Body Chemistry Change. Has Anyone Else Experienced That?

[cersono]

Hello gentlemen,

I've been a pipe smoker for the last eight years. The last three of four months I notice a strangest change: whatever I smoke gives me a noticeable amount of tongue bite. It's not about puffing cadence or choice of blends (those have been the same for all previous years of happy smoking). I can't explain it in other terms than some kind of weird and sudden change in body (specifically tongue) reaction to pipe smoke. No lesions in the mouth, no change in reaction to meals and beverages, no other health problems but this damn thing about pipe smoking.

I wonder, if it is something unique and unusual or many go through similar thing, and what's their experience about this?

 

[ray47]

From time to time my tastes change. I don't know if it's because of a body chemistry change. I just become bored with blends I smoke on a regular basis. I no longer get tongue bite like I did when I first started smoking a pipe. The tongue bite, in the beginning, was more from technique then the type of tobacco I was smoking. For reference, I started smoking a pipe in 1983 on a regular basis.

 

[ericusrex]

Haven't heard of this before. Bizarre!

 

[jpmcwjr]

What are you smoking? How do you deep clean your pipes?
I don't think your experience is all that rare, nor troublesome. There will be a solution!

 

[buckaroo]

Any change in lighting technique? The only time I've ever had burn in 8 years (Virginias, vaps) myself was when someone suggested sucking the flame into the bowl instead of touching (teasing) the baccy with the flame. That was a horrible period. I don't draw until the top is toasted a bit.

 

[iamn8]

My tastes absolutely have changed with time. God knows every other part of is breaking down. It makes sense taste buds wear out as well along with sense of smell.

 

[mso489]

I've noticed that the flavorings in aromatics seem to give me more burn than non-aromatics, even full-strength tobaccos. Another possible factor would be food or hydration before smoking, mostly lack thereof. Also, you might try milder tobaccos/blends, a slower pace, or smaller bowls full (a smaller pipe or pack less tobacco). You might also try a different genre of leaf -- like going from what you smoke to something else. Finally, you might try smoking fewer days of the week. Just a few ideas.

 

[cersono]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually don't do anything new which I haven't been doing for the last five or six years since I fully mastered the habit: same technique, same tobaccos (mostly VaPers, DFC and KYs, as I prefer stronger stuff), same cadence. And yet, suddenly this burning sensation... I've just googled such a thing as the Burning Mouth Syndrome caused mainly by the lack of vitamins, which is apparently what I'm having now.
Buckaroo, you give an interesting tip on lighting. Sucking fire when lighting is the most painful part for me. Do I understand correctly, you put flame on tobacco and just char the top briefly with no drawing?

 

[jpmcwjr]

Whoa! If you are getting pain on the light, it's definitely too hot. You just want to tease the tobacco into burning. Hold the flame as far away as possible! It's the super heated air above the tip that does the job. (And the tip will be drawn down to hover above the tobacco when you make several quick and short draws).

 

[cersono]

Sounds good, I will try this method on my next pipe.

Besides the pain, I always hate to overheat the tobacco as I feel that it somehow looses its nicotine strength when overheated from the start (I guess, nicotine is just burning off instead of being evaporized into the system).

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

It could be something like a B12 deficiency? I don't think I absorb B12 well and if I feel off I take a multi-vitamin for a couple weeks and/or 200mcg of B12 a day. It seems to always make my tongue feel good and helps me taste better too.

 

[cersono]

Yes, it's exactly what it seems to be from Google, lack of B-vitamins. If only N-vitamin could substitute it...

Will try taking B12 and the "fire-teasing" method. Hopefully that helps

 

[huntertrw]

"It seems to always make my tongue feel good and helps me taste better too."
Regarding the latter part of that statement, did you truly mean that you didn't taste good, or just that your sense of taste improved?

 

[codecreatively]

So stoked to see this post. I'm going to try both of these as well. I have the cadence down, but on the light it sometimes gets a bit hot, usually only if I don't have the patience to dry the tobacco out enough (it's humid here). Picking up some B12 tomorrow.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Though not quite the same thing, I used to notice when I was a roll your own smoker if I ever veered from my regular tobacco (a 50/50 blend of Old Holborn & Sampson) onto say Golden Virginia I would suffer a sore throat the next day.
I find that now as a pipesmoker if I stray from my regular Condor onto say Mellow Virginia or Cabbie's Mixture the very same thing happens. Though it only lasts a day it is very irritating.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

My eldest daughter was allergic to a whole host of thing including grass when she was young, but now she is not affected by any of them. I also had a girlfriend in college that was allergic to wheat and chocolate, but when I ran into her again years later she was eating chocolate pancakes. The allergist told us that most allergies only last seven to ten years, and then it becomes psychological, as our body chemistries are completely different in seven to ten year cycles.

 

[kalvort]

Happy I'm not the only one! Yes! I have experienced a huge change with regards to lighting the pipe. Burns my tongue so bad!!! I especially feel it when I brush my teeth that night. Don't know what the problem is/was, I haven't smoked a pipe in a while due to our ridiculously hot weather here in Kuwait.
Things to note, over the last 2-3 years I have been going to the gym, with a high protein diet. I am usually dehydrated and not eating well with regards to fruits and vegetables. I'm guessing the lack of vitamins is a cause here since you stated it too.
Another note to add, food is starting to burn my tongue / mouth too!!! So when everybody's digging in to a freshly prepared meal, I have to wait 5-10 minutes for it to cool down before I can even taste anything without getting my mouth burned!!! Same with coffee / tea..
I will try switching to matches for a while to see if that helps, and started eating better food, drinking more water, so will report soon when I eventually light up the pipe again!

 

[cigrmaster]

My tastes have certainly changed. In the beginning I could smoke virtually everything. Then all of a sudden I got an allergic reaction ton Red Virginia tobacco. It is so bad that as soon as red virginia's hit my tongue, I get an acid burn. There are so many blends I wish I could smoke but just cannot handle them. Blends like Haddo's Delight, McClellend 5100 Rad Cake, Rattray's HAl O The Wynd, lots of MAC flakes, there are just too many to name.
Back around 2003 I also lost my taste for Latakia blends, they don't hurt, they just taste like crap to me know. It took me some time to come up wih my list of 35 blends that don't bite and therefore I cellar them in quantity.I don't know if you have the dreaded red Virginia allergy, but I hope not.

 

[cersono]

Well, today I tried the "flame-teasing" method with several pipes. It worked like a charm. I apply the flame (directed soft butane flame) to the top of the tobacco for like 7 secs till the upper layer completely dries out. Then two shallow draws are enough to light up the tobacco. No torturous mouthfuls of hot steam anymore. I guess it won't work with any blend or any cut but it definitely worked with GH Dark Plug (which is sometimes tricky to light up).
Also, I read the Burning Mouth Syndrome may be caused by Zinc and Iron deficiencies. So, Zn-Fe-B12 multivitamins might be an answer. Bought all kinds of them, will see the effect in couple of weeks.
I heard about quite a few people allergic to red Virginias. It seems, the weed is more allergetic than other sorts of tobacco (it's not my case though).

 

[cigrmaster]

Cersono Calamiti, please report back as to which vitamin you think will do the trick, I have been dealing with my affliction to red virginia's for over a decade, I would love to smoke them again.
Thanks

Harris