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Update on smoking

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 6/11/2008 6:56 PM (GMT 0)
Just writing to give an update on my experiment with smoking. 

I was diagnosed with UC a few months after quitting smoking.  There had been several discussions on the issue and a few ex-smokers/nicotine users on this site and elsewhere had mentioned improvements in their symptoms after getting back to smoking.

After considerable thought I decided to give snus a try (chewing tobacco).  After a month of using it I noticed no effect on my symptoms, and then went to the next step and started smoking again.  I had previously smoked about 10 cigs a day.  I did not see any improvement at all and eventually ended up smoking more than I had ever done before. 

I smoked for about 4 months and had an extremely difficult time trying to quit again.  However, I have finally managed to kick the habit and have been smoke-free for about 2 weeks now.  My symptoms have not changed after stopping smoking.

Well, there's no way I'm going back to smoking again and I just wanted to write about my experience as I know there are other ex-smokers out there who have been wondering whether or not to try smoking again.  

Posted 6/11/2008 7:15 PM (GMT 0)
If I can figure out how to make a nicotine enema, that will be my next venture.
Posted 6/11/2008 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
They are working on a med that mimics the effect the carbon monoxide has on an inflammed colon.

Keep in mind, smoking does not necessarily work for every UCer, anymore then it's necessarily always going to make every CD worse (I speak from experiance in which smoking has helped me), IBD is very indvidulaistic and it's pretty much why there is not one thing that works for all.

:)
Posted 6/12/2008 8:01 AM (GMT 0)
From my experience, it seems that only quitting smoking has any major effect - usually between 1.5 and 2 months after quitting I will flare really badly.

This does not work in reverse however, starting smoking again does not seem to improve my symptoms any.
Posted 6/12/2008 8:06 AM (GMT 0)

Both of my major flares occured after stopping smoking. I tried patches, nicotine gum and a nicotine nasal spray the second time to try and curb my symptoms.

Have been in remission for nearly a year with Azathioprine and havent even thought about starting smoking again.

Has anyone here used patches etc and had success with curbing symptoms ? or is it just actual smoking that helps ?

Posted 6/12/2008 12:44 PM (GMT 0)
Rio, I'm sorry it didn't help because your UC is still raging; I'm glad it didn't work because it lowers your chances of having both UC and emphysema. So, I'm not sure what to say. I'm hoping the western medicine will work for you finally.
Posted 6/12/2008 2:02 PM (GMT 0)

Colitis-owns: I should have mentioned that I also tried nicotine patches for two months in 2007 and no response.

Judy: Thanks.  I am following my prescribed regimen of Western medecines but am also persevering at trying alternative treatments to get this under control.  I began acupuncture treatments last week and will give the forum an update on that once I've done it for a reasonable amount of time.

Posted 6/12/2008 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
My two cents. It seems that we hear a lot of people who stop smoking and end up in a flare afterwards. I always thought a lot of UC complications is due to stress and how our bodies handle stress. I do know that stress causes me problems. So I always wondered if it is really the stress that people go through when quitting smoking is what is really causing them to flare, rather than not having the smoke. When you stop smoking the body has to go through a detox period and rebalance your blood sugar metabolism. I think with all the physical stress and mental stress that people go through when quitting smoking is what is at the core of starting a flare.
Posted 6/12/2008 3:57 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with badgut. I think because our disease is so subjective and personal we tend to over analyze a lot of what we do, eat, feel. I know it's important to be aware of all these things but I know sometimes I become a little obsessive when trying to figure out what is causing a flare. The mind is such a powerful thing and nicotine is so addictive that I’m sure we could easily convince ourselves that nicotine helps with UC to the point that it would help. Kind of a placebo. Also I know how relaxing a cigarette is on a cold day with a nice warm cup of coffee. Definitely reduces stress. I know how hard and stressful it is to quit smoking and that could definitely start anyone up on a flare. I quit smoking Feb. 07 after smoking for 6 years and it was really hard on the body and mind.
Posted 6/12/2008 4:48 PM (GMT 0)
When I started a severe flare about three years ago, I quit smoking one month into it because I thought that would reduce my terrible heartburn, which it did a little... But then I flared for a year straight and NOTHING, not even prednisone, would help me. Then I started smoking again and was almost in remission two months later.
I have quit again a year ago and while I am flaring some now, I don't have any plans to start again even though I know there's a good chance it would help, it's just not worth it to me anymore.
Posted 6/12/2008 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
I still need to figure out the best way to get the nicotine into the enema, bypassing the whole systemic and addiction thing.  The research on it is really interesting.  Any bright ideas???
Posted 6/12/2008 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
Unfortunately, my smoking habit didn't prevent me from getting UC...
Posted 6/12/2008 5:29 PM (GMT 0)

Carbon monoxide helps with inflammation in the colon...

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

:)

Posted 6/12/2008 6:48 PM (GMT 0)

I had read the published reports too on carbon monoxide/nicotine helping UC and I thought that it was worth a try, as after 2 years of not achieving full remission from all sorts of different treatments I was (and still am) desperate to get some kind of a normal life going - especially as I had never been ill before UC struck...Or to put it better, and take a quote from a GQ article on Marc Jacobs (the fashion designer)...my life had been normal until I got the "existential b*tch-slap of ulcerative colitis"!  

I agree that with this illness we can tend to over-analyze everything, from what we eat/drink to how we lead our lives and I recently stopped keeping a diary of my habits and symptoms so that I would stop obsessing over the minute details and instead focus on whatever is going right for me, rather than what's not.


Posted 6/25/2008 7:23 PM (GMT 0)

Hi

This is the first post for me...

I was diagnosed with UC May 2007....I quit smoking 1 month before I was diagnosed and was using the Nicotine Patch and everything started about 1 week after I quit smoking but I waited 3 more weeks before seeing a doctor about it.  The dr's believe that quitting smoking triggered the UC even though I was using the patch.  I went back to smoking (stupid but I believed it would make me feel better).  Still flared on and off ( about every 3 months) but worse when I quit smoking.  Last flare was April 08 and I had again quit smoking in Feb, despite taking Prednisone 40mg again which usually helped within 7-10 days dr decided to try Remicade...and its wonderful.  Unfortunately I am again smoking, and afraid to quit..but maybe if i keep seeing results with the Remicade I will quit again.  So even though there is lots or studies on smoking/patch and UC the patch does not help me.

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