Giving it a shot!

So I know that one of the steps to getting any WLS is to quit smoking. I've decided to give it a shot. I don't want to tell anyone in my life that I'm quitting for fear of not quitting so thought if anyone understood, it would be you all. I haven't had a cig in 3 1/2 hours and I'm slightly edgy. I want to quit cold turkey since I cant take chantix because of my psych meds and vaping never worked for. Really nothing has worked. I "think" I'm ready but am telling myself... Good for you! but I'm not stressing the quitting either. I have over a year before I will be scheduled for WLS so I have a little time. If you have any words of advice or had to go through this yourself... give me a yell! Thanks for being here when I needed to talk about this!

My surgery is in May.  First saw my Dr. in October for the consult.  He told me I had to quit or he would not do the surgery and gave me a quitting time of 4 weeks out.  He also ordered a nicotine test to make sure the nicotine will be out of my system.  Well I was a smoker for many many years and its going to sound cliché because I really didn't plan this but I was having my last cig on Dec. 31 and said to myself, I am not going into 2016 being known as a smoker.  I hated it anyways.  The stink, the urge and the cost, I think it all sucked.  But I put the cig out and haven't looked back.  I get a craving once in a while but nothing a small walk or a hot cup of tea or coffee won't take away. I can't believe how my breathing has changed.  No more shortness of breath.  I sit next to smokers at work now and when they come back from break, I want to gag at the smell.  Good luck, it is so worth the work and willpower to do it!

I've never been a smoker, but we all had to give up many addictions for the sake of WLS - it has been worth it.  And I hope that you find that is it worth it for you.  Also, if you ever consider plastic surgery, you will need to give smoking up for that anyway.

- here's to success in white-knuckling until the worst it over.  You can post here every 3 1/2 MINUTES if it helps!!

There is an APP called Craving to Quit (one-time fee) created by researchers at Yale - they say it gives twice the cure rate as the next best program.  I have used their APP for weight loss and it helps. 

If you think that knowing why you need to stop smoking before you can get WLS. Check what these doctors have to say.

https://www.realself.com/question/smoking-gastric-bypass-sur gery

Hang in there - you can spend all your cig money on new clothes in a year!

Here's what one of the doctors wrote:

Smoke Yes? Weight Loss Surgery No!

I sort of agree with your surgeon.  I also don't operate on anybody who is an active smoker, but I STRONGLY urge patients not to start smoking again once they have had their surgery.  Unfortunately I have a lot less control of a patient's smoking behavior after surgery.  Here are some of the reasons why I don't operate on smokers:

1)  Smoking increases the likelihood of the two biggest killers of weight loss surgery patients in the early post-operative period:  leaks and blood clots.  By getting someone to stop smoking at least 6-8 weeks before surgery it likely makes it safer for them to undergo the surgery on many different levels.

2)  If someone can't stop smoking before surgery, why would I think that they would be committed to make the OTHER very difficult and challenging lifestyle changes (dietary, behavioral, and exercise) that are needed after surgery to create long-term success?

3)  Patients that start smoking after their gastric bypass often will get ulcers at the connection of their pouch and small intestine (gastrojejunal ulcer).  These ulcers can be VERY difficult to treat and I personally have had to do two gastric bypass reversals because the patients developed ulcers that would not go away and they refused to stop smoking. 

4)  I went into medicine to make people healthier.  If I can use my "power" before surgery to help (some would say force :) ) someone to stop smoking, which we KNOW will improve their health, I would be remiss if I didn't use that opportunity.  In my experience, although some patients will start smoking again after surgery, many will not.

Stopping smoking is hard.  Really hard.  But smoking and weight loss surgery really don't mix well and the results of smoking, unfortunately can be disasterous. 

Lloyd Stegemann, MD, FASMBS
Corpus Christi Bariatric Surgeon

Hi Terri, I was never a smoker but my parents and all my extended family was.  They all quit at some point but they did say it was hell, a true addiction.  I can only imagine how hard it will be but you can do this.  Your health and you are so worth it.  

Best of luck, I am routing for you!!

I quit smoking a year and a half ago and it was hard at first but got easier. I'm all about the one day at a time mentality and after four or five days pass its much easier. I also had a friend to call and check in with for more accountability. Good luck!

I quit smoking many years ago....about 13 or so?...it was really, really hard, and of course I had many failed attempts under my belt. Change up your routine as much as you can. The associations with smoking were the hardest to get around...smoking after a meal, smoking with my coffee, smoking on break at work with friends. Replace those kinds of times with other habits, good or neutral ones, that will help. Like when I quit smoking at work (a nurse...we take such crappy care of ourselves...), instead of going outside to smoke on my break, I would walk to another floor where a friend worked, get a cup of coffee at the "good coffee" maker on the way. The good part is that, once you get the physical withdrawals good and over with, it is a lot easier. It's not like dieting where you still have to face food choices several times a day, haha! And when your lungs start healing themselves and you start coughing up all that crap in your lungs...that's pretty motivating to stay quit. 

Im a control freak, so every time I wanted a cigarette, I'd say to myself, "who has control here? Me, or the stick (inanimate object, etc.)." I'd remind myself that people deal with life every day without that stupid stock. 

I also had to accept that there is no such thing as "just one." I quit three times before I finally learned this. 

Quitting was like your best friend died, and all you had to do to bring her back to life was go to the store and spend $2 (yeah, it was a long time ago). However, this friend got you into so much trouble that you had to make the decision to end it. 

I found that having a program that had a number to call when you need someone to talk you down off the wall was really helpful. I don't know if you have access to that type of program, I'd highly recommend it. Or maybe even just a couple of friends that you can turn to in a weak moment. Also, good advice in the posts up above. 

It'll be hard, but so worth it. Your cravings won't go away, but they'll lessen in frequency, duration and intensity as you get farther out.

Good luck!

Sheryl

Well, this post is 3 months old. If you want to chat, I vape, let me know.?