Smoking and UC?

Since I've been hanging around here (a couple of weeks) I’ve seen a couple of casual references to nicotine being a treatment for UC, but of course with the social and medical stigma associated with smoking, there have been no details. I ran a search but came up with little useful information. It would seem that any reference to tobacco or nicotine is taboo.   So what's the deal, has nicotine been shown to be useful or not? Does the ingestion method (smoking/chewing/lozenges/patches) have any bearing? As I recall, my UC symptoms began around the time I last stopped smoking and using nicotine lozenges.  

My G.I. stated that smoking definately masks U.C.  I was first diagnosed shortly after I quit smoking.  I started smoking again and stayed in remission for several years while I continued to smoke.  I am currently flaring (haven't smoked in three years and don't plan to). 

                                                                                          Durango Kid

I googled "ulcerative colitis nicotine" and came up with some interesting studies.

So now the question is, would I rather die of a perferated colon or lung cancer?

This link explains carbon monoxide (from smoking) aiding with intestinal inflammation...

http://jem.rupress.org/cgi/content/full/202/12/1615-a

To smoke or not is a personal choice.

:)

Yes I tend to agree, but there are alternative nicotine delivery systems; patches, gum, lozenges, snuff, e-ciggs, cigars ...

While none of these are safe, some are safer than others. I'd think that the ones that deliver nicotine through the digestive system may be more efficacious than the ones that deliver through the lungs or blood stream.

pb4 said...
To smoke or not is a personal choice.

Subdued, let's tone down the rhetoric. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, this is still a personal choice.

4. No posts that attack, insult, "flame", defame, or abuse members or non-members.   Respect other members of the community and don’t belittle, make fun off, or insult another member or non-member.  Decisions about health and well-being are highly personal, individual choices.  "Flaming" and insults, however, will not be tolerated. Agree to disagree. This applies to both the forums and chat.

Post Edited By Moderator (Judilyn) : 8/7/2009 9:39:33 PM (GMT-6)

Smoking/nicotine is always a contentious issue, and it's up to you to weigh the risks and benefits given your lifestyle, age...

I tried smoking again some time ago to see if it would help. My thinking then was that if smoking only 2-3 cigs a day got me into remission soon then I was willing to take that chance. I didn't see any benefit, ended up smoking half a pack a day, and had a very hard time getting off it. Before I tried cigs I tried nicotine patches, gum, snuff...no luck with any of them.

Adam - there is a reference to it in House, in season one. A guy comes in with IBD complaining none of his meds work, so House tells him to start smoking.
Of course you should believe him! If it's on tv it must be right... right XD

Couldn't have put it better myself! :D

1. No discussion of any illegal activity or threats of violence. (ie. illicit drug use or exchange, threats of suicide or self-injury, or threatened or intended physical harm).  Discussions of suicide or self-harm that are deemed negative and therefore potentially injurious to others are also not permitted.

Post Edited By Moderator (Judilyn) : 8/7/2009 9:44:01 PM (GMT-6)

Jratt, first paragraph written in the link I provided above....

A study on page 1703 might help explain why active smokers rarely suffer from an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) known as ulcerative colitis. Hegazi and colleagues show that carbon monoxide (CO) gas, a component of cigarette smoke, shuts down the production of a disease-promoting cytokine, thus easing chronic bowel inflammation in mice.
CO is both a toxic air pollutant and a normal byproduct of cellular heme metabolism. Although CO's asphyxiant properties have earned it a bad reputation, the ubiquitous tissue expression of the natural CO-producing enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) suggests that the effects of CO must not be all bad.

Indeed, recent studies have shown that CO, at least at low concentrations, has a redeeming quality: it acts as an antiinflammatory agent. Low dose inhaled CO is therapeutic in many acute disease models including bacterial sepsis, organ transplantation, and vascular injury. Normally, HO-1 expression (and thus CO production) is induced under conditions of cellular stress, such as infection or oxygen deprivation, probably to limit the adverse effects of stress-induced inflammation.

Of course what works for some doesn't work for all, like with anything...BTW discussing pot is against forum rules.

:)

Joylu said...
I think bringing someone's child into this debate is a nasty and uncalled for tactic subdued, but coming from you I'm not surprised. You seem to want to win any argument at any cost.

This is not a debate, it's a flame war, and I for one am sorry I brought the subject up. I am interested in learning everything I can about this disease; what helps people, and what doesn't.

Now in the word's of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?" And if that's not possible can't we all just shut up? Neither of you is helping anything!

DON'T FEED THE TROLL!

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