Wow - thank you for mentioning my post to your readers :) So glad it resonated with you! Really interesting to see how your experiments with nicotine have gone. I've experimented with the mouth sachets at times, but never the patches
Hey Zan! Found you recently and I’ve enjoyed your in-depth posts. Have you noticed any benefits of the nicotine mouth sachets? (are those like lozenges?)
I've found they give me a good buzz, but sometimes can be nauseating. They're like little pouches that you park in the corner of your mouth for a while, so no sucking
Hi Amy and thanks for sharing this personal case report with nicotine. I’ll add this to my radar. In sure you’ve written about this, but what are you hearing about N-acetylcysteine and naltrexone? I am working with one very self motivated person with long Covid trying these, some positive early feedback but too soon to tell. Have not tried guanfacine as the side effect profile potential is significant,
Thanks for reading, Doc. My sense is that all of these treatments are hit or miss with such a heterogeneous patient population as long haulers. I was on LDN and guanfacine separately for several months each and neither made any difference to me. But I know plenty of long haulers who have benefited from LDN, some quite dramatically in that it has allowed them to work.
I’ve been on and off NAC; no noticeable improvement. However, I recently saw a study that said that NAC and Vitamin C are helpful for tamping down Epstein Barr reactivations, so I’m back on both of those now. My EBV early antigen and nuclear antigen numbers have been off the charts for over three years.
I have been contemplating doing this. Did it improve your baseline at all after coming off of it? I'm assuming that the patches are meant to be used on a semi-regular basis to have any real effect?
I’d say I had a small boost to my baseline after, but then I had a planned trip that set me back a little. I’m going to try another round soon I think.
So interesting that nicotine patches can improve energy levels! Though I wouldn’t necessarily choose it as an option myself, it is good to know there are options and choices out there with experiences and information available to access and read.
The section on caffeine made me LOL😂 there’s such massive debate about it and it does have the ability to abort pain. I’ve danced around with it so much but for me, it’s an indirect trigger to attack. So as much as it can and has put a stop to (milder) pain on occasion, the fact it reduces risk of (migraine) attack in the long term has to be the greater win for me.
Thanks Amber! What I read when I was having my chronic migraines is that daily caffeine intake basically gives you constant rebound headaches, but if you mostly abstain, then having a little caffeine with your pain reliever of choice can then be helpful for a bad headache. Have you heard of the book Heal Your Headache by Dr. David Buchholz? That book really changed my approach to migraine management. He said unequivocally to stop consuming caffeine; it’s not your friend. He explained the mechanisms quite well and from that point on I’ve been drinking decaf.
I heard of that one further down the line so didn’t get round to reading it - I read “balance your hormones, balance your life” early on which pretty much said the same thing though. I drink the mycotoxin free decaf but I’ve got in the habit of drinking tea again recently….literally dancing on and off 😆💃🏼🙃 but allowing myself wiggle room in the process and bringing it back every time. Always improvement over perfection☺️ have a fab time away xx
Thank you! I saw that study too. Looked like it was only post-ICU long haulers. In any event, I’ve basically been following the same regimen of weekly talk therapy and progressive floor exercises.
Both of my in-laws are long vaxxers, or vax-injured long haulers. Also, if you’re a virus long hauler who spends any amount of time in social media groups or on webinars, more and more of the attendees are long vax. The Yale LISTEN study has included them as a cohort and have hundreds enrolled.
I’m not saying these vaccines haven’t prevented a lot of hospitalization and death. But nor can anyone deny that there are thousands having adverse reactions that aren’t being reported on to the public. My own functional medicine doctor advised me against getting any more C-19 vaccines because (in his words) “we just don’t know enough yet about what they’re doing to long haulers.”
The Sunshine State? That's where I am! :)
Whereabouts? I’m in Port St. Lucie (until tomorrow).
South of Ocala... still about 3 hours from you. Hope you've had a restful, relaxing time in the sun! :)
Wow - thank you for mentioning my post to your readers :) So glad it resonated with you! Really interesting to see how your experiments with nicotine have gone. I've experimented with the mouth sachets at times, but never the patches
Hey Zan! Found you recently and I’ve enjoyed your in-depth posts. Have you noticed any benefits of the nicotine mouth sachets? (are those like lozenges?)
