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Is nicotine harmful for Crohn's?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 4/30/2018 4:14 AM (GMT 0)
I want to use nicotine gums or nicotine patches as a stimulant. I know smoking tobacco is harmful for Crohn's; but what about nicotine alone?
Posted 4/30/2018 10:37 AM (GMT 0)
I havent found any studies done on just nicotine alone so i cant say i would guess its not good for you though but they say its bad for healing but i always healed from cuts ans scraps at normal rates when i smoked normal cigs so im not sure about how bad just nicotine could be i smoke ecigs i dont feel its made me worse since i started it again after stopping for awhile but its not made me feel healthier either , as a stimulant i think the effect isnt very long lasting so i dont know it doesnt give me energy only it might make you fele dizzy light headed at first
Posted 4/30/2018 2:32 PM (GMT 0)
For a few years after my first diagnosis, doctors generally referred to me as "indeterminate" "Crohn's Colitis" because my Crohn's was mostly in my colon.

Nothing was working for me, so I thought if I have UC and not Crohn's, then smoking tobacco could really help me; and if I have Crohn's, then it would make me worse and I would know what I have. So I started smoking tobacco, and within 2 days of smoking my symptoms got increased massively. I stopped smoking after that.

Then after a few years I got abscesses and inflammation in my TI area so we knew it was Crohn's.

So, smoking tobacco definitely makes me worse.

If only we knew the mechanism behind the opposite effects of smoking tobacco on UC and CD, then we would know if nicotine alone is safe to take for Crohn's patients or not.

I have read on the UC board that some there use nicotine patches to help their UC, but I have also read forum discussions stating that smoking actually works much better and there are different mechanisms involved with smoking that might be the reason why it helps with UC.
Posted 5/1/2018 10:49 AM (GMT 0)
Part of the mechanism is that smoking makes mucus thicker. One of the problems with crohns
is that the mucus is too thick, and does not flush bacteria from the crypts. With UC not enough
mucus or too thin, both in viscosity and dimensional thickness. Also smoking can change
bacteria types in the mouth and the gut, also there may be a carbon monoxide component.
Also probably some immune modulation going on one way or the other.
Oldmike
Posted 5/1/2018 11:41 AM (GMT 0)
Do you think nicotine has any effect? I know some uc patients use nicotine patches, are they effective for them? I know you smoke tobacco for your UC, have you ever considered using nicotine patches or gums instead?

Post Edited (xy123) : 5/1/2018 5:44:26 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/1/2018 7:38 PM (GMT 0)
When ever I quit get mouth ulcers, nothing helps but to smoke again. Tried gum.
They get so bad have to carry around benzocane in my pocket or can't eat or talk.
The effect seems variable for uc an nicotine patches, it helps some people not others.
OM
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