cigarette smoking and fibromyalgia...

Hi everybody,

I am a cigarette smoker and was wondering about how it effected my fibro.  Well here are some answers.  And I have to say Congrats to Kelly71 for quitting smoking.  I hope that it is making a difference.

Are you wondering if your cigarette smoking or tobacco use is affecting your fibromyalgia (FM) pain? Does second-hand smoke make you feel ill? Current research will give you more reason to kick the habit or convince your spouse or partner to stop. In two recent studies, FM patients who smoke report having more painful symptoms than non-smoking FM patients.^1,2

In one study, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota evaluated the symptoms of 984 FM patients. The patients responded to questions pertaining to their level of pain, fatigue, number of tender points, how their pain interfered with their physical function, depression, and anxiety. The responses were entered into an electronic database and analyses were divided into two groups, tobacco users and non-tobacco users.

The second study done in Turkey compared the severity of symptoms among 302 FM patients and 115 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The FM patients’ data were divided into smokers and non-smokers. When comparing all the FM to the RA patients, FM patients reported more severe symptoms associated with widespread pain, fatigue, sleepiness and sleep disturbances, irritating skin sensations, and more anxiety and depression regardless if they smoked or not.

Reviewing both studies, patients with FM who smoked reported higher levels of chronic-widespread pain, unrefreshing sleep, more adverse skin sensations including pricking and tingling, and more anxiety and depression than non-smokers. In addition to these symptoms, the tobacco users in the Mayo Clinic study also reported fewer good days and more days of missed work than the non-smokers. Neither study found a difference in the number of tender points or fatigue level between smokers and non-smokers.

These results confirm a previous study done with 233 FM patients by Muhammad Yunus, M.D., of the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He found that FM patients who smoked had increased pain scores, numbness, and poorer overall wellness. In addition, the greater the number of cigarettes smoked, the higher the patient’s pain score.³

What is it about smoking that could cause a detrimental effect on FM pain? The nicotine in cigarettes is a psychostimulant that arouses the central and peripheral nervous systems and constricts blood flow to the muscles. These two factors could adversely impact the pain processing system, as well as the musculoskeletal tissues. Yunus and the Mayo Clinic team also refer to previous studies that correlate FM smokers with a higher level of substance P in their spinal fluid than FM non-smokers. Substance P is a pain-related chemical transmitter that is already known to be elevated in FM patients, and higher levels could be a sign of increased pain.

One positive aspect of the study done at the Mayo Clinic showed that only 14 percent of the FM patients were smokers. This figure is lower than the 20 percent national average for the United States.⁴ Interestingly, in the Coping with Sleep Issues survey distributed by the Fibromyalgia Network last month, 6.2 percent of nearly 5,000 FM patients who responded said they stopped smoking to ensure better sleep at night. Apparently, these FM patients determined on their own that smoking was either interfering with sleep or causing painful symptoms. Since smoking a single cigarette introduces hundreds of toxic compounds into the body, many of which are known cancer-causing agents, it only makes sense that FM patients who are usually sensitive to chemicals would choose not to smoke.⁵ And while researches have not determined if FM patients who quit smoking experience less pain, they are convinced that tobacco use adds to painful symptoms.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to quit smoking (or help a family member quit), it certainly is not too late. The U.S. government offers a dozen resources to start you or your partner on the path to a smoke-free life: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/index.htm

1. Pamuk O.N., et al. Rheumatol Int DOI 10.1007/s00296-009-0851-5 2009, Jan 20. Epub ahead of print.

 

I hope that this helps some...

Hugs, Karen

I"ve smoked for many years now and I've tried everything to quit,  but I am allergic to patches, gum, and such.  Tried wellbutrin and Chantix.  Pure determination has helped for a day, but then I end up in alot of pain, and i smoke.  So I hope that someday soon I can start living without smoking.

i have a terrible cold and just went to the doctor this morning... anyways the doctor stressed to me the importance of quitting smoking in order to allow my body to heal quicker... thanks so much for this! it seems like i am getting bombarded today with reasons to quit! it's not going to be easy.... but it is possible.
the better sleep at night is reason enough for me!

I tried the Chantix and it made me nauseaus for about twenty minutes, but then it would pass. I didn't quit, sadly to say. But I think if I would have tried harder, it would have helped.

Hugs, Karen

As y'all know, Chantix was what helped me quit. I totally agree with you, Miriam-it's a miracle drug. I had tried gum, patches, and everything else you could think of but when I tried the Chantix, it was like a gift from God. Of course, I did have to have will power and determination, but as I started to lose the craving for nicotine, I knew I could do it. Yes, there was more than a few times when I almost gave in, but I did it. I always say that I don't know if I'm ever gonna break down and smoke again, but I'm not gonna do it today.

I had a friend that used acupuncture to quit smoking.  He was a 3 pack a day smoker and hasn't smoked in 3 years now.  They put the needles in the cartiledge in the ear.  OUCH!

I came across this and it uses the same basic technique...auricular treatment...but no needles!  They have been using this in a hospital in Miami.  Here is an article about it.  It's calles Zerosmoke.

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/04/28/story12.html

I did buy this for each of my daughters for Christmas but they haven't tried it.     Hopefully, some day they will.  It cost $40 last Christmas.  Hope this can help some.  Oh, there is a 30 money back guarantee, too.

