Nicotine patches and tics
Question:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Benita Winslow wrote: > "Sesgardner" <sesgard…@aol.com> wrote in message > news:20020304114654.26702.00001819@mb-fm.aol.com… > > Nancy wrote: > > >I’ve read the articles, too, and have been browsing the local Rite Aid > for > > >nicotine patches…unfortunately, I just cannot afford $25 a week for > > >patches, if > > >I don’t know ahead of time they’re going to work. > > How about Nicorette gum? Is that still out there? I have no experience, > it > > just came to mind when you said the patches were too expensive. Also, I > THINK > > patches can be cut in half, etc? Does anyone know?? > > Sara > Hola! > When I quit smoking, I used the gum. I found that it was also available as a > ’store brand’ at CVS and Walgreen drug stores, which lowered the price > appreciably. I don’t know if the patches are available as ’store brand’ > merchandise yet. > Please be aware that the gum is VERY hard on your teeth and (ahem) gums. The > patch may be a better choice just on that account. > Hugs, > Benita
Benita…thanks for the information. I have not-so-strong teeth, so it sounds like the gum wouldn’t work well for me. And, I honestly don’t have a problem buying the patches (I’d give up going to lunch and dinner and movies, and even knitting and quilting, if need be), if I know they’re going to work… Nancy …who hopes *someone* out there has had a good experience with the patch…I’d *hate* to go back to smoking (well, okay, maybe HATE is too strong a word…anyone got a Camel?)
Response:
I tried the nicotine patch in a study done about 9 years ago, give or take a few. It works. I had some unwanted side effects while taking it, very jittery, and no appetite what so ever. I finally had to stop taking it around 10 weeks after I started because I lost too much weight. I would say "give it a go" if you can afford it, just be cautious of the side effects, check with your doctor first, and if you have smoked in the past, perhaps if you didn’t have the jitters or loss of appetite while smoking, then maybe you won’t with the nicotine patch. Take care, Kim *This email address does not accept any mail. If you would like to email me, please let me know in a post to the group. I want to keep my regular email address off newsgroups entirely. Thanks!
Response:
Kim wrote: > I had some unwanted side effects while taking it, very >jittery, and no appetite what so ever. I finally had to stop taking it >around >10 weeks after I started because I lost too much weight.
Hey, weight loss! That sounds like a side benefit to me! The jitteryness, though, that’s a different story. Thanks for telling us your experience, Kim. Sara
Response:
"Grrr" <grr…@AMpost.com> wrote in message
news:9o188u0nsr466ed6tgl4cg9oe56dttlr3q@4ax.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> On 04 Mar 2002 16:46:54 GMT, sesgard…@aol.com (Sesgardner) wrote: > >Nancy wrote: > >>I’ve read the articles, too, and have been browsing the local Rite Aid for > >>nicotine patches…unfortunately, I just cannot afford $25 a week for > >>patches, if > >>I don’t know ahead of time they’re going to work. > >How about Nicorette gum? Is that still out there? I have no experience, it > >just came to mind when you said the patches were too expensive. Also, I THINK > >patches can be cut in half, etc? Does anyone know?? > seriously, the gum, by some smokers accounts i’ve heard, is just like > chewing on dog turds. > i’m not a smoker myself, but have tried the gum, and can verify this > to be true.
Your analogy is very apt. As I mentioned before, the gum is very hard on the teeth and oral mucosa. The patches could very well be cut in half and applied, I would think, if you find the right tape to adhere the cut side to your body. I would recommend a good wound dressing tape, hypoallergenic. Your pharmacist should be able to point you in the right direction. Dang. Weight loss sounds like a side benefit to me, too! Hugs, Benita
Response:
Nancy, My son uses the nicotine patch periodically, when tics are waxing. My understanding is that the studies involved use of a low dose patch, worn only 1 day a week, never more often, and that the effect was cumulative and some people found themselves using the patch less frequently as time went by. Use only one day a week prevents tolerance or addiction, but also means that queasiness usually occurs. That’s what his doctor at the time said, and he was a member of TSA of GA’s medical advisory board and has been a conference speaker. So, a box lasts quite a while. Cecelia – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Marc, Sara… > I’ve read the articles, too, and have been browsing the local Rite Aid for > nicotine patches…unfortunately, I just cannot afford $25 a week for patches, if > I don’t know ahead of time they’re going to work. > Anecdotally (sp, Randall?), I was a pack-a-day smoker for ten years…never ticced > once…assumed i had outgrown the tcs as an adult, until I quit smoking ten years > ago, and the tics came back. When I went back to smoking a couple of years later, > they disappeared again, and didn’t return until I quit (for good!) a few years > ago. > Just my experience; YMMV, of course. > Nancy > …who wishes patches could be PRESCRIBED!
Response:
KymHere wrote: > I tried the nicotine patch in a study done about 9 years ago, give or take a > few. It works. I had some unwanted side effects while taking it, very > jittery, and no appetite what so ever. I finally had to stop taking it around > 10 weeks after I started because I lost too much weight.
