Posted by PleaseReplaceBattery on October 19, 2017, at 6:11:26
In reply to Why isn't nicotine gum used for mood disorders?, posted by Prefect on December 18, 2016, at 8:28:17
I have been chewing nicotine gum for about six years. I never smoked.
Originally, I started taking it to help with chronic (continuous and severe) ear-aches. I read about nicotine gum easing ear-aches on a friendly site similar to this one. It helps a tiny bit with the ear-aches, and I was really desperate for some relief from something other than strong pain killers.
Remember, Nicotine is very addictive. I started on a very low dose and my consumption grew over the years. My dose was about four mg./day to start. Six years later, I get about sixty mg/day. I roll them up in a stick of regular gum and gnaw away. If I run out, I am aware of the physical addiction.
It turns out that taking oral nicotine over a long period of time can raise your cholesterol levels significantly. I am not sure how it stacks up to the effect smokers suffer, but my doctor made crazy-eyes and blurted out, That cant be right. while looking at my blood tests. I have no personal history or family history of high cholesterol.
My doctor didnt make the connection; he put me on atorvastatin and ordered more tests. I found a couple studies about oral nicotine& cholesterol while doing other research on my medication. The atorvastatin is giving me side effects (nasty headaches, gastric problems, etc.). I would love to get off of them a.s.a.p.
So I tapered my nicotine consumption down over a couple weeks. I am down to twelve mg./day and I get about 50% of the ear-relief of the sixty mg. dosage. If my cholesterol plummets after a month, Ill stay the low dosage. If not, I plan to end the nicotine entirely, get some stronger pain killers, and see if that helps.
Presumably, the manufacturers could get oral nicotine approved to stop smoking, but a long term use would run them into problems in a clinical study.
poster:PleaseReplaceBattery
thread:1093563
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20161215/msgs/1095496.html