Question:
Please only ex smokers reply to this message
I have not quit smoking compleetly yet I only smoke about 1 time every 2 or 3 days and was wondering if any of you out there smoked up untill surgery. I know I will quit when the day comes but at present I get so distraught about my set backs I just crave smokes. Any help you can give will be greatly appreceated. — D P. (posted on July 15, 2003)
July 14, 2003
I quit smoking in January of this year. The only reason I quit was because
I wanted this surgery and felt that if I was going to get healthy in terms
of what I eat, I might as well stop smoking too. I had a terrible time
quitting and after about a week went to my PCP and was prescribed
Wellbutrin. It helped tremendously. I can honestly say that I've picked
up a ciggarette here and there. They tasted terrible but it seemed to
really calm me down from time to time. I finally put them down, hopefully
forever last week. I've heard of people smoking right up till the day of
their surgery and they were fine. You already know the risks of smoking
and know there are no benefits physically. Good luck in whatever you
decide to do, it's not easy but your health is worth it!!
— Rhonda Y.
July 14, 2003
um not an ex-smoker...a current smoker (so you can ignore this if you want
:>) I smoke my last preop cig at 5 am and entered the hospital at 5:15.
Make sure your surgeon KNOWS you are smoking (even some) and is aware of
what your doing. How well you do will depend on your general health, how
long you've smoked, how much you smoke, and other variables. The cigs sure
don't help, but...that said, talk to your doc.
— [Deactivated Member]
July 15, 2003
I quit cold turkey about 4 years ago but I get cravings every so often.
The hardest time for me is when I'm with other smokers. I sometimes break
down and have one but they taste so bad I cant even finish it. What helpes
me most is just not buying them. You cant smoke 'em if you aint got 'em. I
go for a walk or find something to do with my hands and that usually takes
my mind off of it so I can move on. Also throw away all your ash trays and
lighters. Dont beat yourself up over a little setback, my doctor told me if
I all I smoked was half a cig 3 or 4 times a year, it wasnt even worth
worrying about. Good luck to you. ~Sidney~ Open RNY 10-23-02 down 100+
and counitng
— Siddy I.
July 15, 2003
I had not yet asked my Dr. about smoking before surgery and he never said
anything about smoking either. I thought I should quit a month before
surgery, I just gave it up cold turkey. It was the hardest thing I have
ever done (besides WLS)the first 2 days I had to stay home from work and
stay in bed. I did it!! Then I asked the Dr. and he said just to stop a
week before.. and here I had quit a month before. It was better for me
anyhow. I'm 3 wks post op and still have not had even a puff!! Good luck!
— luckyflowers
July 15, 2003
I stopped smoking 2 weeks before my surgery (6/5/03) and I'm still smoke
free. I quit with the idea that I';d go back after surgery but I'm over it
now. I think about food rather than a puff.
— Gina R.
July 15, 2003
hiya~ i had my "last" smoke right before checking in to hospital,
made it about 2 weeks and started up again! i then quit this past january,
at 18 months post op. i began working out at a gym and every time i wanted
a smoke, i thought about how hard it was to ride the bike because my oxygen
exchange was so poor. i pushed myself hard at the gym and the more i worked
out the less i wanted to smoke. i've been off for 7 months now and can't
stand the smell or thought of a cigarette.
i also found out that smoking interferes with bone production and i've been
diagnosed with osteoporosis -- definetely makes me wish i'd quit years
ago!
good luck
kate
— jkb
July 15, 2003
I quit July 3rd of 2002 in anticipation of my surgery (which didn't happen
till MAY 2003!) I knew that my doctor wouldn't do it unless I had quit, and
I wanted to have the surgery so that I could be healthy!! I'm also a nurse,
and I knew what smoking could do to you in surgery, so I wanted to go into
with the odds stacked IN my favor, ya know?
I used the patches and then chewed the gum if the cravings got really bad.
One valuable resource for me was www.quitnet.com it's a free support group
for quitters!
~Smoke-free: 377 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes and 13 seconds Lifetime Saved: 2
months, 26 days, 10 hours (stats from Quitnet)
A quitter for a year, and now a loser too....it feels SO good! :)
— Sungurl B.
July 16, 2003
It will be 7yrs. as of dec. 27. My husband and I had discussed quiting for
the new year. Then BAM a dear friend who was a 5pk a day smoker had 3
heartattacks in 2day We almost lost him. That was it for us. We quit cold
turkey and never looked back. I can't even stand to be around smoke. Of
course they say ex-smokers are the hardest on smokers. Its because we have
been there and we know. Give yourself the gift of health lungs as well as a
great new figure. just an FYI after we quit we realized that we could
afford a new car with the money we saved every week.
— Toni R
July 16, 2003
Good Luck. I quit 6 weeks before surgery. You REALLY do need to quit before
surgery. It can cause ALOT of complications. I used gum, patches, and
Commit lozengers. I feel great now being smokefree. I quit on Mother's Day
2003. Best of luck on quitting. Kathy Riffle Open RYN, June 23,
2003.....-30 pounds
— Kathy R.
