After You Stopped Smoking Did You Get Worse?

[terps19]

So there is some discussion about if stopping smoking helps or makes your GI problem worse. Well I would like to take a survey.

1. Do you smoke and have you quit? If so how much did you smoke?

2. Did you quit before or after you went on a gluten-free diet? If you quit after, how long were you on the diet before you quit?

3. Did you have any adverse reactions when you quit?

thanks all!

[Guhlia]

1. Do you smoke and have you quit? If so how much did you smoke? I don't smoke. I quit about 4 years ago. I smoked about a pack and a half a day depending on the day.

2. Did you quit before or after you went on a gluten-free diet? If you quit after, how long were you on the diet before you quit? I quit before I went gluten free, I was pregnant and not diagnosed Celiac.

3. Did you have any adverse reactions when you quit? Absolutely. That's when my Celiac symptoms began. Who knows whether it was quitting smoking or the pregnancy though that brought them on. They didn't get really bad until after I had the baby, so... It's hard to say. My doctor warned me not to quit cold turkey, but I just lost the taste for it and stopped smoking one day.

[terps19]

So when you quit you should slowly taper down? Might that help with the symptoms?

Angie- Can you now control your symptoms through diet?

Thanks for the response

[Guhlia]

Actually, I was only supposed to not quit cold turkey because I was pregnant. The stress of quitting smoking can actually harm the baby as much or more than the smoking would. Yes, my symptoms are 100% controlled through diet. However, I have to admit, until I got 100% anal about everything staying gluten free I was getting glutened quite frequently.

[irish daveyboy]

3. Did you have any adverse reactions when you quit? Absolutely. That's when my Celiac symptoms began. Who knows whether it was quitting smoking or the pregnancy though that brought them on. They didn't get really bad until after I had the baby, so... It's hard to say. My doctor warned me not to quit cold turkey, but I just lost the taste for it and stopped smoking one day.

.

Hi Guhlia,

I too gave up smoking after some 40+ years @ 2 - 3 packs a day,

after approx 6 months, I too had developed all the signs of Celiac it would seem smoking

delays the onset of Adult Celiac Disease.

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This is an extract from the relevent article:

.

CONCLUSIONS: This study strengthens the case for a causal relationship between smoking and coeliac disease by demonstrating a strong, temporally appropriate and dose-dependent effect, thus meeting the Bradford Hill criteria. This suggests that cigarette smoking truly protects against the development of adult coeliac disease.

PMID: 12923372 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Open Original Shared Link

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So you are quite right about developing Celiac after quitting smoking.

.

Best Regards,

David

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

1. Do you smoke and have you quit? If so how much did you smoke?

- I smoked for 13 years. I quit last year.

2. Did you quit before or after you went on a gluten-free diet? If you quit after, how long were you on the diet before you quit?

Before and after. 10 years I was on the diet.

3. Did you have any adverse reactions when you quit?

No, quite the opposite actually. My DH cleared up considerably after I quit smoking and quit drinking hard liquor.

[psawyer]

I quit for good in April of 1990. My onset of major celiac symptoms came in the summer of 1995, although I had had gastric problems off and on for 25 years before that. In my case, I don't think there is a connection between my smoking and the onset of celiac, as there is a five year difference between the them. But there are studies that suggest that smoking tobacco may mask or delay the onset of celiac disease.

I don't know if this is relevant, but I gave up cigarettes in 1981. From that time until I quit completely it was cigars and a pipe, and yes, I did inhale.

[BostonBill]

So there is some discussion about if stopping smoking helps or makes your GI problem worse. Well I would like to take a survey.

1. Do you smoke and have you quit? If so how much did you smoke?

2. Did you quit before or after you went on a gluten-free diet? If you quit after, how long were you on the diet before you quit?

3. Did you have any adverse reactions when you quit?

thanks all!

I quit smoking in October, 2004 for two months and simultaneously had severe undiagnosed diarrea which was the onset of my GI related problems with celiac. Three different doctors told me that the two were unrelated since nicotene is usually a laxative and absence of it would most likely cause constipation if anything. I started smoking after two months and the "D" stopped but other symptoms were escalating e.g. anemia, malabsorption, reflux, vitiligo weight loss, and bruising to name a few. I was finally diagnosed with celiac in Feb. 2007 and immediately responded to the diet. I have again quit smoking for three months starting in March with no ill effects or GI issues. I have no doubt that quitting smoking was directly the reason for triggering the GI symptoms. I smoked a little more than a pack a day before stopping both times.

[annie76]

So there is some discussion about if stopping smoking helps or makes your GI problem worse. Well I would like to take a survey.

1. Do you smoke and have you quit? If so how much did you smoke?

2. Did you quit before or after you went on a gluten-free diet? If you quit after, how long were you on the diet before you quit?

