# I'm ready to try nicotine for my ADD: e-cigs or patch? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142 "2011-05-16T21:31:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/21 "2011-05-17T17:42:18Z")
**Stoid** , has your doctor tried any drugs besides Adderall, and has he tried different doses? I don’t remember the list, now, but my shrink had me review about twelve different drugs online before we picked one to start with. And the main reasons for trying Adderall first were that it has a long history, so we could expect that most of the side effects had already been noted, and it was available in generic form, which was and is cheaper. If mine stopped doing it for me, I wouldn’t rule out nicotine; but I wouldn’t make it Plan B. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/22 "2011-05-17T17:53:44Z")
I wouldn’t try anything (cigs, e cigs, chew, gum, lozenges) where you control your own dosage. It would be too easy to start upping the level and upping the level in a way you would never do with a prescribed drug. If you want to approach it as a medicinal drug I think the patch is the only way to go. I say this as a chewer. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/23 "2011-05-17T18:00:25Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Given your situation, and only in consultation with a medical doctor, I’d suggest the patch over the e-cig. > > Don’t get me wrong, I’m a great proponent of the e-cig for people who want to quit smoking. HOWEVER, since you’re not currently smoking, I think it’s too risky to use a nicotine delivery system that so closely mimics a cigarette. I’m afraid that the first time you’re out of juice or out of batteries, you’ll grab a pack of smokes instead. The very thing that makes it so good for quitting smoking - allowing smokers to inhale, to hold a cylinder between your fingers, to make the hand to mouth motions that are just as hard to give up as the nicotine - make it a bad choice for you. Patch, pretty much for these same reasons. Smoking cigarettes has a certain “sucker effect” (sucker as in “that thing you give to little kids to quiet them”, not as in the insult) - many, many people do things with their mouths when they’re nervous which they don’t do when calm: suck/nibble on their lower lip, a pen(cil), a drinking straw, a knuckle or a cig. I don’t think that’s something you want to mix with medication. The most “medication” form, and as **sitchensis** says the one with the most controlled dosage, is the patch. And of course talk to your doc etc etc. I’ve suspected for a while, but have no way to test it, that my father’s long-standing smoking habit (and yes, he died of cancer, but of one that’s not been linked to tobacco and has been linked to asbestos) was a form of self-medication. I’m talking about a guy who took speed once and promptly fell asleep, his friend gave up on trying to wake him up after half an hour and just crammed on his own: definitely not a standard reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/24 "2011-05-17T18:11:09Z")
You might want to do some research on Ariva and/or Stonewall dissolvable tobacco. They can be hard to find but it might be worth it to you. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/25 "2011-05-17T18:30:50Z")
I think the patch - for the long, slow delivery. The other choices give you an hour of clearheadedness, followed by an hour of needing some, followed by 20 minutes of intake and relaxation. It’s a rollercoaster. The patch is just a contstant and erases those ups and downs; which is really the whole point, isn’t it? Also, start with the smallest dose you can find. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/26 "2011-05-17T18:53:04Z")
So I’m on the patch. I bought the cheapest ones, which are the highest dose, and I’ve cut it into quarters. I wore one last night and I felt it, and I also had an unusually productive hour working on something I’d been struggling with. It was simple, but I hadn’t been dealing. So far this morning…well, we’ll see. But I definitely feel it in my body. Not sure how I feel about that. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/27 "2011-05-17T18:55:05Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > So I’m on the patch. I bought the cheapest ones, which are the highest dose, and I’ve cut it into quarters. I wore one last night and I felt it, and I also had an unusually productive hour working on something I’d been struggling with. It was simple, but I hadn’t been dealing. > > So far this morning…well, we’ll see. But I definitely feel it in my body. Not sure how I feel about that. Well, if it’s any comfort, when I forget my thyroid meds I can definitely feel the difference as well. I’m glad you are getting some early benefit! ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/28 "2011-05-17T19:10:33Z")
Why not discuss other meds with your doctor first? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/29 "2011-05-17T19:13:38Z")
Given that you are a former smoker, I’d be a bit concerned about getting readdicted to nicotine. Even if you intend to confine it to the patch, it seems like it would be pretty easy for old habits and cravings to resurface once you’re fully dependent again. Given how terrible smoking is for one’s health, particularly if one is overweight, this seems like a dangerous gamble. You’d hate to have to quit smoking a second time, I’d imagine. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/30 "2011-05-17T19:25:45Z")
