Headaches..

[stubby2]

One of the problems I have with the above study that it is looking at smoking as opposed to nicotine. Well, actually it doesn't even say if there is a difference between the two. It just assumes your getting nicotine from smoking. But they are two very different things as there is a lot going on with smoking that doesn't happen when just using nicotine or smokeless tobacco. CO could just as likely be a cause of headaches as nicotine which is absent in snus. Even they admit there are no good studies so it appears to be a bit of a weak theory based on a lot of assumptions.

[dtschappat30]

I am intaking about 4 portions a day - or i was. I was thinking also that it may be a lack of nicotine. With cigs, at 8mg a pop, I was intaking 80mg a day I guess. Now, I'm only at about 24-32 on avg. My body is used to much more. Makes sense to me.

Also, I haven't purposely increased my intake today and I haven't had a headache yet. I hope the don't come back!

Thx guys for chiming in!

[precious007]

Fact or Fiction: "Quit smoking." Nicotine changes the amount of pain-signaling chemicals in the nervous sytem, like endorphins, serotonin, norephinephrine, and dopamine. The ability of nicotine to alter these chemicals explains why people describe feelings of decreased anxiety or stress with the use of nicotine products. Nicotine use also is associated with increased pain levels in people who suffer from chronic pain.

Not really sure about nicotine...

But the other chemicals in cigarettes are really making me anxious, they're not relaxing me whatsoever...

In smokers it's only a false impression that cigarettes calm their nerves, the reality is that they're always tensioned ...

It is usually too much nicotine causing the headache and not too little. Although I could see it working both ways. I am not so sure about using Sterks. It may feel better to use sterks temporarily but you are literally chasing a dragon. I really would try and lower the dose to just enough nicotine to kill your cravings and leave it at that.

+1

The nicotine overdose is what's causing the headaches...

Just like smoking too many cigarettes, taking too much snuff.... or smoking hookah without taking your time.... I had to give up smoking hookah long ago.... due to the heavy headaches (they call them hookah head) and they vary in lenght from 4 - 24 hours ... they're pretty nasty too... I felt so sick one time and that was enough for me to say NO to smoking hookah...

[WickedKitchen]

One of the problems I have with the above study that it is looking at smoking as opposed to nicotine. Well, actually it doesn't even say if there is a difference between the two. It just assumes your getting nicotine from smoking. But they are two very different things as there is a lot going on with smoking that doesn't happen when just using nicotine or smokeless tobacco. CO could just as likely be a cause of headaches as nicotine which is absent in snus. Even they admit there are no good studies so it appears to be a bit of a weak theory based on a lot of assumptions.

+1. It seems almost all of the studies I've read equate nicotine and smoking.

[brant]

I'd guess it's likely a withdrawal symptom from one of the other thousand chemicals in cigarettes and you'll be fine if that's the case and they only last a couple of minutes.

Sounds kinda like cluster headaches though allbeit less intense. From WebMD:

Cluster headaches are also common in people who smoke and drink alcohol frequently. During a cluster period, the sufferer is more sensitive to the action of alcohol and nicotine, and minimal amounts of alcohol can trigger the headaches. During headache-free periods the person can consume alcohol without provoking a headache.

If this is the case then nicotine is certainly not your friend...or at least not a nice one.

Just to add a bit on cluster headaches - one would know if they were experiencing a cluster headache versus, quite frankly, anything else, they are worse than migraines. dtschappat30, have your headaches come back? Also - are they in the same place, each time, i.e. right above the eye, as well as right to the side of the same eye - each and every time? And, do they feel like someone is sinking a nail or something into those spots? Then, do they last 5 - 20 minutes, then go away? And, do they seem to happen same time every day? Every hour, every 2 hours, feeling like an alarm clock? Then you may know you have cluster headaches. Let's hope that is not the case. Clusters are the worse possible headache - being dubbed suicide headaches - some call em alarm clock headaches. I know because I have had them - and they are painful. But, luckily, treatable. Easily. So, be aware of the distinction - hopefully you are getting too much or too little nicotine, causing your headaches (i.e. like caffeine withdrawal headaches) and not cluster headaches. But - if the feeling is remotely similar to what I have described, get yourself to a neurologist, they would most likely prescribe some lithium (low dosing) - and would kick those headaches to the curb in a day. Once gone, pray they never come back after you stop taking the Li. The reason I say that is sometimes cluster headaches seem "seasonal" - that is, every spring, or every fall. If so, then you just take medication for a few days - boom - good as new. I am grateful they have never returned. Seriously.

I never really attached any significance to cluster headaches and nicotine. I smoked when I had them, and I smoked when I didn't.