3. Did you have any adverse reactions when you quit?

thanks all!

I quit smoking in july 2004, I was dx in aug. 2006. So, three months after my dx I started up again.

I just quit again a month ago, I'm done for good. I've been a smoker, and non-smoker with celiac and never noticed smoking, or not smoking causing me any problems. Quitting the smokes just sucks in general, I'm a mess for 4 or 5 days, anxiety, headaches, irritability, sweats, foggy head etc... Your body is ridding itself of a very addictive drug, its not fun. But after those few days I'm fine. I smoked a pack a day for 12 years and 8 months. Blah!

[rsm]

I quit smoking 27 years ago and the symptoms started about one year later. I didn't know what it was until recently. All of my siblings still smoke and they have no symptoms.

[luckygfme]

I quit smoking 27 years ago and the symptoms started about one year later. I didn't know what it was until recently. All of my siblings still smoke and they have no symptoms.

i quit smoking for half a year about 2 years before going gluten freee and i felt terrible. My symptoms were at their worst. I find that when my stomach hurts smoking calms it down a bit.

[Babygirl6915]

I have smoked since the age of 15 & I am 24. I didn

[Mountain Mama]

Don't have an experiance to share, but I found this... In my book Celiac Disease a Hidden Epidemic by Dr. Green it says,

"Several scientific papers have demonstrated that smoking seems to confer some protection against the onset of celiac disease- but it's role is very contraversial. The mechanisms are unclear. Suprisingly, there is evedince that smoking also protects against ulcerative colitis - nicotine patches are used as therapy for some patients. Conversly, it is known that smoking is a risk factor for Chrohn's disease. Overall, smoking is not healthy for an individual."

I thought that was interresting.

[Lizking531]

OMFG!!!

I am soooooooo glad I stumbled onto this thread! ALL of symptoms became extremely apparent when I quit cold-turkey 4 months ago. I always had nicotine induced BMs, but once I quit, it was like my system didn't know what to do. I stayed quit for 4 months and was I started seeing my GI, I started smoking again - mostly due to stress and fasting (cigs are great for suppressing an appetite)

I told every doctor/nurse that I have seen that everything got bad when I quit, but no one did anything except one nurse said "weird"

I'm 26 smoked for @ 9 years. Quit in March - started again a couple weeks ago - it isn't healthy, but a cig here and there definitely calms my stomach when it gets bad, but sometimes it send me over the edge and makes me feel 10 times worse - but that could be in part due to the med the doc has me on. (pamine forte - aka methascopolomine bromide)

[Jayde]

I am soooo glad I came accross this!

I am not a confirmed Celiac but have been gluten-free for 1.5 weeks and already feel my body healing!

I quit smoking 9 months ago and things have been pure hell since!! I used the patch for a month and felt fine, when I stopped the patch omg, let me tell you i never want to live through that again! I was tired, hungry like you wouldn't believe, my stomach was always growling. I gained 30 pounds in 2 months, my vision was blurry, couldn't concentrate.. I felt like a walking dead!!

I thought it was the nicotine withdrawl at first, and spoke to some ex smoker friends who would put my mind at ease saying that all those symptoms were normal... after 3 months I knew this couldnt be normal! I tried smoking again for 2 days because I wanted to feel better.. that didnt work!

I went to the doc, was diagnosed with depression... ugh the anti d's didn't make me feel better.

After many google hours (<3 google!!) and after keeping a food diary and taking doing the pulse test after things i ate.. I finally figured out that gluten was the problem and that I am probably Celiac! Going gluten-free has cleared my rash (pretty sure it's DH), my back pain and joints feel better!

I'm only 25, work out regularly and eat healthy.. despite being a smoker i was pretty healthy and way too young to feel so broken.

I always wondered if my quitting smoking had something to do with the onset, and it looks like that was probably it Quitting does put a lot of stress on the body!!

Oh and now that I feel better.. I am also craving smoking again!

[Jennifer2]

I smoked about a pack a day for ~12 yrs. I quit about a 1.5yrs ago, but started up again about 4 months ago-I'm currently a closet smoker, very few people know I've restarted because I plan on quitting again soon, but the longer it goes the harder that's going to be!

It actually makes sense that smoking would delay or minimize the celiac symptoms. Smoking actually surpresses your immune system. That's the same reason many people experience allergies (hayfever) that are A LOT worse after quitting smoking.

When I first quit smoking (patch and nicotine inhaler), I never felt better in my life and actually lost quite a bit of weight (which was a good thing). In hindsight, I think it's because when I first quit, the only thing that I had any appetite for was chicken and potato chips! My symptoms really when into overdrive back in October. By that time, I'd gotten over my chicken/potato chip diet and was eating normal food again and work turned into a nightmare by the bosses announcing that they were cutting the pay of people in my department by about 15% and they were going to lay off 1 or 2 of us in the middle of December, but weren't going to tell us which ones of us were on the chopping block. So that was easily the worst emotional rollercoaster I've ever been on in my life!

