I'll be getting ready to shred another batch soon. Thanks for the tip!
Tomiro
Jedi
I don't smoke regularly, but I've been experimenting a bit with smoking, on and off. I find that if I don't have access to decent tobacco, I just don't smoke, and I don't really feel any need or craving to get more. So I've been thinking that I don't gain much from it.
However, when I was smoking regularly, my sense of smell was better. I suffer from nasal polyps, that most of the time completely block my sense of smell. I never thought that there was a connection, but recently looked into this, and I found that other have reported the same thing, with nasal polyps getting worse when quitting smoking.
I also came across this study that seems to support it, with a higher frequency of nasal polyps for nonsmokers:
_http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19052488
So I might try smoking again and see if it improves.
However, when I was smoking regularly, my sense of smell was better. I suffer from nasal polyps, that most of the time completely block my sense of smell. I never thought that there was a connection, but recently looked into this, and I found that other have reported the same thing, with nasal polyps getting worse when quitting smoking.
I also came across this study that seems to support it, with a higher frequency of nasal polyps for nonsmokers:
_http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19052488
So I might try smoking again and see if it improves.
Tomiro said:
This is going to go off on a tangent.
If you would like to try to get rid of the nasal polyps, I'll tell you how I did it and could can decide if it may help you.
I know when I got the polyps. At my previous job, the old roof was taken off and a new one put on one of our warehouses. I was one of the people who had to go up onto the top shelves where we kept fittings. Within a day or two, I had a very stuffed up nose. Of course, I was told to use a nasal spray cortisone - fluticasone - to keep them under control.
A nose, ears and throat specialist at Washington State Univ. in Seattle, WA told me I had a huge amount of polyps and to keep using the nasal spray. The same old keep it under control but don't cure it.
I had been looking at what actually caused nasal polyps because I figured that there was probably a lot of mold in the stuff that I had had to clean up. Finally, there was a research paper that showed that inside of the polyps the researchers were finding yeast/mold. They had always thought it was a bacteria.
Since I actually had some Nystatin in the house, I decided to use some and see what happened. I was still using the nasal spray to keep the polyps under control, otherwise they would have been to numerous to get much of anything up high enough to do any good. And I figured that the Nystatin would get into the mucous membranes and into the polyps and take care of things.
I first tried mixing Nystatin with some distilled water and rinsed my nostrils with the solution. After a couple of weeks there was no difference. So I decided to sniff the Nystatin. I put a bit of Nystatin on my fingertip and sniffed it up three times into each nostril with a new dab of Nystatin on my fingertip each time. I did this 3 times a day. After a few of weeks I found that the Nystatin was making my nose burn so I stopped. But I also found, by not using the nasal spray, that the polyps were gone!
I've been nasal polyp free ever since that this was two years ago.
I told my current doctor about this and all I got was a grimace. You see, actually curing yourself of something is not good, especially if a doctor didn't tell you to do it. And, especially, if you aren't using the pharmaceutical poisons to do it with. Which you'll never be cured of anything using pharmaceutical poisons. That's not what they are there for.
Anyways, I thought I'd let you know about this in case you can figure out if it would help you. If your nasal polyps are caused by a fungus of some sort, it should help get rid of them. I can't say 100% that all nasal polyps are caused by a fungus, but the researchers made it sound - or that's how I interpreted it - that that was the case.
fwiw
Instead of just sniffing straight Nystatin, you could saturate it in 50% DMSO diluted with distilled water and apply it inside the nose with a cotton tipped swab. Typically fungus is hard to kill, so it would take several applications, consistently. Like Nienna said, 3 times a day for several weeks.
theos
The Living Force
Hi Tomiro,
I used to get nasal irritation, pain and swelling with subsequent scabbing over as time passed. I haven't had any more nasal problems or sinus infections or headaches since stopping wheat and dairy.
If you haven't investigated your diet as a cause of these nasal issues you may want to do so. Have a look at the Life Without Bread thread or the Ketogenic Diet thread.
I used to get nasal irritation, pain and swelling with subsequent scabbing over as time passed. I haven't had any more nasal problems or sinus infections or headaches since stopping wheat and dairy.
If you haven't investigated your diet as a cause of these nasal issues you may want to do so. Have a look at the Life Without Bread thread or the Ketogenic Diet thread.
Tomiro
Jedi
Thank you for your replies! I will definitely look into this fungus connection concerning the polyps.
Yes, diet and detox has really worked wonders for me to get rid of chronic sinusitis, ear infections, as well as most of the polyps. The problem with impaired smell still remains, and occasional runny nose. At the moment I'm on a peolo diet, shifting towards ketogenic.
I've gotten pretty much the same response, and doctors seem to be unable to comprehend the fact that ailments can be cured by anything else than prescription drugs. And if you mention the fact, they regard it as a coincident, that I somehow wrongly linked to "superstitious unscientific practices".
