Found a non traditional way to get my UC into Remission! Hooray!

Try this is if you haven't already.... It worked for me. so far so good and its now been a few months!

After much internet research and an extremely bad UC flare up that lasted for several months and a reluctance to continue using steroids which never seem to really help, I decided to try nicotine patches. I know a doctor would probably never endorse this but I was desparate and horrified by other stories of UC sufferers on this site!

*All the research I found only promotes using transdermal patches, minimum of 6+ wks- not smoking, and not for crohns, only for UC* I only conducted these "experimental treatments" while continuing my daily oral pill Lialda since the trial studies I found on the internet also had their test subjects continue using Lialda during use of the patches.*

Note: I am a non smoker so I started with 3 days at 7 mg patches and then progressed up to the 15 mg patches. I continued using the 15 mg patches daily and saw no improvement until about 2 weeks. At around 2 wks, I WENT INTO 100% REMISSION with 3 days later! Hallelujah!

I continued using the 15 mg patches daily for another two weeks and was completely symptom free. I was fine for a few more weeks after that but then endured severe personal stress from things going on in my life and went back out of remission again. I now think that I had not stayed on the patches long enough... I started bleeding again and immediately started back up on the patches. Anyways, again, I was symptom free after just 3-4 days and have now been in remission for several months! After a few more weeks of being in remission, I went off the patches and have been fine ever since. I stopped all restricted diets! I eat anything I want again and am only taking my regular Lialda pill, fish oil, folic acid and multi vitamin. Its wonderful to eat whatever I want again and feel normal. I want others to know about this in case it helps you as well. If you dont see immediate relief, stay on the patches for a few weeks and give it a fair shot before giving up.

(I'm really glad I did and hope that one day they have that transdermal patch you can apply directly to the colon they keep mentioning on the internet but have not heard about any updates which is frustrating)

One other tip:
Do not try starting with a 15 mg patch- it will make you feel so sick you have to take it off. You need to ween up and get your body used to the patch first, then after a few days on the 7 mg patch you can progress to the 15 mg.

If you have Qs, feel free to email me directly!

Very interesting. I'll never forget my initial gastroenterologist saying to me with an uncomfortable coyness, "Have you thought about starting smoking? Smoking seems to a very effective tool for achieving remission" I did not consider this as an option and fortunately have found other tools to achieve remission but kudos to you for giving the patches a try.

Great! Your experience is very similar to mine, except I used the nicotine lozenges as I don’t tolerate the patches well. I have since switched to electronic cigarettes and have been in complete remission for a year and a half now.

I am surprised that you as a non-smoker were able to benefit from nicotine therapy, I usually only works for those of us who contract UC following stopping smoking. But then, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!

I tried this once but it didn't work for me when I tried it quite some time ago. I forget what the side effect was, I want to say it was bad headaches, but it might have been more so I stopped use. I'm glad it does in fact work for some people, just not good for me.

Do you know what compound is in the patch that may be the reason for your recovery?

Has anyone tried the gum? It is a lot cheaper, but I am thinking it delivers the nicotine in short strong bursts instead of slowly over the day with the patch.

I'm glad that this method is working for you, UCsufferer; however, I am very cautious about using nicotine to induce remission for several reasons. Pregnant women who use nicotine replacement therapy are 60% more likely to have a baby with birth defects. While I'm a man, this is a disturbing statistic. Any drug that can cause birth defects with such a high probability can't be good for the body. Also, for anybody out there considering this, cessation can and probably will induce a UC flare.

It is interesting to note that nicotine use impedes a process called Apoptosis, which is a means by which the body regularly destroys mutated or damages cells. This suggests that nicotine use might have carcinogenic effects (in other words, it may cause cancer). But, since UC is commonly thought to be an immune disease, I wonder if overactive Apoptosis has anything to do with UC. Do the studies mention this as a possible reason for nicotine being able to reduce UC symptoms?

Also, I just wanted to say that if your doctor recommends smoking to "cure" your UC, you need a new doctor ASAP. You're trading an illness for a terrible vice that is potentially deadly. UC is manageable and not a terminal illness; lung cancer and emphysema--not so much. My father died of complications due to emphysema and lung cancer, and smoking was the cause. It's not worth it, and there are a myriad of other ways to manage your symptoms.

The OP is using the patches, not smoking, and using them starting off with 7mg patch then working up to 15mg patch. There is no need to smoke.

The research results I found on the patches seem indicate they do work fairly well, while side effects can be a problem for non smokers, but in most tests the subjects were given higher dosage patches right away with no gradual work up.
Seems the patches would induce a longer lasting remission than predisone. Oddly enough they also said it did not work as a maintence for UC, only to get out of flares.

To say nicotine side effects are any worse than predisone or even mesalamine is like comparing apples to oranges.

Not sure if it has been discovered exactly why smokers are statistically less likely to suffer from UC than non-smokers. My hunch is that nicotine somehow alters the immune system response to bacteria seeping through a compromised colon lining. In the past, during my flare-ups, I noticed that I get worse during periods of increased physical exercise. It made me think that perhaps exercise was boosting the autoimmune system, which in turn was making the colon damage even worse. Just a theory...

I agree with Zippy. If naked nicotine thru a patch or lozenge can begin remission from a UC flare without inhaling the toxic smoke from cigarettes, then why would anyone be against it? I cannot believe that the side effects of nicotine alone without actually smoking a cigarette can be much worse than the side effects of the toxic drugs routinely prescribed for UC.

If I could no longer control UC thru diet then I would not hesitate to try a patch or lozenge. I would never even think about using pred to escape from a flare unless no other options were available. I would even consider surgery before accepting years of corticosteroids or immunosuppressants.

just to re-iterate I wouldnt smoke and I'm not condoning it. Only using transdermal patches. I'm not pregnant so I'm not concerned with nicotine side effects that pertain to that.
Also, the research I found says the nicotine is effective because it thickens the mucosal lining of the intestine. I believe thats why it works.

smoking does help with my UC. My first flares occured after i quit for about 2 years.
anyway - i've tried the patches to reduce my ciggaretes intake. there seemed to be a connection between using them and feeling better, so i've tried them on a regular basis.- sometimes they seem to work, sometimes they do not.

anyway - I agree with those who said that you should change the doctor if they recommend you should start/or not quit smoking. Smoking may help UC, but...

I think we have to understand that it is reputational suicide for any medical practitioner to even suggest that nicotine might have ANY medically redeeming qualities, and that any who do are putting their careers on the line.