Vaporizer for treating colitis. Any experience?

[Bp968]

I've seen a fair bit of research recently showing a positive effect from nicotine use for people suffering from a flair up of Ulcerative Colitis. I tried the nicotine patch and it was, unpleasant. Apparently going from a nonsmoker to the patch can be a shocking experience. A few patients I've talked with have had some good results with the vaporizers so I figured its worth a shot.

are there any suggestions for starter kits with the stipulation that I be able to have some reasonable control over the "dosage"? I think 10mg a day seems like a reasonable starting point, considering how unpleasant the 14mg patches were its possible I'll need to start lower.

another question I had was about the liquid and it's various concentrations. One thing I thought might work well is using the higher dosage liquid but using it less throughout the day. I figure if for example it's 30mg/ml then you could use 1/3rd a ml instead of using 10mg/ml liquid and using the whole ml. Of course I could be totally off on how it all operates. I'm still doing my research at the moment but figured I'd toss a post out and see what people suggested.

I did did try my neighbors vision spinner. It was certainly a interesting experience for a non smoker.

 

[steved5600]

We do NOT give out Medical advice here. Sorry it just opens up to much of a can of worms. As an Ex smoker I would say find another solution. But most of all you need to be asking your doctor about this. Hate to see a non smoker pick this up as a habit. There are other ways to get nicotine. FYI 30mg per ml is very high and not for a non smoker. You get that 30mg very quickly because it goes from lung to blood pow. Hope you feel better.

 

[dw117]

We do NOT give out Medical advice here. Sorry it just opens up to much of a can of worms. As an Ex smoker I would say find another solution. But most of all you need to be asking your doctor about this. Hate to see a non smoker pick this up as a habit. There are other ways to get nicotine. FYI 30mg per ml is very high and not for a non smoker. You get that 30mg very quickly because it goes from lung to blood pow. Hope you feel better.

I'd agree with this. In general getting medical advice from the internet (especially general public such as here, not medical professionals) is a no no for me. I guess as a UC sufferer you already must have done but talk to a gastroenterologist (or 2) specifically about this if you're serious. I have heard of nicotine being helpful to intestinal issues but I'd never just 'suck it and see'. Apologies if you have already spoken to a doctor about this option.

Just to put this in a bit of context my other half also has UC so while not an expert I am very familiar with it.

 

[dw117]

Also yeah to re-inforce what steved5600 said. 30mg/ml is a strong e liquid, definitely too strong for someone who isn't a smoker currently.

I would say the general consensus from users of this forum is that vaping should only be used for people who used to smoke. In general I wouldn't recommend getting into it if you are not already a nicotine user.

For some additional context about nicotine levels. I went from smoking 3-6 cigarettes a day to vaping a similar amount of 12 or 18mg/ml and haven't felt any withdrawl at all, so I'm probably either hitting or exceeding my previous nicotine intake.

 

[GinnyTx]

yeah I gotta say same here ...no "telemedicine" on the ECF for me..but what I will say is talk with your GI doc, it's not an uncommon phenomenon with UC to see folks who didn't smoke that have it start smoking (back in my nursing school days, I don't do much GI work, past taking a patient in for a scope or polyp removal, too messy for me, neuroscience is my gig) but I do know we're not really sure as to why it works, or appears to, immune suppression, increased mucous in the gut, inhibition of interleukins, etc. smoking vs nicotine is new to say the least. There are more and more docs aware of vaping if your doc doesn't know find one that does and read the studies going on.

If you're on steroids for it...I'd not stop or start anything without consulting your GI Doc or his nurse in conjunction with the doc.

good luck and I'm sorry UC sucks the big one. *HUGS*

 

[D. Waterhouse]

I'm not a doctor and don't know if this is a good idea or not but if you are looking for 10mg a day:


Liquid strength is measured in milligrams per milliliter and the average light to medium vaper using off the shelf, nonrebuildable toppers goes through about 3 ml a day, I'd say look for 3mg liquid. MT. Baker Vapor has it at good prices.

