaying incoherent thoughts.
"He was saying weird, off-the-wall stuff that didn't match our conversation," Ms. Rathbone said. "I think because I didn't understand, he started to get mad at me. It didn't make sense." She said they were home about 10 minutes when he became out of control. "He wanted to leave, and I didn't want him to drive," she said. "He already didn't know who I was at that point. I didn't want him going anywhere."
That's when he began to hit her, she said. "He didn't even realize he was hurting me. He had no idea. He was saying the same kinds of stuff that didn't make sense. It was like he was in a dream."
While there is no hard eveidence that the drug had anything to do with the actions of the slain musician many personal accounts claim that there are some very strange things going on with people on Chantix. Police and the FDA say that they will be looking further into the matter but have no conclusive eveidence at this point in time.
For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.