What Lifestyle Changes Will I Need To Make If I Have IBD?

Stress, fatigue, colds, flu, medications, smoking, alcohol and other lifestyle factors appear to have an impact upon Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Although researchers have tried to prove the connection between these factors and disease severity, it is very difficult scientifically to prove that these associations exist. How does one measure stress or fatigue? How can you be certain that the cold you had 2 weeks ago is causing your disease to flare up now? Are two or three doses of an anti-inflammatory medication taken for a headache enough to cause increased symptoms?

 

There is really nothing that will guarantee that a flare will occur in a given individual. You may find that you experienced a flare during final exams in your first year of university — a time of great stress for most students — but the following year, you sailed through an equally difficult exam schedule without a disease flare.

 

 

Stress is often associated with disturbed sleep patterns and fatigue. Fatigue can affect immune system functioning and, possibly, IBD flares. Fatigue is a symptom of IBD that can be very difficult to treat, but it is generally considered good advice to obtain sufficient sleep and rest, particularly if you feel a flare coming on.

 

If you are able to get a good night's sleep but still wake feeling unrested, or if you become quickly tired during the day and have to lie down, it may be that your disease is active and causing you to feel fatigue. In some cases, even minimal inflammation of the intestine — not enough to cause any other symptoms — may produce very profound fatigue. In other instances, a vitamin or mineral deficiency, such as iron, folic acid, or vitamin B-12 deficiency, can lead to fatigue. In those instances, appropriate supplementation can correct the symptom.

 

 

Smoking has many related health risks. In addition, to its deleterious effects on the lungs and heart, smoking may also be detrimental to Crohn's disease. Smoking tends to increase the risk of Crohn's disease first developing, and once someone has Crohn's disease, it makes the disease more aggressive. Disease seems to come back more quickly and aggressively after surgery in smokers. If you are a smoker and have Crohn's disease, you can do yourself a big favor and quit. Get all of the help you can — support from family and friends (even if they are smokers and have to quit too) and from your doctor or health-care provider for referral to smoking cessation programs or prescriptions for drugs that can help you kick the habit.

 

However, smoking actually appears to be protective against developing ulcerative colitis. For patients with ulcerative colitis who are former smokers, the period soon after smoking cessation seems to be a time of particularly increased risk of developing this disease. In the occasional ulcerative colitis patient who happens to be a smoker, the disease may become more active after smoking cessation. This observation has even led some researchers to use nicotine, in the form of skin patches, as a treatment for ulcerative colitis.

 

Despite the strong association between cigarette smoking and protection against ulcerative colitis, this approach to treatment has not been proven to be consistently effective. If you are a non-smoker and you develop ulcerative colitis, don't start smoking, because other health risks outweigh any possible benefit that you might get from smoking.