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Unexpected Nicotine Sickness

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PApiper63

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 13, 2024
134
607
So for over 40 year I have been consuming some form of nicotine and for most of those years I've been smoking cigars and pipes. I smoke several pipes a day (6-10 bowls) so I would say my tolerance to nicotine is very high. In all the years of nicotine consumption I never remember getting sick from it. It may have happened when I was in my teens, but I don't remember it.

So I never got nicotine sickness until yesterday…

On Tuesday I had a brunch of eggs and bacon about 11:30 a.m. and decided to drive to my camp, which is about 45 minutes away to take care of some yardwork. My plan was to be back by dinner time but a buddy from my camping area texted me to ask if I could help him with something that evening. I went to his place about seven helped him with the task and then of course we sat around drank a few beers and smoked a few bowls. Because of the beers I decided to sleep at camp and got up the next morning and did some more work because it was such a nice sunny day. At about noon, I sat down, stuff a big pipe with orlich golden sliced and prepared to enjoy the bowl before I headed home. Keep in mind I had gone without food since 11:30 am the previous(except a few crackers) because I unexpectedly slept at camp and we have not stocked it for the season.

The feeling crept up on me and by the end of that bowl I was lightheaded, had a stomach ache and generally felt lousy. I know it was a big bowl on top of no food. This is just a cautionary tale. It can happen to those that are seasoned smokers. Make sure you eat so that this nicotine sickness does not creep up on you.
 
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Snook

Snook

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 2, 2019
832
4,110
Idaho
Been there before. It's definitely not a good feeling. I haven't experienced it since probably year two of pipe smoking, when I started trying English blends but had no idea they were higher in nicotine than the aromatics I was used to. It was the most nauseous I've ever felt in my life. I'm still wary of heavy blends to this day, and will only smoke them outside on a full stomach as a result.

I'm intrigued by this camp that you mention. Is it like a property you own near your home?
 
Dave760

Dave760

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 13, 2023
671
5,976
Pittsburgh, PA
Smoking after not having eaten for so long will do this to almost anyone. I know someone who developed a real love for 1792 until he smoked it after skipping breakfast and lunch one day. He put the 1792 away after that.
 
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P

PApiper63

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 13, 2024
134
607
Snook said:
Been there before. It's definitely not a good feeling. I haven't experienced it since probably year two of pipe smoking, when I started trying English blends but had no idea they were higher in nicotine than the aromatics I was used to. It was the most nauseous I've ever felt in my life. I'm still wary of heavy blends to this day, and will only smoke them outside on a full stomach as a result.

I'm intrigued by this camp that you mention. Is it like a property you own near your home?
Click to expand...
Yes. We have owned it for 20 years. We spend a lot of time there.
 
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walkingpipeguy

walkingpipeguy

Might Stick Around
Apr 2, 2024
58
165
Eastern CT
I've been nic sick from OGS twice. In my case it wasn't on an empty stomach, but my tolerance is probably pretty low. The only other tobacco that has done it to me is Old Dark Fired. The antidote is sugar. I keep some candy in my bag of pipe paraphernalia just in case, which has saved my bacon a couple times.
 
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anotherbob

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
17,554
31,691
46
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
PApiper63 said:
So for over 40 year I have been consuming some form of nicotine and for most of those years I've been smoking cigars and pipes. I smoke several pipes a day (6-10 bowls) so I would say my tolerance to nicotine is very high. In all the years of nicotine consumption I never remember getting sick from it. It may have happened when I was in my teens, but I don't remember it.

So I never got nicotine sickness until yesterday…

On Tuesday I had a brunch of eggs and bacon about 11:30 a.m. and decided to drive to my camp, which is about 45 minutes away to take care of some yardwork. My plan was to be back by dinner time but a buddy from my camping area texted me to ask if I could help him with something that evening. I went to his place about seven helped him with the task and then of course we sat around drank a few beers and smoked a few bowls. Because of the beers I decided to sleep at camp and got up the next morning and did some more work because it was such a nice sunny day. At about noon, I sat down, stuff a big pipe with orlich golden sliced and prepared to enjoy the bowl before I headed home. Keep in mind I had gone without food since 11:30 am the previous(except a few crackers) because I unexpectedly slept at camp and we have not stocked it for the season.

The feeling crept up on me and by the end of that bowl I was lightheaded, had a stomach ache and generally felt lousy. I know it was a big bowl on top of no food. This is just a cautionary tale. It can happen to those that are seasoned smokers. Make sure you eat so that this nicotine sickness does not creep up on you.
Click to expand...
nicotine is funny. The amount we get from any of our favorite sources is pretty small. The difference between a strong blend and a weak blend isn't that much. A smaller increase in the amount in the blood stream then would seem logical can be the difference between a nice buzz and sick. Even sometimes smoking a blend faster (which gets less nicotine overall but a quicker concentration in the blood stream) can suprisingly push one over the edge. Blood carries so many things including nicotine and all the broken down elements of food and the hormones that eating releases, so having empty red cells that can carry more means it literally absorbs into the blood slightly faster when fasting. And that's like the 101 short story version. There are so many other processes your body is running concurrently to everything I just said. So yeah nicotine sickness is great at that sneak attack. First time I snuffed rustica based snuff that little tiny extra pinch one does when trying a new snuff they like reminded me of the force ones stomach can launch it's contents with pretty quickly.
Good thing is how quickly the sickness passes (which is weird for how intense it can feel). Which is a good example of quickly our bodies metabolize the nicotine. Fun fact that rate is different for many people and has little connection to other metabolic processes (ie how quickly ones body processes food is not the same as how quickly they process nicotine) is one of the factors in how likely one is to not only enjoy nicotine but also how likely they are to be addicted to it.
God I am such a nerd thanks to everyone that read through all that. I am always ready for a geek out rant.
 
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ChubbyOldHiker

ChubbyOldHiker

Lurker
Jan 29, 2025
48
103
Kenner, LA
I have pretty high tolerance but I got a little buzz from my big bowl of Haunted Bookshop after breakfast this morning. Unusual but pleasant.

Only one that hits me every time so far is CD Dark Fired Kentucky. Usually it’s great but once or twice my stomach got upset. The line between buzz and nausea can be razor thin. I drank some water and felt better soon after putting down the pipe.
 
BingBong

BingBong

Lifer
Apr 26, 2024
2,236
9,868
London UK
I tend not to react as such, but notice it when unexpected, like the last third of a bowl of University Flake.

When I was imprisoned by health issues away from home, none of the replacement therapies like patches, gum or lozenges were much good - until a good friend turned up with a Nicorette mouth spray. Two rapid hits of that, hiccups and dizzies, loved it. Those things saw me through several months, got the medics all excited that I'd never smoke again. Idiots.
 
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