A question about smoking and UC

Quitting smoking and UC flare ups are a well known connection. There is much info on it and most doctors know about it. Some have success with Ecigs and some have success with nicotene products, although I don't believe it has ever been proven that nicotene is actually involved with UC one way or another. It could be something else connected with smoking. Some claim it is carbon monoxide.

bananagirl, I'm in the same boat as your dad. Does your dad take any meds for UC? I've run into the same problem with the patches making my heart race, plus for me, the patches alone will not stop a flare-up.

Gary, you might want to check with the Mayo Clinic on that. They claim there is a correlation along with newer studies out. In my case and in bananagirl's dad's case, we absolutely know there is a correlation.
I can stop a flare in 3 days time with nicotine, but none of the meds I've been prescribed can do the same. I am not recommending anyone use nicotine products, but only giving my personal experience.

Thank you both for your replies.

He doesnt take any uc meds. He just smokes. His diet is horrendous and he can still eat whatever he wants. Yeah, the patches cant save him either. I think they work well for me because ive never smoked. I only noticed the correlation because hes been in remission so long so i did some research on nicotine and uc. Theres been a good amount of nicotine users on here who have never smoked and just stick to patches, gum or lozenges. I knixed the oral methods after my dentist said there was so much plaque in my mouth. I had been using lozenges daily buy prefer the patch now.

keep smoking - yellow teeth beats brown underwear any day !

Well, I had my first flare after quitting using ecigs. It happened when I tapered my nic down to practically nothing.
Still using them, am going to try a new nic base soon called WTA. Whole Tobacco Alkaloid. It has the complete alkaloid profile of tobacco.
That might be closer to a cig than the processed nic base used in regular ecigs, patches, and gums.

Post Edited (coffeeman) : 6/29/2014 6:07:12 PM (GMT-6)

Spluxa,
Your flare really went away after two days of cigarettes? How many did you smoke per day? Light cigarettes?

My signature pretty well says it. I guess I'm going to smoke until if or when they find something else that works for me. I'm just like you, every time I quit, I flare. I lasted a year and a half once, mostly flaring. I had no life. Finally went back to smoking and was in remission within about 10 days. Biologics scare me worse than smoking. Pretty much sucks, but what can you do?

I came to this site specifically for this reason. Every time that I quit I bleed within a week or two band the decline is fast. This time I switched to the ecigs and I was so hopeful, but alas it did not work. I will go back to smoking before I go one prescription meds again, yet I am searching for alternatives to try before I am left with no choice. I've done various diets previously to no avail, was wondering if there are any holistic approaches to this disease.

Hi, I'm a new user, but would like to share that within 3 months of quitting smoking, change to vaping, I had severe collitis. I had three more, a few months apart before a endoscopy revealed focal collitis of unknown origin, possibly crohn's. After the 3rd attack I was in remission for 18 months. Then early June to the present lots of bloody stools with mucous. I'm convinced of the connection, and many people on the e-cigforum have also reported collitis or IBS after smoking cessation, even with vaping nicotine. To me, it is apparent that nicotine is not the protective agent at work, because vaping has never helped. New science believes it's in the tobacco alkoloids. If you've never tried snus, you should. It's much safer than smoking. You can get mini mints for cheap, tuck them in your cheek for hours http://www.snuscentral.com/general-mint-mini-portion-snus-p-182.html. That's my next step. So tired of the flatulence, explosive poop, blood and mucous! Snus has been proven to not cause cancer of the mouth, lungs or anywhere. Beware of American versions of snus, too many additives. Good luck!

^^I agree. Cigarettes with their couple hundred known carcinogens (formeldahyde, hydrogen cyanide, and more) are more likely to give you cancer than any GI meds.

Did your GI really tell you to keep smoking? That's horrible advice though I can't actually imagine that happened. I've asked several doctors about smoking a few cigarettes just to see what they would say (I wouldn't smoke though), and they have all said that it is a horrible idea. If you GI recommended or was even on board with your cigarette plan, you need to find a new doctor.

Poppie said...
I disagree. Everyone is different. I can remember a guy that posted here not so long ago, his UC was intense, terrible, he had tried a LOT of different meds, nothing worked, his job was labour intensive, he worked on a building site, bathrooms were not easily accessible, and as he had a large family to support, he couldn't afford to be ill, lose his job, the only thing that worked for him was smoking, so I think on balance, for him, at that particular time in his life it was the best option.

If you're willing to sacrifice years at the end of your life then yes it is a good plan. I guess it depends on the necessity, but there is ALWAYS a trade off. So if you have the option to not smoke, and rather use other drugs, youd be crazy not to

quote="hateuc"]Loaded topic...no one knows for sure whether 1-2 cigs a day or biologics are worse in the long run. There is no guarantee that you will or will nor get cancer from either method ( I do mean low dose smoking not chain ) Let's try not to judge, we all are grown ups and can make our own best judgements.
B
By the way, I am a non smoker but won't judge. Gotta walk a mile in someone's shoes. Just my 2 cents.

That sums it up best.

Risk for smoking related diseases is measured in "pack-years", basically how many packs are smoked for how many years. 2 a day is 1 pack every 12 days, the pack will go stale before its finished. Some smokers do 2 packs a day, the average is something like 3\4 pack\day.

With smoking, its the dose that makes the poison. The lungs have an excellent ability to clear out irritants and toxins, clear free radicals, and heal themselves, the problem with smoking is that not enough time is given between cigarettes for the lungs to do this, the free radicals, tar, and micro-damage builds up over time, causing DNA damage and irreparable decreased lung function.

For example, if you took sandpaper and rubbed it against your skin lightly once every hour, in a few days the spot will bleed, however, if you rubbed it once every 12 hours, it may never bleed, the body will regenerate faster then you could damage it.

Which is why low dose smoking risks would be trivial.

Unfortunately, it can be hard to stay at 2, which is why its best combined with an electronic ecig to handle the cravings between your morning and evening real cigs.

Rolling your own with organic pipe tobacco MIGHT be a little less toxic.

Also take vitamin C, its shown that smokers can mitigate many of the health effects by having adequate daily Vit C.

Also, its important to exercise and eat healthy to keep your cardiovascular system strong if your taking nicotine in any format.