Moderator's Note:
The study below demonstrates that nicotine, regardless of administration method causes Smoker's Melanosis, and it is likely that by extension, whether specifically demonstrated or not, this action will accelerate the visible signs of skin aging by a similar uneven discoloration and an increase in the number of moles which smokers and their families get.
The long-term effect of nicotine on the oral mucosa.
Someone else suggested this and I thought I would give it a shot.
I'm surprisingly encouraged so far, but I want to learn more about nicotine to determine its long term safety before I take things too far.
Day one, just testing. I bought 14 21mg nicotine patches before. I assumed that they would not be very strong as they are OTC, but boy was I ever wrong. I tried one full patch, and in 20 minutes I started to feel waves of sleepiness, which is my general reaction to stimulants. Mood was also immediately lifted to an ENORMOUS degree. Feels somewhat like adderal, except much stronger at the same dosage leverl and with a much higher effect on mood.
I cut the patch in half but I still felt like I was 'speeding' instead olf just calm and relaxed. I spent an hour or so in the sun doing yardwork, and got quite a bit done, also some minor chores around the house. I sweated profusely, though, and had to lie down and watch tv a while. Dose still seemed too strong, so I cut it in half again. It seems for someone who has never smoked and is in generals ensitive to drugs, a quarter of a patch (~5 mg) is PLENTY. Much more mood enhancement than adderal, but not as much anxiety reduction or appetite decrease, but unlike adderal seems to raise my blood pressure five points. Luckily, I have low blood pressure already.
At 1/4 patch, the focus is definitely there, but no hyperfocus so that is good. I got interested in tv and spent a few hours straight watching it. Sounds silly, but for me that is unusual - I normally watch tv chopped into tiny segments or when I do lots of other things. Right now I feel 'in the zone'. Basically, normal, I think. How I imagine normal people feel, and if I were at work I imagine I could be responsive and handle my assignments well without getting too bored or distracted. I've had several conversations and was able to engage fully without wanting to cut them short. I was talking a bit too much/too fast on half a patch, but 1/4 seems to put me just right for conversation, which seems to be the best, easiest measure I have of how focused I am as it's one of my biggest problem areas.
Biggest worries are about health and getting addicted to nicotine. I'll have to research the health aspects before committing to it longterm, but since it is slow release I don't worry too much about addicition.
Effect seems much better than I expected, maybe enough to be able to drop adderal, which is a good thing because addy is expensive and annoying to deal with due to being a controlled substance and requiring psych visits which themselves are very expensive. The fact it's a 24 hour patch is great, too. I am planning for now to take it off at bedtime, but that might make it hard to sleep. It might make it easier, too. Hard to tell, but I don't want to build up a big tolerance if I can help it.
Edited by YOLF, 25 March 2017 - 01:20 AM.