I don’t know if you should cut the patches up. The Nicoderm FAQ says [not to](http://www.nicodermcq.com/nicoderm-faqs.aspx#Q20). I would be worried that the first part you use when you cut it delivers too much nicotine and the others have lost their potency. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/31 "2011-05-17T19:32:53Z")
How the heck are you going to know whether it is working? How will you make a control test? Are there such tests to determine if someone has ADD? I.e.; Some math problems, pick up sticks, book report, or the like done in a before & after situation? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/32 "2011-05-17T20:24:24Z")
> [@Spit](#): > > How the heck are you going to know whether it is working? How will you make a control test? For someone with clinical ADD, that’s not a problem. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/33 "2011-05-17T20:34:53Z")
Uh…yeah, you’re \*\*\*\*not \*\*\*\*supposed to cut the Patch. There’s some concern (and it’s not well studied) that more nicotine will excrete at the cut edge than is safe. If the patch is intact, as designed, it’s essentially time release. If you break the barrier, you could overdose on nicotine. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/34 "2011-05-17T20:36:59Z")
The difference on/off meds is unmistakable. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/35 "2011-05-17T21:18:52Z")
Husserl, it was related to me anecdotally by someone who could read his peculiar shorthand, gave himself “nicotine poisoning” in the course of his daily activities by smoking his pipe too much. “Because he worked too hard,” is the way it was described to me. Since taking up pipe smoking, I find it hard to concentrate without at minimum knowing I have a ready supply of tabaccy at hand. I was happier just drinking pots of black tea to boost myself, than being habituated to the same substance (as delivered by pipe) delivered by another means than those short white cigars. OTOH, try the gum – or a nicotrol inhaler – why not? I had an ex who liked to experiment with that, and she still doesn’t smoke, AFIK (apparently she started long after we “broke up”) RE Nicotrol Inhalers – you need a script, but I’ve had dentists, even those who haven’t seen me in a professional capacity, prescribe. It’s not a big deal these days (it was in the late 1990s) to get a scription. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/36 "2011-05-17T21:24:54Z")
ETA not that dentists aren’t doctors, but that dentists are someone the average person might see more frequently than a GP. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/37 "2011-05-17T22:19:58Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > For someone with clinical ADD, that’s not a problem. Very true. That’s the up and the down of ADD vs. other neurological disorders treatable with meds: no buildup. You take your drugs, they work or not. > [@WhyNot](#): > > Uh…yeah, you’re \*\*\*\*not \*\*\*\*supposed to cut the Patch. There’s some concern (and it’s not well studied) that more nicotine will excrete at the cut edge than is safe. If the patch is intact, as designed, it’s essentially time release. If you break the barrier, you could overdose on nicotine. The one study that I read they cut the patch, so… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/38 "2011-05-17T23:43:37Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > You’re kidding, right? Or vastly uneducated, one or the other. The liquid nicotine in e-cigs is not carcinogenic. No tar, no smoke. It’s fucking water vapor. Have you followed any of Stoid’s threads? Like many people with ADHD she has an addictive personality type. It will be a matter of weeks before she’s smoking regular cigarettes again, with all the tar and smoke, which is why taking this first step in that direction is a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/39 "2011-05-18T00:43:25Z")
Nicotine is bad for your lungs no matter how you inhale it. It destroys lung cells. I don’t know what is conclusively known about nicotine usage from the patch. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142/40 "2011-05-18T01:04:05Z")
Well, you’ve been tested for ADD and you have it - OK. But I have to agree with your initial assessment that it’s pretty ridiculous to say that “losing my ability to focus on reading after stopping was pretty compelling evidence that I had been using nicotine to self-medicate”. People get screwed up when they are quitting, and losing the ability to concentrate is one of those side effects. I seem to remember you’ve had some wacky adventures in the past few years that could also distract you from frivolous reading. I mean, you were able to concentrate on those law texts, right? Anyhow, I have to agree that cutting the patches can screw with the dosage, even if you aren’t likely to OD. I would try some of the more expensive smaller dosages to see if the effects are the same as the quartered larger one. Then maybe spend a week smoking, as a “control group” type thing. I kid! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-ready-to-try-nicotine-for-my-add-e-cigs-or-patch/582142.md?page=3)