Posted by Dave on 5/31/2009, 10:33 pm, in reply to "Re: Sick from smoking? "
68.11.149.9
Short answer: Yes, I've found it to be the case that Adderall and ephedrine (another CNS stimulant) both increase my urge to smoke, and both make it more pleasurable to smoke as well.
Much longer answer: At one point in the 90s I was working shifts that included 48-hour-straight weekends, and often ended up taking ephedrine to stay awake on a very long drive home (this was well before the big hoopla over ephedrine--when it was still next to the register in every truck stop, and was thought of more as "super-caffeine" than a drug). It would keep me awake, but it would also give me powerful, insatiable cravings to smoke, and there were times when I actually burned through an entire pack during my three-hour commute.
Adderall hasn't been nearly that bad for increasing my urge to light up, but it's definitely done so now that you mention it. I've been too focused on a huge amount of work I have to get done to really stop and think about it much (probably partially the effects of the Adderall), but the first couple of days I was taking it I actually ended up smoking more on each day than I have in years. On the second day, I went to bed with maybe three cigarettes left in my second pack of the day.
When that happened, I made a conscious note to slow down. I'd say the increased urge to smoke is, for me, part of that "in the zone" chugging along feeling that Adderall produces. I'm single and work from home a good bit of the time, which is probably one reason why I smoke more than many others here. But with Adderall, even more than usual, it becomes very easy and very pleasurable to integrate lots of cigarettes into long bursts of productive time at my desk. For lack of a better way to put it, smoking just goes very, very well with that sort of intense, focused, goal-oriented mindset. Since the first couple of days however, I've kept my smoking down to the usual pack a day by simply telling telling myself that a pack is all I'm going to smoke, and then reminding myself while I'm working that it's not going to be good if I don't have cigarettes left over to relax with in the evening.
By the way, I haven't had any problem with nausea due to Adderall either. I haven't mentioned any of this to my psychiatrist yet, but I'm kind of interested to see what she says about it. Thanks for bringing this to my attention with your question, Jay!
Dave
--Previous Message--
: Dave,
:
: Thanks. Friday was one of those days that
: my body probably could have handled very
: little, so I think you're probably right.
: You mentioned you've been nauseated from
: tobacco when you've been sleep-deprived- I
: should add I was also going on about 4 hours
: of sleep from the night before, too.
: Although nausea is often mentioned as one of
: Adderall's side effects, I haven't had any
: trouble at all with nausesa since I've been
: taking it, whether on a day I've smoked or
: not.
: I've probably smoked a little more regularly
: (meaning actually smoking 1 or 2 every day
: ] since I've been on the Adderall. That's a
: side effect I don't see in any medical
: literature, and my psychiatrist was
: suprrised when I mentioned it to him, but I
: see many message board postings from
: Adderall users about it increasing their
: desire to smoke. Have you found that to be
: the case?
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: I can't say for certain that it's not the
: Adderall (I'm certainly no medical expert)
: but I can say that I started taking
: prescribed Adderall just a couple of weeks
: ago, and I've had no trouble with becoming
: ill after smoking. However, I'm also
: accustomed to a much higher daily dose of
: nicotine, as I typically smoke a pack of
: cigarettes a day at this point, or use an
: equivalent amount of Swedish snus.
:
: I've smoked and used oral tobacco for going
: on 21 years now, and it is very rare for me
: to feel pronounced "buzz" effects
: from either one (which I think is a good
: thing, as I far prefer the more mellow
: relaxation/satisfaction/pleasure that comes
: with regular tobacco use than the
: disorienting "buzz" that others
: seem to crave). Even so, there have been
: times when I've gotten nauseated and worse
: from using what for me is a normal amount of
: tobacco. This is extremely uncommon--it's
: happened maybe 4-5 times in all the years
: since I became a regular tobacco user--but
: it HAS happened nevertheless. Generally when
: it's occurred, I've been sleep-deprived,
: tired, hungry, and stressed. It's also only
: ever happened with snus, but that's probably
: because I am the types of snus I typically
: use are quite strong, delivering a quantity
: of nicotine that is the equivalent of
: several cigarettes at once.
:
: The gist: Our situations are different in
: some ways that may or may not be
: significant, but I've experienced similar
: issues on a very infrequent basis, and all
: occurrences were before I ever began taking
: Adderall. Which leads me to guess that what
: you experienced was probably the result of a
: combination of stress, not-so-great food,
: and possibly nicotine. Even though you
: obviously didn't overdo the nicotine with 3
: cigarettes, what your body is able or
: willing to handle under less-than-ideal
: conditions is not always predictable. Though
: again, I'm no expert.
:
: Dave
:
: --Previous Message--
: I said a few weeks ago I was going to quit
: and
: would tell my wife about my smoking if I lit
: up again. Well, I'm 0 for 2 on both now-
: smoking again, and still haven't had the
: conversation with my wife. Except I had an
: experience Friday that, if I remember it
: each time I want to smoke, that memory may
: be the perfect behavior modification
: technique. (We'll see if that works past
: Tuesday . . .)
:
: I've been smoking at least 1 or 2 cigarettes
: every work day for the past 2 weeks, getting
: one in at the train station before I leave
: for work and one in the afternoon if I can
: sneak out of the office for a few minutes.
: Friday was a very stressful day of trying to
: meet a deadline on one project and trying to
: tie up another project that won't go away.
: Until lunch, my stomach had been empty
: except for coffee and the 2 Adderall I had
: taken up to that point (prescribed for my
: ADD), and I had smoked one cigarette in the
: morning and one on my way to lunch. I ate a
: much greasier lunch than I normally eat.
: Then, I smoked my 3rd cigarette of the day.
: So, I prance back to work, high off the
: buzz, then I get back to my desk and feel
: extremely nauseated. In just a few
: minutes, I had my first of 3 trips to the
: bathroom to vomit. This isn't the only time
: I've felt nauseated after smoking, but it
: hasn't happened in a few years. I hadn't had
: an experience like this since the first time
: I smoked (a night in grad school when I was
: dumb enough to smoke half the pack when I
: had never smoked before!).
:
: Even though my smoking life has never
: advanced beyond chipper status, I still
: thought it was a little odd to be that
: nauseated after just 3 cigarettes for the
: day (I've had at least 3 or more in a day
: before without any reaction), particularly
: since, for me, I've been smoking more
: regularly in the past few months. I smoked
: my usual brand, too (full flavor American
: Spirits), so it wasn't a bad reaction to a
: strange cigarette I had never tried before.
: So, I was wondering if any of you other
: chippers (5 or less a day) on the board, or
: even some of you who smoke more regularly,
: have had an experience like this, where you
: don't get any strange feeling from smoking
: for a long time, then one day, you
: unexpectedly get nauseated after smoking?
: Just curious . . .
:
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