So one of the guys I work with was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and after the articles last Monday I was curious about how his smoking affected him before and after being diagnosed. I asked him a series of questions ranging from smoking to symptoms to his treatment. This is what he told me.
During the hardest times of my disease i.e. during the large flare-up, my liver decreased about 40-50 percent functionality (lack of retaining vitamins, minerals, and nutrients). I did not have surgery; surgery is for the people that cannot control their flare-ups. I quit smoking, but the cessation of my smoking is what caused my Crohn's to flare-up out of nowhere. Since I smoked for quite a long time, they say that the reason the disease was dormant was because i smoked; that created a protective jelly film around my colon, which made it impossible for the white blood cells to attack. My symptoms during flare ups are: Blood in my feces, dizziness, lots of sweating, and many terrible cramp-like stomach aches. During remission, I have a few stomach aches, but nothing more.. maybe a bad poop every once in a while. Right now, I am taking immunosupressive drugs, i.e. 150mg azathioprine daily and a drug infusion called Remicade once every six weeks.

I plan on asking him a few further questions in regards to his diet and other things.