[mushroom]

Because I quit so long ago (a 2-pack-a-day smoker), I had never thought about any link with smoking. But on reflection it was only after I quit smoking that my severe GI symptoms began, initially always when I ate Mexican food to which I had not previously been exposed. I blamed the corn in the tortillas. Of course I eventually found out that it was both the corm and flour tortillas that bothered me, but that was waaay down the road. Very interesting...

[jerseyangel]

I stopped smoking 28 years ago when pregnant with my first child, and never took it up again. I had terrible nausea throughtout the entire pregnancy and even after he was born, my stomach/digestion was never the same.

I assumed that childbirth was a trigger, but maybe the quitting smoking had something to do with it, too. I had stomach problems as a child, but the years that I smoked--looking back--was also the period of time in my life when I felt the best. How ironic is that.....

[mushroom]

I had stomach problems as a child, but the years that I smoked--looking back--was also the period of time in my life when I felt the best. How ironic is that.....

That was exactly the case for me too, except for the lack of breath...

[hermitgirl]

Other than seasonal allergies, I was never sick before I quit smoking. I smoked for about 15 years. Within a couple of weeks of quitting I started having stomach problems, about six months later Bel's Palsy, and a year after the Palsy the Celiac was finally diagnosed. I have spent more time and money at dr's offices since I quit smoking than I ever had. I have now been smoke free for a bit over 2 and a half years, and quite honestly have days that I regret quitting smoking. The sad thing thing is, I did not quit for health, but because I refused to pay so much for a pack of cigarettes. Had I not quit smoking, I would have saved several thousand dollars in medical bills, that I will probably be paying off for another few years.

Feeling rather sorry for myself this morning. Sorry I sound so pitiful.

[mushroom]

Other than seasonal allergies, I was never sick before I quit smoking. I smoked for about 15 years. Within a couple of weeks of quitting I started having stomach problems, about six months later Bel's Palsy, and a year after the Palsy the Celiac was finally diagnosed. I have spent more time and money at dr's offices since I quit smoking than I ever had. I have now been smoke free for a bit over 2 and a half years, and quite honestly have days that I regret quitting smoking. The sad thing thing is, I did not quit for health, but because I refused to pay so much for a pack of cigarettes. Had I not quit smoking, I would have saved several thousand dollars in medical bills, that I will probably be paying off for another few years.

Feeling rather sorry for myself this morning. Sorry I sound so pitiful.

I am sorry you have been having such a hard (and expensive) time. However, do look for the silver linings in all of this. If you are celiac and continued with gluten you would probably have incurred many more medical problems and bills. Also, if you had continued smoking, same thing. You are going to be so much healthier now than you would have been if you had continued on your former path. And instead of investing your money in cigarettes you are investing it in your health. Sounds like a good plan to me. Good luck on your gluten- and smoke-free journey.

[bellypain]

I got sick in January 08 and quit smoking as a result. My symptoms which were mild and not terribly noticeable to me (the occasional bloat w/ D I could blame on coffee or eating something bad) got immediately worse once I recovered from my illness.

The first thing was the worst constipation I've ever had. Then came the gas bubbles and bloat. I was eating fiber pills, drinking water like crazy. When I did finally go to the bathroom it was god awful pain and discomfort with both a mix of the constipation and the big D.

Then came the stomach pains like I had swallowed rocks - that would last for days. The weight gain came on quickly too. I was trying to improve my constipation so I was eating a lot of grainy foods and brans...but it only got worse. I discovered that eating meat made my stomach pains better. I don't like a lot of meat but I desperate. I would order hamburgers and take the bread off. The sour taste in my mouth lasted for only a week but that is what finally sent me to the doctor who gave me prilosec and sent me for an ultra sound. They also did a lot of blood tests and poop tests which didn't result in any discoveries. It turned out that my ultrasound showed some kind of damage to my liver. I also have a thyroid nodule that was discovered b/c I went back to the doctor and he thought my thyroid seemed enlarged though my blood tests didn't show anything off.

So I was miserable, exhausted and frustrated.

I kept telling my husband that everything dated back to when I got sick and subsequently quit smoking.

I just recently read in a book on Celiacs that smoking seems to keep the symptoms of Celiac somewhat under control. It is possible the nicotine is the reason. Which was interesting b/c I can not tell you how many times I damn near ran out and got a nicotine patch so I could "feel normal" (that is what I told my husband).

I hated smoking. I am glad to be rid of that bad habit. I don't miss it but I do miss feeling relatively normal.

I think the medical community would do well to investigate the medicinal effects of nicotine on Celiacs.