Nicotine experiment goes haywire

There is some research to suggest that nicotine gum increases blood pressure in people with PD.  A recent clinical trial showed that chewing nicotine gum improved low BP for about 90 minutes.  So I thought, given that I have orthostatic hypotension, I would give nicotine gum a shot.

First, I chewed the gum while driving to Rock Steady Boxing, then spit it out when I got there.  Partway through class, though, my BP dropped, and I had to sit.  Okay, so next time chew through class, right?

Wrong.  Yesterday, I started chewing the gum at the start of class.  Felt great for 10 minutes.  Then had to sit down.  Even sitting I felt light-headed.  No way could I get up, even to move my rollator, where I was sitting, out of the way.

I have never felt so washed out.  I even considered phoning my husband to walk me out of class, down the stairs, and take me home; my independence is important to me, so this demonstrates how poorly I felt.  After about 30 minutes, I spit out the gum and slowly started to feel better.  Cognition was subpar throughout, which is not normal either; it improved as my BP improved.

Put one in the "fail" column.  No nicotine gum for me.  There is medication to increase my BP; I haven't wanted to consider it (danger of high BP when lying down), but now I think I have to.