 

[Myxlpyxlx]

If the patch is messing with you ask your doctor about the gum, suckers or hard candies. I know one person with UC that uses the mints and she was a non smoker that the patch would give her hives.

 

[Cool-breeze]

I'm going to go on the assumption that you did talk to your doctor and he/ she suggested vaping as an alternative to the patch. I have no clue about your medical condition but I know a decent amount about vape gear. So I will give you advice on vaping and trust you are an adult capable of making your own decisions.

The 'dosage' is adjusted mainly by how much you vape and liquid strength. Yes there are many other things that can effect how much nic you get but I'm trying to keep it simple. As a non smoker I would think 6mg would be the starting point. Yes you could get 12 mg and vape half as much but nicotine makes a huge impact on throat hit. If you are not familiar with TH I'm not really sure how to describe it besides saying it can cause you to cough and be very unpleasant to your throat. If you have a local vape shop see if they have samples you can try. How much nic/ day did your doc recommend? I ask because if you're only looking for a couple mg/ day the lozenges may be cheaper and you can take a 'dose' anytime. For a battery the MVP is the most recommended on here which I completely agree with. For the topper that holds the liquid a mini protank, t3s or nautilus are fairly common and user friendly.

I tend to be with those that do not advocate non smokers begin vaping BUT I'm more so a person who advocates you're an adult so you get to make your own decisions. Regardless of what you do I hope you find relief for your condition.

 

[v1k1ng1001]

I tend to be with those that do not advocate non smokers begin vaping BUT I'm more so a person who advocates you're an adult so you get to make your own decisions. Regardless of what you do I hope you find relief for your condition.

I agree with this. I teach medical ethics and the central value that is supposed to anchor western medicine is informed consent--which respects the autonomy of the patient--as opposed to paternalism whereby the physician exercises all authority and agency. Too often we see the former collapsed into latter due to systemic imperatives like efficiency. Physicians are not gods and, many times, there are these systemic reasons that prevent them from really listening to their patient's needs and/or considering alternative therapies.

To make a long story short, I think it's worth considering alternative palliative therapies. My father, both a licensed pharmacist and pharmaceutical sales rep, sold the nicotine patch--we used to have boxes of samples laying around. Let's face it, they're awful. With vaping, you can have a peasurable experience and self-regulate the amount of nicotine you're taking in. I don't think you have much to lose in terms of experimenting with vaping 6 mg of nicotine. If it works wonders, stick with it. If the benefits are marginal, it may not be worth continuing. If vaping really alleviates colitis, I wouldn't even be worried about developing an addiction. The funny thing about vaping is that, unlike cigarette smoking, I can walk away from it--it's not nearly as addicting as smoking.

Along the same lines, I have had many friends suffer from colitis. Some have suffered their entire lives. One came to the point of almost dying from anemia. In these cases, their physicians were constrained in such a way that they had very little to offer them. What ended up being the case is that their colitis was related to a food sensitivity that could only be discovered and remedied by dietary trial and error. I would consider eliminating gluten from your diet (not easy) and see what happens. Next try eliminating dairy, etc.

Good luck with your condition and I hope you find relief in the short and long term!!

PS The MVP is a great piece of equipment.

 

[Wow1420]

Welcome to ECF!

Did you do a search here on ECF? I know there have been discussions here before on this topic. I believe one or two posters shared details of their experience and how vaping affected their condition. Post a few more times in this thread, once you get to 5 posts, you'll be able to post in the other sections and send private messages.

I have noting against adult non-smokers who decide to start vaping. Everyone has to make their own choices in life. However, regarding nicotine strength, my advice is don't start with 30mg. That's too high for someone who isn't used to it. 30mg would knock most non-nicotine users to the floor. 6mg might be a much more comfortable starting point. If you need to, you can increase from there. I fully understand the idea that vaping less at higher strength might be preferable over vaping low strength and needing to do it all the time. But work your way up in steps(if needed) you really don't want to over do it. Too much nicotine can cause nausea and headaches among other things.

