Misc Two separate questions on nicotine

[Neuroprotection]

noticed something very strange about nicotine. I went against my initial plan to quit using my brothers nicotine pouches after Ramadan so it’s now almost been six months of frequent use, almost daily and often multiple times a day. Dosage ranges are between 12 and 50 mg per pouch, though the highest strength I used a few months ago was 150 mg pouch. despite this regular high-dose frequent use, a few.
unexpected things have happened. Firstly, I haven’t developed any physical or psychological dependence on the pouches, the only time I crave them as if I’m extremely bored or shortly after a really positive experience with nicotine. But these are very mild and minor.
Secondly, whilst nicotine works really well to lift my mood and reverse depressive symptoms, at least in the oral form, I only need one occasional dose and I first learned this last year when it helped cure my anhedonia. furthermore, nicotine pouches seem to make me lazy, slightly scatterbrained and somewhat tired for a short time after administration. I don’t know if this is because I’m using pure nicotine, but during my university year when completing a dissertation, cigarettes really helped me. I guess the MAOI effect was definitely playing a part there.
Contrary to my initial expectations, it seems to be that the pouches are my least favourite method of administering nicotine. I still get significant nausea and dizziness from them especially if I skip a day of use.
Vaping is a lot more euphoric and doesn’t make me sick, but unfortunately the best effect in terms of productivity and enjoyment still comes from smoking regular cigarettes.
I’m actually really tempted to get help purchasing harmaline and then mixing it with either liquid nicotine to be Vaped, or taking the harmaline orally to mimic the tobacco effect.
Even as a nicotine veteran Who chewed on nicotine patches as a teenager, drunk e-cigarette liquid and consumed dozens of my fathers unused disposable Vapes, the first time I smoked a cigarette properly as an adult was something different. I honestly thought it was like cocaine despite the fact I’ve never done drugs. The best way I can describe it is like. pure optimism and like the whole world was brighter. it was also extremely Moorish, not straightaway, but usually between a few hours to a day later, I would start craving another one. unlike the pouch, I can truly feel the addictive power of cigarettes and it was probably lucky I had difficulty getting hold of them.

 

[Neuroprotection]

OK, I really don’t have any experience with drugs other than nicotine, caffeine, butane inhalation as a kid and a one off experience with khat.
However, I’ve always felt that out of all these drugs, nicotine feels somehow synthetic/chemical and not something I would expect to be found in nature. when I say it feels synthetic, I mean it in a good way. even though there can be a lot of nausea if too much is taken or if it is swallowed, the euphoria it produces is very clean and it feels like something specially created in a lab.
I even think the chemical properties of nicotine such as the lack of oxygen in the molecule is quite unusual/rare for natural alkaloids
Does anyone else agree with me?

 

[Dreamflyer]

apologies for the two unrelated questions I have, but I thought there was no point creating separate threads if the answers are simple and about the same drug.
Firstly, I want to know if people feel a strong difference between inhaling nicotine and taking it, orally/sublingually. I ask because in my own experience, oral nicotine pouches do often give me strong initial euphoria but then make me feel quite ill with dizziness, nausea and headache being the main symptoms. in contrast, smoking a cigarette or vaping gives me much stronger euphoria with none of the negative symptoms. yes, I find vaping extremely compulsive but interestingly The short-lived euphoria is followed by a nice afterglow.

Secondly, has anyone found that nicotine, taken in any form severely worsens caffeine withdrawal, especially the headaches. this is strange because if I’ve been completely off caffeine for a few days and no longer have withdrawals, nicotine feels much more rewarding and pleasant. on the other hand, if I smoke a cigarette or vape for my morning caffeine fix when I’m dependent on caffeine, I get severe migraine like headaches which have caused me to vomit on several occasions.
Thanks in advance for any answers.

Both of your experiences make sense to me.

Zyn pouches slam me with such a strong dose of nicotine that I get a massive head rush, then rapidly descend into anxiety and nausea. With cigarettes I'm able to get it more gradually, but of course tbey pose the additional health risks of smoking.

Nicotine makes your body excrete caffiene at a much faster rate, so it could probably speed up/intensify withdrawal by shortening the half-life.

Hope you're doing well.

 

[Neuroprotection]

Both of your experiences make sense to me.

Zyn pouches slam me with such a strong dose of nicotine that I get a massive head rush, then rapidly descend into anxiety and nausea. With cigarettes I'm able to get it more gradually, but of course tbey pose the additional health risks of smoking.

Nicotine makes your body excrete caffiene at a much faster rate, so it could probably speed up/intensify withdrawal by shortening the half-life.

Hope you're doing well.

Thank you for this. As for your first point about nicotine pouches causing anxiety and nausea due to the high-dose rapidly entering the body, I completely agree and this has been my experience. furthermore, the symptoms also occur if I excessively vape or when I choose cigarette tobacco.
In contrast, the idea of caffeine withdrawal exacerbation by nicotine being linked to shortening of the caffeine half-life is something I personally disagree with or at least I’m not fully convinced by it. this is because in my experience the migraines are triggered almost immediately, so I think it’s unlikely nicotine would’ve been able to trigger massive caffeine clearance in such a short time. someone else on here mentioned A possible role for cholinergic signalling which I think is interesting and possibly correct. more specifically, there may be an interaction between nicotinic receptors and the supersensitive adenosine receptors found in caffeine withdrawal. this might cause an abnormal response to nicotine where all the negative effects are amplified and the positive ones non-existent.
Thanks again for your contribution