Smoking

[guy1947]

i quit smoking cigarettes 10 yrs ago,i was happy i'd beaten the the addition of nicotine,all the craving & every from the addiction was gone.Two and one half yrs ago when i was diagnosed with PD it didn't take long before all the cravings were back stronger than ever.I don't know what the PD had to do with it .There's never a day that I don't get a very strong urge,is this something that goes with PD or just me.there's a lot of new things i'm learning about this disease

[Icequeen10]

It's not the disease per se but the medicines we take....

[park_bear in reply to Icequeen10]

Yes - what meds are you taking, guy?

[guy1947 in reply to park_bear]

Right now i'm on Carbidopa-levodopa.25\100 2 pills every 3 hours.

[park_bear in reply to guy1947]

Dopamine agonists are notorious for causing this kind of problem. Levodopa and even Parkinson's itself have been alleged to cause such urges. No easy answer that I know of.

[Despe in reply to park_bear]

And yet, there is a clinical trial in Brazil using intranasal nicotine. Don't have the results yet, but I believe it's funded by MJFF.

[park_bear in reply to Despe]

Good point. Nicotine is related to vitamin B3. I take it in the form of niacinamide, 500 milligrams daily. Might be worth a try.

[Despe in reply to park_bear]

My husband is taking TRU NIAGEN.

[Jlloy5]

I have the same issue. Within a few hours of taking the carbidopa/Levadopa the cravings begin. I NEVER smoke when I don’t take it. The struggle is real.

[Astra7]

Smoking helps with PD so I guess your body is telling you something! It makes you produce something similar to Azilect which stops your body mopping up excess dopamine, so there is more available for you to use.

May be taking Azilect is a healthier option all round although some people report bad side effects. Also some people do use nicotine patches which help them.

Personally I’m happy with Azilect

[sandmarg]

I quit smoking after 20 years , 6 months later I was diagnosed with Parkinson's, that was 9 years ago.