Clue Me In???

Question #1 What and where is Trader Joe's? Question #2 Approx. how long is the surgery procedure (WLS)? I've heard two hours...was anyone's longer than two? Question #3 I am smoker....any good remedies to help quit? Other than "cold turkey".

Hi snuggles, Trader Joes is in the Brandywine Towne center at the intersection of 202 and Naamans Rd. Are you familiar with that area? I guess the surgery times vary depending on what your individual issues are. As for the smoking the only way I could do it was cold turkey. For me using the smoking aids just prolonged the agony. The actual nicotine is out of your system in a matter of days, it's the psychological end of it you have to beat. Some years back i quit smoking for five years, thought I had it beat and then one day I lit one up. OMG it was like I had never quit, right back to a pack or so a day instantly. I smoked for 3 more years and made various attempts at quitting. Then I started researching this surgery and I knew if I wanted to be successful at it I had to give myself every advantage so I put the pack down last December 28th and never looked back. i am so thankful I did, all my pre-op workups with the pulmonologist came up clear even with my past history. One thing you will find with Dr's Irgau and Wynn is that they, and the docs they refer you to are VERY thorough in what they do. If they even have a shadow of a suspicon you may have a problem in some area they completely check you out before clearing you. ( I went through that extra testing with some cardiac testing ) I found a website that really helped me with not smoking it is http://www.quitnet.com They have alot of neat features that really help. message boards and a chat room as well as a gadget that keeps track of your non smoking time and adds up life saved and money saved and cigs not smoked. You will be amazed how it adds up. PMRI also offers a smoking cessation class ( seems to me Dianne went to that, she would know more specifics than I ) I don't want to be the smoking police because I KNOW how difficult it is to stop. That said, i also know what a big deal this surgery is and that we are doing it to regain a healthy lifestyle, why ruin that with a cigarette. You will find people on the main message board who say it doesn't matter and that they love smoking etc. I guess it all depends on your perspective and what your goals are. I wanted to prove to myself that I could stop smoking for 6 months before i even made an appointment to see the surgeon. i accomplished that and called last May. I then had to wait another six months till appointment time came. I had to make sure I was able to make a life changing health changing choice and be able to stick with it...because in essence that is what the surgery is. Permanent, life changing and you have to be able to tough it out and stay with the food plan when it gets hard. The BEST thing you can do is to work on your own head and to keep on quitting! The more you quit the more likely one of those times will stick. hang in there, you can do it! Linda

answer to question #2- it depends on what kind of surgery you have. i had open RNY and it took 3 hours. answer to question #3- you can ask your pcp for some meds to quit if you think that is what you will need. i used the gum and it helped alot because when i would want a smoke i would just chew the gum.

#3 I had to get pregnant to make myself quit.... Course that may get in the way of your surgery...perhaps best that you follow the other girls advice... Good luck, I know it is hard.. it has been years & sometimes I still really want one... evil habit..

Hello! I had lap RNY and it took 1 hour and 40 minutes. I haven't been to Trader Joe's yet but I hear it is a great place. Carb Busters D'Lite is also an awesome place for some foods! To quit smoking I drank a lot of water and chewed bubble gum. I was one of those that could only smoke when I had a drink in hand, excep****er. So I just kept drinking the water. Oh and brushing your teeth a lot alos helped. Hope