Smoking and MS
 

Smoking causes inflammation throughout the human body and it is thought that MS is a disease worsened by inflammation. I have heard many people say that those with MS and smoking will have a much worse time with the disease. And research is beginning to show that now as well.

I have a niece with MS who has always smoked, diagnosed about the same age as me. She has total disability and has for more than five years, with only the use of her right hand now. I am 54 years old and still walking, and working full time. I quit smoking in my early 20s. If you smoke, quit, if not for your MS, then for your quality of life in general and for your family. :hug:

Thank you so much for your enlightening reply. Hearing about real comparisons is what I need and you have done that perfectly. I have noticed the less I smoke my symptoms aren't as bad, and was just curious as to why and how that would be. I know smoking depletes oxygen, and was wondering how that worked in with the inflammation? How does swelling occur with lack of oxygen? Sorry if I'm asking silly questions, I'm new to all this with just being diagnosed Oct 2011.

Thank you again.

Well as someone who is a former smoker and loved every puff I ever took this is a topic that I felt I had to address in my personal life. Yes it does seem as if smoking can possibly increase the chance of being diagnosed as well as the progression of multiple sclerosis. I was not able to reconcile taking a chance with something that might increase the damage this disease will do to me so I quit for the last time over 6 years ago.

In addition to what appears to be credible studies another reason I took such heed to the mumblings of the extra dangers of smoking for people with ms was a post I read on a ms message board. This member described going to a large MS convention and not being able to get close enough to use to the ash tray because of all the people in wheel chairs gathered around them. That image haunts me on several levels. :(

Google scholar resulted in over 46,000 hits for: smoking and multiple sclerosis
Note those parameters also included marijuana articles.

"These results support the hypothesis that cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis, and suggest that smoking may be a risk factor for transforming a relapsing–remitting clinical course into a secondary progressive course." from:
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/128/6/1461.full

These aren't silly questions! I enjoy thoughtful posts that result in stimulating conversation. This is how we learn and then share what we know. :)

This article offered some thoughts on the nuts and bolts of why smoking might be extra bad for people with ms. From: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/154/1/69.full

"How smoking may be related to the increased incidence of MS is unclear. The link might depend on the immuno-modulatory effects of smoking, although the evidence is sketchy. Different components of cigarette smoke may cause either immunosuppression (e.g., nicotine) or immuno-stimulation (e.g., tobacco glycoprotein) (3, 4). A predisposition to autoimmune responses in smokers has been suggested (34), and indeed, smoking has been found to be associated with an elevated risk of developing some autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (8⇔⇔⇔–12), systemic lupus erythematosus (6, 7), Graves' disease (35, 36), and Crohn's disease (37), but not others, such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis (36) and ulcerative colitis (37).

An alternative mechanism could involve a direct effect of cigarette smoke components on the blood-brain barrier. Nicotine has been shown to increase microvascular blood flow on the brain (38, 39) and to raise the influx of permeable solutes across the blood-brain barrier in rats (40). Leakage of the blood-brain barrier has been suggested as an initiating event in the development of MS (41).

Another possibility is that some components of cigarette smoke may have direct toxic effects on the central nervous system. Cyanide, a component of cigarette smoke (42), for which levels in the blood—and levels of its main metabolite, thiocyanate—are strongly correlated with amount of smoking (43, 44), has long been known to cause demyelination in the central nervous system of animals administered comparatively large (45⇔⇔⇔⇔⇔⇔⇔⇔⇔–55), and possibly also lower (2, 56), doses. Demyelination is produced more successfully with repeated doses of cyanide than with one single, massive dose. This compound has also been implicated in epidemics of tropical spastic paraparesis (57, 58) and optic neuropathy (5, 59), diseases that share some clinical features with MS but that are characterized by symmetric bilateral symptoms and no history of relapses (5, 60).

Smoking might also increase the risk of MS by increasing the frequency and persistence of respiratory infections (13). For example, some reports (61) describe an association between Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and MS, and it has been shown that C. pneumoniae-specific antibodies are higher in smokers than in nonsmokers (62, 63). However, this association has not been confirmed (64), and the relevance of any of these or other mechanisms to the association between smoking and MS remains to be established."

before I knew I had MS my blood work went screwy with inflammation. The MD told me in no cut terms. you MUST quit or some bad things are about to happen to you. She said my CRP was off the chart, my inflammatory markers were going wild, so she predicted some event headed at me and the best thing I could do was quit. So...I quit. my blood work improved, my other indicators dropped, and while it wasnt easy, it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Now with them at 7 and 8 dollars a pack im glad I did.

JulesA thank you so much! You have given me some wonderful information. Thank you also for making me feel comfortable in the questions I ask. I have always been very analytical and inqusitive and I tend to listen to personal experience rather then medical degree. I know some may not agree with that, though I believe like they say no one with MS is exactly the same and symptoms change, along with come and go.

I feel its time for me to give up and watch my health improve.

At the moment I am just hoping to gain a lot of information from others with MS because my newest Neurologist is now questioning if I have MS. Four lesions on the brain and he states it could be due to aging (Im 32) has left me rather frustrated.

Thank you again for the wonderful information and its great to talk with people that like to look deeper into things.

:)

Hi Dejibo,

Thanks for your reply. I know Im going to have to give up. I can remember when I got my first MS symptom which was a tingling tongue I went and seen the Dr. Went my blood results came back she said all my symptoms along with the tingling tongue were from smoking.

I was annoyed to say the least, because I didn't think that was possible. I feel it could make me unhealthy but not cause all the symptoms I was having.

I am definately going to start the thought process of giving up and I will slowly cut down until I need them no longer.

