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Started smoking agian.

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/29/2008 4:10 PM (GMT 0)
I quit smoking a few years ago and that lead (I believe) to my first ever flare-up and in the past couple of weeks I started smoking again because I've been under a lot of stress.  Has anyone else stopped smoking with UC and then started up again?  Could I head into another flare because of that?  I know that nicotine somewhat helps with our symptoms but I'm worried that my body may react differently now and put me into another flare.

Thanks.

Posted 10/29/2008 4:32 PM (GMT 0)
way back in January i stopped smoking. shortly after I had a flare up and have been battling it ever since. my cousin was dx'ed at 19 and he is 40 something now and he told me that when he tries to stop smoking he will flare up. well a few weeks ago i was so bad off i had to go to the hospital. I was so dehydrated from this last flare. I started smoking again a couple of weeks ago and i feel much better now. I am on prednisone for about the third time and in the past when i would tapper down i would flare back up but this time I am feeling much better so i don't know how much the smoking has helped but I am not gonna stop this time.
Posted 10/29/2008 5:21 PM (GMT 0)
I quit smoking March 11, 2008. I had my first flare ever mid-May of this year and it terrified me - I had no idea what was happening. I was officially diagnosises 8/25/08. My doctor told me that I already had this "bad bacteria" when I was smoking. He said as long as I was smoking the nicotine kept it "paralyzed" if you will. When I quit, it woke that bad bacteria up and bingo UC!

I would go back to smoking, but don't feel I can in that my Jim has been diagnosised in the earliest stages of emphysema. It took me 47 years to find my best friend and I do want to keep him around as long as I can!

Gigi1227
Posted 10/29/2008 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
Carbon monoxide from smoking has anti-inflammatory effects on the colon, but because this disease can be very individualistic no one can say for sure if quitting then starting again will have a negative or positive effect...I only suggest that you try to keep it at a minimal daily amount (like 6/day max) that's what I do and I don't even feel like a "smoker" especially compared to the pack a day I used to smoke.

:)
Posted 10/29/2008 6:49 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks for the replies.

I guess never having an illness like this before I'm scared of what might happen.  I do try and keep my cigarette smoking to less than 4 cigarettes a day and so far, so good. *knocks on wood*

Posted 10/29/2008 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
I slowed my smoking way down when I first began to flare, I just couldn't afford to buy cigarette's back then. Since then for some reason the only time I crave cigarettes is when I have a cocktail, somehow I do not want them at any other time. Good thing I only drink Tuesday through Monday (just kidding). I tried smoking more and doesnt seem to do anything for me, the weird thing for me is that on the very rare occasion when I do have one during the day I have to have a bm.  However, if I am drinking and have a cig, I do not feel the need to have a bm, weird, huh?
Posted 10/30/2008 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
i started flaring again at the end of may due to stress and so i started smoking 1-3 cigs a day and i think it helped cuz my flare started to go away and was pretty much gone by end of sept until i had to go home for family emergency.  my gram passed away and now im flaring again.. so im smoking again.. 1-4 cigs a day.

my doc told me it would help and it seems to be.

i will try anything really.

so much pain and when i have a cig it usually relaxes my belly.

even though i have to usually run to the can right after.

 

Posted 10/30/2008 1:24 AM (GMT 0)

I quit smoking last year in June after being a smoker for 18 years. I was a smoker when I was diagnosed with UC.

Everytime I tried to quit, I'd get a flare. So basically I made it 4 to 6 weeks without smoking and I would start smoking again because of the flare. The flare indeed disappeared after I took up smoking again. It never prevented future flares though.

Now that I am smoke-free since 16 months, I experience more flares which are severe and long. I am not willing to take up smoking again though. It was very hard for me to quit and just thinking of going through that smoking withdrawal again is keeping me from ever lighting up again. Left alone the costs of smoking, the other health risks (cancer, stroke, heart disease etc.), the smell, yellow teeth and whatnot.

Bottom line is that I have UC and flares even when I smoke, although the flares were kinda mild and short. It is something you have to decide for yourself, but in my opinion the benefits of smoking on UC are minimal and not worth the risk of getting nicotine related diseases.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

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