Supplements and Nicotine treatment

[SAGoodman]

First off I want to say that in no way, shape or form am I qualified in the medical field! So take this as you will.... and I apologize for the long post in advance.

It has been a while since I have posted, and in the past have shared my supplement stack, exercise etc.

I have been absent due to trying to find my way in dealing with my PD. Talked to doctors with a more holistic approach and adjusting my supplements along the way.

I am currently taking only a third of the supplements that I had taken before and have been doing this over the last three months. I have not experienced any changes in a negative or positive way, as my tremors remained the same. I still had mild right-side tremors that would elevate when stressed or anxious.

I do LSVT exercise and do elliptical and strength training almost on a daily basis. My tremors WERE improving until I contracted COVID for the second time four weeks ago, which made my tremors exponentially, almost extremely more. So much more that I was even contemplating taking medication (which I have been delaying until absolutely necessary).

This leads to the nicotine treatment, and I want to let everyone know that this is something I had read about and seen posts from others on the site, but being a past tobacco user I was VERY hesitant to try, as I know of it's addictive properties.

So I started this two-and-a-half weeks ago, in a low dosage using ON! nicotine in 2mg pouches. I started with on mid-morning and one mid-afternoon, which I now use one on the morning, noon and late afternoon after experiencing very positive results (it was helping and I wondered if an increase would help even more).

I cannot express how much this has changed my tremors, actually to almost absent! I still have very mild tremors when stressed or anxious, and can now double-click a computer mouse almost every time, writing better and do not experience bad tremors after exercise.

I know everyone with PD is different, and I was very hesitant to post my findings until I could be positively sure it was providing the needed result I was looking for, and that the nicotine was what was actually making the difference. But please take this advice at your own risk!

I will absolutely update with any changes, positive or negative, as I go forward.

I can't thank all of you enough for sharing your journey, the ups and downs, to all of us!

[wifeofparky]

How do you take the pouches? Do you ingest them or hold them in your mouth like chewing tobacco?

[KERRINGTON in reply to wifeofparky]

Same question😀

[SAGoodman in reply to wifeofparky]

Place them in your mouth just like chewing tobacco.

[wifeofparky in reply to SAGoodman]

what about the risk of oral cancer from using them? Or loss of your teeth?

[SAGoodman in reply to wifeofparky]

Great question! Its not tobacco , just nicotine. I havent seen anything stating these problems, but maybe someone else can give some insite?

[wifeofparky in reply to SAGoodman]

It's the nicotine in tobacco that causes health issuespubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/305...

[Astra7]

Thanks for letting us know about this. It’s very interesting.Please keep us posted over the next few months.

[SAGoodman in reply to Astra7]

Will do!

[LAJ12345]

Perhaps could try patches if worried about affect on mouth.

[fel3k in reply to LAJ12345]

My husband holistic Dr recommended patches, there are studies on benefits with PD

[Muay]

Nicotine

Within the brain, there exists a grand diversity of neurotransmitter interaction and overlap. One such relationship, very symbiotic in many ways, is that existing between the dopaminergic and cholinergic systems. For example, acetylcholine modulates dopaminergic signaling in the striatum, an area considerably impacted in Parkinson’s disease.

Nicotine interacts with the cholinergic system by to binding sites known as nicotinic acetylcholinergic receptors (nAChRs), which influence several functions relevant in Parkinson’s disease, including dopamine signaling.100 Moreover, loss of nAChRs accompanies many neurodegenerative disease, including Parkinson’s disease, suggesting that declining cholinergic signaling be a key etiological feature.101

Several studies indicate that nicotine exerts powerful neuroprotective effects via activation of nAChRs.102 Recent data indicates that among the neuroprotective effects of nicotine is the ability to reduce alpha-synuclein aggregation, which may suppress the formation of Lewy bodies.103

Many epidemiological studies have confirmed that smoking tobacco confers a substantial reduction in risk for developing Parkinson’s disease.104,105 Moreover, transdermal nicotine patches have been shown to improve cognitive functioning in patients with Parkinson’s disease.106 Other evidence suggests a therapeutic effect of nicotine in reducing L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias.107

Nicotine appears to have potential to deliver significant and clinically meaningful benefits in Parkinson’s disease. If you have Parkinson’s disease, you are encouraged to speak with your physician about potentially complementing your anti-Parkinsonian therapy with transdermal nicotine. Your doctor should help you determine an appropriate dose; however, the Holms study cited above used 7mg/24hrs delivered via a transdermal nicotine patch. Newer studies aim to evaluate higher doses (eg, 90 mg/week) via transdermal patch.

