Cigarette Smoking and Coffee

[shastri20032003]

Hello,
I have been diagonised with acute Hep C since last Sepetember and have discovered this forum a  few days ago.The personal experiences of all of  you guys have really brought a lot of clarity to my zillion questions and would like to thank you all for all the inputs provided here which i have been fortunate to read
tx with pegasys/ribavirin would be starting in feb next year and have not been able to control my cigarette smoking--a pack a day and caffiene--4 cups a day
how harmful are these for hep c? Thanks in advance for yr responses

[sass_blue]

I have heard that its alright to drink coffee, some studies show that its an antioxidant..I smoked for 20 years and gave up 5 months ago...smoking causes cancer and so can HCV...Giving up smoking was really tough and people kept telling me to give up, what people said made no difference...I had to do it for ME...and I have.  Starting tx helped motivate me to stop smoking.  Welcome to the forum...I am new "ish' too.

[jmjm530]

Some recent studies suggest coffee may be good for the liver. Cigarette smoking on the other hand is not good and can affect negatively the outcome of treatment. You definitely want to try to stop if you're going to treat. I found SmokEnders to be an excclent program http://www.smokenders.com/ and it helped me to stop smoking over 20 years ago. Don't need to tell you how bad smoking is for your entire health, not just the liver --  so use the Hep C as a motivating tool to stop. That way at least something positive will come of it.

All the best,

-- Jim

[chcnme]

Best of luck beginning treatment!  Oh I wish I had the magic bullet to make you put them down.  I've put them down twice in a lifetime (heavy smoker) for a year at a time (once with gum and once cold turkey - two packer a day).   I was in my early 30's when I quit the first time, and then I quit again at 38 years old.  Now I'm 47 and uh... getting older and uh... have all these health problems and uh...

Hold on! My ashtray is on fire, lemme put it out!

Smoking cigs is not good at ALL! It's awful for your entire body and with Hep C it's really awful and very dangerous for your liver!  I'm addicted to them. Started smoking again about 7 years ago and ... it's idiotic and it's awful, and I KNOW if I stopped I would feel 100% better, I would probably live a lot longer, I would do my liver a huge favor, not to mention ALL of my organs.  And smoking with treatment?  

Drinking coffee?  Some new studies have shown what Sass just said (about the antioxidants), and these studies suggest that drinking coffee is actually good for the Hep C liver. I don't know if that means we should go out and start consuming 10 cups a coffee a day, but I think it suggests we aren't doing our livers an injustice by drinking coffee.  I'm a 4 cupper.  
Sometimes 5.  If I quit smoking, the coffee will have to go.  When I quit before, I couldn't drink coffee without wanting a cigarette REALLY bad.  It got better.  The first two weeks were the worst, as I rememeber.

My doc told me I could get the patches to help me quit.  I've never tried the patches.  I'm kind of scared to put one on and to be slowly infused with nicotine via a patch, but it can't be any worse than inhaling the stuff, ya know - at least I haven't heard that it is.   I can't take Wellbutrin  (another anti-cig prescription sometimes).  There is also a new drug on the market (can't think of the name right now)  that is being given to cig smokers to help them stop.  It starts with a C (all I can remember).  I have no clue if someone with Hep C can take it  (or if their liver doc would say it was OK to take it.)   The gum? I used to love that stuff,  but I don't know about its safety, either.  But cigs are bad - period.  

As far as treatment and smoking, I have known people who were heavy smokers and did treatment and said they were OK, but I've also known people who were on treatment and said "GOD I wish I had quit smoking."   More the latter -- a lot more the latter. If your H&H drops out the bottom, you probably won't want a cig because you will be too exhausted and out of breath to smoke.

SASS! Super congratulations to you!  Your story makes me want to go out and buy the patches NOW, or just muster the willpower to put them down totally and not pick them back up.  Life was so much nicer with no cig smoke.  The stuff stinks, it'll stink up your clothes, your breath, your house, your car, it costs so much money to smoke -- in every way.  Don't ever pick them back up!

[Kalio1]

All quit smoking aids have a 94% failure rate. This includes patches and gums, etc.