Another suggestion I have if you go ahead with this, is to try vaping unflavored e-liquid. You're not vaping to replace another habit or for enjoyment. Unflavored may be all you need. One of the reasons I say this is because if there's any health risk in vaping, it probably lays in inhaling flavoring substances that were intended to be eaten, not inhaled. The nicotine, VG and PG in unflavored liquids are fairly well understood and apparently low risk for inhaling. But we really don't now about the flavoring. Why take on that risk if you don't need to?

OK, I use flavorings myself most of the time, I think don't think the risk is large, but something to think about and be aware of. Unflavored e-liquid is also cheaper than the flavored flavored types if cost is a concern.

 

[Bp968]

Very well informed response. Thanks! For those saying no medical advice I'll say I guess I worded things wrong. First, I see multiple specialists for both UC and other more serious conditions and I can honestly say that if nicotine works it will be harm REDUCTION compared to the current alternatives. The asacol type drugs do not work (in fact I react badly to them), Imuran didn't work and gave me acute pancrentitis (you do not want that, trust me), leaving me the option of steroids every few months (eventually fatal, the side effects have already effected my vision, and only from a few years use) or biologicals (remecade, humira, etc). Between those options, and the frighteningly high percentages of CRC and CCA in people lucky enough to have all the things I have I'm really not to terribly worried about the potentially (low) likelihood of long term health problems.

Slightly off topic, but interesting none the less, is some research done on the patch in relation to colitis. They gave people up to 20(ish)mg patches and over (I think) a 9-12 month period they didn't have any patients have problems with addiction. Basically as long as they didn't smoke they didn't get addicted. I wonder if that carries over to other nicotine delivery methods (vaping for example)? Again, the alternatives (for me) are much worse then vaping is likely to ever be, but it's interesting research regardless.

As for diet, I've tried a few methods (the sca diet or whatever its called) but I honestly haven't tried gluten free. There is zero evidence to suggest it works but enough people have suggested it I feel like trying it just to shut them up (and it's unlikely to harm me, so why not?). I'll be honest when I say I don't hold much hope in diets at this point.

I agree with this. I teach medical ethics and the central value that is supposed to anchor western medicine is informed consent--which respects the autonomy of the patient--as opposed to paternalism whereby the physician exercises all authority and agency. Too often we see the former collapsed into latter due to systemic imperatives like efficiency. Physicians are not gods and, many times, there are these systemic reasons that prevent them from really listening to their patient's needs and/or considering alternative therapies.

To make a long story short, I think it's worth considering alternative palliative therapies. My father, both a licensed pharmacist and pharmaceutical sales rep, sold the nicotine patch--we used to have boxes of samples laying around. Let's face it, they're awful. With vaping, you can have a peasurable experience and self-regulate the amount of nicotine you're taking in. I don't think you have much to lose in terms of experimenting with vaping 6 mg of nicotine. If it works wonders, stick with it. If the benefits are marginal, it may not be worth continuing. If vaping really alleviates colitis, I wouldn't even be worried about developing an addiction. The funny thing about vaping is that, unlike cigarette smoking, I can walk away from it--it's not nearly as addicting as smoking.

Along the same lines, I have had many friends suffer from colitis. Some have suffered their entire lives. One came to the point of almost dying from anemia. In these cases, their physicians were constrained in such a way that they had very little to offer them. What ended up being the case is that their colitis was related to a food sensitivity that could only be discovered and remedied by dietary trial and error. I would consider eliminating gluten from your diet (not easy) and see what happens. Next try eliminating dairy, etc.

Good luck with your condition and I hope you find relief in the short and long term!!

PS The MVP is a great piece of equipment.

 

[v1k1ng1001]

The asacol type drugs do not work (in fact I react badly to them), Imuran didn't work and gave me acute pancrentitis (you do not want that, trust me), leaving me the option of steroids every few months (eventually fatal, the side effects have already effected my vision, and only from a few years use) or biologicals (remecade, humira, etc). Between those options, and the frighteningly high percentages of CRC and CCA in people lucky enough to have all the things I have I'm really not to terribly worried about the potentially (low) likelihood of long term health problems.

