Question:
I want to smoke so bad,,,, how can it hurt me?
I am 10 days post op and I smoked up until the morning of surgery,,,,, I had no complications after surgery, but I want to smoke so bad that I want to scream. I asked my dr. and he said that if I smoke that it could cause a ulcer... Has anyone heard of such a thing? I have had different surgerys in the past and smoked afterwards.. I feel like I am going crazy,, someone please help. — Debi Z. (posted on October 4, 2002)
October 3, 2002
I stopped smoking 4 months b4 surgery after being a pack a day smoker for
nearly 20 yrs. (I am only 34) About 4 weeks after surgery the stress of
infection, not having food for a comfort and being unable to have hubby
affections (if yano what I mean) I broke down and lite up. BIGGEST MISTAKE
OF MY LIFE! I am now back up to a pack a day. I understand if you do lite
up but girl I so hope you dont. Once U smoke ONE the next WILL follow. Good
Luck to you and congrats on surgery and being a NON smoker!!! CM
— Sassy M.
October 3, 2002
How can it hurt you?? Buy smoking, you are making your entire vascular
system clamp down. which basically means that your body is not getting the
blood that it needs. THerefore, you will not continue to heal well. Also,
it decreases that amount of oxygen in your blood, so, agian, it will delay
your healing. There is also a higher incidence of ulcers in smokers, so
that will make you that much more susceptible since your stomach is so
small. I am sure that you will hear from lots of people that say they
started smoking right after surgery and did not have any problems. But, It
is not really worth the risk.
— Vicki L.
October 3, 2002
ask you doc for welbuterin. it is supposed to help.
— faybay
October 3, 2002
My surgreon has a big sign in his office posted about the risk of smoking
with bariatric surgery patients. It talks about the higher incident of
ulcers and says that you may not have complications from smoking
immediately, but eventually you will. I don't know the details, but he
advises very strongly against it in his literature and seminars too...
— Lisa F.
October 3, 2002
My surgeon won't operate on anyone who hasn't been smoke free for 3 months
prior to surgery. There are definite risks associated both during the
surgery and long term post-op.
— Patty_Butler
October 4, 2002
Debi: Please, please stop smoking forever. Please use this as an
opportunity to keep the use of ALL of your lung capacity for the rest of
your life. As someone who has lost parents, a sibling and aunts and uncles
to cancer, please, please quit. There are so many evil side effects to
this insidious habit, not to mention the prohibitive dollar cost - you
might as well roll up a couple of dollar bills and light them up with a
match! Margie B
— Marjorie B.
October 4, 2002
MY QUESTION TO YOU IS THIS, YOU HAD SURGERY WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE
YOUR LIFE AND NOW YOU WANT TO START SMOKING? THAT DOESN'T MAKE MUCH SENSE
TO ME. HOW WELL DO YOU THINK YOUR STAMINA WILL BE ONCE YOU HAVE LOST
WEIGHT AND YOU BEGIN YOUR EXERCISE PROGRAM? FOR YOU TO START SMOKING WOULD
BE A CRAZY THING TO DO. I AM AN EX-SMOKER, WHO HAD A HABIT OF A PACK A DAY
FOR 27 YEARS. TRIED EVERYTHING, ONLY THING THAT WORKED WAS NICOTINE GUM,
UNBELIEVEABLE BUT TRUE. GIVE IT A TRY.
— LORI B.
October 4, 2002
I used to work for a dr and he could tell which patients were smokers just
by how they healed after surgery. The non-smokers would heal up just fine
but the smokers' incisions would take forever to heal up. Just imagine that
on your insides! It was enough to scare me away from ever starting up.
— ctyst
October 4, 2002
I know exactly what you are going thru. I am scheduled for surgery in
December and I am struggling with the smoking issue. And I know as one
lady said the urge to eat and not being able to and just depressed for a
small period of time and I would want to lite up to. I understand what you
are going thru. But I think quitting is the best decision I could of made
as well as having WLS. Good Luck on your journey. Be positive.
— beckycox
October 4, 2002
Girl...I'm so with you. I have been smoke free for a whopping 11 days now,
and my surgery is scheduled for 10/21. I'm hoping (praying) this will get
easier. In the meantime, chew on a straw, walk around the block. This too
will pass...and from what I understand, eventually you'll feel better.
Keep your chin up.
— Tamara K.
October 4, 2002
I used to smoke too and I found that the Nicoderm patch REALLY helped me
quit easily. Of course, you should check with your doctor because I'm not
sure if it's okay to even go on the patch (or the nicotine gum) so soon
after surgery... but I think it's worth asking about! Good luck!
— Patricia E.