If you feel they can help you they are worth something, maybe it's a placebo effect but it isn't due to the quit smoking aids powers, they are psycholgical aids.

[painterlady13]

I also smoke and was not able to stop pre treatment wk 21 of 48 here.  I am UND and was as of week 6.  

The only thing I think I have heard about coffee is that it will dehydrate you so you should add a little more water to your diet.  Good luck

[GLiLCrazy]

I have been wondering that also. I started smoking when I was 12, and I am 20 now. Since I found out about my Hep C my mom keeps telling me to stop smoking. I have bought the patches, but it's so hard to actually do it because everytime I think about it I have an anxiety attack. May sound weird but I do. I know I need to quit. It's very hard though. I just got sober in May and have been for 7 months, and they say only quit one addiction at a time, and then after you have been off the drugs for a year to quit smoking. Which I think is a good idea, but then when I think about it I dont know what I would do without a cigeratte. That was a good question...I have been wondering about that.

[sfbaygirl]

My dr wrote the book, "The idiot's guide to quitting smoking." He told me to get through this tx before quitting. I asked about this new drug that is supposed to work up to 50% of the time, instead of like 10% with others. Patches don't work for me. They seem to on planes, hotel rooms, where I can't smoke, but it in the end I smoke anyway. Stupid me started after quitting for 15 years. Thought i could smoke one to help a friend cover their pot smoke, now I am hooked. YUCK!

Dr. Quit also told me that nothing works without the smoking programs to go with it. Right now, I can't imagine going to any group. After tx I want to badly. This stuff is nasty! I quit with gum the first time and it takes real committment to do it. I was there then, now I'm not.

[GLiLCrazy]

Hey! So your doctor recommened you to stop after tx?? Why is that? To much stress right now on your body or something???

[sfbaygirl]

Yes, at first this is what he said. Too much stress with all that's going on to quit now. There are times I would love to and cut down, but I end up smoking more now since I am so inactive.

[chcnme]

Hey GLil! Nice to meet you.  You're young.  Super congrats on the stopping drinking!  If you can put the cigs down, do it!  My son did it.  He was 21 when he quit  (he started smoking when he was 15 or 16).   He used the gum for about two months.  It's been almost five years for him.  WHen I chewed the gum, I didn't want a cigarette.  I've had many friends who quit successfully with the patches.  I tried the patch one time and it made me sick feeling and I took it off, but - I may have been imagining the nausea and dizziness with the patch, but - it kind of scared me away from the patch.  They do work for many people.  You can buy them OTC now.  But ask your doc before you go slapping on a patch or chewing on the gum.  

This quitting drinking and smoking brings back memories of a criminal defense attorney I knew  (he as a well-known attorney in these parts, but oh what a drunk he was - lol, and he would occasionally show up in court drunk).  But he was good, but .. he was in big trouble with his drinking.  He was a big AA'r (court ordered to go lol), and after he got in AA, he took his sobriety very seriously, and then - he wanted to quit smoking.  I think he had 20 years or more the last time I saw him (sober and smokeless).  We used to tease him  because he had an addition to the GUM!  I bet he chewed on that stuff for at least five years - lol.  He died not too long ago, in his late 80s :(  But he was sober and smokeless when he left.  

Quit smoking now if you can!  Best of luck.

[GrandOak]

First of all welcome to the forum.  Your question is a common one and can sometimes spark some lively debates.

Like coffee, the meds for tx are a diaeretic.  Proper water intake is very important to treatment and I believe alleviates some of the lesser side effects.  I found that if I greatly reduced my coffee intake, I was better able to sustain my water intake and avoid a few extra trips to the bathroom as well as some of the head and body aches.

[GLiLCrazy]

Hey! My addiction was not drinking, my addiction was pain pills, coke, crack, and smoking pot. I wish my problem would have been drinking, a lot less than all those that I did. LOL! I was shooting up coke and pills(oxycontin,delatids,morhphine,etc.) that's how I got infected with my Hep C from sharing needles with my X boyfriend. Im glad I got help because I would have never found out that I was sick with this. I was never a really big drinker.. my dad was an acholic. On the other hand about smoking... I do have the patches in my room, but am so scared to take that first step. HA. I think it's worse than saying your an addict on drugs and admitting yourself to rehab!! HAHA!! I need to quit soon though I do know that.