July 16, 2003
I quit smoking on Thankgiving last year after more than 35 years of
poisoning my self, in the end I was up to over 3 packs a day. I used the
patch and Zyban but what helped me the most was a on line support group
named "SmokeNoMore", the daily contact with other quiters is what
help me in the end. I'm now 8 month smokefree and I breeze so much better.
My surgeon messure the carbonmonoxide in the blod before the surgery and
if he find you have smoked you don't get the surgery untill you stop. All
the best of luck to you...if you need additional support in you efford to
quit, fell free to e-mail me. ~Hugs Tove
— Tove Annelise H.
July 16, 2003
I smoked for almost 16 years...I quit for good in March 2002...cold
turkey...It was hell for the first few weeks...even now I still get
cravings once in a while...but they pass ....its one of the best things you
could do for yourself! :o)
— Lisa F.
July 16, 2003
Here are my suggestions... I quit a while ago after smoking over a pack a
day for nearly 20 years. I went to my Doctor for (yet another) cough...
you know the kind, you keep hacking and it hurts you all over. After
several tests he told me that I had emphysema, asthma, and chronic
bronchitis. He told me to quit smoking NOW! I figured I would get
better...like after the other several bouts of coughing. Then, I started
to take notice of my hair... it smelled. So did my pillow in the morning.
My hands were kinda yellowish...and, they smelled. My closet smelled. My
car, room and everything I touched seemed to smell. I likened myself to
garbage at that point. After years of being smelly... I finally noticed.
No wonder I hung out with smokers...we all were smelly together. Anyway, I
quit smoking one night... just threw them away. I didn't want to smell
anymore and it was sure nice not to cough anymore. However, like with any
addiction, you cannot just have one...once in a while. You need to give
them up 100%...otherwise, you will easily fall back into having just one
with your coffee, one while chatting on the phone, just one when stressed,
upset or happy...or, bored. I found that the 3rd day, the 3rd week and the
3rd month were the hardest times. But, when times got hard... I just
smelled my pillow, my hair or my hands and I knew I was on the right
track.
Good luck... it is the hardest thing I have ever done for myself and
(honestly) there are days that I still miss it!
— teresa M.
July 16, 2003
I'm WLS & an ex-smoker, but the two did not occur simutaneously.
Pre-op is the ONLy time you will be able to quit & not gain wt
(bonus!). If you manage to quit before surgery, those first 3 days in the
hospital will break the worst of the symptoms. After that, it gets easier
by the hour. My husband called me one day & said he & his boss
were qwuitting, would I? Well, sure, theynever made it past 6 hrs before.
What did I have to lose? LOL! Well, 15 yrs, 1 month, 1 week. Still
waiting. The boss never really quit cold turkey-he just cut back and lied
about it. HE still smokes and we are free. Things we did that helped: we
paid the kids to wash down the walls and clean the house. We paid them to
wash the interiors of the car. We split the money saved with them for
putting up with us during the grumpies. I was an avid smoker 3+ packs per
day. Eveery now & then, I think I want one, for about 30 seconds. I
am SO glad IO am fre now.
— vitalady
July 16, 2003
I started smoking when I was 15 yo. I quit cold turkey at 45 I was smoking
about 2pks a day, I became a sever procrastenator, Every time I thought I
wanted a smoke I would tell myself that I could not light up for 1hr, then
I could have a smoke but only if I did it at a particular time, then I
would make myself busy and when the time would come I would miss the exact
time I had set in mind, then tell myself that I made it that long I can
wait, I would tell myself that I will buy the pack in the morning on the
way to work, then purposefully leave about 15 mins late from the house so
that I would not have time to stop on the way to work and tell myself that
I would get them at lunch time, then End up eating at work and not go out
and tell myself that I would pick up the pack after work on the way home
and when it came time to go home I took the freeway and no stores to stop
at so I would say, Well I will stop in the morning, etc etc, this went on
for several weeks, as the weeks went by I just quit thinking about them. It
was not easy, But I am sooooo glad that I quit, I have not had a case of
Sever Broncitis since quitting and that used to be about every 6-7 months.
I saved money, breathe better, and like the other person said, I dont SMELL
any more.. Good Luck, You can do this, Have faith in yourself and KEEP BUSY
AND PUT OFF BUYING THEM TIL LATER..... MUCH MUCH LATER
— LS F.
July 19, 2003
I quit smoking two years ago and the reason I am still a nonsmoker is
because when I felt like I REALLY needed one, I had one. I still have every
now and then the last time I smoked one was about a month ago. One a month
isn't too bad. I think the problem is when you tell yourself I am never
going to do this again you get desparate and do it more. If you tell
yourself I am not going to do this as much and when I really need one I
will have one, its a lot easier.
— Sarah L.
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