Does nicotine abstinence screw up your life?

[Caesarea]

I can be very stubborn. I held out for six months, waiting for the promised "It will get better." Finally, I told the doctor that I had no choice but to start smoking again.

That was almost 20 years ago. At least I didn't go back to 2-1/2 packs a day.

The only time I gave up in 48 years of smoking was for 12 months - 1986-87, having my daughter and till she was off breast milk. I binged on cocoa throughout the pregnancy! Had no wish to smoke because my conscience had me by the scruff of the neck on that one. Afterwards even when I started smoking again, I had a lot of trouble with swollen ankles, which stopped me ever resuming the mile a day jogging habit I had had previously.

Now I stopped nic 22 years later by accident, and guess what - swollen ankles, much worse this time though. But the mental slow down along with the continual physical problems was really depressing, and so is the worry about getting back to work. I feel far better with an occasional snus and whatever nic liquid I fancy. Sharp again mentally, and have started reading novels as avidly as I used to before the summer but not back to my usual levels in the gym yet. But regaining the ability to walk to the gym was a good start, and that returned after resuming the nic. Still wearing pressure bandages on the legs.

Hope this helps document something, but I'm not sure what it means. My BP and chest XRay are normal and bloods are normal except white cell ratios last month showed a continuing fight against a viral infection of unknown sort - no-one is gonna waste money on diagnosing that cos it would be too complex to do.

Best,

C.

[Deschain]

I tried going CT from nicotine a few times in the past...I turned into a short fused atom bomb...not particualrly pleasant to be around at all.

I've given up a few things in my life (other kinds of substances), and although it wasn't "easy", it was far easier than giving up smoking.


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[Vocalek]

Stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors a... [Arthritis Rheum. 2009] - PubMed result

RESULTS: Clinical arthritis was exacerbated by vagotomy and ameliorated by oral nicotine administration. Moreover, oral nicotine inhibited bone degradation and reduced TNFalpha expression in synovial tissue. Both IP-injected nicotine and AR-R17779 ameliorated clinical arthritis and reduced synovial inflammation.

Translation: Nicotine is a useful treatment for inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Nicotine reduces inflammation.

There are many diseases related to inflammation, including arthritis, fibromyalgia, and even vascular disease. Smoking appears to worsen vascular disease, but apparently it isn't the nicotine that causes the problem.

IMO: The swollen ankles (body retains fluid) is an inflammatory response, perhaps tied in with the high white blood cell count.

I'm told that when you are retaining fluid, the best thing to do is take in lots of fluid so your body stops responding as though you are about to die of thirst.

When I was pregnant with #1, I cut back to about 4 cigarettes a day. Toward the end of my pregnancy, I was retaining an enormous amount of fluid. My feet were so swollen I had to buy larger shoes. Doctors were watching for "Preeclampsia", but I never developed any high blood pressure. I lost 18 pounds in the first 24 hours after delivery. Fluid was coming out of me any way that it could, including through my pores and hair follicles.

I did not cut back smoking so drastically with #2, and did not develop the edema. Perhaps pure coincidence. Hard to say.

Oh, just found this article on PubMed, too.

Nicotine inhibits cytokine production by placenta ... [Mol Med. 2007 Nov-Dec] - PubMed result

Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), also known as preeclampsia, is one of the major causes of maternal and fetal death. While the precise cause of PIH is not known, aberrant cytokine production and placenta participation are considered to be important factors. Gestational cigarette smoking, which is widely accepted to be harmful to both the mother and fetus, is protective against PIH.

So maybe it was NOT a coincidence. Hmmm....

NOTE: PubMed search was for "nicotine antiinflammatory"

[Caesarea]

Stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors a... [Arthritis Rheum. 2009] - PubMed result


Translation: Nicotine is a useful treatment for inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Nicotine reduces inflammation.

There are many diseases related to inflammation, including arthritis, fibromyalgia, and even vascular disease. Smoking appears to worsen vascular disease, but apparently it isn't the nicotine that causes the problem.

IMO: The swollen ankles (body retains fluid) is an inflammatory response, perhaps tied in with the high white blood cell count.

I'm told that when you are retaining fluid, the best thing to do is take in lots of fluid so your body stops responding as though you are about to die of thirst.

When I was pregnant with #1, I cut back to about 4 cigarettes a day. Toward the end of my pregnancy, I was retaining an enormous amount of fluid. My feet were so swollen I had to buy larger shoes. Doctors were watching for "Preeclampsia", but I never developed any high blood pressure. I lost 18 pounds in the first 24 hours after delivery. Fluid was coming out of me any way that it could, including through my pores and hair follicles.

I did not cut back smoking so drastically with #2, and did not develop the edema. Perhaps pure coincidence. Hard to say.

Oh, just found this article on PubMed, too.

Nicotine inhibits cytokine production by placenta ... [Mol Med. 2007 Nov-Dec] - PubMed result



So maybe it was NOT a coincidence. Hmmm....