Thanks Amy! Glad to have found your work too.
I've found they give me a good buzz, but sometimes can be nauseating. They're like little pouches that you park in the corner of your mouth for a while, so no sucking
Hi Amy and thanks for sharing this personal case report with nicotine. I’ll add this to my radar. In sure you’ve written about this, but what are you hearing about N-acetylcysteine and naltrexone? I am working with one very self motivated person with long Covid trying these, some positive early feedback but too soon to tell. Have not tried guanfacine as the side effect profile potential is significant,
And yes, Florida 🙄
https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/potential-new-treatment-for-brain-fog-in-long-covid-patients/
Thanks for reading, Doc. My sense is that all of these treatments are hit or miss with such a heterogeneous patient population as long haulers. I was on LDN and guanfacine separately for several months each and neither made any difference to me. But I know plenty of long haulers who have benefited from LDN, some quite dramatically in that it has allowed them to work.
I’ve been on and off NAC; no noticeable improvement. However, I recently saw a study that said that NAC and Vitamin C are helpful for tamping down Epstein Barr reactivations, so I’m back on both of those now. My EBV early antigen and nuclear antigen numbers have been off the charts for over three years.
I have been contemplating doing this. Did it improve your baseline at all after coming off of it? I'm assuming that the patches are meant to be used on a semi-regular basis to have any real effect?
I’d say I had a small boost to my baseline after, but then I had a planned trip that set me back a little. I’m going to try another round soon I think.
So interesting that nicotine patches can improve energy levels! Though I wouldn’t necessarily choose it as an option myself, it is good to know there are options and choices out there with experiences and information available to access and read.
The section on caffeine made me LOL😂 there’s such massive debate about it and it does have the ability to abort pain. I’ve danced around with it so much but for me, it’s an indirect trigger to attack. So as much as it can and has put a stop to (milder) pain on occasion, the fact it reduces risk of (migraine) attack in the long term has to be the greater win for me.
Thanks Amber! What I read when I was having my chronic migraines is that daily caffeine intake basically gives you constant rebound headaches, but if you mostly abstain, then having a little caffeine with your pain reliever of choice can then be helpful for a bad headache. Have you heard of the book Heal Your Headache by Dr. David Buchholz? That book really changed my approach to migraine management. He said unequivocally to stop consuming caffeine; it’s not your friend. He explained the mechanisms quite well and from that point on I’ve been drinking decaf.
I heard of that one further down the line so didn’t get round to reading it - I read “balance your hormones, balance your life” early on which pretty much said the same thing though. I drink the mycotoxin free decaf but I’ve got in the habit of drinking tea again recently….literally dancing on and off 😆💃🏼🙃 but allowing myself wiggle room in the process and bringing it back every time. Always improvement over perfection☺️ have a fab time away xx
Hello Amy - This came in my inbox and thought of you. Be careful in Florida, there's plenty of biting members of arthropoda phylum vectors. :)
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/long-covid-patients-see-improvement-online-program
Thank you! I saw that study too. Looked like it was only post-ICU long haulers. In any event, I’ve basically been following the same regimen of weekly talk therapy and progressive floor exercises.
Well, I am disappointed with the Campbell youtube link. He is spreading a lot of mis/disinformation, Long vaccine? Vaccination has reduced PCC. https://www.jwatch.org/na56865/2023/12/15/how-well-do-covid-19-vaccines-work-prevent-post-covid-19
Both of my in-laws are long vaxxers, or vax-injured long haulers. Also, if you’re a virus long hauler who spends any amount of time in social media groups or on webinars, more and more of the attendees are long vax. The Yale LISTEN study has included them as a cohort and have hundreds enrolled.
I’m not saying these vaccines haven’t prevented a lot of hospitalization and death. But nor can anyone deny that there are thousands having adverse reactions that aren’t being reported on to the public. My own functional medicine doctor advised me against getting any more C-19 vaccines because (in his words) “we just don’t know enough yet about what they’re doing to long haulers.”