Survey of the Day: Smoking and Colitis

I think there are a number of causes and contributing factors for UC that are not understood yet, but the research seems to point to long term nicotine withdrawal as being one of them. As Pancolitisandfightingit said, carbon monoxide withdrawal may be another. I think that if you were a life long non smoker, smoking will probably not help you. If, like me you were DXed one to four years after withdrawing from nicotine you might find some relief.

My case is classic, I stopped smoking cigarettes in March of 2002 after having been a heavy smoker for nearly fifty years, but continued using nicotine, first in the form of gum, and when my teeth couldn't take that any more I switched to the lozenges. I continued the lozenges for three more years and early in 2005 I finally kicked those. In February of 2007, nearly two years after withdrawing from nicotine, I was DX with UC by a routine c-scope. I hadn't had a flare yet, but in June-July I had a doozy, I was out of work for five weeks, and was finally brought into remission with pred.

Since then I would have a minor flare, successfully treated with Entocort two or three times per year. Then in late June or Early July of this year, I had another serious flare, and heavy doses (60 mg/day) of pred didn't help at all. After extensive research into nicotine as a treatment for UC, I decided to try it, but not in the form of cigarettes. I started taking the lozenges again, three a day (12 mg of nicotine, about equal to a half a pack of cigarettes) at first and saw an immediate reduction of symptoms by about half. After a week I increased to about six a day, and was in remission in less than a week.

I am now using the lozenges, and have supplemented them with electronic cigarettes, which I find more satisfying than chewing lozenges.

I have been in remission for about six weeks now, and in fact went past normal stools to constipation. That irritated my hemorrhoids, and I had the worst hemorrhoid attack that I've ever had. They triggered a serious bout of proctitis. I have been treating the C with prune juice and Metamucil, and now have that under control, and the proctitis is nearly gone.

My GI want's me to continue the pred for a couple of months, and he is agreeable, if not a little ambivalent about the nicotine. So I am currently on heavy pred and nicotine. And I feel WONDERFUL!

<------------------ Disclaimer --------------------->

In no way am I advocating nicotine therapy as a treatment for UC, I am only relating my personal experience, your results may (most certainly will) vary!

I stopped smoking March 2002 and began having symptoms of UC in April. I was misdiagnosed by my G.I. as IBS and treated unsuccessfully until I changed doctors. I was correctly diagnosed as having UC (pancolitis). I enjoyed smoking, but I decided to quit because of my children, my health concerns and vanity. I didn't want to smell like an ashtray anymore and didn't want early lines and wrinkles. I've been in remission for so long, I can't really say if I would try smoking to alleviate symptoms because I'm not "there". I don't judge anyone for smoking if it helps them. I'm just glad I quit. It was right for me. I'm not sure it is the nicotine that helps....nicotine is just a stimulant, isn't it? Like caffeine? The only other thing that came out of my quitting cigarettes was I gained a lot of weight.