Question:
smoking before the ryn gastric bypass......
Would like to get a response from someone regarding amoking before the ryn gastric bypass. I have smoked for years and would like to quit before my surgery 7-17-02. would like to hear from you your experiences and/if any problems. i do enjoy smoking and if after the surgery i do not feel the urge then will not start. thank you. pam — Pam W. (posted on June 25, 2002)
June 25, 2002
Pam, I smoked from the time I was about 10 years old (I know very bad)off
and on till 1 month before my WLS surgery. I had my surgery on 2/28/01 and
tried 1 cigarette and could not stand the taste. I was surprised and
elated. I would like to think that the surgery also helped with this
addiction, but I surely can't guarantee it. There are a lot of things that
I cannot tolerate since the surgery, such as, red meat, bread, pasta, sugar
and oily foods. These are the items I lived on previously. In this time I
have lost almost 180 lbs and feel wonderful. My doctor advised me to quit
one month prior to the surgery so there would be a chance of less
complications. Little did I know that I would quit forever!! Good luck on
your journey to new good health!! Janie
— Janie C.
June 25, 2002
I just quit on Friday night and I truly feel I'm over it (20 plus years at
it). I have never been this calm before and determined. This WLS is a
life-changing event for me and I determined that it's not fair to my family
and my doctor to continue to smoke. It's not fair for my family to have to
fret over any complications and it's not fair to my doctor to have my
problems count in his statistics because I made a bad decision. Then I felt
that I had to quit because it's not fair to others seeking WLS that truly
will live a good life after surgery that don't smoke but here I am waltzing
right through the procedure while doing something bad for my health. Bottom
line, this is an ENTIRE health issue. Please, please quit. You can e-mail
me and I'll be your non-smoking pal. (P.S. I really loved to smoke too!!!
and am the last person on Earth anyone would say would quit!)
— Nell C.
June 25, 2002
I am an expert on quitting smoking. I am just REALLY bad at being a
non-smoker. : ) I have quit smoking so many times I cant count. Every
time I have started again. I have gone without for as little as 30 days to
over a year. Always going back. (inhale, blows out smoke) Anyhow, from
the various methods I have tried, the patch made it the easiest, followed
by cold turkey. The latter you need to be careful with, be prepared to
bite the heads off anyone close to you for any or no reason at all. I quit
smoking 30 days before my surgery, and started again 3 days after I got
home. I posted in another similar post earlier. Ive had many surgerys,
this one is the only one i quit smoking for and there was no difference to
me in my breating or recovery time. Some people feel differently, but for
me, no different.
— RebeccaP
June 25, 2002
hello. I'm glad you posted on this subject Pam. I am only 22, but smoked
since i was 13 :( anyway, I smoked my last cigarette 2 days before my
surgery LAP RNY (which was over 3 weeks ago). I don't want to scare you at
all, but i would like to tell you my experience. it wasn't thaaat bad, but
i would quit now and give your lungs 4 weeks to heal while they can! I was
in the hospital for over 48 hours for my gastric bypass which was not long
at all, actually very short! but the whole time I was hooked up to oxygen
because I did smoke, and as i said, I am very young. They didn't let me
take it out till i left, but all the other RNY patients didn't have to have
theirs the whole time. I coughed up blood the whole time which scared me,
although i heard it is quite normal b/c of the tube they stick down your
throat from the surgery. I also had the nurses the whole time, honest to
god, telling me every 5 minutes to breathe heavier because I had such
shallow breathing. It may be different for other smokers, may not. I only
smoked 1/2 pack a day. and up until a few days ago, i have had a deep
heaviness in my chest that wouldn't go away, i had gone to my surgeon and
the ER to check it out, no one knew what it was. i'm fine now though, and
down over 30 pounds! But i don't want to smoke anymore! after 9 years, and
it feels great!! i used to love to smoke-after a great meal, with a glass
of wine, now i don't! goodluck to you, and if you can, i would try and quit
now definatey! It will make your recovery so much better!
— Lezlie Y.
June 25, 2002
I had surgery on 06/12/02. I was not a heavy smoker, but I found the
closer I got to surgery the more anxious I got and I would have one
cigarette here, one there. finally two days before.. no cigarettes. I
knew about the complications. I would say if you can quit now do so. I
practiced breathing all along. Also as soon as I woke up I asked for a
pillow so that I could begin coughing. Later that night I asked for my
spirometer so that I could use that. I literally slept with a pillow on my
tummy and the spirometer in my hands...no joke. I did not have any
complications, but I think everyone is different. I also found that
after the surgery the last thing I wanted was a cigarette, I have a funny
taste in my mouth and cigarettes don't really help. Good luck to you.
— gloria M.
June 25, 2002
Pam I totally agree with Rebecca as far as being an expert smoker and found
myself rolling on the floor laughing my butt off as she (exhaled) I think
she is pure MEAN lol. I quit smoking today wooooooooo hoooooooo 1 whole
day with out a cig after 11 years and a pack and a half a day I have to say
this is my hardest day yet. I have quit so many different time and for so
many different reasons, I really dont know why its so hard to quit this
time. I know it will be beneficial and that the whole process of
breathing, anesthisia, and my lungs will be better. It is just REALLY
hard. I want a cig so bad I could eat it (literally) lol. Anyway I guess
what I am trying to get at is we are doing this to better ourselves. I am
not saying that once i have the surgery I wont go back to smoking (Im not
saying I will either) however, lets just give us the best possible shot at
being sucessful. My surgery is July 16 the day before yours, lets be email
buddies, and try and keep each other motivated to quit. Try to have your
stop day be ASAP I know its hard but believe in yourself, and make sure you
let everyone know you ARENT PMSin (it'll be worse) but that you quit
smoking. Encouragement is key, and so are MEGA packs of gum and for me
LEMONHEAD SOUR SUCKERS. I even do the same routine I just do it with a
sucker instead of a ciggarette. Good Luck Huggers ~Ang~
[email protected]
— angel_wls
June 26, 2002
I guess its different for everyone. I starting cutting down before surgery
to a few ultralights a day, but I still smoke the NIGHT before because I
was so nervous. I did a lot of breathing exercises before and while I was
in the hospital and I had no complications or problems.
— emilyfink
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