smoking

I am a smoker and I'm having the lap-band surgery hopefully I see Dr. Burpee on Monday and i'm worried I have read all the chats and do not see anything on smoking I smoke about 1 pack a day and have for a long time I also have had many surgeries while i have been a smoker and have been fine but I have heard that you have to quit for 6 months? is this true? or does it depend on the doctor?

I think the smoking decision is made by your doctor. My doctor required everyone of her patients to be completely smoke free for a specific time period before she would even schedule the surgery and she checked the nicotine levels to make sure. As she puts it; why worry about the number one killer if you're not going to take care of the number two killer? I smoked for years and quit LONG before WLS but I don't think you will regret it if you quit. Best of luck, Dj

Judy, I don't know about Dr. Burpee but most doctors require you to quit smoking if it is elective surgery. You need good oxygen to heal properly and smoking slows the healing process. Smoking can cause all sorts of complications after surgery, especially the first 30 days after. Are you doing the surgery to be thin, or is it to be healthy?? If it is to be healthy why not just kick the habit and make even bigger strides at being healthy! Believe me I understand that is easier said then done. I smoked for almost 20 years. I quit cold turkey before my surgery. I have been smoke free for almost 6 months now. It isn't always easy but it is so very worth it and I can feel such a big difference in my health, breathing, lungs, stamina in just 6 months. I was required to have a "Clean" pee test for nicotine before my doctor would schedule me for surgery. It wasn't near as hard as I thought it was going to be. My friends/family were convinced once they heard that, that i would never have the surgery as they didn't think I could quit. I had tried the patches, gum, medication and all that through the years and nothing ever worked. What did work was the fact that I needed and wanted this surgery more then I wanted to smoke. So unless your really ready to make the change, its not going to happen. Don't fear it. Just do it! You will be sooo happy you did! Great luck with your doctor appointment. Keep us posted as to your progress.

Judy, I was a smoker for 37 years... When I was getting ready for the surgery I knew I had to quit because I was told my insurance wouldn't approve if I was a smoker....Well I played around with the patch and gum etc. and kept going back to smoking till last October when my sister in law went in for surgery. She was a heavy chain smoker... She ended up with so many life threatening complications that were brought on by her smoking so much that it really made me stop and think....She had pneumonia, bacterial infections. She was in a comma for over a month, then in ICU for 3 months with continuous infections. On November 1st I smoked my last cigarette. I stopped cold turkey and never really desired another one. My surgery was January 31, 2007, without any complications thank God. I pray I won't ever smoke again. I can breathe so much better now and my sinus's don't clog up as much anymore... I was told during my pre-op tests that I had the lungs of an 81 yr old. I thought the guy was kidding me, but he was serious. He said that was the result of smoking.. It had diminished my lung compacity for inhaling air.... This is the part that relates to how easily we could get pneumonia when coming out of surgery.. Do what you feel is best for you....but speaking as a long time smoker....I feel much better without them. It has been not quite 4 months now for me.... Best wishes for your upcoming surgery... Hugs.....Ann RNY-lap 1-31-07, Dr.Juarez,Phoenix

Ann, Congrats on being smoke free for 4 months. I have been smoke free for 6 months. Like you I also tried all the tricks, patches, gums, acupuncture. In the end the only thing that worked for me also was stopping cold turkey, and having the desire to have the surgery. It is still hard from time to time for me. For me just ignoring the urges isn't enough as they just come back later on. I have been trying to pay closer attention to the triggers that set off my urges. They are often the same triggers that make me want to eat. I'm finding the more I pay attention to it, and the more I do things to deal with the emotional part the less my urges have become. I still have lots of work to do before I am completely beyond smoking again, but like you I feel so much better physically and I pray for strength all the time not to smoke again, nor to eat emotionally again.