Dr T & smoking

I know most require you to stop smoking before surgery & i'm really trying.. But does he actually check your blood gasses? I fell off the wagon so to speak & have smoked 2 cigarettes today so far.. Still wearing the patch as well.. I can't find anywhere in the stuff he gave me that say's i have to quit.. Unless i'm missing something.. Any Input?

You will want to be smoke free for your surgery, because it will make your surgery go easier. Not only that, but you want to be as healthy as you can be, and there's no room for smoking in that picture, right? You may have fallen off the wagon (it's easy to do) but now you can just climb right back on. Hang strong, and remember you're doing this for yourself!

Angel, I would highly recommend stoping smoking before your surgery. I'm not trying to scare you but there is a lady on the main boards that told her dr that she stopped but did not really and she last I heard was still in the hosptial because she developed very bad pneumonia and had to be put on a ventilator after surgery. It's not something to mess around with. Good luck, Leslie

I know exactly who your talking about.. Her name is terri.. I'm still on the patch.. Slapped on one today when i was reaching for my smokes.. Yeah they help but they sure don't wipe out the craving's.. Ive munched on ice, hard candy, pen's, pencils, cleaned like a mad woman & i still want one!! I'm still not smoking a pack a day like i was.. i've had 5 smokes today.. A far cry from what i usually smoke.. Any idea's?? I'm doing the best i can, but apparently it ain't good enough!

Be careful! Smoking while wearing a patch exposes you to a lot of nicotine in one day. I remember hearing stories of people dropping dead of heart attacks from doing the very same thing. I would hate to see you die before you get a chance to save your life. I had to quit smoking recently, too. Just think of it this way: if you don't quit, you can't have the surgery. Period. And, at least for me, the surgery is the only thing that can keep me from being obese right up until I die at an early age from it. It's worth it. You know it. Just commit and don't turn back. I wore the patch for a couple of days but found that with as much as I sweat they didn't stick so well anyway, so I just stopped wearing them. The first few days were a bummer but as long as I don't give myself permission to even entertain the thought of having one, I'm fine. Haven't smoked since April 4, no problem. Hope that helps. Just remember it's worth it to be able to have the surgery! Paul

You've got major willpower.. I can't quit cold turkey.. I want nothing more then this surgery right now & i keep telling myself that nothing (except hubby & family) is more important then that.. So what i have been doing all day is when the craving hit's, i put it off for as long as i can.. When i can't take it anymore i will light a cigarette & take 2 puff's then snuff it out.. Then i'm ok for about an hour or longer.. Last time i did this was at 9pm tonight.. it's now going on 11 Pretty good for 2 hours.. If i can continue doing it this way then i think i will be ok.. After the 2 puff's i make myself wait 20 minutes longer then the last 2 puff's.. So if i waited an hour the first time.. I make myself wait an hour & 20 minutes.. I'm up to 2 hours now with no lighting up.. Pretty good considering i can smoke a pack & a half on a good day.. Only smoked 3 cigarettes the whole day today.. I think i'm doing very good! Hope to be smoke free by friday!

I smoked 2 packs a day for 17 years and when I was told I had to quit or not have the surgery I threw a whole carton away and haven't looked at them since. No patches, no sneaking a hit here and there. Just tell yourself your not a smoker and follow through. I'm not superman, doesn't take super-human will power. If your dedicated to changing your life, and you'd better be if your considering surgery, it won't be much of a sacrifice. I had my surgery 10 days ago. First Post op visit is today and I feel better then I have in 10 years even with an open surgery. Part of my feeling better is I'm sure partly because I was able to quit smoking too. Good Luck, things really ARE greener on the other side!!

This is actually Debbi's husband here, Deb is doing magnificent post surgery. Now on to the subject at hand...... I've worked in the healthcare profession 20+ years. I have seen numerous times people who smoke on the patch. Now granted these are folks who still smoked the same amount while on it. They now have bonafide cardiac histories. Why tempt the fates? Now for the encouraging part, I smoked for 31 years, and have been smoke free since fathers day of this year.That's like 32 or so days, and I chewed the hell out of nicorette gum for the first few weeks. The bottom line is this. You have to quit. The big question is this, Do you want to quit? Yes you do, if you want the surgery. Deb was bragging about the fact that she hadn't smoked for a year, even as they wheeled her in to surgery yesterday. You can do it, IF you want to................. Joe Law NREMT