As for diet, I've tried a few methods (the sca diet or whatever its called) but I honestly haven't tried gluten free. There is zero evidence to suggest it works but enough people have suggested it I feel like trying it just to shut them up (and it's unlikely to harm me, so why not?). I'll be honest when I say I don't hold much hope in diets at this point.

Jesus that's awful, but also typical of modern industrialized medicine--just throw a bunch of pills at you until you're sicker. I would rather chain smoke cigars than risk Pancrentitis.

Your colitis might not be related to food sensitivities so diet might not be the answer. I just suggested it because it was overlooked by the medical establishment. One of my friends did not find out she was gluten sensitive until she was 18. By that time her growth had been severely stunted because she was unable to digest much of her food and rendered chronically anemic. Now she's fine, but if she even has a hint of gluten in her food (e.g. eggs made on the same grill as pancakes) she has horrible symptoms for two weeks. Another friend, the one who almost died, developed gluten sensitivity at age 23 and it took him 3 years to figure it out--doctors were no help.

At any rate, I think you're doing the right thing in investigating and asking questions on your own. Keep at it and I hope you find a solution and/or relief.

 

[CDinNM]

Very well informed response. Thanks! For those saying no medical advice I'll say I guess I worded things wrong. First, I see multiple specialists for both UC and other more serious conditions and I can honestly say that if nicotine works it will be harm REDUCTION compared to the current alternatives. The asacol type drugs do not work (in fact I react badly to them), Imuran didn't work and gave me acute pancrentitis (you do not want that, trust me), leaving me the option of steroids every few months (eventually fatal, the side effects have already effected my vision, and only from a few years use) or biologicals (remecade, humira, etc). Between those options, and the frighteningly high percentages of CRC and CCA in people lucky enough to have all the things I have I'm really not to terribly worried about the potentially (low) likelihood of long term health problems.

Slightly off topic, but interesting none the less, is some research done on the patch in relation to colitis. They gave people up to 20(ish)mg patches and over (I think) a 9-12 month period they didn't have any patients have problems with addiction. Basically as long as they didn't smoke they didn't get addicted. I wonder if that carries over to other nicotine delivery methods (vaping for example)? Again, the alternatives (for me) are much worse then vaping is likely to ever be, but it's interesting research regardless.

As for diet, I've tried a few methods (the sca diet or whatever its called) but I honestly haven't tried gluten free. There is zero evidence to suggest it works but enough people have suggested it I feel like trying it just to shut them up (and it's unlikely to harm me, so why not?). I'll be honest when I say I don't hold much hope in diets at this point.

You sound like my next door neighbor, she went through pretty much ALL of the same experience as you have mentioned. She decided to stop the steroids about a year to year and a half ago, so generally speaking, she told me she ended the medical treatment route simply because it was causing more problems/other problems with greater side effects and opening the door to other more serious health issues than just the UC, and she figured she'd find a way to manage the UC better some how.

I asked her what she did, this is what she told me. What she did was go to a gluten-free or more of a gluten-reduced diet. She added an oral capsule based supplement of quality gut flora/gut bacteria that contained all the 12 strains of flora found in the human digestive tract, she takes one capsule with every meal, I guess a good quality supplement contains stuff that balances the pH in each of the different ranges found in the different segments of the digestive tract. She got that from a health food store. Then, she added veggies that were high in nicotine to her diet-she found that info on the internet. After about 2-3 weeks she had noticed quite a relief in her UC symptoms, that's when she added vaping to her program. She vapes a menthol with 3mg nicotine, she told me she would have done 6mg's but she thought the veggies were getting about 3mg's into the picture, so she started with 3mg's in her vape liquid. She really liked what the vaping has changed for her in the overall. She chose the menthol simply because she was always doing mints, she wanted to get away from the artificial sweetners that were in the mints. I asked how many time she was hitting the vape a day she told me about 2-3 short hits a couple seconds each consecutively per hour/maybe 2 hours or so.

