Do you smoke? | Arthritis Information

I have been reading lately about how smoking can affect your RA. I have been a smoker for 32 yrs and don't know if I am strong enough to quit right now. I have had alot of lung test done and they show no damage. I have no problems due to smoking and my RD has never sad a thing about me stopping.

I know it would be so stressful for me to try to quit and I am in a bad flare already. I guess my question is if you were a smoker and have quit, have you seen a change in your RA? Were you able to use the patches, gum...etc to help you quit? Did you consult your RD?

My husband is one of the people that said I am not going to smoke any more and hasn't! I am not that strong.OK.... I was a smoker for 30 plus years w/ a few years off for pregnancies.... In a discussion about remission and my health with my RD, he said: you will never see remission as long as you smoke.

that hit me on my head.. I walked out of the appointment when it was over and called my PCP... I got a Chantix script and I quit within a week...... I do feel better and then suddenly my enbrel shots really started working for me.. I quit in October and last month my RD's measurements for inflammation was very very low for me... almost non=existent.....

I can't tell you what to do .... but I can only relay my own story and say what my RD told me. and say I feel it's the one most important thing I could do for myself.

Chantix... I don't like how it made me feel a little depressed... My DH and I quit together and we only took the med for one month.... no cheating. no smoking at all after.... Yes, it's difficult even w/ the med... but I kept my eye on the brass ring and knew I needed to do this.

Your DH has already quit so that should be helpful to you.

I wish you the best and let me know if I can help you or buddy you in any way in your attempt to quit when you are ready.. and IMO, you will need to be ready to succeed.

Good luck!!

Babs thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I never knew it would stand in the way of my RA going into remission. I have tried that medication before and had so many problems with it I don't think my PCP will put me back on it. There are so many things out there to help so I feel I have options if one does not help I can try another.

Once again, thanks Babs. Hope you have a less painful day today!I smoked for about 20 years and now have been a non smoker for about 10 years. I didn't notice a difference with my RA after I quit....BUT...I'm still so glad I did quit.

Good Luck to you!

ps...it gets so much easier once you get the first few days behind you! You can do it!

[QUOTE=ToBPainFreeAgain]I have been reading lately about how smoking can affect your RA. I have been a smoker for 32 yrs and don't know if I am strong enough to quit right now. I have had alot of lung test done and they show no damage. I have no problems due to smoking and my RD has never sad a thing about me stopping.

My husband is one of the people that said I am not going to smoke any more and hasn't! I am not that strong.[/QUOTE]

Hi, I'm newly diagnosed and also a smoker. I could'nt use the Chantix, it was making me sick. I started smoking as a teenager and am 51 now. I smoked 2 pack's a day all them year's.

July 1 2009 I had knee replacement done and in the hospital I was on the patch for 4 day's and lived through it but as soon as dummy me was released and in the car I took the patch off and lit up.

Now I have the gum and it help's. I don't quite smoke a pack a day now and if I would reach for the gum more than I did a cigarette I would do even better. I had my Dr appt yesterday and told him I'm still smoking but am using the gum and it has really helped me cut back and he said "let's first get the inflamation under control and then we will think about that".

I've alway's seemed to have an addictive personality and I too am not strong when it come's to this or any bad habit. I just wanted you to know that your not alone and that the nicorette 4mg gum is making a big difference in the amount I smoke. Oh I bought the patches too but they don't seem to work as good as the gum for me, maybe because I don't know it's there, maybe the chewing of the gum and the taste of the nicotine is what is helping me more with the gum..

Anyway, I know we both need to quit but it's not going to be easy for me at all but I'm going to keep trying. Try with me and maybe we can help each other.

Best wishes....

I smoked for 10 years and now I have not smoked for 24. When I had my daughter (mind you I smoked the whole pregnancy) I decided I had to be around for her and when my carton ran out I stopped. It was easier than I thought. I was the kind of smoker who had one immediately upon waking and the last thing I did before I went to bed. If I got up in the night to go to the bathroom I had a cigarette. I could not picture myself without a cigarette.

I think the most important factor was that I WANTED to quit. The first couple days were the worst then it was over. Taking deep breaths help. It's the inhale- exhale that you miss.

Best of luck to you! You can do it!

