Tobacco

So, did you know that smoking tobacco makes your lupus much worse? Smoking tobacco with lupus can lead to infections such as respiratory issues and bronchitis. Secondhand smoke can be even worse. It can also cause vascular complications, kidney issues, digestive issues, liver function, skin involvement, and bone health.¹ I have had so many stories from when I was a teenager to a young adult of the issues that I have had. I used to use tobacco cigars to use for my marijuana and that was the worst thing I could have done. The feeling I have had the next day made me not want to use them at all.

Lupus complications and smoking

When I was 20 years old, I ended up having digestive issues and breathing issues. It was because I was using tobacco. I noticed after I stopped using cigars, I would not have any health issues. My health was not bad at all. The most I would do is go to sleep, but I would not have gone to the hospital or emergency room for a long time. Being focused on better things for yourself leads to better outcomes. Smoking tobacco is not healthy for a regular person so I know it would not be healthy for a person with health issues.

Learning my limits with tobacco

Just recently such as last night, I went out with my friends and they were smoking tobacco. I needed the next day to help my body heal because while I inhaled the tobacco, I started to feel my body tighten and the pain started to come within my body. This is about 2 days later, and I still can feel that night of fun we had out on Bourbon St. Also, Bourbon is not a clean environment so if you have lupus, be clean and careful. I had to up my steroids just to slow a possible flare-up from happening and that happens when you randomly try and have fun and your body is not used to it. I am realizing nothing is better than the health I already have right now.

From personal experiences, sometimes using tobacco landed me in the hospital. The feeling would be a pain in the morning when I woke up. It would even be swelling in my joints and in my face. I would have body rashes all over, especially in my face. I would be so exhausted to where I could not wake up for myself or to go to work and pay my bills. Being focused on personal health helps me even more. Skin disease is found more in people with smokers than non-smokers. It also interferes with the benefits of drugs such as hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) and chloroquine (Aralen).¹ Now that I realized that reading Lupus.net, I realized that it was one of my issues that caused my kidney and respiration issues. Now, I will not even look at tobacco now that I realize what it was doing to my body. If I become depressed again, I will just find another outlook.