Question:
I have a ? for ppl who smoked pre-op
hey sounds silly but i have to know....if you smoked before your surgery...for many years...did you still smoke after? I have to quit a month before surgery...and i wanted to know if i would still crave cigs after i get the surgery thanks in advance — cinamoni (posted on May 17, 2003)
May 17, 2003
I had smoked for about 17yrs i quit for 2 mts then started back b-4 WLS
even smoke b-4 i walked into hosp the day of my WLS but since ive had WLS i
can not stand the smell of a lit cig it makes me very sick to smell one now
witch i guess is a good thing
— wildbrat
May 17, 2003
Well .. I smoked before surgery, well before. I quit 6 yrs ago. Long
before I thought about WLS. I can tell you that after all these years I
still get cravings once in while. Sometimes they are strong, and sometimes
they are just a mild passing craving. I do know either way that I will
NEVER go back to smoking. I'm now 2 days post- op ( I LOVE THAT PHRASE,,,
LOL) and I've spent all this time and energy making myself better. I'm not
going to blow it by starting to smoke again. Also.. cigs are so darn
expensive in NY that I don't think I could afford them anyway. Don't blow
it, try your hardest not to go back to smoking. It will be a lot better in
the long run. AND Smoking also slows down the healing process. Good Luck
to you :-)
— KellyJeanB
May 17, 2003
I smoked before surgery and quit and it was very very hard the second time
quiting right before surgery, I am now almost 7 weeks postop and have not
lit up again and dont plan on it , I figured if I did it to have the
surgery and be healthy than why go back to smoking ....good luck on your
journey
— Tammy 'Buckley McCool
May 17, 2003
I smoked pre-op....in fact I smoked up until the day of my surgery. I had
smoked for 5 yrs, quit for 2 1/2 then started again for another 3 years. I
had tried a couple times before the surgery to quit, but always had such
horrible physical withdrawl. (when I quit for the 2 1/2 years, I quit when
I was pregnant with my son, so it was easier for me) Anywho.....I think I
went through the withdrawl the week I was in the hospital (and on
morphine)...so I didn't feel the physical withdrawls of the nicotine.
However, my second week home (post op) I was very uneasy, gittery and
shakey in the evenings....I chalk that up to quitting smoking because that
passed within about a week. Quitting was EXTREMELY easy this time around.
I hope I never start back, because I don't think I could quit without
another surgery...and I don't plan on having any more in my lifetime!!!
Don't get me wrong, I do still miss smoking, and occassionally would like
one; but that's going to be an ongoing battle. Heck, when I quit for the 2
1/2 years, I still craved them after 2 years. It's one of those things
that will be a long term process. But I tell you what, I feel sooooooo
much better since I quit. I would recommend anyone who is thinking about
quitting, to do it when they have this surgery. IT HELPS! Not to mention,
post op in the hospital; a cigarette is the LAST thing your thinking
about!!! Good luck!!
— Kim L.
May 17, 2003
Do yourself a favor and quit as far out from surgery as possible. This
surgery is sooo tough on your body that it's in your best interest to
control the variables that you can, i.e. smoking. I'm 34 with no
co-morbidities and on the "lightweight" end w/ a pre-op BMI of
45. Translation, I'm young and in good health. I had smoked on and off
(more "on" this past 2 years) since I was 16 . . . and generally
no more than 1/2 a pack a day at my worst (aside from those drinking,
partying events). I stopped smoking 4 weeks before surgery. My surgery went
perfectly, by my lungs were not performing up to snuff. My resting pulse
oxygen rate was around 73% (vs the 95% it should have been), my max on the
inhaler thingy was 750ml vs the normal 2500-3000, it wasn't good. My chest
x-ray showed that the lower part of one of my lobes was not inflating all
the way. I almost had to go home w/ oxygen. And they had to do the blood
gases test on me (drawing blood via the wrist ... NOT FUN!). All this
negative info. just had me so freaked out when I was in the hospital b/c I
was fearful of getting pneumonia (sp?) etc. BTW, I was surprised but
quitting was not hard. I think it's because I knew what was at stake, i.e.
if I didn't quit the surgeon wouldn't operate on me. Now that I'm post-op,
the smell of smoke just makes my insides turn. It really makes me sick so
the thought of smoking again is not an option. Plus there is no way I've
put myself through this just so that I can die a painful smoking-related
death. FYI, post-ops that smoke have a greater chance of pouch ulcerations
(per my surgeon).
