Does anyone smoke?

I don't smoke anymore. I strongly believe that the smoking brought on my Crohn's in 2005. I was not smoking at first, but I was going through a divorce etc. and was under a lot of stress. I had had some troubles with my insides but nothing that could be diagnosed as it would come and go. Then I foolishly decided to start smoking again after a 10 year break. I only smoked 3 or so a day, but after a couple of months I went into a full on flare, lost 40 pounds and was diagnosed with Crohn's. Without the smoking I would likely not have had such trouble. Maybe it was for the best, since I was diagnosed, but perhaps I would never have gone beyond mild Crohn's. I really hope that you stop smoking, for Crohn's and everything else. Good luck and I'm sure you can do it.

Hello, I do smoke and I defiantly want to stop too. The strange thing is one doctor told me that it is sometimes not a good thing to stop if you already have been smoking. I am not really sure why she said that and the only thing I could think is that maybe for people who get constipated smoking will help them move a bowel movement. As for me I haven't had a normal bowel movement in 3 years since I had my son. I have had a lot of diareah and soft bowel movements. I do notice that sometimes when I smoke a cigerette it has me running to the bathroom (not all the time but most of the time). Sometimes even if I smell someone smoking it will make me have to run to the bathroom. I was reading on another site about a man who would only smoke when he was about to leave the house so he could use the bathroom and enjoy his night out. My new doctor did tell me that I should stop smoking, it's just not god for our health and we are already going through so much with crohn's.

I stop smoking each time I crush one out and then I'm good until I reach for the next one. I really dont see a dif. I had quit for years and started again. Right now I'm in that I dont care mode. Next time I flare I may stop. Aint it a beach.

According to research, smoking is one KNOWN trigger for crohn's (including second-hand smoke) I too started smoking when I was 14 yrs old, it was probably sometime after that when I started getting the perianal crohn's skin tags but absolutely no other crohn's symptoms...the tags would come and go with no rhyme or reason that to this day I can think of...docs all told me they were just hemmies so I didn't have a proper DX of CD at that time so I count 18 yrs of having CD when my disease became active internally in my small and large intestines as well as my rectom.

My CD affects my colon mainly (has for the entire 18yrs that I've been fully sick, I became fully sick internally with it when I was 23 going on 24 and going through a very stressful period in my life), right after I got DX it was my colon and rectom surgeon that told me about smoking aiding inflammation in the colon. Back then he advised me against quitting (rare, I know) but I did eventually quit about 8 yrs ago for about 3 yrs and it really turned my constant flare (never been in full remission, keeping in mind that my CD mainly affects my colon) into a very severe flare, I finally started smoking again (6/day is my max to date since then) and it certainly calmed things down enough to make me decide to just keep on with the 6/day. It hasn't brought the CD back in my my small intestines from starting again and that's usually where smoking affects CDers, in the small intestine. Weird eh, but whatever works I'm sticking with it.

Researchers thought it was the nicotine that aided with inflammation in the colon (they aslo found that often when people quit smoking they developed ulcerative colitis, menaing smoking was keeping their disease at bay) of course that's not a rule written in stone either, many UCers still develop UC even while smoking...it's also highly suspected those UCers were predisposed to getting UC.

They have recently learned that it's actually the carbon monoxide that aids with inflammation in the colon and apparently are working on a med that mimics this without the harmful effects of smoking.


:)

I do not smoke and have never done it.
But I did drink alcohol before begin Dx not much though.
I stopped drinking right away. I thought it was not worth it begin more sick than I already am for some drink.
I would apply the same to smoking.

Smoking is never good for you and people who know the feeling of loosing there health should be more aware of that.
I know it is hard to quit but just keep in mind that you get more sick by smoking and I think no CD patient wants that.
I have also witness people dying of lung cancer from smoking and it is not a pretty sight.

Good luck quitting :)

I smoke, and no I shouldn't, but right now my attitude is the same as Snipers, I just don't care anymore. (Sad isn't it)
The only thing I do is only smoke outside, making it harder. As far as the "flare" aspect, I really haven't noticed any
difference. Ah! such is life....

Just wanted to add this interesting fact sheet: http://www.nacc.org.uk/downloads/factsheets/Smoking.pdf

Smoking = bad for Crohn's but strangely good for UC.

*activated your link*

Post Edited By Moderator (Nanners) : 11/9/2009 7:11:54 AM (GMT-7)

What about cigars and pipes? Those shouldn't be as bad, comparable to second-hand smoke since they're not directly inhaled. Or chewing tobacco? I recently attended an IBD conference and the doctors said they don't think nicotine is the culprit for making CD worse. They did however say that smoking is more detrimental to CD than any of the treatment drugs is beneficial.