[mauilady]

Just curious:  you said you have "acute" HepC... what is your g.type and stage?  You're so young... but then, I was probably around your age when I contracted my lovely dose, and didn't find out about 4 months ago.  I'm 54...

[mauilady]

I got mixed up as to who to send this to!  :-)

[hippygem]

smoking isnt good for the liver, give it up if you can, but if you cant, without adding more stress or pressure before you go on treatment, well, let it go, treatment is hard enough without having to try stop smoking as well, one step at a time.
Smoking green has 20 times more tar than normal cigarettes.
although studies go on about caffiene, well, lets figure, how many times have we heard that caffeine is bad for us,
it isnt good for us, we know this, in my opinion, the less caffiene the better, just like the less alcohol the better. Cut down.

Drinking caffeine during tx isnt a big drama as long as it is limited to 2 cups a day. Just dont drink alcohol more than two glasses at a time and have at least 4 days a week alcohol free (that is if you have a alcohol issue), dont take st johns wart, iron supplements, certain reflux meds, cod liver oil and more that i am sure others will add to the list.

linda

[sfbaygirl]

The patches aren't bad, but you have to have it in your head that you want to quit, if not they won't work. Nicotine is more addictive than heroin, I have heard. It's addiction is all in the head, so if you are going to quit, get into a program with your patches or gum.

Congrats on quitting all that other stuff. It ain't easy, but you did it. It takes strength to do this. If you are in a program for drugs, use the 12 steps as part of quitting the cigarettes. It might help you. Once you quit, you can't have even one, if you want to succeed.

[GLiLCrazy]

My genotype is 1 and my stage... i dont know what does that mena??? like my VL??? or what...?

[beamishboy]

the new anti-smoking drug is CHANTIX.....it's effectiveness i do not know...my doctor also told me 'not now' ...enough on our plates with trx drugs?..But..if i had to do it over:when my hgb dropped and i felt like pure misery dipped in sh!t-I should have quit totally!!...at that particular time the side effects from trx meds are soo overpoweringly awful that nicotine withdrawal wouldn't have made noticeable difference...If this reaction occurs to you(about week 10 or 12 by my bodys schedule) use the window of opportunity to lose the cigs..GOODLUCK & Keep posting

[chcnme]

Yeah beam!  That's the drug.  I had a Rx for it, and it's still sitting here.  Arggg so you're one who took a beating smoking during tx eh?  I hear it's awful (and that anyone who was smoking and felt that way wished they had stopped).  My first GI doc told me "no reason to quit now - you have enough on your plate just doing treatment".  My new doc though is ... well, he thinks cigs are just the pits  (and they are.)  No doubt about it.

Glil - I used to shoot all that stuff long long time ago (over 30 years ago), and yeah - it got me this virus and a whole bunch of my friends this virus, too (but we didn't find out until recently (or - in the last five years or so and long after we had laid that past life style down.)  So you had recently acute?  Well yeah I guess you did!   I turned yellow as a canary back then, was in the hospital for about 3 weeks, recovered, got out, laid around for a while, started feeling better, started back banging, kidneys took a beating, began shutting down, went back in the hospital... geesh - how we lived through those days and how you lived through it, no one knows, but we did and are here for a reason, and... you CAN beat this Hep C too!  You can beat it!

This is a great place - I'm so glad you have PUT IT DOWN!  Keep it DOWN.  Put it ALL down.  

OK - i'll quit preaching :)

[nitramog]

welbutaran if i spelt it right helpt me and   a few frends to quit smoking and starting it a month before tx helpt alot of riba rage and it IT's self didn'''''''''''''''t seem to couse brain fog also probly helps angziaty??

[Tater-ToT]

Of-Course all things like smoking, ect... are processed thru our livers, so again of-course it's bad.... but when I started tx, my doc TOO said to put "Quitting Smoking" on the Back Burner for now,,, he said the same as some basically above where told... he said that doing TX was enough on ones plate, & that I didn't need the added stress of TRYING To quit on top of doing TX...

