Smoking Absolutely Works for UC! but be careful

Hello Forum and Thanks for Being There for so long. I've been an avid reader for years and this is post #1!

I'm 39 and have moderate left sided UC which presented when I was 29. I've gone though dozens of flares but 5 monster flares while "growing up" in my UC maintenance. I now control it with 3 Lialdas per day (thank god for Lialda! I was never responsible enough to take 9 or 12 Asacols throughout the day), moderate or low fat and dairy intake, staying away from nuts... the basics. I also eat spinach and sunflower as often as possible.

So here's my contribution to this excellent community: 2 things.

1) I have found my UC to be extremely sensitive to even the slightest bit of dehydration. And when I get lazy about water even a bit, my UC starts giving me signs of "coming on". I immediately go on cortisone enemas for about a week while getting back to solid hydration. The enemas are of course, socially unappealing but are sooo good so quickly.

2) SMOKING. It works like a monster! It knocks my flare on it's a**. Some of those major flares had me terribly depressed and I knew smoking kills it. But I'm an addictive person and knew that starting puts me back in familiar territory. So my cycle for 8 years was: A) Bad flare, B) smoke for about a year C) Quit(which is getting tougher as I got older) D) Flare about 6 months after quitting. For me, without question, smoking works better than any herb, drug, supplement, - anything.

When I smoke it's double edged sword: My wife and kids (and I) hate the stink, but all are aware of this benefit. It works- period. When I smoke, I do not have even a faint memory of UC.

Here's my drawbacks (Aside from the obvious "bad for you", etc.) After about a year, my lungs feel spent and tired. I start feeling depressed about my poor physical shape and that I'm such a slave to smoking and quitting is so darn hard. This last time I quit (18 mos ago) with hypnosis and, OMG, it worked so well!

So now, not smoking and controlling with Lialda and occasional cortisone enemas, I feel grown up and feel like a veteran. I read people who are suffering and trying so many different things with no success. I feel their pain. When I went through my 3 month flares, LIFE SUCKED! Smoking was a real deal flare buster of the worst flares within 3 days but it caused it's own set of challenges as briefly illustrated above.

Sorry for the long post. I don't know if I'm going to turn into a major poster with 1,000's of posts, but I am happy to be part of this to help someone if I can. Many of you have helped me.

I am a research hound and have done a lot of research into the relationship with smoking and it is NOT the nicotine so E-cigs would not seem to do anything. The theory is that when cigarettes are lit, the combustion causes the release of many different chemicals. It is the combination of one or more of these chemicals in the smoke that seems to do the trick for UC sufferers. According to that, there needs to be true combustion. Clinical studies with patches also went nowhere.

I would never recommend someone to smoke for a year. I found those benefits after 3 days. Unfortunately, it took me a year to decide to quit each time.

Sure, it may but pick your battle. You want to die of colon cancer or lung cancer. You could probably avoid colon cancer but you won't avoid lung cancer if you smoke to keep flare at bay.

My former GI did inform me about it but he did add 'may' in his statement. I chose to stay away.

Besides lung cancer, there are a whole host of other problems associated with smoking, however for me, at least at this point in my life, it's about quality of life, not quantity. While I had UC symptoms, I had no life: did not socialize, couldn't eat most foods, always felt sick, spent a good deal of the day in the bathroom or changing clothes, and work (school bus driver) was a nightmare. I was also extremely depressed. For me, that's not living. So, I will take my chances with the 6 cigarttes a day.

how much were you smoking for it to work?

You see cancer has affected everyone here, probably. We aren't hijacking your thread. We are simply pointing out that cigs don't solve the problem. I'd rather cut the bloody thing out and go through ALL of that than start smoking.

I see what it does and I would never subject myself to that.

But again, good luck.

the drugs we are prescribed are dangerous as well... pick your poison.

Carlie

Not everyone that smokes ends up with cancer or smoking related illnesses...I agree, pick your poison indeed...not to mention, many docs have told me that smoking 6/day (which I also do) is no more worse than the pollution you breathe in from standing on the corner waiting for the light to change so you can cross a busy downtown street....I was even told by my colon/rectum surgeon 20 years ago not to bother quitting all together since my CD is severely affecting my colon and they knew back then that there was something from smoking that seemed to aid with inflammation in the colon, and it was around 2005 they discovered it is in fact the carbon monoxide.

I went against my colon/rectum surgeons advice and quit for 2 yrs and my disease got even worse than it was until I started smoking again.

To each their own, and what works for some, doesn't work for all.

Before surgery, I used to be able to get relief from the nicotine patch...

Yes, cigarettes can cause cancer. For all we know, somewhere down the line, a drug that we are taking for UC may cause cancer too. The world is changing every second. One minute, it's ok to eat this, the next minute, it's not ok. My head gets dizzy from it. Honestly, if something works and is making you feel better, do it.

ConcreteMan: I'm glad something is putting you in remission.

I found this article very interesting. Written by an MD for the Journal of Theoretics.
Should we believe it? I don't know.
www.journaloftheoretics.com/editorials/vol-1/e1-4.htm
It's true, you can say smoking is linked to increased cancer but can you say it causes it? He says no.

I will not smoke because it gives me a headache and makes my asthma come back. Nicotine is not something my system likes. Even if it made my UC better it would make the rest of me feel sick. But I am intrigued by the CO link to UC remission. Does anyone have a scientific article about that?

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199403243301202#t=articleMethods
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199504133321503#t=articleDiscussion
These are 2 trials from NEJM supporting nicotine for remission.

I've been using ecigs for 2+yrs now. 1+yr in remission. I believe I use twice the dosage in the study- about one full pack of Light cigs daily.
Or 6 milliliters of 12ml/mg daily.

Gary, and I'm OFF that. Remember reading that?

CM: No on can convince me that this is a viable, effeective treatment. Until you watch someone go from a healthy 220 lbs. down to 70lbs. in less than 6 months, after throwing up blood, practically pissing/crapting blood, before treatment, because he had lung (that traveled to multiple other places) cancer from smoking, you won't get where I'm going with this.
You're just trying to spin a negative into a positive. I'd rather go 15+ times a day then put myself through that. That's why I got off a medication that can cause cancer. I'm not going through that over a colon. I won't. It's black and white for me. I will never again put something into my body that could harm me.


So, once again, I hope it works out for you.

I'm done with this discussion.