Despite being "treated" by many experts in the field (pulmonary specialists, ENT specialists, allergy specialists, infection specialists, and even neurologists) all they did was to describe antibiotics (some VERY expensive) and increasing amounts of corticosteroids, with the annual operation thrown in for good measure. None of them really seemed to be interested in what is causing inflammation in my body, or to look at the whole picture. Even when I was asking them about research papers I've read about say a possible connection between asthma and fungus, or problems with the gut, they seemed to be blissfully unaware of it, or just look at me like I'm from Mars or something, even though it was in their area of expertise.
DMSO is another thing I'll need to look into. Thanks for the reminder. :)
Odyssey said:
Yes, diet and detox has really worked wonders for me to get rid of chronic sinusitis, ear infections, as well as most of the polyps. The problem with impaired smell still remains, and occasional runny nose. At the moment I'm on a peolo diet, shifting towards ketogenic.
Nienna said:
I've gotten pretty much the same response, and doctors seem to be unable to comprehend the fact that ailments can be cured by anything else than prescription drugs. And if you mention the fact, they regard it as a coincident, that I somehow wrongly linked to "superstitious unscientific practices".
Despite being "treated" by many experts in the field (pulmonary specialists, ENT specialists, allergy specialists, infection specialists, and even neurologists) all they did was to describe antibiotics (some VERY expensive) and increasing amounts of corticosteroids, with the annual operation thrown in for good measure. None of them really seemed to be interested in what is causing inflammation in my body, or to look at the whole picture. Even when I was asking them about research papers I've read about say a possible connection between asthma and fungus, or problems with the gut, they seemed to be blissfully unaware of it, or just look at me like I'm from Mars or something, even though it was in their area of expertise.
Lilou said:
DMSO is another thing I'll need to look into. Thanks for the reminder. :)
Foxx
The Living Force
I just came across this device for cutting tobacco leaves:
_http://shop.wholesale-cigarette-tobacco.com/Personal-Home-Tobacco-Shredder-036.htm
It looks like a custom paper shredder of some kind and retails for $90. I haven't used it so I can't vouch for it, but that's a lot more reasonable to purchase than the powermatic, so I thought I'd share it.
_http://shop.wholesale-cigarette-tobacco.com/Personal-Home-Tobacco-Shredder-036.htm
It looks like a custom paper shredder of some kind and retails for $90. I haven't used it so I can't vouch for it, but that's a lot more reasonable to purchase than the powermatic, so I thought I'd share it.
Mr. Premise
The Living Force
An update on the tobacco growing project. I just shredded up a few leaves from the 2012 crop and it tasted pretty good. Just a little bit harsh, but it really needs four more months of aging, especially a couple of months where the attic heats up past 100F and gets more humid. Again, that's because I haven't built a kiln yet which can do one year of aging in four weeks.
Now here's the beginning of the 2013 grow log. Yesterday I started 16 varieties of seeds:
Del Gold (a flue-cured variety from a cross of nicotiana rustica, Virginia,and Hicks Broadleaf, grown in Canada so it's good for cool climates)
Yellow Twist Bud (a milder Burley variety)
Kelly Burley (straight up Burley)
Virginia Bright Leaf (standard flue cured type)
African Red (a flue-cured Virginia variety from South Africa that is really high in nicotine)
Lizard Tail Orinoco (one of the oldest Virginia varieties)
Catterton (a Maryland variety, a mild darker tobacco good for pipes and also used in cigarette blending)
Harrow Velvet (a Burley variety)
Isleta Pueblo (a nicotiana rustica variety native to North America, high in nicotine with an unusual flavor)
Baiano (a Hungarian variety supposedly good for pipes and cigars)
Shirey (a Dark Air Cured variety)
One Sucker (also Dark Air Cured)
Bursa (an Oriental/Turkish variety)
Black Sea Samsun (Oriental/Turkish)
Silver River (a mild Burley that sometimes gets a minty flavor)
Big Gem (a Virginia Brightleaf variety, flue-cured style)
I started so many varieties because last year I only grew three all for cigarette blending. And I didn't bag any seeds. Then I got into pipe tobacco, so there's more varieties that can be used for that. I plan to collect seeds to build up a personal seed bank and also to contribute to some collective seed banks. I got a grow light stand and some seed starting heat mats to put under the trays to increase the warmth (still have snow on the ground here).
I still have two more varieties of seeds I may also start, but my setup at the moment is full with one nine-cell part of the 72-cell tray per variety. That should yield 144 plants and I plan to grow about 75 so I have some room for error.