I can tell you that when my hemo's were in the lower 9's (which is where they averaged) I found it difficult to smoke, but considering the desire wasn't there, it wasn't too big of a problem...

I went from a pack & 1/2 a day to less than a carton & 1/2 a month... & so far (7 months post TX), I still have never started smoking as much as I did pre tx.... soooo, I guess I can safely say that doing tx, I decreased my smoking by at least 45% to 50%..??? (knock on wood)

Would have been nice had I of put some effort into it & actually quit completely...
:(

[koala68]

There is no doubt that smoking should be avoided; but for coffee I am under the impression that things could change in the scientific community. So far, I have only heard from Hepatologists & Roche guidelines, that people with Hepc should not drink coffee because it is a strong diuretic (goes against hydration which is important for your liver).
But at the same time, coffee is known to provide a great source of antioxidants, which can be very good for your body.
According to a recent study (see link below) coffee could even protect the liver of HepC carriers.

Personally, I grew up in Europe and drank coffee all my life.
(Not to mention that a cup of coffee here in the US is so weak compared to what we dring over there).
Assuming fibrosis is low and proper hydration is provided, I personally doubt limited coffee intake is bad for most of us.
If it was the case, it would have affected my liver in a much bigger way that it has after 38years of Hepc!

Here are a few links I have found:
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/2006icr/aasld/docs/111706_a.html
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/HealthScout/060626/6062606U.html
http://www.hepatitisneighborhood.com/content/in_the_news/archive_2488.aspx
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_b/news/2005/040405a.html

[wyntre9]

about smoking - it's one of the few vices i don't have but for anyone who smokes and wants motivation to stop, renting the movie, "Thank you for Smoking" might give you some incentive.
It came out about a year ago - black comedy about Washington lobbyists.  In the film the three heavy hitters, pharmaceutical, firearms and nicotine lobbyists, who call themselves the 'Merchants of Death,' get together every Friday and brag about how many people their industry has killed in the past week.  the nicotine lobbyist gets his comeuppance when he's kidnapped by a radical anti-smoking
group, shoved into the back of a van and his body is plastered with dozens of nicotine patches.  When he's finally thrown out onto the street a few hours later - well, I don't want to give away the ending.
But it's really a very funny movie.
good luck with everything,
wyntre

[shastri20032003]

well....will give quitting cigarettes a shot but dont know what i would do without them!
your comments have helped a lot and thanks a ton guys!

[chcnme]

"the nicotine lobbyist gets his comeuppance when he's kidnapped by a radical anti-smoking
group, shoved into the back of a van and his body is plastered with dozens of nicotine patches."

HAHAHAH! Sounds like a good movie!  And I just moved up in the world a few weeks ago and got myself a DVD player - lol. I've been wanting some funny movies. Thanks, I'm gonna rent it.

[ladybug52]

Loved the movie! All these smokers I was unaware of. I just now came out of the closet about smoking when someone else admitted they just started again. I was really hoping that the first day of tx would be my magical day that cigarettes would taste nasty and I would quit. I still have 23 weeks more for that to happen. My doctor too said quitting now is not the right time, if I'm not ready to quit.

[NYgirl]

I wish I could stop smoking more than anything in the world. It's bad it's horrible and it MIGHT hurt our chances of SVR because of the increase strain on our livers or something but unfortunately I have not quit smoking.  Drugs and alcohol yes since I know they hurt the liver big time...but as for yet I just can't seem to quit.

I have to. We all do it's so bad for us.

But - somehow with all that goes on with treatment...I just wasn't able to.

[wyntre9]

we're only human and we need something to look forward to, especially when a lot of the other fun stuff is taken away.  i have the same problem with alcohol.  while i'm not a heavy drinker, i find real comfort at the end of a long day having one or two glasses of wine.  one of the hardest parts about deciding to start treatment is realizing i can't have one drink - not even friday night margaritas, my all time favorite.
i'm in mourning for margarita.
on the bright side, i guess if i survive the treatment and the side effects, i'll be healthy and disciplined.
still, it's really hard to give up the small pleasures even if they are bad for you.
you're not alone.
wyntre