Doing Nicotine Patch treatment for my CFS but can't find 3.5mg doses

[overtheedge]

So I've seen a lot of people recommend Nicotine Patches for MECFS & Long Covid so i've decided to give it a try

The Healthrising blog post below and the links I pasted below it which I found in the Healthrising blog post talk of half patches being available here in America which deliver 3.5mg. (edit: i looked over these links again and they only said half patches weren't available in Europe and i just assumed that was in comparison to the US but with no mention of America in the actual links perhaps they aren't available in America either?)

https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2023/12/07/nicotine-patch-long-covid-chronic-fatigue-fibromyalgia/
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#TheNicotineTest - Safety Guidelines Protocol 3.0: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HixwYLTz0necaF9mbT-ZuCdUFx1BAmZKcLKo-IpNKFQ/edit

#TheNicotineTest - FAQs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j6q7i0fYlMSCen87zaerh54SGc-jSM8TE6MbcKOl7dk/edit

The online communities related to Nicotine Patches discuss 3.5mg patches as well like they're common

But when I try and buy 3.5mg doses of nicotine patches on amazon and other online shops only 7mg, 14mg, and 21mg doses come up. When I look up 3.5mg nicotine patches on google it's mostly just in relation to people doing nicotine patch treatment for CFS or LC

Searched half patches on amazon & elsewhere too but all i found was large dose sizes where half the patch is already 7mg

I know I could cover part of the patches but I don't want to do that each time and so would rather get ones that are already the right dose

Incidentally does anyone have a brand that they can vouch for?

 

[cfs since 1998]

Could you cut a 7mg patch in half?

 

[overtheedge]

from what i read in those links i posted cutting patches in half could lead to nicotine being released all at once and causing bad side effects. Or it could lead to nicotine simply being released irregularly and not causing the right kind of benefits

 

[JES]

Yeah they claim that, but it didn't for me. It may depend on the country and how the patches look like, but for me the patch was just a thin solid duct-tape like thing. You can also try to fold the patch in half and only apply one side to the skin and use extra tape to attach it.

 

[bad1080]

i read what people are doing is to tape off half of a 7mg patch

 

[Springbok1988]

I cut nicotine patches in half for several weeks and had no issues at all. I read that the patches that are filled with liquid are the kind you shouldn’t cut. The completely flat kind where the nicotine is mixed with the adhesive is the kind that I used without a problem.

Nicotine worked really well for me for about two weeks then it dropped off and now doesn’t do much for me. Often, it even makes me worse which I don’t understand since it did me so much good before.

 

[junkcrap50]

I cut nicotine patches in half for several weeks and had no issues at all. I read that the patches that are filled with liquid are the kind you shouldn’t cut. The completely flat kind where the nicotine is mixed with the adhesive is the kind that I used without a problem.

Nicotine worked really well for me for about two weeks then it dropped off and now doesn’t do much for me. Often, it even makes me worse which I don’t understand since it did me so much good before.

The nicotine should be done in short cycles with time off the nicotine so the receptors don't get down regulated. The nicotine people say to take it for max 2 weeks, but often only 7-10 days.

 

[Springbok1988]

I was doing 14 days on and 14 days off. I meant I cut them in half for the first couple of 14 day periods. Maybe that was too long and that’s why it stopped working but nearly everything stops working for me after a while. Also, whenever I use it now I get really depressed when I remove it.

 

[JES]

The nicotine should be done in short cycles with time off the nicotine so the receptors don't get down regulated. The nicotine people say to take it for max 2 weeks, but often only 7-10 days.

Well yeah the long COVID folks who developed the "nicotine test" had indeed used it only for a couple of weeks. There was even an article describing these improvements (link). It is the same story though that I suspect most patients who became "cured" after a few days of nicotine patch were not sick for a long duration before the intervention or were already improving.

 

[cfs since 1998]

Nicotine worked really well for me for about two weeks then it dropped off and now doesn’t do much for me. Often, it even makes me worse which I don’t understand since it did me so much good before.

Caffeine does the same thing for me as well. Every time, it's pretty much two weeks on the dot before it loses its effect.