Sherrine

This is by no means a defense of smoking. I am trying like crazy to quit myself. But I have researched the daylights out of smoking, and nicotine and in their study they should have included the statistics on the percentage of people with Fibro smoking versus normal controls with no pain problems or mental/mood disorders. There is a little more going on here then we just want to light up.

On what would be the total population in general, smoking has dropped to around 30 percent. When you look at the percentage of the population with depression disorders it jumps to 50 percent. On the percentage with major pain disorders and depression its 70 percent. For people with major psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia it is 90 percent.

There actually seems to be a logical reason for this beyond we just have more stress, so more impetus to light up, although that is probably a major issue. Or that well, we feel like crud anyhow, so we might as well have something going on.

My question on that study where the non smoking Fibro people had less pain then the smoking ones is that pain and degree of Fibro problems are completely subjective. I do believe that, actually know that nicotine will increase pain levels and bother your sleep, just like coffee or any other number of stimulants. But what I am wondering is on that study, is how much of the difference was nicotene, versus the possibility that the smokers in general had higher degrees of issues to begin with, which was a major part of why they were smoking.

Here is why I ask that. Most of the current studies on Nicotene show that it has a number of powerful effects. First, its a major anti-depressant. The drug companies are going crazy trying to come up with anti-depressants based on what nicotine does, without it actually being nicotine, since they can't patent that. They have also found that Nicotine helps people with Schizophrenia to tone down their symptoms. So they are working on that. In other words, the people with depression and up to schizophrenia are actually effectively self medicating.

Another thing that Nicotine does is to mitigate allot of negative side effects of opiate and opiod class pain killers. You still get the pain killing effect, but the nicotine takes out a substantial amount of the cognitive, drugged out side effects.

Lastly, they have found that Nicotine does not harm the nervous system and receptors, it appears to provide some protection for them.

Essentially, what I am saying in all of this, is that those of us that are smoking, aren't just smoking, we are self medicating on top of it. We may have had issues for a very long time, that might be a major part of why it is so extremely hard for some people to quit. Nicotine is a powerful, unsubscribed medication. And like all medications, it has side effect trade offs.

Personally, I am giving up the smoking for my health in general. The smoking part is totally destructive for me. I have a feeling I will be weaning down off those patches for quite sometime though.

Regarding the concept of the tobacco companies adding chemicals to make you want to smoke more. In my opinion this is a fact.

Two years ago when I moved to California, the only job I could find that my body would just barely handle was working in a smoke shop. It was part time, 3 days a week, had a low traffic flow and it allowed me to go back and forth between sitting and standing. I hated the concept of working in a smoke shop. I am peddling drugs and death. But it was that or live under a bush.

I can tell you by watching what people smoke and by my own switching around from different brands there is no doubt in my mind they are adding chemicals that make you smoke more, and Phillip Morris and the Marlboro brand is pumping in the most. But RJReynolds and Camel brand are not far behind. These two companies are nothing better then Hitler and Stalin working together, and working here makes me feel like one of their little privates in their army of death.

I have noticed very clearly over these two years that the people that smoke cigars, pipes, and any of the brands of cigarettes that do not have additives tend to smoke far less then the ones that smoke cigarettes with additives. I also noticed that wearing a patch will not cut down my smoking during the day, probably because I am at work and stressed and have 10,000 cigarettes behind me, but when I get home, I feel no urge to smoke until I get back out the next day. I also noticed that sticking a additional filter tip on the end of a ultra light, where you are blocking more of the chemicals they are adding to make you want to smoke more helps. You, or at least I smoke less at work with that extra filter on there, turning it into a super ultra light. Once your blocking 90 percent of the smoke, but still getting the fixation of hand to mouth and inhaling, the nicotine patches are much more effective. Its not a answer for quitting because your not stopping your fixation, but your smoking does go way down and that has to be the reduction of the chemicals they are adding.

This is my last weekend on this job by the way. I am moving back to my daughters in Arizona. I have taken many tries at giving up smoking in these two years, but I just can't get it done with a wall full of packs of cigarettes behind me. I am going to quit in Arizona if I have to wear patches, suck lozenges and chew pencils in half.

Edit: I just had to add this in. I have had to make use of County Mental Health places for medications that most MD's don't want to prescribe, for oh, about 8 years now. I have used four different ones and I found something odd and very consistent about them. I noticed that most of the out patients smoked, which wasn't surprising, but it also seemed that the majority of all of the staff smoked also, especially the Doctors, Therapist and PA's working under the Doctors. Even the regular staff seemed to be running well above the National average. I guess that old saying of people getting into mental health work because they have allot of issues themselves could be true if the amount of running to the smoking area is any gauge.

I know this is an old thread but just wanted to share my opinion on quitting smoking, especially for someone suffering with multiple physical and mental issues. People with depression and anxiety have a much harder time quitting smoking and a much lower rate of actually quitting, it is somewhat logical to me.

I have fibromyalgia, IBS, disc potrusions and other spine issues, depression, anxiety (*unspecified mood disorder) and I am quit for almost 20 days now, is it easy? No it's not, it's very hard to say the least. Smoking is just not worth it, not even worth it if you'll have a better state of mind.