I can tell you that all those simple things she put together have made a difference in her life, a big difference. She has been sick with UC for years, now she is having no issues whatsoever. I guess everyone's mileage would vary on how they approached the problem and what they would do, but I have to say that she had great success so far with her choices.

After watching her go through all she had in the past, and to see her now, I was blown away by how simply she put together the things she did and how for her alt least they have so effective. I learned quite a bit about vaping from her, she was probably the single-most reason I decided to start vaping and quit smoking. I started reading things here on this website and a few other websites and decided vaping was going to be my method to get off the cigs and it has done for me what I wanted to do and then some.

CD

 

[Bp968]

I would LOVE if you could find out which probiotic supplements she is using. The brand I used changed their formula and now I'm searching for a new one. The probiotics have been more effective then any other treatment, bar none. If yu could find out the products name that would rock!

I have to be a little careful with some supplements since I'm not your typical UC patient, I have PSC (bile duct inflammation). That limits me on some med choices.

More on topic, I'm hitting a shop in the morning and looking at the three kits that seem to stand out to me are the innokin itaste v3 (my inner nerd loves the display), the innokin MVP 2.0 (seems to be well liked but 20$ more then the other two) and the vision spinner 2.0. Reccommendations?

How about the tank/atomizer? My neighbors sons model was a lower end "tank" bit and it seemed to take effort to get it inhaled while her tank/atomizer model was glass and steel I think and it felt almost like a scuba regulator (positive pressure). I'd much prefer one like hers!

Thanks a ton for all the suggestions.

You sound like my next door neighbor, she went through pretty much ALL of the same experience as you have mentioned. She decided to stop the steroids about a year to year and a half ago, so generally speaking, she told me she ended the medical treatment route simply because it was causing more problems/other problems with greater side effects and opening the door to other more serious health issues than just the UC, and she figured she'd find a way to manage the UC better some how.

I asked her what she did, this is what she told me. What she did was go to a gluten-free or more of a gluten-reduced diet. She added an oral capsule based supplement of quality gut flora/gut bacteria that contained all the 12 strains of flora found in the human digestive tract, she takes one capsule with every meal, I guess a good quality supplement contains stuff that balances the pH in each of the different ranges found in the different segments of the digestive tract. She got that from a health food store. Then, she added veggies that were high in nicotine to her diet-she found that info on the internet. After about 2-3 weeks she had noticed quite a relief in her UC symptoms, that's when she added vaping to her program. She vapes a menthol with 3mg nicotine, she told me she would have done 6mg's but she thought the veggies were getting about 3mg's into the picture, so she started with 3mg's in her vape liquid. She really liked what the vaping has changed for her in the overall. She chose the menthol simply because she was always doing mints, she wanted to get away from the artificial sweetners that were in the mints. I asked how many time she was hitting the vape a day she told me about 2-3 short hits a couple seconds each consecutively per hour/maybe 2 hours or so.

I can tell you that all those simple things she put together have made a difference in her life, a big difference. She has been sick with UC for years, now she is having no issues whatsoever. I guess everyone's mileage would vary on how they approached the problem and what they would do, but I have to say that she had great success so far with her choices.

After watching her go through all she had in the past, and to see her now, I was blown away by how simply she put together the things she did and how for her alt least they have so effective. I learned quite a bit about vaping from her, she was probably the single-most reason I decided to start vaping and quit smoking. I started reading things here on this website and a few other websites and decided vaping was going to be my method to get off the cigs and it has done for me what I wanted to do and then some.

CD

 

[Bp968]

Any news from your neighbor? I'd love to hear from her and what she did. I need to post one more message after this one and I can pm. I'll pm you my contact info when I can.

Btw I did get a vaporizer and am trying 6mg/ml right now. I take so many medications, some of which have pretty potent effects (look up nucynta if your bored) that I don't want to jump the dosage up to high to quick. The info on her usage per day is quite useful though, thank you!