Thanks for all your help.
:)

Well, I smoked for 50 years and enjoyed almost every minute of it. When I got older(late 60s, I began to hate the tobacco smoke in my house and in my lungs, so I quit.

Because I always enjoyed the act of smoking (very relaxing), I purchased some E-cigs about 5/6 years ago and never looked back. I still have the joy of puffing vapor (looks like smoke until it dissipates)

I found, through experience and investigation, that Nicotine was good for MS as it is sort of Neuro protective. Sooooo, I have a little, not a lot of nicotine in my Vaper Juice.

I was never convinced that my light smoking (pack per day) was causing me much, if any, ill health and it didn't have any long term effects. My lungs are clear, my heart is strong and my BP is normal.

I realize that many smokers, especially heavy smokers, can and do suffer Illnesses, some leading to death. I was lucky as are others who smoke until they die of natural causes.

I admit my lungs and whole body felt and feel better/healthier, without the Tobacco smoke, though and my house is so much cleaner.

I am now taking a long puff of my Joye Ciggy and blowing the harmless vapor atcha..;).. BTW, the hospital let me have my vapor puffs, while there in November..:cool::cool:

Hi Sally!

Thank you for your reply! Your a beautiful breath of fresh air! ;)

I too enjoy my smoking. I actually roll my own and just use pipe tobacco - so supposedly they are a lot less harmful because they dont have the same amount of nicotine in them. Do you know if this is true?

I do feel worse if say I smoke Marlboros compared to just the rollies. It might just be a silly little part in my brain thinking that, though Im pretty certain its what Im experiencing. :D

I have heard about the E Cigs but as it goes, supposedly they are just as bad for you? What do you know about them?

Reading the WWW can sometimes be more harm then good with the wide range of opinions so like I said in my previous post, I like hearing from real experiences then truly believing what I read.

I would love to hear what you have to say about them.

Thanks! :)

If you have an inquiring mind I'd encourage you to continue getting comfortable with doing some of your own research and being able to ferret out what constitutes valid sources. While I totally enjoy reading about personal real-life experiences there is also value in reputable studies. I also find I often learn something unexpected that I wasn’t even considering when I'm searching on a topic.

Google Scholar is our friend.

Sadly on message boards there can be a tendency to elevate someone who writes in an authoritative manner and my real interest lies in evaluating their sources and knowing their background before I crown someone an arm chair expert. :wink:

The E-cigs have not been proven to be bad for you. It's all conjecture, mostly from the tobacco conglomerate/FDA partnership.:rolleyes:

As far as tobacco smoke with or without nicotine, hurting you, look at how it coats your home with a yucky dirty coat. Same thing coating your lungs. It may not be as harmfull to all, as they say it is , but I decided I didn't want it coating me nor my surroundings anylonger.

You're right, you're going to find the pros, cons, scams, truths and lies about everything, when you check Online. But so far, unless Uncle Sam jumps in:mad:, it's still your choice....Do what is right for you, not your neighbor!!

I haven't had a cigarette for 21 years...and smoked only a pack a week max.

And I STILL miss it...but I promised I wouldn't smoke ever again...

You'd think I would have never begun after watching my dad die on the kitchen floor of a heart attack when I was 17 and having my mom die of lung cancer when I was 20. My older sis just died of a heart attack after resuming smoking...

But wisdom isn't easy to come by, I guess...

My advice would be to get off of the cancer sticks. Try this: find photos of rotted, diseased lungs. Imagine them inside of your ribcage. Think of what the effects of dying of a tobacco-induced disease will do to those who love you.
cigarette smoking is a very difficult addiction to kick, but well worth it...especially for our loved ones!!

I watched my sister die a horrible death at age 37 due to a brain aneurysm. They couldn't get her blood pressure under control because without cigarettes, her pressure went through the roof. So she died young two weeks after getting very ill, all related to smoking. I quit shortly after her funeral.

My sister in law died from lung cancer, literally drown in her own disease before our eyes. :( My brother still smokes after seeing and experiencing that. We know that smoking is very bad for us.

My 40 year old niece quit after a diagnosis of throat cancer, she survived the treatment, but she has no tastebuds left because of the radiation treatment.

It was hard for me to quit because I really, really enjoyed it too. But I had to choose between smoking and life. I didn't want to leave my children behind.

If you make a plan and quit we will support you here, we are a good support network here. :)

I have burning mouth syndrome. While it's uncertain WHY I have this, it's suspected to be due to a brain stem lesion from my MS.

I've had it since 2007, it's dreadful, but it's controlled by medications and eased by chewing gum, drinking fluids, etc.

Long story short, before I found 'solutions' to ease the discomfort and pain, I was a 2 pack a day smoker. I had smoked from age 18 to age 31. Then I met my now husband, a non smoker.

I distinctly remember sitting outside my apartment building one night, puffing back another smoke. Agony with this burning mouth, newly diagnosed with MS, about to go and actually meet this man (future hubby) who I'd only seen photos of who I knew would NEVER date a smoker (hello incentive! lol) and I guess it was just that 'moment' I needed to finally quit.

It was all so clear, and I just did it. I finished that cigarette and quit, cold turkey.

Nearly relapsed, but I quit and quit for good. Not a puff since. Not even a thought of going back to it. I had started taking Clonazepam for the burning mouth situation just prior to deciding to quit. I found out later than it's a medication that's sometimes used to help people quit smoking.

Go figure, it had never been that easy before! So a win win situation for me I guess, because the medication was beginning to help with the mouth pain and I managed to quit.

Best decision of my life = quitting the dirty ciggies. Best of luck to those who decide to go ahead with it, it's not easy to quit. Anyone who's smoked for any period of time knows this. :grouphug: