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Anyone using Nicotine patches for Long Covid?

Posted by tgroff @tgroff, Apr 19, 2023

There is lots of discussion on Facebook Long Covid forums about nicotine patches helping with long covid symptoms after a few days of adjustment to the patches. Any thoughts on this?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 Support Group.

sandguy | @sandguy | May 25 12:37pm
In reply to @doug8576 "My doctor who has long COVID said he has tried nicotine patches and found them minimally..." + (show)
@doug8576

My doctor who has long COVID said he has tried nicotine patches and found them minimally helpful. However, he said they might work differently for me and he was willing to prescribe.
I am going to try low dose naltrexone for which there is a growing body of research showing it helps many people. LDN is one of things my doc personally takes and finds useful.

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I in fact tried nicotine in gum form--4mg.--and it really didn't have any effect. I was surprised since I've never used nicotine and thought I'd be quite sensitive to it, but no...
I also tried LDN, at different dosages up to 4.5 mg., but unfortunately it started to make me feel a bit worse, if anything.
I'm considering asking my PCP to prescribe something like Adderall or Ritalin, since my problem is nearly exclusively chronic fatigue.

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1 reply
doug8576 | @doug8576 | May 25 7:37pm
In reply to @sandguy "I in fact tried nicotine in gum form--4mg.--and it really didn't have any effect. I was..." + (show)
@sandguy

I in fact tried nicotine in gum form--4mg.--and it really didn't have any effect. I was surprised since I've never used nicotine and thought I'd be quite sensitive to it, but no...
I also tried LDN, at different dosages up to 4.5 mg., but unfortunately it started to make me feel a bit worse, if anything.
I'm considering asking my PCP to prescribe something like Adderall or Ritalin, since my problem is nearly exclusively chronic fatigue.

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Thanks for responding and providing additional information. The articles I've read indicated about 50% positive to LDN. I'll find out which 50% I'm in in th next couple of months.
Discussed Adderall with my doc . He wasn't opposed, but suggested I give the LDN try first. My psychiatrist also suggested i might try modafinal or a related drug armodafinil which are used for shift workers to help them overcome fatigue and stay alertstay awake. Would be interested to hear how the Adderall or Ritalin work out.

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sandguy | @sandguy | May 26 4:05pm

Yes, all those drugs are essentially stimulants, so they make some sense.
In my case, with fatigue being basically my only symptom, they should likely help that. TBH, I'm probably a reasonable candidate from an ADHD standpoint anyways.
I just feel a little hesitant since it seems like such an artificial approach--definitely just treating the symptom instead of the underlying cause, but since researchers haven't definitively identified a cause, I guess it's the best logical approach.
Best of luck with the LDN--perhaps you'll be in the favorable 50!
Let's continue to compare notes, and thanks for your feedback, too.

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sandguy | @sandguy | Jun 2 2:10pm

Look, I think it's possible that you might find some help from the nicotine, and I hope that turns out to be the case. It's very much a natural stimulant, so hopefully it will at least give you some energy. You should be careful, too, because, as is widely acknowledged in the medical establishment (aka medical scientists), to be one of the most addictive substances we know of. Tobacco, of course, has long been used by many native cultures for both its medicinal properties as well as in ceremony.
So I wish you well, and please do let us know how it goes.

Having said that, this particular "doctor", who is actually an ex Tennessee chiropractor who has gone on to be something of a Youtube (etc.) star, seems to be dealing in a great deal of disinformation, and I don't trust him as a source.
I only watched a bit of your posted clip, but I was on guard instantly after seemingly benign references to both Tucker Carlson and R.F.K. Jr.
He notably right away extols a now-discredited theory about smokers being somehow immune to Covid. He also emphasizes "disinformation" about the dangers of nicotine.
(The primary danger of nicotine is indeed its addictive power, and the lung cancers that result are basically from the tars that cigarettes contain, not the nicotine itself. Nobody has claimed that nicotine itself is particularly dangerous, aside from its addictiveness.)
I know people who have worn patches or gum for years (in lieu of smoking), and don't seem to suffer any particular ill effects.
Ardis has a weird fixation on snake venom, and at one point claimed that it was somehow responsible for Covid-19.
He is a conspiracy theorist, and not to be trusted.

Here are some actual scientific journal publications concerning claims of smokers' immunity to Covid:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41533-021-00223-1
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-75632-6 colds
(actually the above one is interesting, from a small Dutch study, that did find smokers did somewhat better, but that it's due to their having higher rates of OTHER covid infections (e.g. colds), that might have increased their immune response)
https://biologyinsights.com/nicotine-and-covid-what-the-research-says-so-far/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14034948241253690

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1 reply
forest32 | @forest32 | Jun 3 2:41pm
In reply to @da69 "Not heard of this but i will try anything at this point." + (show)
@da69

Not heard of this but i will try anything at this point.

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I would literally try meth right now. (Kidding, I think.)

