Does anyone here smoke?

[hmnr asg]

Mental exercise and physical movement (like getting right to work and starting work, interacting with people, etc) seems to help the most.

hmm that is different! so you have the opposite of PEM? instead of Post-exertional malaise you have Pre-exertional malaise. lol
but that doesnt sound so bad! I wish i could switch with you! when i need to push my brain that's when it fails on me.
By the way, besides nicotine, the other things that have helped me with brain fog are: magnesium theronate and selenomethionine.
Good luck!

H

 

[TigerLilea]

I wondering if it would reduce my nasal inflammation lol. Nasal steroid sprays send my anxiety through the roof for some reason.

I've suffered with swollen sinuses ever since getting CFS/ME. I'm now starting to wonder if my wood burning fireplace could be a part of the problem. It seems every November through March is when my sinuses are really bad, especially in January, and it is always around the times that I have fires burning. I just made the connection last week. I've tried every elimination diet I could think of assuming it was a food allergy. But as my doctor pointed out, if food was the culprit, I would have sinus issues all year round.

The last time I used a steroidal nasal spray (Flonase), I ended up with a massive headache. I had to wear my glasses all day long for a couple of weeks, though normally I would only wear them for watching TV or working on the computer. I'll never use it again.

 

[Prefect]

hmm that is different! so you have the opposite of PEM?

In fact I have tremendous exercise tolerance, which is why many people on this site don't feel I have CFS. I don't know. 20 years ago I came down with something (the only thing on blood tests was extremely elevated liver enzymes) and for 20 years I've had the IBS-like and brain symptoms of CFS (include panic and anxiety), but not the body fatigue. I exercise 3 times a week, hold down a job, etc, but get brain fog and have trouble getting up in the morning. I think the pathological mechanism behind a lot of modern affective disorders like CFS/IBS/Leaky Gut/etc etc is the same: Inflammation. I've been playing around with Curcumin a lot lately, but the Longvida bioavailable form is hard to find here in Canada.

I've suffered with swollen sinuses ever since getting CFS/ME.

Have your tried Claritin?

 

[TigerLilea]

Have your tried Claritin?

I can't take antihistamines as they make me really drowsy. As crazy as it sounds, even the non-drowsy ones cause me to sleep. It takes me a few days to recover from any of them.

 

[hmnr asg]

In fact I have tremendous exercise tolerance, which is why many people on this site don't feel I have CFS. I don't know. 20 years ago I came down with something (the only thing on blood tests was extremely elevated liver enzymes) and for 20 years I've had the IBS-like and brain symptoms of CFS (include panic and anxiety), but not the body fatigue. I exercise 3 times a week, hold down a job, etc, but get brain fog and have trouble getting up in the morning. I think the pathological mechanism behind a lot of modern affective disorders like CFS/IBS/Leaky Gut/etc etc is the same: Inflammation. I've been playing around with Curcumin a lot lately, but the Longvida bioavailable form is hard to find here in Canada.



Have your tried Claritin?

How about run every morning right after waking up? The worst advice for people with CFS is "push yourself", but i feel like maybe that advice would work great in your case? wake up, drink a cup of coffee, go for a run, no matter how bad it feels. Come back home, feel refreshed and ready for your day

H

 

[Prefect]

Come back home, feel refreshed and ready for your day

I am so jealous of people who can do that. I'm convinced I have low cortisol in the morning. The couple of times I did that I felt like crap all day.

 

[Prefect]

I can't take antihistamines as they make me really drowsy.

What about N-Acetyl Glucosamine? Seems to have worked for Hip, which is why it's on my list of supplements to try soon.

 

[IreneF]

One of my best friends ever just died of COPD (emphysema) from a lifetime of smoking. It's a slow, painful, and depressing way to die. I miss her so much!

 

[sarah darwins]

I do. Not so much these days, but I still smoke.

I've been sick around 15 years. The first 7 or so I was borderline severe, pretty much housebound. I did quit for about a year during that period. It made zero difference to any of my symptoms but it did add a new one — I was absolutely bloody miserable!

I found then, and still find even now I'm much improved, that when crashing or just feeling worse than usual, a cigarette is one of the few pleasures I can enjoy. But this is obviously because I smoked before I got sick.

Not that I'm recommending it!

I feel I'm building towards quitting at some point, but for now I've settled for cutting right down and often using e-cigs instead.

