 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / General / General / July 2005Nicotine Withdrawal Question?
How long do withdrawal symptoms last when a person quits using nicotine? >How long do withdrawal symptoms last when a person quits using nicotine? It varies. The worst is generally over at 10 days to 2 weeks, but there can be recurring cravings for as long as a year after quitting. In my case, I used the patch and I was free of almost all cravings after about 3 months (I used the patch only for about 8 weeks). I have been nocitine-free for almst 10 years now and have had no cravings at all. Best, Bob >>How long do withdrawal symptoms last when a person quits using nicotine? > > It varies. The worst is generally over at 10 days to 2 weeks, but > there can be recurring cravings for as long as a year after quitting. Is there a nicotine antagonist that can trigger immediate withdrawal, like naltrexone does for opiates? > In my case, I used the patch and I was free of almost all cravings > after about 3 months (I used the patch only for about 8 weeks). > I have been nocitine-free for almst 10 years now and have had no > cravings at all. It's surprising that you should be an MD and find the patch necessary. My dad was a physician, in the days before the patch, and he had a method of slowly weaning people from cigarettes. I've always believed that it should work for other highly addictive drugs, like heroin. I don't think you'd need rapid detox if you just meter your dosage precisely and slowly, methodically reduce it. It may be slow, but it's cheap and a lot less dangerous. >>>How long do withdrawal symptoms last when a person quits using nicotine? >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Is there a nicotine antagonist that can trigger immediate withdrawal, like >naltrexone does for opiates? >> In my case, I used the patch and I was free of almost all cravings >> after about 3 months (I used the patch only for about 8 weeks). [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >precisely and slowly, methodically reduce it. It may be slow, but it's >cheap and a lot less dangerous. I disagree. "Weaning" does not work with cigarette withdrawal. Most folks who "wean" fail. Same thing holds true with alcoholism. It appears that you have to stop "cold turkey". If you can handle the distress and pain, fine; but the patch is very helpful, much like Methadone is helpful during opiate withdrawal. The nicotine patch, by the way, is not particularly "dangerous". It is not recommended that someone using the nicotine patch smoke as well, as the dosage of nicotine may be too high. Best, Bob Robert A. Fink, M. D. Neurological Surgery 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, CA 94704-2636 USA 510-849-2555 ********************************** NOTE: The material above is not "medical advice". Medical advice can only be given after an in-person contact between doctor and patient. ********************************** Well, I've found my nicotine antagonist. It's name is mecamylamine, and it triggers instantaneous withdrawal. Do you know if antagonist triggered nicotine withdrawal will last just as long as ordinary withdrawal, or will it end sooner, but be more intense? >Well, I've found my nicotine antagonist. It's name is mecamylamine, and it >triggers instantaneous withdrawal. Do you know if antagonist triggered >nicotine withdrawal will last just as long as ordinary withdrawal, or will >it end sooner, but be more intense? Mecamylamine (Inversine) is a drug occasionally used for the control of high blood pressure. It is moderately toxic and can have interactions with a number of other medicines, including antibiotics. I have never heard of it as a nicotine antagonist. Do you have citations? Best, Bob Robert A. Fink, M. D. Neurological Surgery 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, CA 94704-2636 USA 510-849-2555 ********************************** NOTE: The material above is not "medical advice". Medical advice can only be given after an in-person contact between doctor and patient. ********************************** > Mecamylamine (Inversine) is a drug occasionally used for the control > of high blood pressure. It is moderately toxic and can have > interactions with a number of other medicines, including antibiotics. > I have never heard of it as a nicotine antagonist. > > Do you have citations? http://www.cochrane.org/cochrane/revabstr/AB001009.htm Mecamylamine is just the first nicotine antagonist I fund when searching Google with that character string. If other drugs are more commonly used, or more effective, I'd love to know their names. But my original question still stands, and mecamylamine's status as such really isn't relevant to it. All that matters is that nicotine antagonists do, in fact, exist. Is there any reason to believe that NA triggered withdrawal will pass any more quickly than non-NA induced withdrawal? >Is there any reason to believe that NA triggered withdrawal will pass any >more quickly than non-NA induced withdrawal? I haven't heard of any, especially when the use of such is so limited. Best, Bob Robert A. Fink, M. D. Neurological Surgery 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, CA 94704-2636 USA 510-849-2555 ********************************** NOTE: The material above is not "medical advice". Medical advice can only be given after an in-person contact between doctor and patient. ********************************** >>Is there any reason to believe that NA triggered withdrawal will pass >>any more quickly than non-NA induced withdrawal? > > I haven't heard of any, especially when the use of such is so limited. So that means that the only reason not to do rapid detox on smokers is that it's not economical to check somebody into a hospital for two weeks, as opposed to three days, as they do for heroin, right? >So that means that the only reason not to do rapid detox on smokers is that >it's not economical to check somebody into a hospital for two weeks, as >opposed to three days, as they do for heroin, right? It is rare to detox heroin addicts in a hospital setting unless the addiction is connected with a medical condition (which caused the intractable pain), which is also going to be treated, for example, by surgery). Most opiate addiction cases are treated on an outpatient basis. Nicotine withdrawal, especially if ameliorated by something like the patch, does not require in-patient hospitalization. The same as with opiate withdrawal, when modified by Methadone. Best, Bob Robert A. Fink, M. D. Neurological Surgery 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, CA 94704-2636 USA 510-849-2555 ********************************** NOTE: The material above is not "medical advice". Medical advice can only be given after an in-person contact between doctor and patient. ********************************** > It is rare to detox heroin addicts in a hospital setting unless the > addiction is connected with a medical condition (which caused the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > patch, does not require in-patient hospitalization. The same as with > opiate withdrawal, when modified by Methadone. I was referring to rapid detox for opiates, which IS done on an inpatient basis under general anesthesia, and isn't rare at all. Whether or not it is assisted by the patch, out-patient nicotine withdrawal has a notoriously low success rate, suggesting that a derivative of rapid detox might be a substantially more effective treatment option. > was referring to rapid detox for opiates, which IS done on an inpatient >basis under general anesthesia, and isn't rare at all. Please give me some citations for that. I have difficulty conceiving of a place keeping a patient under general anesthesia for days to deal with opiate withdrawal symptoms. Best, Bob Robert A. Fink, M. D. Neurological Surgery 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, CA 94704-2636 USA 510-849-2555 ********************************** NOTE: The material above is not "medical advice". Medical advice can only be given after an in-person contact between doctor and patient. ********************************** >> was referring to rapid detox for opiates, which IS done on an inpatient >>basis under general anesthesia, and isn't rare at all. > > Please give me some citations for that. I have difficulty conceiving > of a place keeping a patient under general anesthesia for days to deal > with opiate withdrawal symptoms. http://www.rapid-detox.org/ I'm surprised that you missed this. It's been all over the news, and the story is two or three years old, so it's not like it's a recent development. They're even doing it at the ER in my local hospital, the Beamont, which is second only the the UM med school in the Detroit area. I'm not an MD, but I don't think that the requirements are very demanding for maintaining somebody while they're asleep for three days. My guess is that the biggest risk would be that they have a seizure and need a shot of ativan. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.