Does nicotine play a role for anyone here? I have used nicotine gum on airplanes when I was trapped in a middle seat during a trans Pacific flight and wanted relief from torturous RLS.
I've been reading about small and convenient vape devices (like a Juul) and wonder if people can sleep after a hit of nicotine.
I haven’t tried it myself (yet) but I read a post on another forum by someone who found nicotine gum helpful.
Another avenue to try!
Should have asked: did the gum afford relief? How much did you take? And why use the vape device if the gum worked?
Because I've never smoked, I have a low tolerance to nicotine. So I would take one piece of gun and chew it for a short time. That may be the equivalent of half a cigarette or less.
The new vaping devices offer immediate delivery of nicotine to the bloodstream - so, almost instantaneous cessation of RLS symptoms. And, there is no smoke and very little vapor.
My interest is in how easy is it to get to sleep after a hit of nicotine?
I'm thinking of getting a vape device just to experiment.
(I've already got a vape pen for cannabis and I must say they are close to miraculous.)
I started smoking cigarettes when I worked on oil rigs in SW Utah at 18. I switched to Copenhagen a year later and was hooked like a junkie. I switched to vaping and really got hooked on that. It’s fun. My vape device quit working a couple days ago and I swore to myself I would not replace it. Vaping is expensive...way more than chewing tobacco. I’ve been chewing the gum and will wean myself off that slowly...hopefully.
My point is, nicotine is fun. Stick with the gum if you can.
Yes, the gum worked. I was on a plane, suffering in that unique way we do when there is no opportunity to move out of the seat. I remembered an ancient piece of nicotine gum I had put in my backpack for exactly this purpose (it was at least two years old!)
I chewed half of it and put it back in it's container for another time. The relief came quckly, within a few minutes. On a plane, I'm not worried about sleeping so I just enjoyed relief from the symptoms. I'm just not sure if it will work at night - rather, I'm sure it would work, I'm just not sure if I could sleep after or how long the results will last.
I could probably find the gum here in Costa Rica but I'm intrigued by the vape devices for a couple of reasons. First, they seem like fun! I've heard they produce quite a buzz. Second, I think you can quite accurately identify the dosage by how much you inhale. Third, the effect is immediate, even faster than the gum.
If it is possible to fall asleep after taking a hit, it could be a good resource (not something I'd use all the time because of the addiction potential.)
I just did a search for Nicotine on this website and found this...
- Smoking:
The nicotine withdrawal give me intolerable RLS which lasted for weeks after the day I stopped. Nicotine will give you an instant relief from RLS, which is probably why I got hooked - but two or less hours later, the withdrawals begin and the RLS comes back with vengeance, up to 100% on the RLS scale. This is the worst period of RLS I have ever had.
healthunlocked.com/rlsuk/po...
This does not sound great, to say the least! Perhaps I will just use it every now and then but does not sound good to make a habit out of it.
Wailee! I just bought a pack of gum. Might try it anyway. Will report back if it does any good and also re sleep post-gum issue.
Good for you! We need research subjects!
I tried the coffee at night, didn't help at all. But I think nicotine is a different kind of drug. I remember reading once that nicotine is a unique type of drug. It can stimulate you when needed but it can also soothe and tranquilize you. That's why it seems to me to be uniquely suited to helping with restless legs.
My life seems to be one long experiment to find solutions to my rls.
Nicotine causes a strong dopamine spike, which would help in the short term. But constant spikes of dopamine are probably not too good in the long term.
But if it helps in a crisis, why not?
Interesting. Do tobacco smokers who have RLS get a dopamine spike whilst smoking? Rather than, for example, do ironing or baking during sleepless nights, I could go out to my smoking shed and puff away on my pipe. A bit chilly perhaps but the chill and the nicotine lift might help!
What a lovely image! Much superior to housework. Stylish. Wear your silk dressing gown.
Interesting. When I was younger I smoked a lot and only occasionally had RLS. I nearly always had a cigarette before turning the light out - maybe the RLS was a subconscious reason for it.
I gave up with no problems. The RLS has got a very little bit worse but I assumed it was age/menopause (again, no problems, so have never connected the two).
As I posted a while ago, I take Inositol Nicotinate which does it for me. I've always wondered what the nicotine component of this was doing, as I am under the impression that other niacin compounds are not as effective, although I haven't tried them.
Ty .im not nuts. I thought it was just me.
Does meditation help?
Does going off the meds for a while help with tolerance and augmentation?
Does Ativan help or hurt RLS
Does pynogenol help restless legs
