Getting Sick After <Daily Bowl

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Hillcrest

Lifer
Dec 3, 2021
3,706
18,959
Connecticut, USA
As others suggested, something sweet if nauseous (like chocolate, an apple, or orange juice) and water if dehydrated.

Pro tip (for this issue and those who imbibe a little more than they thought): pedialyte is more effective for dehydration than Gatorade.

Above all, if you are feeling ill or smoking becomes a chore or stressful, put the pipe down. You can always come back to it later.
Pedialyte is excellent for rehydration; best is lowfat milk ... in fact Gatorade company's whole goal is to try to re-create a liquid with the same benefits as lowfat milk ... its on their company history.
 

Swiss Army Knife

Can't Leave
Jul 12, 2021
459
1,349
North Carolina
If you manage to rule out dehydration and diabetes then it's probably light nicotine sickness. Some quick background: I smoked about half a pack of Marlboro Reds on a daily basis for years, gave them up for a proper vape and got up to 18mg of nicotine as I was constantly chasing throat hit. It was probably close to a decade of very heavy nicotine intake. Quit cold turkey in 2020.

It didn't stick entirely and I got back into pipes and cigars not much later. Didn't have any issues until one night I powered through an entire Churchill cigar as I didn't want to waste it. Got serious green gills and for several months after that I was really sensitive to nicotine. It took close to six months to fade entirely. I think it was almost entirely mental as most of the pipe tobaccos I was smoking weren't very nicotine heavy.

So maybe you went too hard on a fairly nic-heavy blend and now your body is overly sensitive to it. The only real fix is time and slowly getting used to it again.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
16,670
31,247
46
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
smoke smaller amounts until it doesn't make you sick. Fun fact nicotine isn't good at getting into our system the difference between a weak and strong blend as far as how much gets into your system is pretty small. Or in other words how you can go from feeling fine to sick.
Though to get more diagnostic how long do you feel sick after wards for? I ask because that will tell us how quickly you metabolize nicotine. If it's longer then 20 minutes that means you don't metabolize it quickly which means the pipe smoking lets it build up in your body over the length of a smoke. Which if that's the case congrats you can get as much enjoyment from one bowl as a chain smoker like me gets from two. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: aspiring_sage

aspiring_sage

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 7, 2021
556
1,946
West of the Twin Cities, MN
Though to get more diagnostic how long do you feel sick after wards for? I ask because that will tell us how quickly you metabolize nicotine. If it's longer then 20 minutes that means you don't metabolize it quickly which means the pipe smoking lets it build up in your body over the length of a smoke. Which if that's the case congrats you can get as much enjoyment from one bowl as a chain smoker like me gets from two. :)
My last pipe was a couple of days ago, on Sunday. I got to feeling sick but finished the bowl anyway (mistake). The experience spooked me enough that I came to read forum history and eventually post this question.

While trying not to repeat myself too much, I'm curious to hear your thoughts as I elaborate a bit:
I've been noticing I get nausea more easily for the last few weeks or so but Sunday took it to a new level. I usually drink a bit of water and/or eat something and I'm good within 5-10 minutes. On Sunday I was sick for like 2 hours! To specify, I wasn't terribly nauseous a full 2 hours, but the nausea didn't go away for maybe 30-40 minutes then I just didn't feel right for at least the next two hours. I was still feeling the "calm" of a recent smoke on Monday afternoon.

After reading many of the answers, I'm starting to suspect a combination of few things:
  • A medication that I used to take more sporadically but have been taking more regularly lately. I don't have enough data to correlate this yet. It is known to have some effects on matabolism and various bodily systems.
  • Something else going on, like mild sickness, slowing my metabolism somehow.
  • Psychosomatic response after a string of "stronger" pipe sessions.
Thinking back this month, I've gone from multiple bowls to less than one and leaving some behind for awhile as well. It has been bugging me that I have a 1/4 bowl left in the pipe to clean out every time I come back to it.** I think Sunday is the first time I decided to just push through and finish it, so I paid the price.

** This could point to trapped moisture leading to something growing, but I don't lean toward that theory: There has been no sour smell, DGT should be fine, meerschaum is resilient, I do clean it thoroughly at least every 2nd bowl.

I'm a little spooked to pick it up again. I'll be gentle with my next few bowls at least :)
I'll pay better attention to the things above and analyze as needed if I continue to have trouble.

Just put it down for a couple of weeks if you have to...
I'll keep that in mind. Soon the "warm enough" weather will be over and I'll be forced to take a 3 month break anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mortonbriar
After reading many of the answers, I'm starting to suspect a combination of few things:
  • A medication that I used to take more sporadically but have been taking more regularly lately. I don't have enough data to correlate this yet. It is known to have some effects on matabolism and various bodily systems.
  • Something else going on, like mild sickness, slowing my metabolism somehow.
  • Psychosomatic response after a string of "stronger" pipe sessions.
You can't exclude aliens 100%, there's always that slight chance...
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
16,670
31,247
46
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
My last pipe was a couple of days ago, on Sunday. I got to feeling sick but finished the bowl anyway (mistake). The experience spooked me enough that I came to read forum history and eventually post this question.