I've had RA for 15 years and been a smoker for about 20 years. I've seen remission and experienced long periods of very low symptoms even as a smoker. I tend to disagree with what Bab's doctor told her. I think some doctors try to scare you into quiting....which isn't always a bad thing; especially if it helps some patience acheive the motivation they need to kick the habit. We all know smoking isn't good for you for any number of reasons. Lots of doctors assume you are aware of that and leave it up to you if you want to abuse your body that way and other's make it their mission to bring it up and encourage you to stop at every point possible. I'm not sure which is best.

I've attempted to stop several times and haven't yet managed to make it happen. My husband also smokes so we tend to feed off of each other as anyone with a spouse or partner that smoke surely knows. I hope to have some elective surgery (K~A breast reduction) soon if I can get my insurance company to agree that it's medically nessesary. The surgeon told me that I'd have to be stopped for at least three weeks before and three weeks after if I wanted to do it. It definately effects the healing process and he refuses to take any patient if they are smoking. I want this more than I've ever wanted anything; so I intend to do it when I get approved. Guys; keep your fingers crossed that the insurance company comes through for me. If anything can get me to stop....this is it. I think you have to have a HUGE motivator; and if thinking you'll never see remission is it for you, I say use that!

Mr. Lovie got me a new car for Valentines Day and I stopped smoking in my car; and that was one of the hardest parts for me when I had tried to quit before. That's one trigger I've kicked and I have cut back. I think this time I'm going to be able to do it!! I think you really, really, really have to want to do it. Knowing how bad it is for us doesn't really help. We've all known that for years.

Lovie2009-07-22 05:50:18Thank you each everyone for your in put. I know just like the rest of you that it is not the best thing for your body but I know the stress I will be under trying when I really don't want to give it up. Like you Lovie, I wanted to have some things done to my body but was going to have to quit smoking. After 4 days of not smoking my husband convienced me of how much he loved me just the the way I was!!!!!!!!!!!

I really think my doctors have not said anything about my smoking due to the fact I am just hanging on and functioning the best I can for right now. I have gone from a very active 48 yr old to feeling older than my mother. I have never been very good at weight loss but have lost 30 plus pounds in the past few months. My hair is falling out by the handfuls even though I am using things to help stop it. I am having touble staying asleep at night and am so tired during the day but still can't sleep. I really think if I can get some of these thing under control, I can kick the habit. I just don't want to make things worse (somedays I think "How much worse can they get?") by trying to quit right now.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer me and listening to me whine some today.

Hugs to all!It's going to be alright. Just take everything one day at a time. Things will get better. ToBPainFree:

Believe me, smoking causes more stress than quitting does. Think of it this way...each time you put out a cigarette, your body starts to crave another one. This goes on and on and every 20 minutes or so you need to smoke again.
When you quit smoking for good, the craves only last a few days. The urge to smoke is still there but that is something that goes away eventually also.
I was a 2 to 3 pack a day smoker and just got tired of being a slave to it so I slapped on a patch and quit. That was over four years ago.
You can do this.

Ann

Kicking the smoking habit is hard, but you can do it! BUT...you have to be ready. If your not ready, you can try to quit all you want but probably won't be successful. I quit thousands of times before the last one actually stuck. I quit cold turkey and sometimes when I'm really stressed I want one, but I know it is so bad for your health. When I want to smoke, I think of the patients I care for who have smoked for 70 years and can't breathe and are gasping for air just to get one word out. That usually cures my craving! You will quit when you are ready or you have a compelling reason to do so.

Phats

Non-smoker here...but I did smoke about 20 years ago. I quit cold turkey, and ate sunflower seeds or sucked on Jolly Ranchers whenever I craved a cigarette. Good luck if you decide to quit!I quit cold turkey in 1985 after smoking for 20 years. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, I was in a high stress career, just divorced and decided that smoking would eventually catch up with me and start causing health issues. It's usually just a matter of time until COPD, emphysema or other numerous issues arise. Nobody said it was easy and it's not. Why add more chemicals to your body? Who knows what the combination of the RA drugs and smoking does to us? Wait till your birthday and give yourself the best gift you can by quitting. LindyI smoke very occasionally... typically if I'm out at the tavern with friends, and then only when the weather is nice (no indoor smoking here in Illinois). Usually a few times a month. Other than that, I don't usually have cigarettes lying around.

Back when I worked, the twice-daily "smoke breaks" were a major social event, and I typically joined the gang for a smoke or two. I was up to a pack a week some weeks.

