It is true, it seems, that Nicotine treats ADHD. There is at least one study that showed nicotine patches (18h and 24h ones) provide a mild to moderate relief for ADHD in people that do not use nicotine otherwise (e.g. nonsmokers). So, it doesn’t just treat the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
Cigarette smoke is known to contain a clinically significant amount of MAO inhibiters that are not nicotine. MAO inhibiters are regularly used to treat depression and anxiety, and theoretically could treat ADHD since MAOI’s generally prevent breakdown of dopamine. There is some nuance here.*
- For example, there are different types of MAO (monoamine oxidase - an enzyme that breaks down monoamines. Dopamine is an example of a monoamine), like MAO-A vs MAO-B, which break down different monoamines, and MAOI’s (MAO Inhibitors) differ on whether they inhibit A, B or both. Furthermore, there are reversible vs irreversible MAOI.
Thanks to my wife I’ve come to learn that I probably have ADHD. I never would have realized it on my own, but it’s so obvious when someone points it out. If she has an extra cup of coffee she is buzzing and shaking for hours, whereas its basically a sedative to me. I can drink a whole pot and still pass out on the couch for a mid day nap lol.
I never would have realized it on my own, but it’s so obvious when someone points it out.
I’ve a bridge I could sell you, m8
I’m looking for a bridge to purchase, actually, but as a CYA kind of thing I can only provide payment upon proof of delivery (which I’ll cover as well). PM me if you think we can work something out.
I could get amphetamines on prescription if I wanted to, but I used medicine for a very actual medicine instead of getting high, so I dont.
I mean, it’s more than just the coffee, lol. It could be that i obsessively dig into projects and hobbies and lose all sense of the passage of time and my bodily needs like hunger.
Slight obsession =/= neurodevelopmental disorder
Thanks, how much do i owe you for this session?
How about a tiny bit of personal honesty and societal awareness?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_effect
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid_epidemic_in_the_United_States
If you think this isn’t happening with adhdh meds, again, I’ve got a bridge to sell you
This may be a joke but nicotine treats symptoms of adhd
Is this for real? It would make sense why my adhd feels like it is getting worse as I age. I quit speed, then smoking, then caffeinated drinks.
Edit: yes, thank you all for adhdsplaining stimulants to me. I know about speed and caffeine. I was simply asking about nicotine.
Nicotine is a mild simulant, yes. All of those things are frequently used by people to “self-medicate”, but the downsides are obviously pretty steep.
I was under the impression nicotine was on a similar risk profile to caffeine. Are you referring to the tobacco plant in general?
this is my impression as well regarding nicotine. however, i have noticed people are not interested in examining that and continue to conflate nicotine with cigarettes (high risk) and vaping (misconstrued risk).
i also believe many view a nicotine addiction through a sort of moral lens they don’t apply so readily to caffeine.
I decided I didn’t need my ADHD meds anymore when I was in my late teens. Spent most of my 20s smoking about a pack a day and drinking 6 or 7 cups of coffee. I quit smoking in my late 20s, struggled until my early 30s, then started taking my medicine again and realized I was an idiot.
I was diagnosed with ADHD after I quit smoking and my symptoms went crazy a couple of years ago. Took meds for a while, and now my doctor’s taken me off them while we sort out some potential heart concerns. The meds helped a lot and now I’m back to bad symptoms and chaos brain. This is the first time I’ve missed cigarettes since I quit; it’s crazy how much they helped.
Oof, that’s brutal. Are you cleared for physical activity? Working out is the only thing that helps me with my symptoms besides meds (and even then, they work better together than alone).
I am. Actually, that’s part of the concern. I’ve been fairly sedentary the last several years and my cardio is garbage. I bought a new bike last month and have been trying to get out for rides, but the weather has had other ideas. I don’t really enjoy exercise for its own sake, so I’m also looking into some sort of prepaid fitness classes to keep me accountable.
Yeah, that’s tough. I wouldn’t presume to give you advice on working out, but from personal experience, I would at least advise finding something you like before you blow a lot of money on it. I wasted a lot of money on group cycling before I realized I hated that.
Thanks. I’ve tried enough things to have a pretty good idea of what I will and won’t like. I love biking - I used to be in a mountain bike racing league - so I know that one will be a win once the weather gets better. The hard part now is getting past the executive dysfunction and actually signing up for some things.
Yeah, the cruel joke of ADHD is that you need executive functioning to do the stuff that makes it better, like remembering to take a pill at the same time every day or managing your time time well enough to go to the gym. I was only able to start exercising when I got a job with a gym in the building, and I still forgot my gym clothes a bunch or times in the first month.
Ah, yes. that explains why i still crave cigarettes after quitting 10 years ago.
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just for science: Do you have ADHD (self or official diag)?
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Nicotine only treats the symptoms of nicotine addiction.
Not true. Nicotine is a stimulant, so it has most of the effects of other stimulants, such as increased alertness. This stuff isn’t popular with high stress jobs because people want to be cool, it’s popular because it works. Finance bros popping zyns are the same ones drinking coffee all day long, same as students vaping all day
Sorry but that is utter BS.
Says who? Just look it up. What kind of world are you living in where people get hooked on drugs that don’t even work? Hahahahaha