There are two main concerns with smoking. One is the obvious risk of the sort of thing IreneF reminds us of above. The other is that smoking is a stimulant and affects cortisol levels etc. It also seems to impact negatively on gut flora. Both of these effects have negative connotations for us.

Overall, I'd say there are about 2,000 other things you might want to try before resorting to evil weed!

 

[erin]

I've read (can't find the article to link) that it is not the tobacco but the way it is cultivated makes it harmful. The pesticide used by the multinational tobacco growers causes the cancer and the shelf life additive is arsenic causes the heart problems. They also spike it with another very harmful chemical which gives the instant buzz is highly toxic. Marketing search proved without this buzz it is difficult to sell tobacco products. Apparently tobacco plant is very difficult to grow at home, and maybe ordinary people are not allowed by law? Who knows. Might worth a try, natives smoked tobacco with no apparent health consequences.

 

[TigerLilea]

One of my best friends ever just died of COPD (emphysema) from a lifetime of smoking. It's a slow, painful, and depressing way to die. I miss her so much!

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend, Irene.

 

[actup]

I recently started chewing 1/3 of a piece of nicotine gum several times a day to perk up my brain. I'm pleased and surprised at how much clearer my thinking is if only for a half hour or so. There is some very mild dizziness for a minute or so initially and I don't use if experiencing any degree of nausea as it makes that worse. A full or even a 1/2 a piece was too much.

The brain fog is so hard to treat so am kind of excited about this new discovery.

 

[wastwater]

Does smoking deplete B cells

 

[slysaint]

Apparently tobacco plant is very difficult to grow at home, and maybe ordinary people are not allowed by law?

I bought some tobacco seeds online. Carefully nurtured the little plants and ended up with loads of quite large plants. Trouble was I hadn't read the detail.........you need to harvest the leaves, hang them somewhere to dry and then they are stored for TWO YEARS!
I managed to hang them out and dry them in a greenhouse lean-to, but ended up throwing it all away as there was no way I could wait 2 years for a smoke!

 

[Paralee]

I'm seriously thinking about putting my husband on nicotine gum. We both got hyperparathyroidism, my op was successful, his wasn't. We both quit smoking in 2010 and that's when our hyperparaT symptoms hit hard.

A lot of things will take down pth (his is too high) and nicotine is one of them. I think maybe he'd feel better.

 

[hmnr asg]

As I mentioned, nicotine gums help me with brain fog also.
Funny thing is that i never smoked before, and every time i go to the store to buy the gums the cashier lady tells me: "GOOD LUCK" since she is under the impression that like most people i am using them to quit smoking. Someday i wanna tell her: im not trying to quit nicotine, im trying to get some! haha

H

 

[cigana]

Does smoking deplete B cells

Good question Anyone?

 

[cigana]

I tried nicotine to see if it helped my depression, after reading about the studies that suggest it does help.
I tried a vape for a short period of time, gum, and actual cigarettes a couple of times. I also tried patches.
I can say that all of them help, but the quick acting ones (vape, gum, cigarettes) caused extra fatigue.
I now continue with patches, because I don't notice a big detrimental change in fatigue, but it really helps very much with depression (practically saved my life). So my suggestion is try the patches too.

 

[Prefect]

Good question Anyone?

Something about it modulating them at this link. Deciphering the nature of that modulation from this article is over my head.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4002379/

 

[antherder]

I've suffered with swollen sinuses ever since getting CFS/ME. I'm now starting to wonder if my wood burning fireplace could be a part of the problem. It seems every November through March is when my sinuses are really bad, especially in January, and it is always around the times that I have fires burning. I just made the connection last week. I've tried every elimination diet I could think of assuming it was a food allergy. But as my doctor pointed out, if food was the culprit, I would have sinus issues all year round.

The last time I used a steroidal nasal spray (Flonase), I ended up with a massive headache. I had to wear my glasses all day long for a couple of weeks, though normally I would only wear them for watching TV or working on the computer. I'll never use it again.

I have a severe reaction to smoke, including from indoor fires. What kind of wood do you burn? Curious as I wonder if it's the smoke, or a reaction to the tree type itself. Just guessing. I'm reasonably confident pine is one of my hay fever triggers, and I've heard of people being made ill by their Christmas trees. Do you burn pinecones?

I don't know if it's still available, but there used to be a non steroidal nasal spray made from sodium cromoglycate that might be worth trying instead, if you haven't already.

Re the original question, I've never been a real smoker, but I would have an occasional cigarette if it didn't make me feel so ick. I'm curious about nicotine patches helping ME. Interesting stuff.