I did smoke like a chimney the last time I took my brother to UW-Madison. HE smokes like a chimney, and since he was smoking in the car and the hotel room, I did too. The second-hand smoke annoys me, unless I am smoking too. As soon as I dropped him off and headed back to Flatland I wasn't smoking any more... and the next day I woke up and felt like my lungs were filled with cotton. My mother smoked since she was in her earlier 20's. She has tried to quit several times over the last 45 years but to no avail. I tried everything to help her quit. Talked to her about nicorette, hypnosis, etc. I even guilted her by telling her that if she loved me she would quit and that I want her around for my kids to know her.

Well my mother final kicked the habit 3 years ago (she is now 68). Unfortunately it was because she developed small cell lung cancer. One good thing, when my brother saw what happened to her, he quit for good also.

Personally, I think anybody who smokes is crazy (that includes me - I smoked for a few years as a teenager). I don't care how many clean scans you have had. Small cell lung cancer is highly agressive and deadly (it is inoperable because it is assumed to spread without being detected).

Quitting smoking can ONLY make you better. Stop making excuses and do the right thing. It is a most disgusting habit.I'm not making excuses - I like to smoke occasionally.

We all have our vices.
Some more deadly than others.

Sorry, but this really bothers me.
I smoked for over 20 years. I tried Wellbutrin XL didn't help me stop smoking just made me even more depressed. As an early birthday gift my mother sent me to a hypnotist. It's been over 4 years and I haven't had a cigarette. I'm glad I did stop because ,3 months after I did, my mom was diagnosed with non smoking lung cancer. Even if I craved a cigarette now-which I don't-I wouldn't smoke because it would upset her. I don't think quitting smoking helped my RA. I can breath easier and I don't have that nasty morning smokers cough. Quitting did help heighten my sense of smell-I can tell who smokes and who doesn't. You don't realize what you, your clothes, house or car smell like until you stop. Different things work for different people but the main thing is you have to have the desire to stop. It is an addictive habit. Good luck! I am an ex smoker as well. Started at 14 and smoked for 35 years. Usually a pack and a half a day, 2 packs if I was stressed or went out to the bar.
January of 2006 I was having chest pains, so hubby took me to the ER. It was apparently nothing, BUT the chest scans showed abnormal lymph nodes! The ER doctor said it may be early lung cancer. I was scared to death! I had just watched my dad choke and choke as he puffed away on his deathbed. At that moment I told myself I was quitting for good before it killed me.
I set the date...3 weeks from that day. I asked mt Dr for something to help and he gave me Welbutrin and also the patches. On my day, at 11:45 pm, I smoked my last 3 cigerettes. One thing that helped tremendously was that we had not smoked in our home for about 10 years. We only smoked outside or cars. It was HELL for a week. I wondered out back and puffed on cigerette butts to try to get over the hump. I did this for about 3-4 days. After that, I just kept telling myself I was gonna die soon if I did not remain strong! I am still smoke free and can say without a doubt, I will NEVER smoke again.

As far as the sleep issue, ask your Dr about Trazodone. My PCP ordered it for me because of the exact same problem. I could not stay asleep at night. mine are 50mg and you take 1 or 2 an hour before bed. Works great!

Good luck to you. Just remember you have to want to quit. Think of all the reasons that you really want to quit and it helps.

editted for an omission. :)
GrammaKathy2009-07-25 16:53:29

There is no magic patch or gum, If you are not ready, It won't do you any good, You will just start back smoking at a later date. I stopped in 1976...It was the best thing I ever did for myself...I felt so much better. Didn't gey RA till 1982. it was hard and took about 2 weeks. I didn't go around anyone who smoke and removed all ash trays out of home. Real friends will not smoke around you or say a word about them, till you get over the hump. I have lost a sister, father and other family to cancer, all where smokers. Betty wouldn't smoke in the house, didn't want her husband to get sick, he died when his car ran over him. So she wouldn't smoke in the house because her beloved dog could get sick, the dog died of cancer 7 months, before she died of small cell lung cancer. I could go on about other family menbers, but you get the idea....I would like to see everyone quit, but I know what its like to want just one more puff.

Just wanted to add this, I copied it years ago when I was smoking 2 packs a day, because I thought it was cute (about 44 years ago)

Tabacco is a filthy weed,

and from the devil doth proceed,

Robs your pockets,

Burns your clothes

and makes a chinney out of your nose...

They are 4 and 5 dollors a pack around here, When I quit, they were $.25 a pack, about .00 a carton. name band, but then again gas was 17 cent a gal and went up to 65 cents a gal. We were haveing a fit....LOL