Introduction:
Smoking and Ulcerative Colitis:
I am a 42 year old lady with UC for 3 years(2008). I used to smoke (stupidly I know) 5-6 a day for 20 years, then gave up as I didn’t want my children to follow suit. Within 6 months I was diagnosed with UC, put on 30mg Prednisolone, 6 Asacol tablets and 4 Asacol suppositories a day. This went on for 2 years, on and off the Prednisolone to stop the bleeding, toilet 20 or more times a day, taking immodium just to go to work.
A year ago, something awful happened and I started smoking again ( it was that or drink!), I hated myself, letting the children down. I was on 5-6 a day, again and the Ulcerative Colitis disappeared, or seemed to, now I know it to be a remission. I came off the prednisolone and the suppositories all together all year and just took the tablets.
I then gave up smoking again August this year (2011) and guess what, within a month UC symptoms returned as hard as ever. It’s gone from mild to moderate in a short space of time, I am now back on all the medication as before and am struggling to find a reason why I should not try nicotine patches or even smoke again, the quality of life I had this last whole year was just the way it was before my diagnosis.
I knew I was right but no one believes me, even my husband just thinks I’m weak and WANT to smoke, that is just not the case at all.
Submitted in the Colitis Venting Area by KAREN
If you want some more smoking stories from other UC’ers, there’s quite a few:
Questions for Dr. Hanauer Patients Regarding Smoking and Colitis
Does Smoking Really Help Ulcerative Colitis?—49 Comments So Far…?
The Battle of a Lifetime, Quitting Smoking then Diagnosed with UC
I knew smoking helped my UC BEFORE I did some research.