Life Extension. Disease Prevention and Treatment, 6th ed. (p. 3078). LE Publications, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

[SAGoodman in reply to Muay]

Thank you for sharing!

[Shlim in reply to Muay]

Amen...

[Muay]

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/212...

[gregorio]

very similar situation to yourself and have been considering the patches for a year, I will try them now, not sure I can buy pouches in Spain. Will keep you updated on this thread which I am now following

[SAGoodman in reply to gregorio]

I did the pouches because they were much cheaper here in US

[Shlim in reply to SAGoodman]

How are you doing now?

[SAGoodman in reply to Shlim]

Well it's been some time now. I feel that it's still of benefit, with downside of addiction. I have cut back my stack to 2000mg vit c, zinc, D3 and B12. After doing this for over 2 months I have seen no change in tremor but less brain fog. See most benefit from weight lifting, still supplement VR kickboxing now and then. Just like others, some days are better than others!

[Shlim in reply to SAGoodman]

Hi, thank you for the reply. So, do you keep needing more and more for the same positive effect? I cried this morning because my husband sounds like who he was 12 years ago, talking faster, debating like he did when we were dating, genuinely involved in life again, planning, alert. He was a zombie for a decade, just going through the motions on every pd med going. WTH...from gum? He says he feels alert but calm. What other drug can do this? Tremor stops. Lasts about 3 hours, but he can work. He was ready to quit his job. He just couldn't work and now he can.

[SAGoodman in reply to Shlim]

I have not had to increase since starting on 4mg, but definitely use it constantly throughout the day. Helps with my tremor and alertness also. The only meds I use is propranolol for tremor also, but not all the time, just depends on my day. What's really confusing to me is the more REM sleep I get the worse my symptoms are.

[JayPwP in reply to SAGoodman]

A total of 4mg across the day? Like 2mg twice a day?

[SAGoodman in reply to JayPwP]

Sorry, 4mg about every 1.5 to 2 hrs, one 4mg pouch

[JayPwP in reply to SAGoodman]

Thank you for the information

[JayPwP in reply to Shlim]

Is your husband using nicotine now? If yes, how much and at what times? How long has he been using it? Please list the improvements you have observed in him.

[JayPwP in reply to JayPwP]

Shlim where are you? 😁😁

[PDTom]

I also plan to test nicotine if my symptoms worsen. I already have the nicotine patches on the shelf...

[SAGoodman in reply to PDTom]

PDTom, Please keep in mind that this is a addictive drug. I have used tobacco for a large part of my life, so I knew what I was getting myself into. So far I am still seeing very positive results, but admit I am definitely using it more often. For me the benefits still outweigh the negatives, and I am still not taking any prescription medications! Good luck on your journey!

[chartist in reply to SAGoodman]

You may find this study of interest :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....

Here is a relevant study quote :

' 3.3.5. Assessment of nicotine dependence after the use of the transdermal nicotine No withdrawal symptoms or associated addictive behaviour was reported in non-smokers in the 33 clinical trials with nicotine patches. For non-smokers, no trial reported a craving at the end of the use of the patch, and none reported the use of cigarettes or other nicotine sources at the end of the trials, including during an extended follow-up of 12 weeks after cessation of transdermal nicotine [37]. '

You have to completely separate nicotine from tobacco and cigarette smoking in order to see these results. Many studies use nicotine associated to tobacco and these studies show addictive effects and suggest that nicotine is the cause, but these 33 clinical trials suggest it is not the nicotine that is addictive, at least not by itself.

Art