bad habits

i was just wondering if anyone quit smoking in order to have the surgury and later started back smoking? If so, did it cause any complications and what kind? I am about to go out of my mind wanting a cigarette so bad. wanting a cigarette is a lot worse than any food i might crave at this point, i am still fighting it now but not sure i can hold on here.

I was just approved for my surgery; so I do not know everything you are going through as far as the surgery; however, I quit smoking after 25 years in 2003 - due to the finding of stage 1A lung cancer. I am cancer free; but I did not do it cold turkey; I used the patches and Wellburtin XL. I quit and have stayed quit since then. Alot of prayer helped. Hope you continue to fight the urge - It truly is worth it. Pam

I quit to have the surgery and started again. I'm trying to quit right now as I expect to have the surgery in another month or so. I have heard that if you get an ulcer after the surgery and you smoke it will never heal.

I quit smoking a few years ago (long before surgery), but they warn that smoking can cause bleeding ulcers. That's pretty scary to me... ack! Angie http://www.geocities.com/tiger_angie

I just quit 4 days ago, again, and I hear ya! I am on the patch and I definately have my moments. I also know, because I am a repeated quitter, that if I can get through the first week, then it gets easier, but you have psycological cravings more than physical cravings. I am trying to prepare myself for surgery. I feel miserable and am waiting for the day to have surgery. Something that I heard the other day that really helped me was that smoking is the #1 cause of death followed by obesity. When I heard that, I thought to myself, why would I accept the #1 cause of death and continue to smoke, when I am spending thousands of dollars to help me with the #2 cause? It really made sense to me, and I just keep reminding myself that if doing something about #2 is that important to me, then I really need to tackle #1 too. It is a very good mental preperation for weight loss because of the mind over matter. You really have to put your mind in the right place and when it strays, reel it back in! I know that if I can be successful at quitting smoking, then I can be successful with loosing weight. Obviously, I don't feel very disaplined and that is what I am trying to learn. Definately get the patch. I am on 21mg. now, and I usually stay on that for a week longer than they suggest. I don't smoke or cheat. I am 51 years old and want to feel 51 years young. Hopefully, I will be having surgery next month! Good luck to all of us trying to quit. We should have a quit smoking site here too It's really hard, and we all need support like we get here for weight loss. Get the patch! It's your tool! Ally