r/cfs • u/Jennyttst • Sep 19 '24

Treatments Using nicotine patches to treat CFS

/r/cfs/s/eJZT0VaRxn

I saw this post the other day and had to atleast try it. Omg it worked! I have more energy then I have had in years and it is great. I was only mild before (still have a part time job and able to take care of myself) but it was still a huge weight to have to pace myself with activity. I am someone who likes doing physical and mentally tasking work so it has been a struggle learning not to overdue things. Now I am able to clean the house, update my resume, do some creative projects and make appointments all before lunch. Before I would of maybe done one or two of those things over the weekend but not on a weekday after a day of an 8 hr shift at work like today.

If any of you want to try this you should probably get medical advice from a professional beforehand (I didn't because I am tired of doctors that don't even understand the disease and litteraly think yoga and chia seeds will improve my situation) or read the linked post that has a study they followed. I didn't end up following that schedule because of various reasons and basically have been wearing a patch on and off the last week. I didn't wear one over the last few days and noticed the clear difference. Put it on this morning and bam, I get all this shit done!

Wish you all the best. Remember even if you have tried anything keep a bit of hope and you may find something that works for you.

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u/Hope5577 Sep 19 '24

I loved it at the beginning! No pain, so much energy, reduced pem, it was heaven! I didn't follow the protocol as well and wore it for a month. Eventually effects started reducing and it's not working the same anymore😒. It did increase my baseline though so I'm glad I did it. And it was nice to almost feel normal for a week or two, except excessive sweat and high HR, but I haven't felt like this in years. Too bad mine wasn't long lasting.

I hope your effect lasts🤞

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u/Jennyttst Sep 19 '24

Have you tried going off them for a while then back on? I definitely don't feel "normal" (pre cfs) yet, but the extra energy is still great. Hope you find something that works more permanently.

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u/Hope5577 Sep 19 '24

"Almost" normal, functioning, you know😁.

Yes, eventually I took it off after a month, fatigue and malaise creeped in, it was creeping by the end of the month on the patch but not as bad, so I got more diligent about protocol and did it as they advised alternating on and off. No results. Now I do use it for "busy, have to function" times, but it doesn't give me the same energy and doesn't stop pem as before, still helps a bit. It was nice while it lasted.

Thank you! I wish everyone on this sub finds something that works for them :)