Smoking Linked To Increased Brain Lesions And Brain Shrinkage In MS (Topix)
 

People who smoke and have multiple sclerosis may be at increased risk of brain shrinkage and increased brain lesions related to the disease, according to a study published in the August 18, 2009, print issue of Neurologya, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.



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(From Topix Neurology)

Bull*edit*, Newysybot..:rolleyes: :D

Naaahhhh. that can't be right. load o tosh.

Bite me, Newsbot!

You're just a smoking nazbot.

I'll bet my brain's fatter than yours!

Thanks for posting Newsbot. Yet another reason for people who have MS to stop smoking. Someday there will be a perfect vaccine that will allow people to stop without withdrawal, maybe.

:eek:

:thud:

:yikes:

Poor Newsbot.........I bet he's gonna change his little mood icon now. Bless his heart. :(

uh... no comment, I guess. :icon_eek: Wiz backs away from the ashtray vewy vewy slowly... :Noooo: :plain: :lookaround:

Try having your husband who is a very anti smoker in the room with you while Your Neuro is explaining that smoking accelerates your progression of MS. That was not a good day being a smoker that I am. Now it is NAG NAG NAG.... Like we dont have enough problems to worry about.

I personally think Bot hasn't smoked the right tobacco. :cool:

I quit smoking 21 years ago and changed from a svelte, sweet girl to a mean thirty-five pounds heavier fat old lady!! :mad:

I still miss it and especially when I get on the scales to see how quitting has affected me. :eek:

If you smoke and enjoy it you have my blessing and if you decide to quit go for it but be prepared for some rough times and of course the dreaded weight gain.

If I were still smoking my brain would have happy lesions instead of evil ones! :rolleyes:

Are you referring to the "whacky tobacky"? :D :p

You guys are funny.

There was a study done recently clearly indicating life is fatal... but I haven't the desire to quit.

ba-dump-bump.

:OuttaHere:

The truth be known, we lose brain cells every day. It's the fat cells that stay forever..:D

I used to love smoking, every last one and still would rather smoke than eat however...there does seem to be a fair amount of research that indicates smoking isn't good for people with MS.

When I get to the physical state with MS where I feel there isn't any more hope I'll likely start again but in the meantime I'm hedging my bets by remaining smoke free. :(

Gosh, if we measured intelligence by fat cells............I'd be a genius!! :D

Sandy, is Jim still smoking Cigs or is he using e-cigs now?

I smoked from the time I was 18 thru age 68 and am now vaping, just low nicotine...no tobacco. My brain's just fine, TYVM..:D I do not have the type MS brain lesions that cause brain fog, either.

My brother died of prostate/colon cancer. He smoked all his life and his Doctor joked with him, that someone must have blown smoke up his Azz..:D

To much of any one thing can probably cause cancer....moderation in all things is the way I have tried to live and still am.

I hate fear mongering. :mad: Stop looking down on me because I smoke/Vape!!! http://home.earthlink.net/~sal.pal/s...res/tounge.gif :D:D

He's has smoked since the age of 16 and yes he still smokes cigs, only four a day though. His lesions, if any, are dim after 22 years and not noticeable nor has his brain shrunk although if he makes me mad I can be persuaded to say otherwise. haha

Everyone in my family that quit smoking died of something unrelated to smoking, just saying. Smoking isn't good for anyone but there are far worse things in my mind that can contribute to making anyone's ms worse like drinking. I am glad they said "some may" and not "all will" in their study.

I quit smoking a while back, but in my dreams I am always smoking or with my smoking friends.

I don't miss it per se, but I think I will always miss what I got out of it, relaxation. So in my colorful, vivid, dreams I am still a smoker.:rolleyes: I wonder why that is? :confused:

I didn't start smoking until my kids were past being teenagers. My MS was going down hill on a sled. I used it to comfort and reward myself too. My grown kids don't smoke.

Why I quit.
It got a bit too expensive, IMO, in my state. I never smoked that many cigs, a few a day, maybe 10 the most. Then went down to 3 a day for a long time, then patch at the smallest amount patch #3, for a few hours a day.

While visiting my Son and DIL in Ohio, I noticed the cost was less than half our cost, for a pack of cigs. Ridiculous.

Awww, stop picking on newsbot!

I smoked 2+ packs a day for, um, 12 years old to 46 years old. Except during 8 weeks in boot camp when they wouldn't let me smoke but 5 or 6 a day...

I quit when I had the open heart surgery in 2004. That was real easy. But I started back up a couple years later - less than a pack a day.

I quit again 3/16/2008. Had major surgery to repair aneurisyms 3/17/08...

I guess I'm a classic example of why smoking might be bad for you. Forget the MS and all.

Tom

When I quit in my early 20's it was after watching one of the most important people in my life die after a short illness. It was a preventable illness and death, but my sister didn't take care of herself well enough. She left behind four children under the age of 18. Her ex-husband, the father of the three oldest kids, had committed suicide about two weeks before she died.

