Chantix And Very High Blood Sugar (Top voted first)

My husband started taking Chantix 3 weeks ago and is doing well with not smoking, however, he is a type 2 diabetic but he has also controlled it with diet and Metformin twice daily. Now since he has been on Chantix, his blood sugar level has been over 600. We went to the doctor yesterday and he told him that it was the Chantix and stop taking it. He is watching everything that he eats and drinks and this morning his blood sugar is still 440. The doctor is sending him to a Diabetic Control Center but it is going to be a week or so. Has everyone else had this problem?

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I am borderline type 2 diabetic. I have controlled with diet and exercise and no medication. I started taking Chantix for smoking about five weeks ago and began losing weight for no apparent reason. I also began drinking water like a camel...I started testing my blood and the lowest reading so far has been 318. The high reading was 582. I just had my blood work done and now have A1C of 10.7. Thank you Pfizer!!! This side effect is not listed on the website or packaging! If it were listed I never would have taken it. F-ING CRIMINALS!!!!!

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My 49 yr old son is type I diabetic since age 2. He had a stroke 9 yrs ago and smoking has been his only pleasure. He is tube fed and can't speak, eat or walk. It looks like the Chantix will kill him faster than smoking. Blood sugars are out of control.

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I know your post was awhile ago, so I hope you quit smoking by now. If you are still smoking here are some hints. I am a type 1 diabetic and quit smoking taking chantix. I don't use a pump I'm old fashioned that way I like to use the pen needles. I take Lantis as my Basil and humalog with meals. I raised my Lantis from 26 units daily to 30 while on chantix and my glucose levels stayed normal. Unfortunately lots of newer medications have the side effect of raising ones glucose levels. You need to be careful but don't be afraid to raise your basil insulin level just don't raise it by too much. It took me about 3 days to figure out how much more insulin I needed, I am sure you can do the same. I took chantix for 12 weeks then over the next week or so I slowly lowered my basil insulin. It takes about a week or 2 before one can return to their normal basil level. Good luck.

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Oh my word. I'm also a type2 diabetic and since taking Chantix my sugar has been through the roof.

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Thank you so much for posting this! I have well-controlled type 2 diabetes -- well-controlled until now. I'm into my 6th week on Chantix and last week I noticed I was losing weight for no reason and I felt awful. I don't want to get out of my chair. I'd been exercising almost every day before last week, but suddenly I didn't want to move. I don't usually have to check my sugars -- just periodic A1Cs. This morning I checked my sugar and it was 285 -- I never had a blood sugar that high. I NEVER saw this as a warning on the Chantix literature. I'll quit the Chantix and call my doctor. I'm glad to know I'm not going crazy!

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Connie, this is just an update on my high blood sugars. I was on Chantix for six weeks before I realized my type 2 diabetes had all of a sudden become very serious. I immediately stopped the Chantix -- the middle of February. Since then, I have gone from 500 mg Metformin in the morning and 5 mg glipizide in the evening to 1000 mg Metformin morning and evening and 10 mg glipizide morning and evening. I'm pretty sure this is going to be permanent, so I would say the Chantix is responsible. My doctor thinks it was too big of a coincidence otherwise. I am exercising like crazy and I am happy to say I haven't had a cigarette since January 4, 2016. Anyway, I hope your husband's sugars get better, but I'm afraid there's a chance of it being permanent. Best wishes.

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I stopped taking it and within a couple weeks my blood sugar went back to normal

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I have type 2 diabetes that was well managed on 2.5 mg of Glipizide. I began Chantix 4 weeks ago and my recent blood work came back with an A1C of 7.1 and cholesterol much elevated. My daily readings are between 150 and 300. I have never had such high BG levels before with one exception - when I had to take steroids because of pneumonia. This doctor wanted to put me on Victoza.

At this point, I have no intention of taking an injectible medication! My question: will my BG levels (and cholesterol) go back to their previous levels once the Chantix is out of my system?

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My late husband took Chantix for less than one month when suddenly his blood sugar skyrocketed--over 600 & off the charts--couldn't even get a correct reading at the doctor's office when he arrived & was immediately started on an IV to try & bring down his numbers--it was only after the THIRD IV that they were able to get him down to under 600. The doctor agreed that it was the Chantix & just simply said, 'Stop taking it'! I truly believe that this incident weakened & impacted my husband's heart so badly that he never fully recovered. Chantix is like taking poison & why it's still on the market is a mystery to me...anyone considering it needs to think twice or else start making funeral plans because you're gonna need 'em....

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Yes, it should be down after stop taking Chantix. It takes a while before Jerry's came down. He had to take insulin for a short time to get it down. Thanks for your response and good luck!!

