Physiological Effects of Nicotine on TMS

I have been addicted to Nicotine since I was an adolescent. I quit smoking almost 2 decades ago mind you, but have been consuming nicotine lozenges pretty consistently ever since. For the most part it has been a pretty small dosage, only about 4-5 2mg lozenges per day (max dose is 20/day). I've been putting off trying to quit just because I've been having so much trouble maintaining a baseline of decent health that it hasn't made sense to make any voluntary changes that might throw a monkey wrench into the works.

Since TMS is based on oxygen deprivation & blood flow, and nicotine most definitely affects circulation, I've begun to wonder what sort of effect the nicotine might be having on my low back pain/TMS. Anyone have any expertise or know of some quality research on the topic? I haven't been able to find much on the Google machine. If I can prove that the nicotine is making my back pain worse, maybe that'll be the extra motivation I need to finally quit these dumb things.

Thanks!

 

I don't know the answer to your question, but I would encourage you to think psychologically about your TMS. Many people consume nicotine and don't have TMS, so I doubt it is a factor.

 

You're right of course. I guess because I am failing so miserably at shutting off & treating the psychological causes I keep looking for ways to treat the symptoms just to get some relief from the pain. Thanks for the reminder. Fact is that it does probably contribute in some way to the pain, but the point is that it doesn't matter. Bottom line is that the psychological stuff is a much more significant contributing factor, and either way I need to flush the damn things.

 

I am also addicted to nicotine. In fact I used to smoke one to two packs per day. I don't crave nicotine as much after reading a few lines in Steve O's book where he connects nicotine and TMS. I believe they are related. Nicotine and smoking is a way to distract us from our emotions. I certainly smoked a lot in certain social settings and would chain smoke when I was in dangerous or stimulating environments. A lot of other people I know smoke when they feel lonely.

 

I quit chewing tobacco for a few years, but have been chewing for the past year and a half. I personally don't think it matters, but it's different for everybody. While it's not entirely known what, if any, impact smokeless tobacco products have on the cardiovascular system, there's enough evidence to support smoking will DEFNITELY diminish the lungs, thus the body's, ability utilize O2.

 

I started a month ago after a half year off and now whenever i consume tobacco i get extremly cold hands/feet getting lightheaded stomach cramps and muscle pain like some kind of allergic reaction.

 

I moved over from smoking to e-cigarettes lately. I know, it's not good for me either. But a lesser evil?

Anyway, I recently started to wonder if smoking the e-cigs could be contributing to my TMS. My theory is around oxygen supply etc.

However it's more likely it has NOTHING to do with it at all.

And if anything, I have just ended up creating yet another condition response for myself, and a bunch more feelings of self-hate, disappointment, resentment and unworthiness every time I give in and have a smoke.

I almost think if I quit for this reason it will feed the concerns about my physical body

But it probably is helping me to repress some emotions.. hmmmmmm

 

I think you are overthinking things as people like us tend to do. Your nicotine addiction is a separate issue. Worrying about this or anything else is just fear which perpetuates the TMS.

If the fact you are consuming these products causes you fear due to the health issues they cause it could be part of the problem. If you are indifferent to that I think it’s unrelated.

 

EVERYTHING is related to fear for me. I have been doing tms work for 3 months ish. I'd pretty much eliminated my migraines and daily tension headache, and then I really hit my stride and my daily tiredness, dizziness and anxiety was about 75% better for around a week or so. And then it all came flooding back on the first day of my new job. Classic TMS right? But I feel now like I need to climb back out of a deep deep hole

 

Welcome to the club. You'll find that a lot of us on here have to climb out of a hole infrequently. I'm just now getting over 3 months of plantar fasciitis that came on seemingly out of nowhere. I was running up to 6 miles every other day for months after conditioning myself back for like the nth time over the years. Then go out one day and do the usual, and wash the car, wake up, and BAM!!!!! Now I get to spend another 6 months working back up to my distance and pace.

I can act confident and say it doesn't bother me, and that it's just another bump in the road to freedom, but it's quite humiliating. Accepting the humiliation, 'climbing out of a deep hole,' is part of the process. You need to own and accept it. It becomes easier, rest assured.

 

That's what happened to me, too. My sympathetic (autonomic) nervous system was so overactive from chronic stress, it essentially got stuck in fight-or-flight mode, and things I used to tolerate very well were suddenly causing severe nerve pain (allodynia), Raynaud's, burning, sweating, vomiting, dermatographia (a stressed out sympathetic nervous system loves to release histamine), etc. These symptoms would last for days, weeks, or sometimes even months at a time. Alcohol, cigarettes, vapes (even nicotine-free juice), etc. were major triggers.

All of these symptoms stemmed from my autonomic nervous system not functioning correctly. I'd experienced TMS symptoms since I was a child. In fact, the allodynia and burning hands and feet started in junior high school! That said, they worsened over time, and especially with chemicals. I once vomited for several days after smoking four cigarettes over a two-day period, and I could barely wear shoes due to the nerve pain and burning in my feet. This is exactly why I thought I had alcoholic neuropathy after a weekend of heavy drinking before my 26th birthday (I don't, but it took many doctors to convince me otherwise because these symptoms were brought on by chemicals). My body was interpreting chemicals as major stressors and going into fight-or-flight mode.

Since I've learned how to handle anxiety, I can now handle chemicals again, and any minor symptoms I occasionally experience (typically just a little bit of histamine) go away VERY quickly by reminding myself that I am healed.

Bottom line: of course cigarettes can worsen an already overworked autonomic nervous system and prompt some nasty symptoms. I've been there, and it was awful. Your situation may not be as extreme as mine, but you're certainly not doing yourself any favors. Ask anyone who has stress-induced multiple chemical sensitivity and they'll agree with me.

 

I would like to invite posters from this thread to take a peek at my success story giving up nicotine 49 years ago. No pressure or criticism.

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/andys-nicotine-and-cigarette-smoking-addiction.18183/

Be well