seriously thinking of smoking a couple of cigarettes

I would recommend trying e-cigs or nicotine patches before going to cigarettes (which involves inhaling noxious chemicals and carcinogens). As you are a former smoker, your success rate will likely be higher than that of nonsmokers. You can give it a try and see if it helps, but if not I would recommend re-examining the risk versus benefits of biologics which are a 6 in 10,000 risk of lymphoma (or 0.06% odds) versus a 60%+ odd of improving your symptoms. I have no idea what the odds are of nicotine helping you. But I have read some success stories here from those who have tried it. Good luck,

Definitely definitely definitely would try nicotine patches before full-on smoking.

It's so strange for me, being young and having it drilled in from birth that cigarettes are evil and deadly... so now I am readily starting a biologic, even though in reality cigarettes are probably less harmful. Can't believe this is happening sometimes!

It's a known fact that smoking releases carbon monoxide that aids with inflammation in the colon...I'm a smoker, it only helps so much, yes I went to the toilet a lot more when I quit smoking and ended up being housebound literally until I started smoking again, but I was still bad off so it's like a small bandaid (for me at least) and the amount to suggest per day is hard for anyone to guess, it would be trial and error like everything in life.

I'm also on Humira (same possible risks as Remicade) it actually put my crohn's colitis in remission but I'm still dealing with IBS so I'm still having frequency (depresses as all hell about this) so basically I smoke and I'm on Humira and the point that I want to make is, don't be afraid of Remicade or Humira, your chances of getting cancer from either of those drugs is probably smaller than from smoking, not that smoking would cause cancer quickly as it can take years/decades of smoking before getting cancer from it (if at all since I don't necessarily believe everyone that smokes will ultimately die of cancer) and lets face it, everyone has the potential to get cancer whether they smoke or not...smoking is not the only cancer causing substance out there in the world.

If your doc is suggesting biologics, I would go for it...well I did actually lol and it healed my recto-vaginal fistula and healed up all my deep and superficial ulceration's (as they referred to it on my reports so yes I have crohn's but they use the term ulceration to describe the damage done).

Of course the choice is yours, I just wanted to give you my experience as an example not to be so afraid of the biologics.

Thanks everyone for your replies, I am still mulling it over and my problem with the remicade is that I am not that bad as far as going to the bathroom a lot on my worse flare I went maybe 4 times in the morning. I am just so upset about the blood that I see and always thinking about this everytime i go to the bathroom and every day throughout the day, after i eat something and no matter what I am doing and just want to have remission for a little longer than 3 or 4 months. I have never tried pred oral having only done hydrocortisone enemas which helped before.

I feel every ache and hear every noise my stomach makes and I think oh god here comes another flair.
I would try the smoking before remicade maybe at 4 a day just to see, if it comes to that, I do hope not, but i have already warned my husband and told him I would not smoke inside though because he is an exsmoker also and I do not want him to start smoking.

I say smoke em if ya got em !

obviously you'll find the minimum amount to get your colon in a better place -

as I've mentioned before, my mom is 86 and smoked most of her life - and still cancer free - smoking is not a death sentence for everyone, as some would want you to believe -

pink1, i do agree about the smell, now that I am an exsmoker I can smell cigarettes on anyone who smokes and its funny when I was younger i thought my mom couldn't smell the cigarettes on me because I didn't smell them, but she knew, but before she died of ALS in 2004 she said to me don't smoke so i decided to quit for her after her death, I was 45 years old at the time. The thing is she never smoked or drank and kept good care of herself and got an even worse disease. I am going to try to do the patch through the night again and continue rotating the hydrocortisone enemas for now and if things don't go as planned I am going to pick up that cigarette and maybe start with 2 a day and try not to go more than 4.

When i quit I thought this is great I have so much extra money each month now. But since uc I have been paying of all these prescription copays and herbal medicines, organic foods and costs are building, its ridiculous can't get ahead.

thank you kiptyn, now that is something I might try and may bring up to my doctor.

My reasoning is that sometimes your body needs a little something -like Pred- to get out of the active flare. Then the maintenance meds keep you in remission. It's important to get flares early as I learned when I refused to see the doctor during my first really bad flare. I thought I could ride it out, as I'd successfully done in the past, and ended up spending a week in the hospital and really, really sick for months. I learned my lesson. When the next big flare started two years later, I was on it ASAP with Uceris and a steroid burst. It kept me out of the hospital and healthy enough (more like not sick enough) to function at 80% until the symptoms subsided.

As with everything UC, how well this works depends on the severity of the disease, what your body responds to, and luck.

I don't think anyone anywhere knows the nuts and bolts of it all. Personally, I think there is something about smoking (maybe genetic damage) that actually sets the stage for UC but that something about the smoking itself actually controls the disease while you are still smoking but then the genetic damage comes into play after quitting. It would be interesting to fund a long term study to see how many smokers vs non smokers eventually come down with the disease later in life. I suspect that never smokers have a lower incidence of the disease than smokers or ex smokers do, although I have never smoked one cigarette in my entire life and I came down with UC anyway.

My GI stated that I had UC for the last few years of my 35yr smoking habit.

It was in me doing damage while never causing a flare up and the only symptoms I had were being managed by over the counter aids.