While trying not to repeat myself too much, I'm curious to hear your thoughts as I elaborate a bit:
I've been noticing I get nausea more easily for the last few weeks or so but Sunday took it to a new level. I usually drink a bit of water and/or eat something and I'm good within 5-10 minutes. On Sunday I was sick for like 2 hours! To specify, I wasn't terribly nauseous a full 2 hours, but the nausea didn't go away for maybe 30-40 minutes then I just didn't feel right for at least the next two hours. I was still feeling the "calm" of a recent smoke on Monday afternoon.

After reading many of the answers, I'm starting to suspect a combination of few things:
  • A medication that I used to take more sporadically but have been taking more regularly lately. I don't have enough data to correlate this yet. It is known to have some effects on matabolism and various bodily systems.
  • Something else going on, like mild sickness, slowing my metabolism somehow.
  • Psychosomatic response after a string of "stronger" pipe sessions.
Thinking back this month, I've gone from multiple bowls to less than one and leaving some behind for awhile as well. It has been bugging me that I have a 1/4 bowl left in the pipe to clean out every time I come back to it.** I think Sunday is the first time I decided to just push through and finish it, so I paid the price.

** This could point to trapped moisture leading to something growing, but I don't lean toward that theory: There has been no sour smell, DGT should be fine, meerschaum is resilient, I do clean it thoroughly at least every 2nd bowl.

I'm a little spooked to pick it up again. I'll be gentle with my next few bowls at least :)
I'll pay better attention to the things above and analyze as needed if I continue to have trouble.


I'll keep that in mind. Soon the "warm enough" weather will be over and I'll be forced to take a 3 month break anyway.
I bet it's the medication. Notice how I suspected before that you were metabolizing the nicotine slowly. And if the medication effects metabolic response it's pretty darn likely what's happening. Your body isn't breaking down and getting rid of the nicotine quickly. It's literally a poison and our bodies get rid of it pretty quickly. Think of each step as a level of nicotine leaving your system. really sick to kind of sick are just probably signs your body broke down a certain amount and is still doing so. Fun fact that also means your tolerance to nicotine is going to grow slower then it does for everyone else. Faster metabolizing increases tolerance faster.
 
  • Like
Reactions: aspiring_sage

Warlee

Might Stick Around
Apr 13, 2022
82
686
Michigan
My last pipe was a couple of days ago, on Sunday. I got to feeling sick but finished the bowl anyway (mistake). The experience spooked me enough that I came to read forum history and eventually post this question.

While trying not to repeat myself too much, I'm curious to hear your thoughts as I elaborate a bit:
I've been noticing I get nausea more easily for the last few weeks or so but Sunday took it to a new level. I usually drink a bit of water and/or eat something and I'm good within 5-10 minutes. On Sunday I was sick for like 2 hours! To specify, I wasn't terribly nauseous a full 2 hours, but the nausea didn't go away for maybe 30-40 minutes then I just didn't feel right for at least the next two hours. I was still feeling the "calm" of a recent smoke on Monday afternoon.

After reading many of the answers, I'm starting to suspect a combination of few things:
  • A medication that I used to take more sporadically but have been taking more regularly lately. I don't have enough data to correlate this yet. It is known to have some effects on matabolism and various bodily systems.
  • Something else going on, like mild sickness, slowing my metabolism somehow.
  • Psychosomatic response after a string of "stronger" pipe sessions.
Thinking back this month, I've gone from multiple bowls to less than one and leaving some behind for awhile as well. It has been bugging me that I have a 1/4 bowl left in the pipe to clean out every time I come back to it.** I think Sunday is the first time I decided to just push through and finish it, so I paid the price.

** This could point to trapped moisture leading to something growing, but I don't lean toward that theory: There has been no sour smell, DGT should be fine, meerschaum is resilient, I do clean it thoroughly at least every 2nd bowl.

I'm a little spooked to pick it up again. I'll be gentle with my next few bowls at least :)
I'll pay better attention to the things above and analyze as needed if I continue to have trouble.


I'll keep that in mind. Soon the "warm enough" weather will be over and I'll be forced to take a 3 month break anyway.

I occasionally get sinus or ear infections. Having something like that going on taxes my body enough that I need to ease up on pipes or I feel like crap halfway into a full bowl. In fact, there’s been a few times that it wasn’t until I tried to enjoy a pipe or cigar that I realized something is going on in that regard.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ThermionicScott

captpat

Lifer
Dec 16, 2014
2,389
12,423
North Carolina
I'm not an MD nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express but it sounds like you are experiencing something different than typical nicotine excess -- which I by the way treat with a nap. Suggest taking this up with your GP who could provide definitive insight into the interactions between smoking and your medications, among other things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: aspiring_sage

edger

Lifer
Dec 9, 2016
3,027
22,700
75
Mayer AZ
Maybe I missed it in the above posts, but do you inhale? I’m nicotine sensitive and I no longer inhale (stopped 20 years ago).
I also smoke mostly va’s not burleys. I’m under the impression that burleys are more nicotine laden.
 
  • Like
Reactions: aspiring_sage