NOTE: PubMed search was for "nicotine antiinflammatory"

Thank you very much Vocal - I think I am on the right track then with the moderate nic consumption. The doc mentioned that some inflammatory process was happening but I could not understand what he meant. Did not know about the hydration thing though so shall increase fluid intake.
Oddly enough on the day I had a kidney scan I had to drink huge amounts of water beforehand and the ankles were paradoxically better that evening. So that bit makes sense to me now.

Perhaps I could have had a better pregnancy experience with a bit of nicotine!! but I guess that many would question the wisdom of that from the point of view of addicting your child.

But it's hard to accept that no-one knew about this when I was having a difficult time resuming jogging after giving birth. If they had only told me then, I might have been able to go on jogging a mile a day!

I'll post again in a while to say if the increased fluid intake has helped.
Thanks again Vocal. Kind of you to respond with the research.

Best,

C.

[Vocalek]

One of the medical terms I have learned in the past 20 years is "anticholinergic".

In the book Best Drugs, Worst Drugs, the authors always caution against elderly patients using a drug that has anticholingeric effects, such as the antidpressant Elevil. Another way of stating "anticholinergic" is that a drug is a cholinergic antagonist. It interferes with the production and/or use of acetylcholine, which messes things up in general throughout the entire body and the brain. Anticholinergic drugs have a tendency to cause confusion and problems concentrating.

The opposite of "anticholinergic" is "cholinergic"

Cholinergic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A cholinergic angonist is a substance that ...

...is capable of producing, altering, or releasing acetylcholine ("indirect-acting") or mimicking its behaviour at one or more of the body's acetylcholine receptor types ("direct-acting").

Nicotine is a cholinergic agonist.

Anther cholinergic agonist is galantamine. This is a substance extracted from snowdrop flowers. Galantamine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It was later developed by Janssen Pharmaceutica into an Alzheimer medication. In the US it has been sold as a dietary supplement for memory and dream support prior to being approved as a drug by the FDA.

So this is one of the few natural medicines that was grandfathered in as a supplement, preventing the FDA from pushing it off the market to protect Janssen's profits.

I order galantamine on the internet and take 8 mg. twice a day. After I began taking this about 2 years ago, I was able to reduce the number of cigarettes I smoked to half a pack without suffering withdrawal symptoms.

[Caesarea]

Interesting - I see I had better do some research on this!
The book Best Drugs, Worst Drugs sounds interesting too.

Thanks again,

C.

[Keef]

Hmm this is a funny one.

At one point I stopped smoking Cigarettes for nearly 8 years did not think I missed them and did not have any side effects giving up cold turkey.

Needless to say I started again this time smoking 40 a day instead of the 20 I used to.

Next attempt to quit was not a good experience, had the shakes real bad could not hold a cup of coffee without spilling half of it so on this occasion no way could I operate any time kind of machinery , also found it incredibly hard to concentrate at work.
I lasted 3 days - smoked 3 cigarettes one after another and held my hand up straight as a die no more shakes.

No more attempts to stop, then I found e-Cigs and after 6 ish weeks stopped smoking without trying.

Of course I still vape the nic liquid as did not want the shakes again.

Started a new job recently and I am locked away in a totally sterile enviroment for 8 hours at a time.

Yes I could possibly sneak my SD in my pocket and have a fly vape but I have resisted as I would hate to contaminate anything and kill someone and amazingly I am not climbing the walls when I am in the place.

Chain Vape like a fiend when I get home but I think what I have it is more a mental dependency than a physical one.

Now if someone would make zero liquid that tastes and feels like the nicotine stuff I vape I think I could use it.

Dont mention Lorann it is BLAAAA YUCK YUCK

So please miss what boxes do I tick

[vapomike]

It doesn't effect my motor skills such as driving a vehicle or using tools. It makes me very irritable and I have memory problems, such as remembering appointments, what bill is due when, and daily activities. I am still sociable and will still go out with out it but I am ill as a hornet. So not too many people actually enjoy my company.

[karenwest1961]

The few times I've been off all nicotine ... you do not want me around.

I have a flash point near zero and lash out. Nicotine is my "balance". It stabilizes me, and the world can be dealt with. Without it, I'm deficient in something that keeps me on an even keel. Moody and angry would describe me without my e-vitamin.

I'll say what T-Bob said, in Laymen's Terms: I'm a bitch without it. Period.

[ramblingrose]

Well I ended up with a lot of the boxes checked! In a nutshell, I might have managed without smoking if I had the option of sitting around like a lump and taking a lot of naps for the foreseeable future. My brain was mush - rational communication was out, along with thinking or actually accomplishing anything. NRTs didn't help. Without the basic motions of smoking I still would get 'stuck'... the ability to start a new activity without reaching for a cigarette eluded me. I was always allowed to smoke at work in spite of state law, so I never had to adapt beyond limited situations like when flying.