She and I had tried to quit together numerous times. She had been like my second Mom, 13 1/2 years older than me. I didn't want to leave my kids like that if I could avoid it. I had a nearly one year old son at the time (my oldest.) She was only 37 years old.

I'm certain that I've had MS for many years. I have to wonder now that if I hadn't quit back then if it would have gotten worse than it did and if it wouldn't be as calm as it is right now (knock on genuine wood.)

I just want to say that I am happy for all of you who have bitten the bullet and quit smoking for your health's sake.:) :grouphug: There is no doubt in my mind that the poisons put into tobacco cigarettes, may be hazzardous to our health and yes, even cancer causing.:(

I have been lucky, not to have any of the possible horrible side effects of smoking and now I don't smoke, either..:cool: I am thrilled not to have the smoking stains and smell all over my house and person. My Family is also pleased.

I'm only making fun here, because of how they like to blame smoking for every illness known to mankind and that is just not true and insane. We have many causes for the illnesses that plague us. Some natural and some man made.

Blaming smoking for it all, gets our minds off of the all the poisons that are added ( with the FDA approval ) to our basic life giving and sustaining items, such as, food, air and water.

Stepping down..:D

smoking and brain lesions & shrinkage
 

Hello all, I cannot believe what I have just read... Destiny??? I just this moment sent a pm to mrsD about my brain lesions and brain shrinkage... Lordy.

Firstly, yes, I do smoke.

Secondly, I do not have MS although it was suspected during the "what the heck is wrong with this gal period" ...

Finally diagnosed with extreme case of pernicious anemia (lack of intrinsic factor to process b12 causing deficiency). Actually I was, as I like to say for dramatic purposes, 'the walking dead' ... pernicious means death. I was as close to depletion as I believe is possible. Have possible permanent damage to nerves in legs, arms and neck....

Anyway, my point is that the last neurologist I saw to diagnose MS, said the good news is that you do not have MS. The bad news is that your lesions are more of the old age type and you have the brain of an 80+ year old (I'm a young 59). AND your brain is atrophied. Lots of space between brain and skull. :eek:

It seems I fit the bill for that study! Whether or not I quit, the damage is done. The exhaustion imposed by the PA has been life altering... unable to work for over 6 years. real couch potato..etc... Depression and lack of energy are two of many many symptoms of PA ... most of which I had, but no one noticed. Hard to believe that something as simple as a vitamin deficiency can almost kill you and be soooo difficult to diagnose.

Anyway, I'm babbling. I just could not believe my eyes that I just wrote a post about the very thing you are discussing here... Is this a sign I should stop -- or is it too late and I'll enjoy my life on the porch with my cigs & coffee. Any thoughts from anyone.... I really enjoyed reading all your comments! :o

Hi Pearly girl. I am so sorry for your DX of PA. I've never heard of it..:( What are you and your Doc doing to treat the disease and stop the progression?

Much love and good luck to you..:hug:

pernicious anemia
 

Hi Sally! .. the gal with the greatest one-line signature ...

There is only one treatment: massive doses of B12 everyday for the rest of your life. Thanks for asking!

Quitting smoking was a tough one for me, I was so addicted I would drag my IV pole full of chemotherapy out to the smoking area because I couldn't wait another hour for the IV drip to finish. I was miserable and I need a cigarette much more than I needed the chemotherapy drip to finish. So there I was in the middle of winter, with an IV bag hanging onto the catheter in my neck, and a cigarette dangling from my fingers. Oh, how fashionable I was. I made one excuse after the other and believed every one of them. I wasn't ready to quit. When I finally did quit, I did it for me, nobody else, just me. I had harassed by friends, family, and coworkers. My DH and DS DD used to ask me almost daily to please quit. I did try many times, and I failed many times. I prayed about it, I worried about it, and I stressed about it.

It was long after the chemotherapy was finished and my blood work went sideways showing all sorts of inflammatory markers, and I began to worry the cancer was trying to return, but I got the courage to pray harder. I went to the doctor and asked for the nicotine inhaler. It was one of the best things I ever did, but I was ready. I was ready to do it for me, nobody else, for no other reason, it was only about me. When I stopped smoking my blood work almost instantly dropped back down to normal levels. What I didn't know then, is that I had MS and I was in a flare or a relapse. I was dropping my left foot, and had fuzzy vision in my left eye. That alone would explain the increase in levels of my blood work. Had I even suspected MS, I probably would not have had the courage to stop.

I am so happy I did. I smell better. I no longer have that funny little cough. And I spend my money on a better selection of toys. It was hard work for the first couple of months, but after that it got easier and easier. I know I'm one of those people that can never, ever pick up a cigarette even for just one puff. I know with just one puff I would be instantly hooked all over again. I know how hard this struggle is to lay them down. I don't envy the task for anyone, but I'm ever so glad I took the journey. And the famous line is, if I can do it anyone can.

:hug: to those who can,:hug: to those who can't.

