Improvement at day 28 with nicotine patch

My intestinal pain has been pretty minimal these last couple days. However, today I came down with a head cold, and when I put the patch on I became increasingly dizzy/anxious. I just took it off. I'm wondering if the cold played a factor in this.

moss, that is so awesome! i'm so glad you are feeling better!! isn't it crazy? i noticed immediate improvement, too. i'm SOO HAPPY to be off of pred so it really wasn't a hard choice for me in the end- especially with my bones now, i really don't wanna take it again. i'd say if you can increase it to 14 mg or 21 mg, you might feel even better. are you still on ur uc meds, too?? i'm sticking with mine because i feel so good and don't wanna risk anything. remission is hard to come by. geez, i can't believe i said remission. LOVE IT!

i find that i do great with the 21 mg patch and sleep when i take it off before bed. i still wake up during the night sometimes but i've been doing that for a while now. i have a prescription for it now and don't wanna go any lower. i was using too many lozenges and found the patch to be more effective at this point and no side effects. if i decide to lessen the dose in a while, i while try the 14 mg patch. my GI is thrilled it's helping me.

How are all our nicotine patch users doing? Hope it continues to do well. Will you taper off or continue to use this long term?

Bananagirl, how long on the patch? I read through, but somehow missed it. How long after you started did you see results? I'm in a mega flare and 60mg/pred/day isn't touching me! I'm desperate to try anything that might help. I'm a non-smoker, always have been. Scared about addiction. Do you feel hooked?

Stef, i started it in january sometime and noticed improvement ( like night and day) after five minutes. Its worth a shot to try. Canadamark has posted a few links about nicotine and using the patch. Its very unlikely to cause addiction this way.

yeah, i always put mine on when i wake up, too, MP. i'd forget otherwise.

i have no idea how my GI did it through my insurance. i had known that my dad had been getting it for months for "cessation of smoking therapy" from his family medicine doctor.

as for my GI's opinion on it, he always says to try different things because i'm a very stubborn case. he said when i find something that works, do not change it at all. when i told him i had been using nicotine and felt a lot better, he was very supportive on me using it and that's why i asked him for the script. obviously, if it wasn't helping, he wouldn't have written me a script.

well.....I read where it was OK to do that and others said not to. I have been cutting mine...maybe if I get a script I will get the 14 mg ones and wont be cutting them anymore. I wanted to start at 5 mg or some low dose and there is no 5 mg patch so I just cut them. I asked 2 friends who are using estrogen patches and they both said they cut their patches! A RN who works with smoking cessation programs suggested cutting a patch and applying small amt if users were going to a bar and felt they might relapse and this seemed to help them control their urges (for smokers)
So.....up to you I guess.

Here's another update (though now the title of this thread should be changed since its now been 8 months):

History: As indicated in my first post in this thread, I have never smoked but used the nicotine patch to revert a flare (while continuing rowasa and lialda which were not working on their own). Remission began almost immediately and has been maintained for the past 8 months.

Update: After 7 months or so using 21 mg patches I have tapered to 14 mg patches. This seems to be ok to do so far (knock on wood). I've run out of rowasa (moved and need to find a new doc) but have continued lialda 4/day. So far digestive life has been normal, as in no apparent UC symptoms, though I know it ain't cured so I keep up with my usual dietary rituals etc.

Comments and replies:
@bananagirl - I put them on early in the day to avoid sleep issues. Over time I've become less sensitive to sleep disturbances and can put them on after dinner. But those starting out might try doing it after lunch (a meal seems to lessen the dizziness).

Dosing: For those trying this for the first time start with a LOW dose. I did this by cutting a 7 mg patch in half, so 3.5 mg, for about a week. Then I increased the dose gradually (4 days at 3.5mg, 4 days at 7mg, 8 days at 14mg, then 21mg thereafter - until my current tapering experiment at 14mg)

Cutting the patch: its probably that the FDA approval requires them to say don't cut it, as that changes the formulation and they have approval for it 'as formulated'. Also they don't want to be liable for any mixups regarding cut patch efficacy etc. (just use clean scissors).

Long term use: I started to wonder if it might be bad to keep using nicotine and did a search. This study suggests its ok to use nicotine (not smoke mind you!) for a long time.
Chest. 1996 Feb;109(2):438-45.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8620719?dopt=Abstract

Gum: As bananagirl and others have indicated, gum seems to deliver a blast of nicotine more or less all at once. This probably acts more like a cigarette so I'd be careful. For non-smokers this will likely make you feel pretty ill. For ex-smokers it may act as a trigger. Thus I recommend patches. As bananagirl also indicates, you may even be able to get your GI to prescribe them and get them for less $$.

Maintaining remission: This is always tricky. Often it seems like once remission is there, the drugs may not be needed and I could just stop using them till the next flare. On the other hand, it could be remission will last longer if one keeps suppressing the bad immune response. Conversely, the receptor that binds nicotine might adapt to levels over time so that more is needed to get the same effect. Anyways, the idea for tapering is that if things turn bad I have a higher dose to resort to. Its also cheaper. I just hope it works and doesn't interfere with my current 'run of remission'.

Interesting study on nicotine, IcRed.

It's turning out cardiovascular disease has more to do with lifestyle factors than one thing in particular. I'd venture to say that diet, stress and exercise have far more to do with it than smoking alone.

Just a hunch. ;)

icred, glad you are still doing well. i'm still kickin it, too!! i have some off days due to getting sick or eating too much fiber, but overall, no UC symptoms.

i might try reducing to the 14 mg patch since i only wear the 21 mg patch 10-12 hours a day anyway. i put it on around 11/12 am and take it off around 10 at night.

i have not had success cutting the patch at all. i think the medicine leaks out and not into your bloodstream properly. the one day i did cut it was a horrible day.

definitely keep us updated about the tapering.

So, I hadn't been on this site for a while due to having a baby and enjoying a lengthy remission. Now I return to find bananagirl doing well on nicotine. This is great news because your UC always seemed so stubborn and you are so so young.

Can we have an update on how anyone using nicotine therapy is doing?

I'm interested because I need to add another string to my bow to help keep me in remission. I can't quite stay stable on just mesalazines and diet mods. I was an occasional smoker a while back and never had a problem with addiction. I suspect the cigarettes significantly stalled the progression of my UC.

Update: Its been about a year now with no symptoms (knock on wood). 14mg patches did not quite do it so I'm sticking with 21 mg. (I'm prepared to escalate this if the UC insists).

Also, to anyone new who is a nonsmoker reading this thread, start with a very low dose. Cut a 7 mg patch in half.

I would take the patch off at night, otherwise you will continue to have really bad dreams.