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smoking with UC

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/12/2008 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
Kittycat, I took entocort, no help. I have been on Salofalk mesalamine enemas, which seemed to make me worde, but, together with 8 500mg of Pentasa a day and psyllium seeds, it was like somebody threw a switch one day a kazaam! The flare started in summer when my exasperated doc gave me flagyl and humatin, thinking parasites might be the cause although stool samples said no. As for tobacco, I use snus, imported direct from Sweden. To find out the facts about this oral tobacco, how to buy, and to see a good forum, www.buysnus.com, www.northerner.com, www.snuson.com. Nicotine in a natural and virtually harmless and cheap form.
Posted 1/15/2008 4:42 AM (GMT 0)

mitzo, what's snus? is it like chew, loose tobacco? i hear alot of people saying it so it must work. cause i hate the way i smell from smoke!

kitty

Posted 4/18/2008 5:40 AM (GMT 0)

hey everyone!

this is kitty. sorry i haven't been writing awhile. been really busy. the last time i wrote in i was really, really sick, and took up smoking. well i am still smoking, no flares for almost 2 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!feel great!  :-)   don't really know if it's from the cigs or the new meds they put me on. i was feeling very well before the meds so thinking it's the cigs. now scared to quit, thinking i will get a flare up.

they put me on azathioprine 50mgs. 2 1/2 pills a day. and still taking the sulfasalazine 6 pills a day. haven't missed work in a long time. i think it maybe safe to say i may keep my job.

i would like to welcome all the newbes. this site has helped me alot. not feeling like i am the only one in the world.    

if anyone has had luck quiting smoking with no flares let me know how. tried the patch and gum. don't like them.

well bye for now.                  kitty

Posted 4/18/2008 11:13 AM (GMT 0)
I was taken aback to read that nicotine increases the mucus in the large intestine which is reduced by UC and studies have shown that some are treated with nicotine patches - that might be a healthier route rather then inhaling it through a cigarette...

Here is the link i found awhile back,

http://www.crohns.org.uk/Docs/4/uc/Smoking%20and%20Ulcerative%20Colitis.html

 

Posted 4/18/2008 12:41 PM (GMT 0)
It's been known for a long time that smokers have lower rates of UC but higher rates of Crohn's. Like anything else, we evaluate the risks of whatever "treatments" we consider, and make our choices. Still, as a former smoker who developed UC after quitting, I'll never smoke again.
Posted 4/19/2008 12:07 PM (GMT 0)
Really interesting thread here...

I believe 100% that most of the meds they put us on are as much if not more dangerous that cigarettes could be (imagine smoking a pack of PREDNOSONE A DAY!!!!). I'm thinking back and I was never really a heavy smoker, 2 or 3 a day and NEVER more than 5. Sometimes none at all. But I had decided to quit and my first flare came a month after I stopped.... Interesting.

Nicotine relaxes the colon right? It seems to make some very twisted sense. Is it all or nothing with this ie do you have to be a consistent smoker to see the benefits or is a cigarette here and there while your flaring a possible supplement?
Posted 4/19/2008 5:37 PM (GMT 0)
Researchers have long discovered now that quitting smoking can attribute to bring out UC for those who are genetically predeisposed....smoking keeps UC at bay (usually, but not always, until a person quits)...it's the carbon monoxide in the nicotine that typically keeps inflammation in the colon at bay.

This link is in regards to what researchers have discovered....

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

From another source I read, they are looking into developing a drug that mimics what carbon monoxide does for the colon, without all the dangerous side-effects of actually smoking.

:)

Posted 4/21/2008 11:38 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Kitty,

Glad you are doing well.  When I read you started smoking the first thought I had was oh no!  Only because I did the same thing 1 1/2 years ago and haven't had a flare since.  Although today feeling punky and in the bathroom all morning.  I too would like the advice of quitting smoking and flaring.  scarrey thought but I can relate to how you feel.

Stacy

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