Help!!

Going for a nicotine urine test a week from today for Dr.  Plastics scheduled for Nov. 19.  Had last cig,  ( only 3) yesterday.  Any suggestions how to pass?

Don't smoke is the surest way.  Did your ps discuss with you why it's important to stop smoking before your surgery?  I think if I remember the paperwork I signed smokers had to stop smoking 6 weeks prior to surgery.  I'm not a smoker so I don't remember exactly, but I know I read everything I signed.  But I found this for you:

How long, after you quit, does nicotine stay in the bloodstream?  I've just quit and want to start getting healthier.

Medically the nicotine is gone in 72 to 96 hours unless you receive it from second-hand smoke such as bars, closed rooms, etc.
It will take your body much long to get over the effects of long term nicotine addiction but the benefits begin immediately: Carbon Monoxide levels begin dropping, Blood pressure drops.
Short term you may experience a sore throat but this will clear up shortly.

Is it not for your health and safety that your surgeon asks for this?  Why would you want clues on how to pass a test that would show your safe for surgery, if you are not??  Maybe it would be better to postpone your plastics until you can get your nicotine habit under control.

Bonnie
shaking her head.....

Hi Stella,

I used to be a smoker back in the olden days when I was a teenager. I know how hard it can be to stop.

Not trying to bash you at all here, but please, be up front with your surgeon if you are still smoking. The residual effects of smoking can hang out in your system for a while after you've had your last ciggy and can really cause problems with bleeding, oxygen absorption, etc.

All the best to you-

I'm a smoker. My PS and I discussed it and I told him I would quit for the surgery and stay quit until I was healed. He told me that he was going to conduct the test the day of surgery and if I failed, he would not do the surgery. I agreeded that was fair, but that I would stick to my word and I did.

It's tough to quit, I know. I had to quit for the RNY and then started again, and I had to quit for both rounds of plastics. Do a search on the internet and read up about why smoking is so bad for healing.

Now think about the scars you are going to have after surgery. Those wounds can be very large (I don't know which procedure you are having) and they WILL NOT HEAL WELL! If they don't heal well, you are going to be dealing with packing open wounds, and then when you finally get them to close MONTHS FROM NOW they are going to leave huge scars that will need revision (IF your PS will even agree to touch you again) which could also have problems with healing, and round and round she goes.

Your PS is not insisting on you quitting because he's a doctor and just wants to ride your butt for smoking, he's responsible for giving you the best PS he can, and smoking is going to screw it all up.

So for starters, be honest with your PS. Ask him how long before the surgery you have to be quit and set a date to quit. If that date is already passed, then reschedule. How are you trying ot quit? Chantix works really well and doesn't use nicotine. You can't use the patches or any other quitting med that has nicotine in it because it's the nicotine you have to get out of your system.

Good luck with this, I really do know how hard it is and I'm not yelling at you. I'm just trying to make you understand how important it is to quit until you are healed - or even forever if you're that inclined.

Great response.  I just had this discussion with my home health care nurse today when she asked me if I smoke (I don't).  She said that she always has to stay with smokers MUCH longer than non-smokers because they take so long to heal and have so many extra complications (open wounds etc) than non-smokers.

I knew it was bad for anesthesia, but didn't know about the healing part.  Crazy.  Does make you wonder why anyone would want to smoke at all.  But I get that it is hard to quit (just like our other addictions - food being one huh?)

Agree with all the above. Look at it as a choice between smoking or the surgery...but can't do both !

tTHAT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.BE HONEST WITH YOUR SURGEON. YOU ARE ONLY HURTING YOURSELF. SMOKERS TAKE MUCH LONGER TO HEAL AND HAVE  INCREASED RISKS. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT UNTIL YOU QUIT PUFFING, YOU PUT THE PS ON HOLD !