I think this is a record for NewsBot! I don't think he's ever gotten this many responses to one of his "news flashes"! :D Bless his little heart.....:rolleyes:

Newsbot knows how to start a comotion. He/she should be banned for flaming..:D:D:D

Pernicious anemia, which is a B12 deficiency caused by the gut not able to absorb B12 from food, is one of the most missed diagnoses, especially in the elderly. Sometimes, a serum test will not pick it up, only a urine MMA test will, especially in th elderly.

Sometimes B12 injections can partly reverse the damage, sometimes not.

Ys, it can lead to death.

Was your doc negligent in assessing you, or did you jsut never go to see docs?

PA is a mimicker of MS.

B12 hard to diagnose & mimics MS
 

Thanks so much for verifying what I said ;) PG

Funny how my first MRI (having smoked for 22 years) showed one lesion...then I quit in August 2009 and the last MRI in August 2010 showed several lesions.

I certainly agree with that weight issue, it just makes ya feel worse AND no nicotine to help with that emotional rollercoaster...lol

I still crave the smoke, really bad sometimes, but for me it helps to smell it while someone else is smoking...weird, I know.

I didn't smoke but I have to run now, time for my vicotin prescribed by my doctor. :cool:

No, my doctor is not House

I had an interesting experience about smoking about a month ago.

I was in the "casting" room to be fitted for a giant plastic hateful plastic monstrosity for my broken toes. (can you tell I hated my cast?)

The large room was made into small cubicles by hanging curtains. That mean one could hear everything said on the other side of the curtain.

A guy had fallen off his ladder and broken the heel of his foot. The casting guy asked if he smoked cigarettes. The guy said yes. Then the casting guy told him the bones would not heal because he smoked. The doctor came in and said he could not operate if the guy continued to smoke.

The two of them really got serious with the man and what smoking was doing from a medical standpoint.

I felt bad for the guy. I could tell it was not going to be easy to stop smoking plus having to do it cold turkey. There was not much choice.

Wow, Cyn, what those Docs did, is just awful. Shame on them..:mad: I hope the guy got a real Doctor to operate.

@Sally. no, they were just telling him the options because he smoked. They recognized it was difficult but it was all medically motivated. A doctor willing to take the poor guy's money would be the bad doctor. The doctors were nice. I could just hear how difficult it was going to be for him.

I just felt sorry for him. I do not remember what the doctors said but it was brutally honest. He had the option to keep smoking. It was one of those "reality bites."

I did not realize there is a correlation between bone healing and smoking. Lungs yes but bone repair, no. Not until I heard them giving him the information.

I have a friend who needs some eye surgery done, and they refuse to operate on her till she is at least 3 months smoke free. Not cut back, or cut down, but smoke free.

My sister who is a hypochondriac runs from MD to MD looking for pills or surgery or whatever, and she too is recently finding many MDs wont touch her till she quits smoking. She needs her replacment hip to be repaired and they wont touch her till she has quit for six months. She has lied to several and told them she stopped, but they smell it on her, and told her when her blood test show clean, they can fix it.

Smoking is horrible for you. :hug:

After all these years we are just now finding out smoking causes bone healing problems? How did all those bones heal back in the day when everyone smoked? I think, for me, no matter how nice they were, I'd have gone to another facility. Don't get me wrong, I am planning to quit new years (I know, you've heard it before) but that's just so strange to hear that a doctor will not do bone surgery unless a patient stops smoking. Maybe they are right but I'd seek a second opinion to be sure. Now, excuse me while I go research some of this stuff. Jim's doctor told us smoking increases UTI's. Since cutting down to 3-4 a day he does seem to have less UTI issues, actually none in a couple of years. Or maybe it's the macrobid he takes. We think it may be both?

it surprised me too. I am sorry I cannot give more details than just a quick overview. It was the orthopedic surgeon from Mayo here in Scottsdale.

It really started with the "cast" guy and then was repeated when the surgeon came in. It was nothing personal. It was just the facts and statistics.

@SandyC. good luck with quitting smoking. It took me 4-5 tries before I succeeded. The thing that put me over the edge were massive headaches. I would get one when I gave in and smoked a cigarette and again when I would quit. The thought of a headache was my deterrent!

I also would buy a pack and throw away the pack, keeping just one cigarette. Got too expensive!

For what it is worth, it took me about six months and my craving disappeared. Maybe my tactics can help you.:)

I have no plans on quitting my 1 pack/day of Lights but a girl in MS support group quit and said it helps. She had a MAJOR relapse while quitting (can't win) but she says the MS is better now. Used Chantix.

Well, I have "far advanced brain atrophy for someone my age" according to brain MRI report done six years ago.

I have smoked six cigs a day since I was 12 yrs old. I am down to four cigs a day with smoking only half of each cig. SO WHY THE **** DONT I QUIT!!!!

I don't know why...:thud:

I sorta wanna quit but I think I'm stuck in Dejibo's "I DONT WANNA"
but now that I got my medical records and discovered that I have a small lung disease starting...NOW I will quit. But dont hold your breaths!:winky: