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Posted 1/4/2008 3:39 AM (GMT 0)
I still don't really think smoking helps me. I have gone 2 1/2 weeks or so at a time without smoking earlier this year because of throat infections/tonsillectomy and my UC did not act up. If anything it was better during that time. I guess that is a good thing, because it will be easier for me to quit eventually (maybe). It seems like smoking helps most others with UC though.
Posted 1/4/2008 4:41 AM (GMT 0)

Mitzo- Technically it's the CO from smoking that aids with inflammation in the colon...and I know that smoking reg cigs is the benefit for some UCers, that's why I said for those who want to quit to try herbal ones.

See this link

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/35173.php

:)

Posted 1/4/2008 5:08 AM (GMT 0)
But it may also be the nicotine, since nicotine patch studies have shown relief of UC symptoms for some, right?
Posted 1/4/2008 5:55 AM (GMT 0)
At first it was thought to be from the nicotine (anti-inflammatory effects in the colon) then more research drove them to the CO being what actually causes the anti-inflammatory effects in the colon...to the best of my understanding at least.

It's also believed that the key is inhaling the CO in order to get actual benefits of lessening inflammation in the colon.

:)
Posted 1/4/2008 6:08 AM (GMT 0)
Studies have shown benefits with the patch, too. http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1997030310.shtml (This is from 2003, so maybe something has changed since then?)
Posted 1/4/2008 6:11 AM (GMT 0)
Ya but from what I understand it may have been a placebo effect with patches and gums.

I'm just going by what I've read and heard and try to keep as updated as possible.

:)
Posted 1/5/2008 3:09 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, you may be right about that. I really haven't read that much about it, just a few studies here and there. Sometimes I wish I was a research scientist so I could be in the know on all this stuff and do my own studies (or at least be able to understand all the medical jargon in the studies).
Posted 1/5/2008 6:29 AM (GMT 0)
Last I heard when they discovered it was actually the CO that aided in inflammation in the colon, researchers figured they could make a med based on CO's ability to reduce inflammation in the colon without the harmful effects of smoking, so there is hope.

:)
Posted 1/9/2008 2:58 AM (GMT 0)
 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT, I REALLY MEAN IT MITZO.!!!!

I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANYONE TO TALK TO about MY UC. MY HUSBAND TRIES, BUT IT;S NICE TO TALK TO SOMEONE WHO UNDER STANDS THE PAIN. I AM GOING TO CONTINUE SMOKING FOR AWHILE. I KNOW I CAN GUIT ANY TIME. THANKS AGAIN

KITTIE

 

Posted 1/9/2008 4:01 AM (GMT 0)
ok i am going to be honest with everyone. because there is no way anyone can slap me!

if it weren't for my kids i would'nt be here. well then again if it weren't for my kids i would'nt have these bad thoughts. they don't understand how stress upsets my uc. see i can't hardly cook, clean, work. they think i am being lazy, when really i am just worn out. no energy from going all the time. standing up even for awhile i feel faint. i know it is really stupid for thinking like this. but this is no life to live. i know it is the life god choose for me, and there for, i will live it. but it runs through my mind everyday!  thinking how easy it would be. on me but, not for my family. confused   i am crying myself to sleep every night!!!!! i just want to stay in bed. i am already on depression meds, they have been uping and uping but it does not seem to be working.

i tell my husband my thoughts, he just gets scared and almost cries. i don't want him to have to worry about me. but i am really scared that one of these nights i might get so bad i might do something. doesn't help that he sleeps on the couch every night, i snore!!!!!!

 i guess what is really bothering me is i don't want my husband to have to do everyting around the house. we have 3 kids and not one of them really help out. we have to yell for them to do anything. then they do it half ass, cause they are mad.

well sorry for venting but it is nice to let my feelings out. it feels good.

kittie

Posted 1/9/2008 4:44 AM (GMT 0)
You shouldn't be sorry for anything! The feelings you experiance are NORMAL for what you have to live with...crying out loud, people who have less to deal with are in worse shape emotionally that's for sure...

Part of the whole community forum is so you CAN vent, that's part of healing and dealing emotionally...it's a rollercoaster, you'll have good times and bad with a chronic illness like IBD, and many other illnesses that have such a huge impact on ones life.

:)
Posted 1/9/2008 11:52 AM (GMT 0)
Kittie, how old are your children?

I agree with Pb, that is one thing we always tell everyone here.......never apologize for a vent. I truly does feel better to get things off your chest and at least for me, to do it in writing seems to work the best. And especially with ones that can truly understand your situation. I know you said you were on anti-depressants but have you tried switching to one that could be more effective?
Posted 1/9/2008 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, Kittycat, that's rough. Stress exacerbates my condition, too... your family really needs to understand the connection.

Makes me all the more glad I'm never having kids, anyway.


...and back to the original topic, I kept meaning to try nicotine gum, but my flare seems to be over, so I'll have to wait until next time (*sigh* always a "next time") to have the chance.
Posted 1/9/2008 7:06 PM (GMT 0)

I quit smoking when diagnosed and the whole year and a half were hell.  I started back again a year ago this December and the year wasn't really that bad.  My GI told me when I quit I will go into a flare.  I don't really like smoking but that flare scares the hell out of me. 

Stacy

Posted 1/9/2008 8:56 PM (GMT 0)
When I told my doc's or any anti-smoker that quitting smoking would send me in a flare, I was dismissed, like I didn't really want to quit. EVERY time I tried to quit smoking (at least 7 in the last 16 years) I had a flare-up. I have tried everything from patches, gum, inhalers, zyban, and chantix. I was able to quit smoking at times for 2 months before symptoms would appear, and they would appear! I went for 2 years without any meds because I had worried about the side effects of those drugs combined with my smoking. In May I quit and worked-out and really watched my diet and felt great until June when the 30 trips to the bathroom and 30 lb weight loss caused me to have to quit working, quit taking care of my family and eventually landing me in the hospital. Trying all meds, nothing worked and they had to remove my colon and I now have a temp ileostomy with a j-pouch surgery soon to come. With all tests done, I am told that I have "undetermined colitis" and the only reason they think that it's closer to UC is because of the fact that quitting smoking triggers my symptoms. My GI even told me that people with UC who have this j-pouch do better when they smoke. Honestly, if I had known in May what I would have had to go through, I would not have even thought of quitting smoking! It's bad enough we are not supposed to be eating the fresh fruits and vegetables that prevent cancer, but we are taking drugs that can cause lymphoma to keep this horrible disease at bay. Needless to say, I went back to smoking after the surgery because of the emotional stress of having to deal with an ostomy. Will I try to quit again? Probably.
Posted 1/9/2008 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
my kids are 15, twin boys. and my daughter is 11. thats what really upsets me, they are old enough to understand everything. i get so upset with them. i think that is maybe the reason i can't get better. they really stress me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks everyone who replied. it's nice to know someone really cares.       kittie

Posted 1/9/2008 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
Kittie....do you see a counselor? If you have mentioned that before sorry I haven't had a chance to read through the entire thread.

Have you tried sitting down w/ your children? Maybe having them see a counselor too? I am sure it is trying for a child to have a parent that is not only depressed but suffering from a life altering disease. I'm not taking up for their behavior I'm just looking at it from the other side.
Posted 1/9/2008 9:15 PM (GMT 0)
WOW TBRAZ,
i know what you are going through. i can barely take care of my family, and was put in hosiptal. my mom has the ostomy. she was very depressed, over time getting better. i told my husband that if i have to get one i won't. live my life out. but then i think of my kids. so i will do anything to live.
i 2 quit smoking seven years ago. then came the uc. never thinking of smoking. tried it a month ago. seems to help. so i will keep doing it. anything is better then being on the bowl 20 times a day.
i hope everything works out for u.
kittie
Posted 1/9/2008 9:41 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Kittycat,

My heart breaks for you.  When we are down and out at our worse with this darn disease it can take everything out of you and all you want to do is cry and sleep.  I know when I am down and out everyone feels it but our health is more important.  I did have to be put on an antidepressant also and it did take a while for it to work and sometimes I still take ativan (more than I like lately) but it helps with the stress.  It really does suck what we have and some are really worse off then me.  Just know you are not alone and maybe taking your kids to seminar (haha at their ages) would help.  If not try showing them a picture of what an ulcerative colon looks like.  That should work.  Feel better soon.

Stacy

Posted 1/9/2008 10:06 PM (GMT 0)
Kitty,

I can totally understand where you are coming from when it comes to the kids. I have 3- 20,17,and 13 and when I was at my sickest, I had to beg for help and usually got an attitude from my 13 year old daughter. When I would complain to my husband about needing help, he would just tell me to have the kids do it! So I would do little things at a time and lay down to rest. The problems with kids is that they really have no idea what we are going thru and no matter how much to try to explain, they just can't grasp it at all. And most kids are selfish, I reminded myself of how selfish I was when I was a teenager and didn't give my mom as much help as she needed (but more than my kids gave me). All I wanted was my husband to sit them down and demand that they help, which he never did. Maybe your husband can? Maybe if some of the burden is taken off of you, you can rest. I hope that you can find something that works for your illness and depression, it is so hard to be happy when you don't feel good. Try to take care of yourself.
Theresa
Posted 1/9/2008 11:38 PM (GMT 0)
tbraz, my husband tells them all the time. but we have to remind them everyday. even their everyday chores. they know they have to do them, but we have to yell all the time. we take away their computers, ps3 and t.v. but they give us attitude. and are mad all the time. and that really stresses me out. so late at night my uc is not so bad. so i clean and scrub, they don't care, as long as it is not them. nothing helps, i even told them if i get sicker i will end up like their grandma. with a bag. we do sit down with them all the time and talk about my problem. maybe a counselor would be a good idea. but i have no insurance. thanks

kitty
Posted 1/10/2008 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
Kitty and Tbraz, I can relate to the situation, although I have no kids. I really feel that the antismoking mania that has gripped our world has left some of us a lot worse off. I also get the sneer and wisecracks if I mention smoking helps my disease. But it's hopeless, my own mother, who seems concerned about the disease, and my own partner of 23 years who has seen me go through it all, dismiss the connection to UC and seem to see my smoking as excuses, self-centred, or certain to kill me from lung cancer. SO I use nic patches and smokeless snus to control things, though they are poor substitutes for a pack a day opf full-strength king size. Kitty, your feelings of misery and despair are familiar to most of us here. The disease, the stress, the lack of support, the fatigue from the disease and the meds all add up. I just emerged from several weeks down a suicidal hole myself, oveer Xmas and New Year, no less. Know what lifted it? My flare is ending. Get the help you need to deal with the disease and life comes back into the light again.
Posted 1/10/2008 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
Can you try showing them the scientific studies that showed smoking helped UC? I don't see how they can not believe you then.
Posted 1/10/2008 8:59 PM (GMT 0)

mitzo, how is your flare ending. what's working for you.

right now i am to be at work, but am running late cause i had to go for about 25 mins.

yesterday too. already late so i thought i would write and ask. think my job place is getting really tired of me. they know my condition.

kitty 

Posted 1/10/2008 9:01 PM (GMT 0)

I think everyone gets tired of hearing about how we feel.  I get the impression sometimes even including our family's they think we are chronic complainers.  Unless we are flat on our back they just don't get it.  Sucks.

Stacy

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