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How many of you UCers are former smokers?

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Posted 6/19/2013 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
The FIRST question my GI doc asked me after diagnosing my UC was, "How long ago did you quit smoking?" (I claimed to be a nonsmoker in my initial visit, because I was a nonsmoker on that day)

Proudly I said "I quit 6 months ago!"

I had quit smoking using an e-cigarette (which I still use today, so nicotine is not the magic ingredient)

I read on another site about people who were thrown into their first flare shortly after kicking the cigarette habit.  Then, when they added cigs back into their lives, their flares stopped.

I smoked a pack a day when they were cheap (my college days) but had cut back to about 8 per day in my more adult years.

The correlation is more than coincidental to me. 

Next week at my GI visit I am going to ask for immediate release Wellbutrin 100mg x 3.  And if that doesn't help, I am going to buy a pack of smokes and have 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening.

So, if you were attacked by UC after quitting smoking, I'd like to hear from you.

I refuse to submit to increasingly expensive and toxic drugs to get this under control.  I am on my first course of oral pred 2x20mg and I feel like I have taken stuff that MAKES me feel STUPID, like my brain literally has a hard time engaging.  And this is after only being on it 4 days. (I am in a 7 week flare)

 

Surely, a couple of cigs per day cannot be more risky than all of the meds in my future.

Maybe (hopefully) it will help me. *prays*

Posted 6/19/2013 3:08 AM (GMT 0)
I also started having UC symptoms after quitting smoking. I had one GI tell me that if I started smoking again, my UC symptoms would most likely disappear. He asked if I knew any smokers with UC... I don't, lol. Are there any smokers here with active UC?
Posted 6/19/2013 3:14 AM (GMT 0)
I was also diagnosed about 6 months after quitting. I don't do any nicotine now and haven't in five years and sadly I am well aware that I can't smoke in moderation. It's all or nothing for me and since basically every other thing in my life is so much better as a nonsmoker, starting again isn't on the table. Not to mention that I've also had cancer since quitting and I'm not looking to increase any risk factors now LOL
Posted 6/19/2013 3:21 AM (GMT 0)
I plan to reap the benefits (CO? anatabine? hydrogen sulfide?) from a couple/few cigs a day and continue using my e-cig for nic replacement.
Posted 6/19/2013 6:09 AM (GMT 0)
Diagnosed after quitting
Posted 6/19/2013 10:15 AM (GMT 0)
Quit smoking symptoms started about 3 months later
Posted 6/19/2013 10:20 AM (GMT 0)
That was the first question my GI asked me too. I quit smoking and about 4 years later the UC started. I would never light up again. Until I quit I didn't realize how utterly disgusting smoking is.
Posted 6/19/2013 11:11 AM (GMT 0)
I quit six or seven years BUC.
Posted 6/19/2013 11:18 AM (GMT 0)
Oh, I'm with you, on the fact that I think smoking is disgusting, esp since quitting.

However, so is crapping your pants, filling the toilet with more blood than you thought you could spare, having to plan my life around locations of bathrooms, being scared to travel, taking meds that make me feel like my brain has disconnected, and all of that stuff.

But, we gotta do what we gotta do.

I'd rather have a couple smokes a day and NOT have to deal with the rest.
Posted 6/19/2013 11:25 AM (GMT 0)
I never smoked but my parents did. They didn't care if they smoked around me while I was sitting at the dinner table or in the car with closed windows.

I'm not sure if my case is UC related or not.
Posted 6/19/2013 11:43 AM (GMT 0)
I'd personally love to smoke again, but my family is vehemently opposed.

I can't believe how much cigarettes cost now!

What about pipe and cigar smoking and UC? We have a tobacco shoppe in Old Town that smells so delicious every time I go by...
Posted 6/19/2013 12:18 PM (GMT 0)
I've never smoked.

As for what's worse, I think that you could successfully argue that long-term pred use is just as bad as smoking. However, smoking is very likely worse than use of mesalamine drugs, assuming you're not intolerant to them and they work well for you.
Posted 6/19/2013 12:24 PM (GMT 0)
Geeker....Google Dr. Stephan hanauer and smoking.
B
Posted 6/19/2013 1:13 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I quit smoking when I became pregnant, then my UC appeared immediately after my daughter was born. So I'v enever been sure if the quitting smoking, or the immune system rebound, prompted my first flare. But, I smoke now, about 4 cigs a day. I've been smoking about that amount for nearly 8 years, & am ok with only a few cigs a day. My GI laughs & tells me not to quit.... And my PCP tells me that any damage done by so few cigs is practically comparable to living in LA or NYC. And darn it, I LOVE to smoke! tongue   I think about quitting, as it'd probably be pretty easy since I smoke so little, but I really am afraid I'll go into a flare. There is a definite link between carbon monoxide & UC, it's not so much the nicotine.
Posted 6/19/2013 1:46 PM (GMT 0)
i started smoking ................uh i guess maybe when my mom took me home from the hospital - so something like 3 days old !

seriously, as long as i was with my mom, i was smoking - the worst, like Andrina said, was in the car !

i have a major smoke allergy now - this time of year, if they are smoking in the car in front of me with the windows down, i either have to slow down or pass them -

last week i was at the hospital everyday - and everyday i had to go through the wall of smoke - unbelievable - they put benches 20 feet from the main entrances, so on any given day there would be 3-9 people sucking away !

Posted 6/19/2013 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know what the hack I was thinking, I started smoking since September of last year until end of April this year.

And flare started in May. I was smoking while running, doing jump ropes... my neighbors thought I was crazy, running and smoking with a burning cig in my mouth. stared at me quite often.
Posted 6/19/2013 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
It will be 6 years this November that I haven't smoked
Posted 6/19/2013 5:39 PM (GMT 0)
The very last once in a while cigarette that I had was when I was around 22. I was diagnosed with UC at 34.
q
Posted 6/19/2013 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
Geeker,

There are many threads here related to nicotine and UC, and I have shared my experience on several of the so I won’t repeat myself here; except to say that I am fortunate in that e-cigs supplemented with nicotine lozenges work for me.
Posted 6/20/2013 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
I was smoking when I got UC. I have never been a heavy smoker but since I quit at 40, 3+ years ago, I flare every year for about 6 months. The previous ten years I had only a few flare ups total.
I may smoke a few cigs tomorrow, I need a break.
Posted 6/20/2013 12:27 AM (GMT 0)
GO, GONK!

Seriously, if having a couple of cigarettes a day can HELP someone, why would anyone martyr themselves and suffer? I am terrified of many of the advanced treatments for UC. More terrified of them than of smoking. If you haven't seen it already, please see my recent post about having my first cigarette in years.

I can lose no more blood. I can tolerate very little prednisone. Mesalamines have failed me. I may lose my job. My symptoms and side effects may very well cost me my family. What other choice do I have? IT MAY HELP so by God, I will try it.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=2768889

Posted 6/20/2013 12:30 AM (GMT 0)
The "pride" I get in being able to say that I am a nonsmoker is gone with this flare...Sure I will try to find less damaging treatment, but right now I need to stop the flare. That is more important than anything else relating to my disease.
Posted 6/20/2013 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
I don't mind smoking a few at work if it helps temporarily. I still smoke about two times a year when I'm away at a work conference. And tomorrow I am not working in my office, so it may be dicey, today was, so if it helps, I'm in. I won't take up smoking again, not an option, but I'll make an exception tomorrow.
Posted 6/20/2013 2:04 AM (GMT 0)
Good luck, Gonk.

I had three cigs this evening and feel so much better... I just cannot tell you...this flare has had me over a barrel...I didn't think I was capable of tolerating so much suffering.

They tasted HORRIBLE but not worse than prednisone.
Posted 6/21/2013 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
So, today I smoked. And today was definitely an improvement over yesterday (which sucked). Was it the cigarettes, I don't know, but I did smoke and I did have a better day. However, anyone who smokes knows that smoking also stimulates the bowels! So I was careful to sit on the pot before going out for a smoke, but on the third one, two drags in and far from any bathroom, I was hit with a bout of urgency and nearly crapped myself! I managed to keep the damage to a small leak. But then the urge passed and I felt good again, finished my smoke and went inside and cleaned myself up!!
I'm not going to take up smoking again, but I'll have a few here and there if it seems to help at times.
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