Nicotine??

I was just reading an article in the NEMJ about a study of uc patients using nicotine patches. It sounds like, for some reason, that nicotine helps bring on remission and stay in remission longer than with normal (steriods, 5asa, 6mps) treatment. There are some side effects to the patches, lightheadedness, nausea, trouble sleeping. I think I could put up with these side effects better than what im going thru now. Does anyone have any other info. on this or has anyone tried it??

Thanks, Lisa

This is a subject that has been posted many times. I came down w/ UC when I quit smoking. I quit smoking in March and began my first flare in mid-May. I tried the patch to see if it would help. For me it didn't. It was an extremely difficult decision for me to make, but I did go back to smoking last November. It has helped my UC tremendously even though I still am mildly flaring. I don't have the neausea, mild fatigue (sleep 10 hours at night), my joints don't ache as bad and the list goes on.

This is such in individualistic disease. What works for one may not work for another. I would never recommend going back to smoking. We just have to do what is best for ourself.

I hope I have been of some help.

Gigi1227

I did this on my own and used them for 2 months.

Gigi1227

I had been a lifelong non-smoker and I tried nicotine patches twice for 3-5 weeks each time; I also smoked from time to time when I was doing the patch. I went up to the max level of patch (22 mg or something like that) which must be like smoking a couple packs a day ... I did get some nausea, quickened pulse, increased blood pressure, and a general feeling of being ultra-wired and nervous. No benefit whatsoever- in fact I had more bowel movements (though not D) from increased motility from all that extra blood pressure- I was probably a temporary heart attack waiting to happen (I hear that if a smoker quits, their heart attack rate instantly drops by 70% or so on average no matter how long they have been smoking). I withdrew very quickly over the space of about a week without problems. It may be that I "really" have Crohn's or it may be that nicotine can mainly benefit former smokers who got UC after quitting. It is also likely that not just nicotine, but other elements of smoking play a role (though, like I said, I did try smoking). Now, if only chocolate would benefit UC.... (I am a former chocoholic and now cannot even touch it.)

I used smokeless tobacco for years and a little more than a year ago I went cold turkey and a month later a came down with Pan Colitis and I've been flaring ever since. I've been thinking about trying the patch, but I haven’t yet. The other day I was doing some research on nicotine alternative and I found a plant called Lobelia, also called Indian tobacco. Lobelia is similar to nicotine in its effect on the body; however, the Mayo Clinic doesn’t recommend it for any medical condition.

I’ve been thinking about going to the herbal supplement store to see if they have it. Has anyone else come across this plant yet?

For those using smokeless tobacco, I recommend snus, the no-spit tobacco pouches originally from Sweden. Some US companies make them, but the best are from Sweden over the internet. www.snuson.com is a fantastic discussion forum of snus users from all over. I have been using snus for a year and a half and it is better than nic patches for sure, but nowhere near as helpful for my UC and plain old pack a day king size cigs.