Now here's the beginning of the 2013 grow log. Yesterday I started 16 varieties of seeds:
Del Gold (a flue-cured variety from a cross of nicotiana rustica, Virginia,and Hicks Broadleaf, grown in Canada so it's good for cool climates)
Yellow Twist Bud (a milder Burley variety)
Kelly Burley (straight up Burley)
Virginia Bright Leaf (standard flue cured type)
African Red (a flue-cured Virginia variety from South Africa that is really high in nicotine)
Lizard Tail Orinoco (one of the oldest Virginia varieties)
Catterton (a Maryland variety, a mild darker tobacco good for pipes and also used in cigarette blending)
Harrow Velvet (a Burley variety)
Isleta Pueblo (a nicotiana rustica variety native to North America, high in nicotine with an unusual flavor)
Baiano (a Hungarian variety supposedly good for pipes and cigars)
Shirey (a Dark Air Cured variety)
One Sucker (also Dark Air Cured)
Bursa (an Oriental/Turkish variety)
Black Sea Samsun (Oriental/Turkish)
Silver River (a mild Burley that sometimes gets a minty flavor)
Big Gem (a Virginia Brightleaf variety, flue-cured style)
I started so many varieties because last year I only grew three all for cigarette blending. And I didn't bag any seeds. Then I got into pipe tobacco, so there's more varieties that can be used for that. I plan to collect seeds to build up a personal seed bank and also to contribute to some collective seed banks. I got a grow light stand and some seed starting heat mats to put under the trays to increase the warmth (still have snow on the ground here).
I still have two more varieties of seeds I may also start, but my setup at the moment is full with one nine-cell part of the 72-cell tray per variety. That should yield 144 plants and I plan to grow about 75 so I have some room for error.
Foxx said:
Looks pretty good. And since I just started getting the whole leaf recommended here (which is just a terrific smoke, btw) I may end up getting the above or the low tech version at some point for when I buy in greater quantity. In the meantime I can still make use of the shredder available at the seller's.
The seller told me a couple of interesting things incidentally. First, that he has to pay the state for the authority to sell tobacco in just the way that he is. He never had to do that. And they wanted all kinds of information from him. He is also being asked to pay additional taxes he never had to pay before I think. Then he told me that there's a new law where customers of his are to get billed in extra taxes from the state on purchases made from him. I thought that the bureaucracy could not possibly be so developed as to send bills to people's homes for taxes on tobacco but then he told me that they are - many hundreds of dollars too in one case! So this fascistic anti-smoking campaign is extreeemely pervasive.
I wouldn't be surprised if the use of tobacco becomes outlawed altogether one day soon. The pathocracy just has to come up with a story.
sbeaudry
Jedi Council Member
Ennio said:
The tax issue is unsettling and yes, I agree, the potential for them to ban it outright seems to be getting more and more probable. I just ordered my first two pounds of whole leaf, hopefully I won't get a tax bill. :/ i am not fond of the anti-tobacco movement.
Mr. Premise
The Living Force
Ennio said:
Ennio, is the guy you bought from one of the new regional distributors for Whole Leaf Tobacco? Does he have a retail store as well? That's great that you could visit him because shipping costs add up to a significant percent of the price.
sbeaudry said:
The seller actually suggested I order as little as possible on-line so that I don't have skeletons in my closet. His exact words. He's been selling tobacco long enough to see the changes occur and expressed just how unjust the persecution of smokers (and sellers) has become. All but the cigar smokers, he added. Probably because many politicians and wealthier people smoke em, he quipped. Oh and he also gets harassed by the police. He's not allowed to shred tobacco for his customers so he has to ask his customers to shred their whole leaf purchases themselves using his machines lest he get into trouble. It seems like they're really gunning for him.
Mr. Premise said:
Yes and yes. I intend to buy in greater quantity soon. He, the seller, encouraged me to just try a relatively small amount first and see if I liked it before I bought some in greater quantity. Sold me a small hand-held cigarette injector too because so many of even the better injectors break. At least in his and his customers' experience. The tobacco was a combination of mostly Virginia flue-cured and a little Turkish mixed in, btw. Pretty smooth.
Mr. Premise
The Living Force
What that seller is doing is risky. Even if he has the customer shred, if they use his equipment it could be considered that he is manufacturing cigarettes. That happened to the store near me, they were taken to court by the state and lost. And all they were doing was selling taxed RYO tobacco and letting their customers use their machines to stuff tubes.Ennio said:
What some stores have done is have a meeting of a "club" that pools resources to buy the equipment, but the store owner doesn't own the equipment. If I had a tobacco store, I would just tell the customers to shred or stuff off premises.
Hashhashin
Padawan Learner
I've never enjoyed the feeling of cigarettes. Way too light-headed and then almost definite hugging the ceramic bowl...followed by an allergic reaction of swelling around the lips.
Then I grew my own Nicotiana rustica in my backyard in South Australia, just a very very small plant, and I dried a leaf of that and smoked it in a brass pipe and WOOO-EEEEE....the usual headpins but no allergic reaction. It was nice...strange but definitely hard hitting. Still, I don't bother with tobacco...nor do I with the other illegal herb I used to do...which has been refreshing for me. Hey, if I'm more tasty from 4th density then good on em. Hell, I know my grass fed beef T-Bone steak was delicious last night....cheers cow.
Then I grew my own Nicotiana rustica in my backyard in South Australia, just a very very small plant, and I dried a leaf of that and smoked it in a brass pipe and WOOO-EEEEE....the usual headpins but no allergic reaction. It was nice...strange but definitely hard hitting. Still, I don't bother with tobacco...nor do I with the other illegal herb I used to do...which has been refreshing for me. Hey, if I'm more tasty from 4th density then good on em. Hell, I know my grass fed beef T-Bone steak was delicious last night....cheers cow.