Nicotine THAT bad? Or just a coincidence?

[Frankie]

I decided to take the plunge and quit nicotine use altogether. If I relapse, I will go back to snus, which seems to be quite safe. That was last evening.

The next day...
My BP went down 30+ points and my pulse got to *less* than 70. I *never* had my pulse lower than 80 before, 90-100 being the standard. By *never* I mean from my 20-ies or so, not just in recent years marked with cardio problems. I even skipped the BP meds, because the morning results were almost too low, something like 106/68 and I did not want to push it down any more. I had two coffees during the day. They could not push the pulse over 75...

Is there anybody here who went off nicotine and had their cardio results going into the dream area of no-medication-needed-from-now-on?

I mean if this holds I just cannot go back to nicotine in any form without feeling like an utter idiot - starting pills again to keep the BP in check and the heart at least off the really dangerous levels.

[QueenInNC]

Wow! I have never monitored my BP. It is normally around 120/70 (while smoking). However, I went to the Dr yesterday and it was 117/65, so a little lower while vaping, than smoking. Could have been a coincidence in my case. But for you, it sounds like you may have something there. Nicotine can certainly raise your BP and heart rate.

[Sun Vaporer]

I decided to take the plunge and quit nicotine use altogether. If I relapse, I will go back to snus, which seems to be quite safe. That was last evening.

The next day...
My BP went down 30+ points and my pulse got to *less* than 70. I *never* had my pulse lower than 80 before, 90-100 being the standard. By *never* I mean from my 20-ies or so, not just in recent years marked with cardio problems. I even skipped the BP meds, because the morning results were almost too low, something like 106/68 and I did not want to push it down any more. I had two coffees during the day. They could not push the pulse over 75...

Is there anybody here who went off nicotine and had their cardio results going into the dream area of no-medication-needed-from-now-on?

I mean if this holds I just cannot go back to nicotine in any form without feeling like an utter idiot - starting pills again to keep the BP in check and the heart at least off the really dangerous levels.

Frankie--what you experianced was normal withdrawl effects that are in fact very common--that is why it is prudent to employ a gradual decrease and withdral to avoid these symptoms--decrease slowly over a matter of weeks rather then on cold turkey hit which really does not do well with your body----Sun

[Frankie]

Well, if the effect wears off, I can start snusing again

I think I did not explain it well, though: The effect is marvellous. I had problems with high BP/pulse and the only reason I am not on beta blockers is the fact they would collide with my long term allergy treatment. By marvellous I mean what I can measure, of course. Not how I feel, which could best be described by "like sh-t".

[labrat]

I am on a diuretic for my BP. Mine is super high. Like in the 170/100 range. The meds help a little but I have not gone back to the doc yet. I did take a reading yesterday, 132/83. I have been off cigs 1 day but cut my cig intake from 1 1/2 packs per day to around 1 1/2 packs for the last week. Not sure if it's the nic or the other chit. But my change in habits is because of my BP so I hope it stays low.

[TropicalBob]

It's nicotine, Frankie, not cigs and you've done yourself a great deal of good by cutting it out or down. For nicotine, I depend on snus, not e-cigs (which don't give me any appreciable hit even at 36mg). But a snus portion can spike my BP by 20 to 30 points! And my heart races at about 90 bpm. I've even demo'd this to doctors. And I test frequently using BP monitors in pharmacies, etc.

If I let a couple of hours without nicotine pass, I have great BP readings. Pop a snus and a half-hour later I seem a prime candidate for meds. Yet I love my nicotine and am never awake and without it.

Your readings will tell you all you need to know. You want normalcy? Kick nicotine. You want nicotine? Experiment with low-strength snus and see what happens.

[Frankie]

I still have problem believing the impact is so palpable and immediate. Like before yesterday I took pills for years which kept my BP in a "so-so" range. Then I kick the nicotine in one of the safest forms and BP freefalls without meds... in one day? I will wait to see and report back - even though if anybody told me this I would think it was a lie.

Now excuse me for a moment. I am going to kick some furniture and maybe to kill a TV set or something (family got due warning beforehead and they are perfect actually. But the furniture still gets in my way and I think it definitely sneers at me )

[SmokeyJoe]

Could that have been hypotension caused by nicotine withdrawal, as opposed to a return to normal "baseline" pulse/bp readings?

[ramblingrose]

Nicotine definitely has an effect on BP and heart rate. Some of the other chemicals in analogs along with byproducts of combustion aggravate it as well.

When I smoked heavily my BP could go up to 140/86 and heart rate sometimes in the 90s. Stopping even just for a few hours would let it drop to under 120/70 and 68. As a 3 pack a day smoker it scared me, and is one of the reasons I'm now a new vaper.

I haven't checked my numbers since I started vaping, but I have checked my pulse and it definitely picked up after vaping with the 18mg carts that came in my kit. I'm only 5 days into this. There's definitely an adjustment period and learning curve as I see what will work best for me. For now, I'm thrilled with my new toys - after all these years to count less than a half dozen analogs smoked at the end of the day is something I never thought I could do.

[Frankie]

I used to have BP of about 130-140 / 90-100 whether I smoked or not. I never measured it right after smoking or vaping, because that would bring unreliable and scary results. I did measure it while using snus, because I had a portion in almost all the time. It still remained on the same level maintained by a diuretic/ACE inhibitor medication.

If SmokeyJoe is right, the withdrawal effect should wear off and I should be on the meds in a couple of days of weeks at the latest. That would mean I can go back to safe forms of nicotine, because getting off the drug did not really help. Will have to wait and see. This is only the 2-nd day off the BP pills - there probably still is residue in the body from years of use which could skew the results. I also had stronger coffee which pushed my pulse up to 80 bpm, but then it quickly went down to 68. Actually, the pulse was what made me post the whole experience. I am not lying when I say I never measured anywhere around such low levels. Most of my life I thought 90 bpm is a standard low pulse