smoking and MC

thedell19 · Post by **thedell19** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:03 pm

Is there any relation to smoking and MC? Like smoking helps keep inflammation down for people with ulcerative colitis but smoking makes crohns disease worse.

I do see that some of you have quit smoking and that is awesome. I want to quit really soon (I am down from a pack a day to 3 a day and boy was that hard... now I look forward to when I get up, after I eat lunch and after I finish work as those are my smoke times).

Anyways did any of your diseases start when you quit smoking? Does quitting make the symptoms worse?

Thanks guys

Andrew

Jean · Post by **Jean** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:13 pm

Andrew,

I don't think that we've found any correlation between smoking and MC. I admit I smoke and I allowed myself to continue while I was changing my diet. There were times that it seemed like there was nothing I could eat and a cigarette filled the gap. It's been two years and I'm thinking about quitting again, probably when I start back to work.

I am in NO WAY trying to discourage you from quitting, but you may want to consider your timing. We can only do so much and our chance of success goes down as the amount of stress in our lives goes up... Just a thought.

Love, Jean

starfire · Post by **starfire** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:30 pm

Hey, you asked a good question. I developed full blown MC about 3/4 months after I quit smoking. I can't say I'm sorry I quit, and I don't know if I would or wouldn't have gotten MC anyway, but if I had a choice between one or the other, I'd choose smoking. LOL

Love, Shirley

annie oakley · Post by **annie oakley** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:45 pm

Hi Andrew.....I quit just over a year ago, I picked a week that my husband was on a business trip and went cold turkey.....My advise is that if you truly want to quit....go to your doctor and have him/her help you with whatever meds you need to quit.
The reason I say this is....I did it on my own...I went into depression, sleepless ness and just plain bad company. I cried when I saw a walmart bad being blown across the yar in the 5o mph winds we were having. Things like that. So I called my doctor 5 days into the "quit" and she gave me an RX for a seditive.
I feel 100% better than I did. I taste better and I don't have the daily cough I had. I for one will be here for words of incouragement if you decide to quit.
I believe that all we do, eating smoking drinking all of it effects MC.I am no doctor but That's what I believe. I know my skin is softer since I quit. Love Oma

Peggy · Post by **Peggy** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:21 pm

Andrew,

In the past I found some very interesting articles about the correlation between smoking and colitis. I'm at work right now, but I'll try and find them again for you.

Peggy

annie oakley · Post by **annie oakley** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:23 pm

I for one would be interested in reading about it Peggy. Love Oma

Peggy · Post by **Peggy** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:36 pm

Here's some info:

http://www.crohns.org.uk/Docs/4/uc/Smok ... litis.html

http://www.docguide.com/news/content.ns ... EA006FC3CF

http://www.dyraki.com/uc.htm

Basically just type in "smoking colitis" on a web search and you'll come up with tons of information.

Peg

Post by **tex** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:37 pm

Andrew,

As has already been mentioned, there are many documented cases of MC, where the onset of the disease was attributed to the cessation of a long term smoking habit. I'm not sure that resuming smoking can put MC into remission, but stoping smoking can definitely trigger the disease.

Regarding the relationship that smoking has with UC and Crohn's, be aware that even though MC is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease, (IBD), which puts it in the same family as UC and Crohn's, MC has never been documented to segue into either UC or Crohn's. It may be possible that MC and either UC or Crohn's can coexist in a patient, independently, but if this is even possitble, I believe it would be extremely rare.

LC can, of course change into CC, and vice versa, or either one can change into a form known as just plain MC, which has the markers of both diseases, at seemingly random times. Since the symptoms and the treatment are the same for any form of MC, however, any sequencing is pretty much irrelevant, from a patients viewpoint, and is only of interest from an academic, or medical viewpoint.

Here is a reference that suggests that smoking may be protective of MC, (based on the observation that 23% of the patients in the study were former smokers):

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1351.htm

Unfortunately, this same reference, (which is an old site, but has been recently updated), still makes this claim: "The coincidence of celiac sprue and LC raises the possibility of a luminal agent being responsible for the colitis; however, removal of gluten from the diet is ineffective in treating the colitis.", which is contradictory to the personal experience of many members of this board.

Keep in mind that even though UC, Colitis, and MC, are all IBDs, they are all unique diseases, with their own individual characteristics, and even though many, (but not all), treatments which work for one, seem to provide benefits for the others, also, each disease has it's own preferred treatment program.

I hope this helps to shed a little light on the topic,

Wayne

Mars · Post by **Mars** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:22 pm

Hi Andrew,

I am a smoker and find it stressful to even think about quitting! I am very impressed by the fact that you have cut down so far on your smoking. I am afraid that quitting would cause me more harm than good at this point, stress wise and would bring back the MC full force.

My GI also mentioned some time ago something about smoking and MC. I'll have to ask the details my next visit.

Good luck in your quitting! I admire your courage!

Mars

JJ · Post by JJ » Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:17 pm

Hi...I quit smoking last Labor Day...the Entocort has been working, but lately because of stress, the D is getting worse again. I used Commit lozenges to help with the smoking...they really worked for me! Good luck...JJ

thedell19 · Post by **thedell19** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:45 pm

Just as I suspected... now I dont want to quit! But i hope with a gluten free diet or whatever it will cause the flare not to be so bad?

Jean · Post by **Jean** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 6:54 am

One other note. Most probably, any meds prescribed to help quit smoking will have gluten or corn in them and may foil any attempt to go GF.

Again, I'm not saying don't quit!

Love, Jean

celia · Post by **celia** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:23 am

Hey Andrew,

I'm inspired by your aspiration to quit! I stopped smoking many years ago, but I beleive my good twenty years of smoking caused considerable damage. Not to mention being around second hand smoke my entire childhood.

I now have elevated levels of cadmium (a heavy metal) which is in cigarettes (amoung a host of other things). High levels of cadmium in the body have been connected with prostate cancer, osteoporosis, and a number of other diseases. Not to freak you out, but these are some of the facts I've learned about in trying to heal my illness.

Good luck!
Celia

thedell19 · Post by **thedell19** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:43 am

Herb Lady and Celia-

Did you find that your MC got worse when you quit?

I wonder what meds that I am on now have glute in them? I take Entocort, Asacol, Compazine, Ativan, and Wellbutrin... is there a site I can go and check on meds that do/dont have gluten in them?

thedell19 · Post by **thedell19** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:25 pm

Do you guys think that if Dr Fine's tests come back with intollerances and I make the diet changes that are needed; and then quit smoking once I am better for about 6 months, that I will not experience a flare or maybe it will be milder?