Personally I only use Nicotine on rare occasion, but it was one of the
first substances I experimented with, and because I have had some
profound results, it must be included here in order to be complete.
Nicotine is available via a patch or chewing gum as an over the
counter aid to help quit smoking. Nicotine acts as an acetylcholine
agonist which means it has essentially the same effects as
acetylcholine inside the brain and it quickly and efficiently crosses the
blood brain barrier. Although Nicotine does not cause cancer, it is
addictive when used regularly and is toxic even in small doses. More
importantly, Nicotine causes both short term and long term
desensitization of the acetylcholine receptors and since these
receptors are crucial for lucid dreaming it is wise not to take this fact
lightly. Warnings aside, Nicotine can have a profound effect on lucid
dreaming when used (1) on rare occasions (2) in small doses and (3)
when a proactive method is utilized to counteract desensitization.
Nicotine produces effects similar to GPC in that it can be used to
trigger lucid dreams and it also works synergistically with
Galantamine. Although my experience has shown that Nicotine is
significantly more effective than GPC, Nicotine can have far greater
side effects so greater care must be taken in controlling the dose.
Mechanism of Action: Nicotine is an agonist for acetylcholine which
means that it enters the brain and acts in the same manner as
acetylcholine.
Concentration Curve: If Nicotine is administered via a patch, the
concentration curve looks somewhat different than those of orally
administered supplements. When a patch is applied, plasma levels of
Nicotine rises fairly linearly until the peak plasma levels are reached
and then slowly drops over the remainder of the day (while the patch
is effective), and then drops much more quickly after the patch is
removed.
Concentration curve for a Nicotine Patch when used for an anti-smoking aid.
Although this is a typical curve for a user who is trying to quit
smoking it is not a typical curve for someone who only uses a
Nicotine patch to promote lucid dreaming. Because of the rapid
desensitization that can occur when using Nicotine it is wise to only
wear the patch during the lucid dream attempt and then remove it immediately. For example, the patch can be applied at 4 AM just prior
to having an LD and then removed at 7 AM just after waking up from
the lucid dream. This approach is a must if you want to be able to
consistently achieve remarkable results. The following concentration
curve compares the typical user to the lucid dream enthusiast.
Concentration curve for Nicotine Patch for use as a lucid dream supplement
Nicotine (via the patch) is characterized by relatively slow
absorption (~7.5 hours to reach peak plasma levels) countered with a
short elimination half-life (~2 hours).
Effect on Dreams: Nicotine has a profound impact on dreaming.
Non-lucid Nicotine dreams seem a bit more disturbing than those
produced by either GPC or Galantamine and the visual vividness is
sometimes lacking. Effect on Lucid Dreams: Although Nicotine can trigger lucid
dreams by itself it is incredibly effective when combined with
Galantamine. If I had one word to describe the influence of Nicotine
on my lucid dreams it would be “music”. Especially when Nicotine is
combined with Galantamine, my lucid dreams seem to have a
soundtrack full of wonderful and totally original music.
Side Effects: Of all the supplements I have tried, Nicotine has the
worst side effects. These can be managed however, if the patch is
low dose and only worn during the lucid dream attempt. In general,
too much Nicotine makes you feel ill. The side effects generally listed
are: dizziness, nausea, sore throat, dry or watering mouth, watering
eyes, headache, constipation, and skin irritation (where patch is
worn). When I first started using Nicotine as a lucid dream aid I would
put the patch on prior to going to bed. After a full eight hours of
wearing the patch I would feel and look sick. My complexion was
literally green. This went away however when I started putting the
patch on at around 4 AM and then removing it at about three hours
later. Not only did the side effects go away but I had better results
and better quality of sleep.
Dosage: Nicotine patches typically come in three strengths: 7 mg,
14mg, and 21 mg. I have tried the 14 mg and 7 mg variety. They both
work well but the 7 mg results in far fewer side effects. The dose
generally represents the average total dose released over a 24 hour
period (or 16 hour period depending on the brand). Special Notes: A possible alternative to Nicotine patches is Nicotine
gum. The gum gives a larger dose in a shorter period of time but
wears off faster. I have not done any experimentation with Nicotine
gum.
Summary: Nicotine does not cause cancer (the tar in cigarettes is
the culprit there) however it is addictive and extremely toxic for small
children and pets. Practically speaking, if you were to use a Nicotine
patch solely as an aid for lucid dreaming, you would most likely never
become addicted and if you take proper care in keeping the patches
away from children you will not need to worry about accidentally
poisoning anybody. If you use the lowest dose patch (7 mg) and keep
it on for only a few hours you most likely will not notice any serious
side effects. There is an important reason not to use Nicotine very
often however, and that is because is causes rapid desensitization of
your nicotinic receptors (one type of acetylcholine receptor): definitely
not for everyday (or even once a week usage). Personally, I rarely
use Nicotine these days because of this fact and because GPC
produces similar results. I will admit that Nicotine can have a
profound effect on the ability to have lucid dreams. If you are going to
consider using Nicotine I strongly recommend that you follow up by
using the nootropic Piracetam (see the next chapter) in order to help
counteract desensitization.
Source: Thomas Yuschak The Power of Supplements
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