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capuccinofrost | @capuccinofrost | Jun 9 11:43am
In reply to @alayton "Hello everyone, Like many of you, I had been suffering from the effects of covid from..." + (show)
@alayton

Hello everyone,

Like many of you, I had been suffering from the effects of covid from my first known diagnosis (Dec 2020). Had lost taste/smell…with that being the most obvious symptom. Recently started to consider that my brain fog and extreme anxiety and exhaustion were also contributing. Unfortunately I had just always chalked those up to a busy life with a stressful job and active kids in sports…on top of possibly starting menopause at age 45. So who really knows what’s going on, but like many of you…I would try anything to get back to some sort of normal. It’s been a hard road in recent years, to say the least. And a journey most people don’t understand. Fast forward to last week…I was told to try nicotine. I never heard of this, which is crazy enough because I was constantly seeking out articles to find some sort of hope. Well, I started with Gum (tried for 4 days) and then moved into patches for simplicity. I am 1 week into it and I am happy to report that I am now smelling things and also smelling things accurately!!!! I can’t believe it but it’s also been such a huge boost for me mentally. Don’t feel as anxious or as messy mentally as I had been for so long. It’s been so exciting!!! I am making a point to inhale anything and everything with a possible scent. It’s hard to remember what normal or accurate is, but it’s slowly coming back. I am constantly telling others what I smell to see if I am correct! It’s been such a bizarre experience but it has given me hope again!!! No negative side effects after a week…just great things!!! I pray that anyone reading this gives it a try because I understand how lonely and isolated I felt before and to even have a small victory of any kind can completely change despair to hope and it’s a game changer! Hugs and best of luck to all of you…YOU ARE NOT ALONE…stay strong!

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Thank U for the advice. I just put a small patch on my arm and am praying that this works. Dealing with effect from cov for a few yrs.
This gives me a feeling of maybe it will help. Thank you again

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capuccinofrost | @capuccinofrost | Jun 9 12:02pm
In reply to @anneb22 "Thanks for sharing! I was aware that healthy, non-smokers have been using nicotine gum to increase..." + (show)
@anneb22

Thanks for sharing! I was aware that healthy, non-smokers have been using nicotine gum to increase focus well before the pandemic. I bought some nicotine gum a while back but have been hesitant to use it for fear of any bad side effects. Gum seems like a safer starting point than going immediately to a patch though.

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Have you got to use rhe nicotine. I’m anxious to try it

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crowlee | @crowlee | Jun 9 11:51pm

Am I correct in thinking if the nicotine patches work, then most people will be on them indefinitely? I’m curious as I too have LC exhaustion which seems to getting progressively worse! Has anyone else experienced this? It seems I now have a severe allergy to who knows what kind of pollen and my heat intolerance has skyrocketed so much that I almost passed out at work today.
I’m at a complete loss

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1 reply
bmekdeci | @bmekdeci | Jun 10 12:03pm

I have thought a lot about the fatigue component of both ME/CFS and Long Covid. I wonder if the fatigue is actually protecting the body while it heals. Since we don't really know what causes either condition, artificially revving up the ability to exercise could be ultimately detrimental. Careful pacing is at the top of the list for beneficial treatments for both conditions.

REPLY
sweetwater9 | @sweetwater9 | Jun 10 7:26pm
In reply to @sandguy "Look, I think it's possible that you might find some help from the nicotine, and I..." + (show)
@sandguy

Look, I think it's possible that you might find some help from the nicotine, and I hope that turns out to be the case. It's very much a natural stimulant, so hopefully it will at least give you some energy. You should be careful, too, because, as is widely acknowledged in the medical establishment (aka medical scientists), to be one of the most addictive substances we know of. Tobacco, of course, has long been used by many native cultures for both its medicinal properties as well as in ceremony.
So I wish you well, and please do let us know how it goes.

Having said that, this particular "doctor", who is actually an ex Tennessee chiropractor who has gone on to be something of a Youtube (etc.) star, seems to be dealing in a great deal of disinformation, and I don't trust him as a source.
I only watched a bit of your posted clip, but I was on guard instantly after seemingly benign references to both Tucker Carlson and R.F.K. Jr.
He notably right away extols a now-discredited theory about smokers being somehow immune to Covid. He also emphasizes "disinformation" about the dangers of nicotine.
(The primary danger of nicotine is indeed its addictive power, and the lung cancers that result are basically from the tars that cigarettes contain, not the nicotine itself. Nobody has claimed that nicotine itself is particularly dangerous, aside from its addictiveness.)
I know people who have worn patches or gum for years (in lieu of smoking), and don't seem to suffer any particular ill effects.
Ardis has a weird fixation on snake venom, and at one point claimed that it was somehow responsible for Covid-19.
He is a conspiracy theorist, and not to be trusted.

Here are some actual scientific journal publications concerning claims of smokers' immunity to Covid:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41533-021-00223-1
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-75632-6 colds
(actually the above one is interesting, from a small Dutch study, that did find smokers did somewhat better, but that it's due to their having higher rates of OTHER covid infections (e.g. colds), that might have increased their immune response)
https://biologyinsights.com/nicotine-and-covid-what-the-research-says-so-far/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14034948241253690

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I do not think that having covid before helps the immune system as I keep getting it- several times now.

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