October 4, 2002
This is from a former smoker who quit 3 months prior to surgery - DO NOT
SMOKE!!! A friend of mine has a cousin who had surgery in August and she
smoked before surgery and within a week after surgery -- ended up in the
hospital with blood clots in her lungs! She made it but why put yourself
and your loved ones through that? When I decided to have WLS I decided to
make it a move for better health in every way I could. I quit smoking on
April 1st. Unfortunately a very dear friend of mine died that day of a
brain aneurysm, very unexpected at the age of 45. Even with all that going
on, I did not start up again because I knew I couldn't. PLEASE try
everything you can to NOT SMOKE. You'll love it in a few months when you're
exercising and can breathe freely. It's like a whole new high! Good Luck, I
know it is not easy. - Anna LAP RNY 7/3/02 -70lbs.
— Anna L.
October 4, 2002
How can smoking hurt you........you mean besides helping to cause cancer,
heat problems, emphysema, asthma high blood pressure etc....... you have
been given a reason to quit smoking and a chance, PLEASE TAKE IT. People
around you will appreciate your clothes, body and breath not smelling like
a smoke stack or having to share your cigarette smoke with you when you
light up. I wont apologize for being anti smoking, it may be one of the
hardest things for you to give up, but your body will be better off because
of it. Go talk to someone, GET HELP WITH THIS DONT GO IT ALONE. My mom
would still be here today if she would of given up smoking. I miss her.
— domestic G.
October 4, 2002
dont beat yourself up over it...I have had several surgeries and my mom has
had 6 surgeries in the last 10 years..none were smoking related illnesses
by the way. Neither of us has ever had any problems. My dad had emergency
surg. in Aug, his appendix burst and he smoked on the way to the
hospital...he's been back to work for several weeks.. three weeks ahead of
schedule..and he smokes 2 1/2 packs a day. None of us have ever had a
problem with breathing or healing. I think that pretty much everything
that happens to a smoker will be automatically blamed on the smoking no
matter what. That said, I think that if you have quit, ride out the
cravings. get some gum, an ink pen to chew on, a piece of jerky to chew
and carry around in your mouth (though you may get strange looks at work
lol), anything you can find that is SF to put in your mouth to keep it busy
and wont ruin you wl. Once you get past the cravings..thats it your done.
You wont have any worries about the furture healthwise) and you will be
saving a ton of money..that will buy new MUCH smaller clothes.....Keep your
chin up, the worst is really over.hugs, terri
— cherokey55
October 4, 2002
Debi,I am a X smoker of 6 years now. It was the best thing I could have
done for myself. I was almost dead, and if I wanted to live I had to
quit!!!! So I did. After 3 days the nicotine is OUT of your body. ALL you
have is HEAD Hunger now. Drink lots of water b/c this helps flush out the
bad things in your system. When the urge hits get up and DO SOMETHING,
ANYTHING. The craving will pass in about 3 minutes. Believe me it works. I
associated drinking a pepsi with smoking. Gave that up the same time I
gave smoking up. What ever you associate with smoking, CHANGE IT. Don't
dwell on it. You have come this far (10 days), don't turn back. You have a
whole new world to explore as a non smoker and a soon to be lighter person.
I hope this helps and good luck.
— sandy W.
October 4, 2002
Hi Debi, just wanted to say that like you, at 10 days out, I wanted a
cigarette bad. I am not advocating smoking, but you have to be a smoker to
understand. Did I smoke again? Yep. I'm afraid that I am too weak to
quit smoking and eating. I'm healing really well and no problems so far.
Still could be, you never know, but I've not been able to find anything
that relieves the stress better than a cigarette. Of course, I would love
to see you be able to quit, but in the end it is your decision.
— joeandteri
October 4, 2002
Yes, smoking can cause marginal ulcer. Marginal ulcers form at the
"margin" between the pouch & intestine, right in the mouth of
the stoma. Smoking messes with the blood supply to the area, and it can
become rigid. It needs to be able to flex to perform peristalsis (sucking
the food down). If it becomes rigid and can't do it, nausea would be the
result, perhaps vomiting. I had several marginal ulcers, but nothing to do
with smoking (I quit 14 yrs ago). I can tell you that I did not enjoy the
constant nausea of the ulcers. The other thing to consider when you're
having this war with yourself: if you start again, you know yo have to quit
some day again. And when you do, you'll gain wt. Right now is the only
time you can quit & LOSE wt while you go thru the worst of it. At
first, the only thing that kept me from starting again was the fear of
having to quit again! I'm not a person of strong character (trust me), so I
took the path of least resistance. Easier to stay quit than to start from
scratch.
— vitalady
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