smoking

Sometimes it can rumble stuff up in my stomach and I will have to go. Don't do it, not worth the other stuff smoking causes.

I don't smoke... but I do use smokeless tobacco. Copenhagen. And my Gi told me now was the WRONG time to quit. He recomended that I quit at some point in the future, but now was not the time. He said one of the treatments accepted for UC was a niccotene patch. He wouldn't do that for me because with my tobacco use my body was already getting all the nicotene it could handle. But he didn't recomend takin the nicoten away and adding the stress at this point. He suggested we waited till I had been in remission for a while..... then we could concentrate on quittting. He was not advocating tobacco use.... just that when in a flare.... it was the wrong time to try and quit.

I smoked on and off for years up until about two months after I was diagnosed. Smoking often brought on the immediate urgency to go to the bathroom. I believe I would be totally miserable now if I smoke.

I hate to say it but, smoking actually made my bowels settle.  I quit smoking on August 10 2008, and 2 weeks later began a flare that I am still working through (I am finally off the prednisone and on only Asacol and rowasa).  This has been my longest and worst flare in the 14 + years of having UC.  But, I am still glad I quit :)