Nicotine and nerve pain

[Kurt]

I've mentioned this in other threads, but it should be put here. In 1995 I became very ill with a peripheral nerve degenerative disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). Basically my nerves from my finger tips and toes started to lose their myelin sheath, resulting in an "asleep" numb effect, and complete loss of muscle strength. This progressed up my limbs to my abdomen and onto my face, rendering me a quadraplegic within about 72 hours of frightening hell. If one has GBS onset paralysis and is not hospitalized right away, the lungs shut down and it is fatal. I was luckily hospitalized, had my entire blood plasma transfused every other day with sterile plasma (GBS is autoimmune, so removing antibodies causing the attack is one treatment of this rare disease). In a few weeks my feeling and use of body returned mostly and I went home to recover.

Paralysis was the easy part. After all, I was being taken care of, washed, fed, turned over, channel changed on the eternal TV (yick). When I went home I was weak but relatively ambulatory. I slept a lot. After a couple of weeks pain started...as in OMFG PAIN started! Pain everywhere, all kinds: feelings of electrical shocks, fire, frozen, bones crushed, insects stinging (even in my knee caps...bees in the knees). Evidently it was nerve regrowth pains, as well as fundamental axonal damage in my forearms, the worst pain area). Nothing I took would touch it: codeine, asperin, ibuprofen, whiskey. Evidently this was no surprise to the docs. Nerve pain is a tough pain to treat. I was put on an anti-seizure med which helped a little, but not enough to live a normal life, and had extreme side effects. Because of this pain, GBS victims have about a 20% fatality rate...from suicide. ANYTHING to stop the pain!

My brother was doing neuro research for a BP co, and he suggested nicotine. Of course at that time the only real option was to smoke. Smoking tobacco killed the pain within seconds!! I told one of my neuro docs about this, and he was like of course, why hadn't he thought of that!!

Then he told me I shouldn't smoke. I mean really, how could I be so stupid!! Everyone knows nicotine is BAD!! The thing was I actually needed it to function as a normal person. Even so, it was about 2 years before I was well enough to work full time again. The pain was only one aspect of this illness.

So naturally I became hooked on smoking. Inhaled nic was always the best. The gum didn't work for the pain, only the withdrawals if I didn't or couldn't smoke. And every time I tried to quit smoking, it would always be in my nerves that I felt it the most. Typing a lot is the worst thing for it, as fine motor nerves will get very angry with overuse.

Now I do computer-related chemistry research. I live at the keyboard. I write papers for publication. I type a lot. I smoked about a pack a day. But now, save for the occasional analog every few days or so, I have quit smoking.

Vaping works. It delivers the nicotine in the way that allows me to do what I do. It has been well over a month, and I have had none of what I would call a "pain relapse", where I have no choice but to not move at all for a couple days.

Vaping is allowing me to finish my doctorate, probably by January. Talk about an awful time to quit smoking!! But I essentially have, took a huge risk, and 510 in hand, have found myself in a place far better than I could have imagined. I still get twinges, probably always will, but without vaping nic, I would be in agony right now, with little hope of relief, let alone hope to complete a PhD. As a bonus, the amount of focus enhancement I get far surpasses the legendary affect of smoking tobacco.

As it turns out, this effect of nicotine on fundamental nerve pain, from neurodegenerative disease or injury, is well known scientifically. Here is one article of MANY:

SpringerLink - Journal Article

Additionally, researchers are trying to synthesize nicotine mimetics (meaning similar to nicotine chemically), for this very reason. The stuff works, and works well.

I would like to hear from others here that use nicotine medicinally. Not just to get away from analogs, but as a medicine. Anyone else notice chronic pain going away with vaping? True it seems we are getting less than in analogs, in general, but clearly the action of vaping is effectively delivering therapeutic amounts to my nerves. They don't respond well to the placebo effect.

Vaping for me is more than a pleasurable way to quit those evil analogs. It is a miracle.

I am fully aware that in stating this usage of nicotine, I am describing my 510 as a drug delivery device. However, nicotine is still over the counter, as are 1000s of other natural supplements, some of which are inhaled medicinal vapors, without FDA approval. Nicotine usage is as old as we are as a species. Been there from the beginning. I have things to do in my life, and no government agency, particularly one that brought us aspartame, evil antidepressants, and the deadly flu vaccine (look them up), is going to stop me.

On the other hand, if the moderators would like me to remove this thread for reasons of self-incrimination for this entire community, I will gladly do so.

Kurt

[Kurt]

I should have posted this in the Nicotine forum, not here. I do not know how to move threads though. Can an elder help me out?

[Mo JJC]

yes I have been using nicotine and caffeine for years to help w/pain from an auto accident.

[telsie]

I don't use nicotine for the treatment of pain, but I've been experiencing some bad TMJ pain since I quit analogs and vaping hasn't helped (unless maybe it would've been worse without vaping?). Anyway, just throwing that out there.

[LoBo]

I knew caffeine helped with pain but I never really made the connection with nic. amazing story kurt. glad to hear that your 510 is helping you out.

[Dredbull]

Having nearly torn my tricep from the elbow and a monstrously huge crushing injury to my cubital nerve right at the elbow. I suffered from tons of pain, burning, cold, electric jolts and aches.
For about 2 years I could not use my left hand in a functional fashion. I chain smoked, it assisted at least getting my mind off the pain.
Tons of PT and a few MD that should have their certs stripped for improper near lethal prescriptions later. I was able to some what use the middle ring and pinky fingers again.

When my current job gets going hard long hours IT does flare up.. advil and nic do seem to curb the pain..

HOWEVER! Since vaping I have far fewer aches and pains in general, I also suffer from FM. Not nearly as many bad days with the cleaner nic.

[dhardison]

Years ago I lost my arm in a car wreck and nicotine and the distraction of smoking has always helped the phantom pain. More recently I was shot in the leg during a robbery car jacking attempt that resulted in serious sciatic nerve damage which has turned out to be more painful than the trauma amputation. Until e-cigs came along I had just given up on quitting and decided to live a shorter life as a smoker with less pain. Oh the quit smoking stories I could tell.

It’s hard to make my heart doctor understand. I’ve had a triple bypass and still smoke 3 packs a day. I try to explain that the smoking and nicotine is tied to my pain and is psychological on some level and that’s why it’s so hard for me to stop but he just gives me this look like I crazy.

It’s still early in my e-cig smoking but I’ve got a newfound hope that e-cigs are going to be the miracle that gets me off analogs for good.

[SLDS181]

Kurt, thats fantastic news that this is working for you, and helping with your pain

dhardison, with the current use of cigs, be sure to bring up and discuss issues you have in its use - it may not feel like the right fit right away, but that can be for a whole host of reasons, which may be resolved pretty simply. I wish you luck!

[sunkissedbeach]

Wow, what an amazing story, one for the news actually send it in.

All the best to you.

My only problem has been heartburn since I started vaping, I have tried a lot of things to stop it but nothing really seems to help.
It doesn't happen every day just ever few days.
No clue on why that is, doesn't matter even on a full stomach of food.

[Kurt]

Originally Posted by telsie

I don't use nicotine for the treatment of pain, but I've been experiencing some bad TMJ pain since I quit analogs and vaping hasn't helped (unless maybe it would've been worse without vaping?). Anyway, just throwing that out there.

TMJ pain is not from damaged nerves, I don't think. It is to my knowledge more of a connective tissue strain pain, not fundamental nerve pain. Anti-inflamatories are probably better, but I'm not an MD. There are special oral appliances that help with that too, supposedly, although anyone I knew that had to wear one of those said they don't really work well. Good luck!