— snohflake
May 17, 2003
I quit before my surgery and did a very stupid thing I went back to it. I
had smoked a pack a day for 17 years. Well I just quit again for my
plastic surgery. This time I refuse to go back!!!!! It has been just
about a month now since my last cig.
— Linda A.
May 18, 2003
You may not. Surgery can do that to some people. Iam not a smoker but I
have an aunt that had surgery many years ago (not WLS, she's thin as a
rail!) and then after the surgery she just never craved cigarettes anymore,
and she smoked 2-3 packs a day for many years. Hopefully the same thing
might happen to you! Good Luck!
— Kris T.
May 21, 2003
I was told to quit smoking 2 months prior to surgery. I have been a heavy
smoker for about 19 years (sometimes up to 3.5 packs a day). I made excuse
after excuse as to why the quitting didn't happen until I was staring at my
pre-op appointment 2 weeks prior to my surgery date. That night - and I'm
being totally honest - - I chain smoked until 11:59PM, took a half a pack
of Marlboros all my lighters and threw them away.
My surgeon recommends that 2 weeks pre-op be all liquid diet shakes with
egg beaters mixed in. I am not an egg person - so I was so queasy from the
egg shakes, I didn't have time to care about the nicotine. Unfortunately
or fortunately, post-op, I've been queasy and my sense of smell is so acute
I can't take being near it - almost makes me throw up. Not being a person
who truly wanted to quit, I asked when would be safe for me to smoke again
and the answer was 6 months post op. By that time, I won't care about it
anymore - - I'll be too busy out there LIVING!
Good luck to you!
— B G.
May 24, 2003
I stopped smoking three months before surgery and I am almost three months
post op and have wanted a cigarette more since surgery than when I first
stopped smoking. I refuse to give into this and will remain smoke free for
as long as I live but it is soooooo very hard but I keep reminding myself
how good I feel since quitting smoking..not to mention how great I feel
since surgery. Keep concentrating on the positive. I smoked 3 packs a day
for 20 years and I refuse to give in now. WE CAN DO THIS!
Josii*
— meltedbuttr
October 12, 2003
In order to prepare for the surgery, I quit the night I found out that you
HAD to quit for the surgery. That was only 11 days ago, and I don't even
know when I'm having surgery, I haven't even met with the surgeon, but I'm
terrified of complications and want this surgery to go well, and if quiting
smoking will lower my chance of complications, then I quit. In comparison
to last time I tried to quit, this has been a walk in the park! I've had
those times where I want one, but then I just mentally tell myself
"You don't smoke anymore" and then the feeling goes away.
For a few weeks before I stopped smoking, I had been wanting to quit
anyway, and I had done something I never did before - I changed every
single smoking pattern I had. If I lit up when I rolled out of bed, I
waited until I got out of the shower one day, or until I got into the car
another day. I never established another ritual - meaning I didn't replace
the wake-up cigarette with the after shower cigarette, I just chose a
totally different time for the first cigarette each time so nonthing in
particular triggered it. I did the same thing with meal-related cigarettes
and I swear that's what has made this so much more easy. However, the
cigarettes that I'm having the most problems with are the ones that you go
to get when you're thinking or reading or playing cards with your friends.
The ones where you weren't really aware that you were smoking, but there
were 5 butts in the ashtray when you were done.
I don't regret it's just harder some days than others. There are periods
of 5 minutes where there's nothing I can think of more than wanting a
cigarette, and I have to talk myself down from it. This is going to sound
absolutely crazy, but it's worked for me: I have never had anyone close to
me die so I've never experienced a loss before - but a few months ago, my
cat suddenly got very sick and died. I would cry and just want to hold him
again one more time, but what I really wanted was to have him back forever
becasue one more time is never good enough - for anything But the ultimate
truth was always there, I could never see him again, and I would accept
that. So, now, my friend of 16 years is gone too, and I miss smoking - I
miss it a lot, but it's gone and I'm better off now.
— asilanne
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