Smoking Absolutely Works for UC! but be careful

Sibby. I did read that. My point was you did take Imuran.

ConcreteMan: I just joined this forum because I'm having my first flare in about 4-1/2 years. And I'm pretty sure its because i quit smoking. I'm really tempted to start again. Sure I could say i will only smoke 6 a day. But i know me, i will be back to a pack a day in under a week. I decided to quit smoking because i want to be alive for my daughter. I'm really proud of the 62 days I've been smoke free. The last time i quit was my last flare and it was when i was pregnant. Before that i had one major flare that landed me in the hospital for a week. Other than that my colitis has been mild with minor flares here and there. i was diagnosed with colitis at age 10 and started smoking at age 14. I am 28 now. I'm not a fan of medicine and asacol put me in near liver failure way back in the 7th grade. I am so very torn.

light em up. Ill take a cig over humira any day. But I dont have to make that choice, luckily. Tried smoking my old time fave a natural nat sherman during a flare and just got no enjoyment out of it at all.. plus I smelled even after a shower. I just always wonder if its the stress relief you get from that rush of nicotine or the actual cig itself that is the factor.

thats great that works concrete man.! I smoke the other stuff and it really has helped

Judgmental is an understatement tearydawn, there is quite an element here who feel threatened by almost anything that upsets their little status quo.
The sad part is that that sort of archaic thinking stands directly in the path of new information which could lead to better addressing this disease both by we the patients and the medical community.

beatUC, I find the same on the natural boards. They don't even allow talk of medications which is hysterical. I'm all for natural meds, but not opposed to the big pharma stuff if it actually helps, or whatever else may help! I just don't like to see people pretending to know what's best for everyone.

Old Mike, better than nothing or some of the alternatives though. I quit smoking by vaping. I had tried everything out there and never could quit till the ecig but I have to vape organic VG stuff only. (Once again, I react to almost everything!) Tapering down the nicotine in the juice was much easier on me psychologically and I didn't notice the withdrawals as I was still vaping. Vaping does not have the same feel as smoking though and my husband couldn't stand it as he kept drawing in fast and hard which made him choke! LOL. Slow and steady!

ConcreteMan, my experience is similar to yours. I developed UC about 6 months after quitting smoking. Been through all sorts of meds, supplements, dietary changes. Now I am on Remicade after being hospitalized for 8 nights last October. Was on prednisone for 5.5 months before my taper was complete 3 weeks ago. I am 2 weeks away from my next infusion and am starting to bleed. UGH why does nothing work long-term?

I have used ecigs since I quit smoking, and although they do not help my UC at all, they might make it easier for you to quit the cigarettes if you need help with that.

I was cutting down the nic in my ecig when I flared. Got it down to 3mg in just 8mths then I flared and took it back up to 12mg. Don't know if it's doing anything and it took a short hospital trip and 2 mths of flare till I got better.

Haven't flared since then ( '11) but scared to quit the ecigs or even bring down the nic level again.

There's good data on nic helping maintain remission but I won't post it here again. Got shot down by some members here last-time...

Post Edited (coffeeman) : 3/8/2015 4:52:36 PM (GMT-6)

I tried smoking to rid myself of a flare back in 2006. Odd looks to go into a store and ask the clerk what brand I should try. Clerk said, "you mean you've never smoked and you want to start now?" (the whole store thought I was insane to want to start). Especially when I said it was for health reasons.
I lasted 6 months and went from choking 1/2 cig down a day at first to 6-8 cigs a day but I didn't get any benefit. I stopped and had no desire for another. I just could not stand the small of myself and the kids and wife complained. When someone ask how much you smoke and you say you're up to about 6 per day then you quickly realize they're thinking packs. When I was at even 2 (cigs) they thought I was really into it I later realized.
But I did start to enjoy being outside, listening to owls in the woods. Going for an after-breakfast smoke and hanging by the trash cans with the smokers at work. They said they would start telling ppl they had UC in order they get left alone by non-smokers.
Daughter (6 yrs at the time) raised her hand at school when a special guest speaker told about the harm of smoking. She said, 'My dad says it is healthy and started smoking to make him better'. Nurse called me at home.
I was in the whole game of looking for the best place to buy cartons. I enjoyed that time but don't miss it.
A researcher on IDB called to see if I was interested in being in a trial and I talked to him about smoking and he said I'd be better off smoking pot. I said if I wouldn't get fired from work I would. I used to get those calls all the time before being put on Remicade and Imuran. I assume most everyone else gets those.

I would do that in a heartbeat, pb4. My employer doesn't allow it, nor does my state so I can't wait until retirement. I know many other IDB sufferers who benefit from pot in the way you're saying. Responsibly able to live and function.

Someone mentioned it might be the carbon monoxide in the combustion of cigarettes which helps which in turn another asked about a way to get carbon monoxide so I just wanted to mention that carbon monoxide is the gas which kills people (product of combustion in, say, burning fuels of most cars, propane heater, gas fireplace, etc.). You have to monitor that stuff; a lot of deaths occur from it.
I know most here knew that but that would not be a good idea. Just had to throw that out for pace of mind.
One thing is I didn't bug a friend who smoked because I didn't like people telling me not to. He had bad health problems and last year another friend of his got him to stop and he's also got him going to the gym. The ex-smoker feels a lot better; no longer wakes up coughing. My aunts and uncles all smoked and died of lung cancer - carrying around that oxygen their last couple years.

Jim, CRC odds in uc patients is based on two thing: disease extent and time you've had uc. Patients with uc only in the rectum have the same CRC odds as the average healthy person on the street. Patients with uc throughout their large intestine have the greatest CRC risk. After 8-12 years with uc, CRC odds increase and screenings are adjusted accordingly as a precaution. Expect annual or biannual colonoscopies after that timeframe. The good news is CRC is a very slow moving form of cancer, and removing the large intestine also removes that cancer. about 25 percent of uc patients eventually need their large intestines removed, although that's not all cancer. I believe the cancer odds are around 3 percent for uc patients, the odds greatest for those who've had uc the longest, and with the most severe whole intestine affected cases.