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I'm glad to see others. I am on an insulim pump and check my blood sugar frequently. My readings have been 300+ for over a week, since I started on Chantix. Spoke with insulin ppump company and was able to find relation between Chantix and the high blood sugars. Pump working fine, I hadn't thought of timing with starting of Chantix. Calling Endocrinologist in AM.

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Hi everyone, thanks for posting now I know I'm not the only one. I'm a type 1 on pump therapy and just started taking Chantrix 2 days ago. My sugars haven't been super the last few weeks anyway. One of those phases I have from time to time.
So I started the chantrix and the same night had a 574. That is far from normal, even in one of those "phases" unless my catheter is the problem. Felt bad had to tell my teen son we had to leave the movie we were watching. Great kid he took it in stride because Dad's sugars were messed up.
Went home used my insulin pen instead of the pump. Refilled the pump and used a brand new catheter. This morning still 440. Have been over 300 most of the day. Ok not sure if chantrix works this fast on blood sugar but it seems so for me. I've always been pretty sensitive as far as blood sugar goes. I'm just glad to read other diabetics have had problems too. So for the next few days I've boosted the Basal rate to 130% to see if it works or not. Any suggestions? I don't get in to see my new Diabetes Doc until 12 Sept. Of course I can give my primary doc a call.
I just have to quit smoking somehow. Not at the expense of going into a coma however. Single Dad's don't have the time to get sick.

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im 56 years old and I started taking chantix to stop smoking also took it for two weeks never had diabetes. Then after my second week in one day boom I couldnt see everything was so blured. I freaked out talked to my mom she check your sugar, and wow its like over 500. Went to the dr. now Im a diabetic taking metformin 1000 twice a day and my blood sugar still over 300 every day and its been almost four weeks.

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Im type 1 diabetic and on chantix. Three weeks in and haven't noticed a single abnormality in my glucose readings. I think drugs affect everyone differently. Good luck to all of you out there trying to quit smoking, especially you diabetics!

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THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU !!! I have been searching for this answer for weeks. Apparently my doctor has no clue. I am just finishing up my 1st month of Chantix and my sugar is going off the charts. It was well managed up until then,but my family doctor has been blaming it on my pain meds. I go to a pain management group of doctors for chronic pain. I am so glad I came across this article. No more Chantix for me and maybe I can actually quit on my own. Good luck to you and husband!

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I have been on it for 2 and half weeks and my blood sugars has been up to 300 when normal it is 130...

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I too have been using Chantix for àbout 4 weeks. Doc added Prednisone due to a terrible soar throat (47 yr smoker). Never had a blood sugar issue till I collapsed at a social function. The EMT recorded my blood sugar at 323. The Chantix box has no warning about potential hypoglycemic conditions. I have since learned that Prednisone can cause elevated blood sugars too. Not a good combo. I am now quitting the Chantix but did find it very helpful for me to quit smoking. I will continue now to monitor my blood sugars until returning to normal.

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Thank you so much for your quick response.........I am curious. Are you pursuing any legal action again the makers of Chantix (Pfizer)? My husband has went from a small dose of Onglyza in the morning to 4 insulin injections daily. We cannot get his glucose to a normal level, let alone a lower level. Noon glucose was over 300 today. This has happened so quickly. His A1C was 7.1 in January. That's when he started the Chantix. When he was hospitalized this past week, he was 12.1............we literally about freaked out. He usually runs in the 6-6.5 range........I just hate this. We had no warning on the Chantix bottle regarding increased blood sugars, but I have been a nurse for 35 years and I started thinking that I had read that Chantix would affect blood sugars....we are so upset right now. We see his doc on Wed. Thank you again for the info and I certainly wish you the best too..........I wonder if it just may take some time, possibly a few months, for the body to recover from the Chantix......I'm probably grasping at straws here...........

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Connie -- No, I haven't considered taking any legal action because I think it would be difficult to prove the Chantix caused this. I did some online research and very early on, it seems there was some type of legal suit over high blood sugars, but that was dropped and is no longer active. Unless a huge number of people with this problem come forward, it would probably be too expensive for one person to pursue. I will hope your husband's blood sugars stabilize.

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BM, I actually called an attorney that was on one of these websites. I spoke to a very nice receptionist and I explained everything to her. She said she would have the attorney call me.....that was Friday evening. No calls yet......another site said they were not taking any more Chantix cases.....I wonder if there was already a suit that was settled? In that case, we have no options anyway. I am going to continue investigating though and I will certainly message you if I find anything! You know, when a drug is this dangerous, I just cannot understand why the FDA keeps it on the market.....I truly believe our government wants us sick......even though it is costly, our diseases also brings trillions of dollar to these pharmaceutical companies which in turn supports the government......good luck and I hope you start getting better.....

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