Well…that’s enough for me…controlling tics AND weight loss — sounds like great benefits to me! Benita suggested cutting the patches in half…and someone else suggested using only one patch once a week — any thoughts on these ideas? I have wanted to do this for a while…my dh has been encouraging me to try, because he knows I’m tired of ticcing (I’m blinking so bad I’m having trouble driving sometimes…) Thanks — I’ll definately let you know how it goes, as I do it… Nancy …who is always willing to try *something* once…and maybe even twice! <giggle>
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -"NJennings" <njenni…@mare.org> wrote in message > KymHere wrote: > > I tried the nicotine patch in a study done about 9 years ago, give or take a > > few. It works. I had some unwanted side effects while taking it, very > > jittery, and no appetite what so ever. I finally had to stop taking it around > > 10 weeks after I started because I lost too much weight. > Well…that’s enough for me…controlling tics AND weight loss — sounds like > great benefits to me! > Benita suggested cutting the patches in half…and someone else suggested using > only one patch once a week — any thoughts on these ideas? > I have wanted to do this for a while…my dh has been encouraging me to try, > because he knows I’m tired of ticcing (I’m blinking so bad I’m having trouble > driving sometimes…) > Thanks — I’ll definately let you know how it goes, as I do it… > Nancy > …who is always willing to try *something* once…and maybe even twice! > <giggle>
Hi there Nancy, I wouldn’t do anything without talking to your doc.. Someone else I know was experimenting with the patch and although he found it very helpful in some ways he also began experiencing chest pain. He stopped it. Just be careful, it is a drug. Lara
Response:
The question I forgot to ask about this is whether or not you need to be on other meds for the patches to work. I’m currently not on any medication for my tics as the ones the doctors put me on either had absolutely no effect or the side effects were much worse than the tics. I’d be afraid to try the lower dose patches and then have them not work. I was thinking of trying the strongest one to see what it would do and then if it worked, cutting down to the weaker ones until it no longer worked so I could see what level I should be at. I’m so desperate to find something to get rid of this curse that I think I would try anything. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Cecelia wrote: > Nancy, > My son uses the nicotine patch periodically, when tics are waxing. My > understanding is that the studies involved use of a low dose patch, > worn only 1 day a week, never more often, and that the effect was > cumulative and some people found themselves using the patch less > frequently as time went by. Use only one day a week prevents > tolerance or addiction, but also means that queasiness usually occurs. > That’s what his doctor at the time said, and he was a member of TSA of > GA’s medical advisory board and has been a conference speaker. So, a > box lasts quite a while. > Cecelia > > Marc, Sara… > > I’ve read the articles, too, and have been browsing the local Rite Aid for > > nicotine patches…unfortunately, I just cannot afford $25 a week for patches, if > > I don’t know ahead of time they’re going to work. > > Anecdotally (sp, Randall?), I was a pack-a-day smoker for ten years…never ticced > > once…assumed i had outgrown the tcs as an adult, until I quit smoking ten years > > ago, and the tics came back. When I went back to smoking a couple of years later, > > they disappeared again, and didn’t return until I quit (for good!) a few years > > ago. > > Just my experience; YMMV, of course. > > Nancy > > …who wishes patches could be PRESCRIBED!
Response:
>From: NJennings >Benita suggested cutting the patches in half…and someone else suggested >using >only one patch once a week — any thoughts on these ideas?
Benita’s idea sounds great! Maybe you could start with the smallest dosage patch and cut it in half. Wear it that way for a day (I think there is a max of 16 hours) and see if you feel a difference. If not, then try a whole one for a day, still no results, then try 1 1/2 and so on. With the nicotine patch, if it is going to work, you will notice immediate results. I noticed a reduction in tics in less than an hour. In the study that I participated in, I wore the patch every other day while awake, not just once a week. I don’t know if there were participants who wore it only one day a week, but there were some who wore it every day. Take care, Kim *This email address does not accept any mail. If you would like to email me, please let me know in a post to the group. I want to keep my regular email address off newsgroups entirely. Thanks!
Response:
‘Twas Mon, 04 Mar 2002 10:44:02 -0500 when all alt.support.tourette stood in awe as NJennings <njenni…@mare.org> uttered: >Anecdotally (sp, Randall?),
Correct. >I was a pack-a-day smoker for ten years…never ticced >once…assumed i had outgrown the tcs as an adult, until I quit smoking ten years >ago, and the tics came back. When I went back to smoking a couple of years later, >they disappeared again, and didn’t return until I quit (for good!) a few years >ago. >Just my experience; YMMV, of course.
The M does V quite a bit. I wonder now if my mother smoked cigarettes to stop her from ticcing. She tics a little bit, and if she can suppress tics as well as I can, this may mean that she has a lot of tics in her head. I really don’t know if she ticced when she smoked, because I wasn’t looking for it. Part of the reason she didn’t believe I have Tourette is that she has a mild case herself, and just thinks everyone is that way. — RB |
