Okay okay yes I know all the typical answers that are popping into everyone's head. It is bad bad bad I know. Right now the thought of having to give up foods, regular coffee, cokes, everything I know seems a lot to digest <Pardon the pun> anywhoo.... I have told my doctor I have quit in preparation for surgery <gasp> yes I LIED... So yes I feel bad and really intend to not smoke in the weeks prior to my surgery but did anyone else not quit? Anyone get caught by there surgeon?

Lying about quitting is not helping you. Let me tell you this. I work in surgery and the problems smokers have when they wake up from surgery are from staying in the hospital longer due to the smoking or being vented cause they just cant breath after anesthesia. I smoked too before my surgery but quit in may and it wasnt a pleasant post op experience. Do yourself a favor and quit or you will have to deal with what could happen afterwards. Just a loving message because I know what smoking does to people post op. Quit now and dont lie about it.

Yeah I know all the dangers and problems that is what I had said before.... Neway how do I know... here is the sad part I am a critical care nurse... who had surgery two years ago with a horrible post op recovery room time but that was due to multiple factors not just the smoking. It is really sad these things we are addicted to... It just seems unfair for me to have to give up so much all at the same time. Almost too much to have to deal with. I know the purpose of this surgery is to be more healthy and smoking is not in that lifestyle however with multiple major events going on in my life how do you not almost go into a mass depression right before this surgery even though you know it will change your life for the better...

Rachel,

I smoked for years...Granted I am young, but I also started smoking at a very very young age. I understand how difficult it is to quit smoking.

I finally made the decision after my 2nd round of Pneumonia. I never though in my life would I have Pneumonia at the age of 28.

I began the Chantix at the end of March and quit date was April 8th. I have been smoke free almost 9 months now!

Rachel- you are only lying to YOURSELF! What makes you think you are ready for WLS if you are not ready to commit to quitting smoking! Honestly just think about it! You want to lose weight to be healthier; but yet you are still going to smoke!

If you want read my blog below..Go to the begining April of 2010....read about my journey when I chose to make the changes for a healthier me! QUIT SMOKING!!!!!

Good Luck!

Also I would like to add if you dont quit smoking before surgery and decide to quit after you lose weight let me enlighten you on my dumbness. I lost 70lbs from December of last year til May. That was without one fill either. I quit smoking around that time because I thought now I can lose the rest of my weight and not smoke WRONG. Guess what my weight loss stopped for five months and I gained 4lbs back and the scale was going up not down. I just had my first fill on the 30th and I have lost 6lbs in three days but that is three lbs more I could have lost had I just quit smoking from the beginning. Believe me if you think that you can quit smoking after you lose weight it wont work. Girl be good to yourself and do it now. I have no desire to smoke anymore and its only been a little over 7 months it wasnt worth the weight loss stop or having to get a fill because I failed. Do it now so your body can adjust to you not smoking. We gave up our habits to live longer. Yeah its hard and sucks royally and sometimes when Im having a bad food day I wonder why but I know why because I want to live, be healthy and not be obese anymore. Do it for yourself not for us or anyone else.

Chantix is a miracle drug. I quit smoking a year ago.

I used to smoke. I lost my job in early 2007 and knew that I would just sit at my computer, searching jobs on Careerbuilder, drinking coffee and SMOKING all day. So I made the decision right then to quit. Haven't had one since. The decision was made in my HEAD so it wasn't hard, not at all. I've never looked back.

The point here is, if your HEAD is not ready, you are not ready. Whether it be to quit smoking, get banded, whatever. I know you didn't put your post there to get lectured by others, you already know what is right and wrong. All you have to do is decide if you are ready. When you are, you will do what you need to do and it'll all work out.

Wow so much for nonjudgmental support... Thanks to those that have just done that... however... addiction is a hard thing to conquer as everyone here knows and I don't feel that since I am struggling with this one part that I should be made felt like I have failed the entire process... Thankfully this is the first negative encounter on these boards I have ran into. Would you go around telling someone that is cheating on there pre op diet to cancel there surgery? I am ready for this change.... I am committed to the Lap band... However I am sure there are things everyone struggles with and this one is mine. It will probably not be my last but it is my present. I know you were not trying to be harsh but warn me of your experience but saying "What makes you think you are ready for this" is not the way to do it.

I think you took my post COMPLETELY wrong, I was simply saying, you know what you need to do and you'll do it when you're ready. Why would I judge you, we're all in the same situation here.

Wow so much for nonjudgmental support... Thanks to those that have just done that... however... addiction is a hard thing to conquer as everyone here knows and I don't feel that since I am struggling with this one part that I should be made felt like I have failed the entire process... Thankfully this is the first negative encounter on these boards I have ran into. Would you go around telling someone that is cheating on there pre op diet to cancel there surgery? I am ready for this change.... I am committed to the Lap band... However I am sure there are things everyone struggles with and this one is mine. It will probably not be my last but it is my present. I know you were not trying to be harsh but warn me of your experience but saying "What makes you think you are ready for this" is not the way to do it.

no mattie that post was not directed at you

I have heard some doctors do a blood test to determine whether someone is smoking. There is a chemical in your blood from the nicotene. Some doctors have been known to cancel the surgery.

I am not unsymathetic to your case. My brother is a recovering alcoholic and he says tobacco is the hardest thing to give up. He has given up both pot and alcohol. At AA meetings they have coffee and cigs and the room is blue from the smoke.

Rachel, Please understand I am not trying to be mean or cruel in any means. I really do understand HOW DIFFICULT it is to quit smoking. I tired numerous of times! But for me, the weight loss clinic that I go to, wouldn't even consider seeing me if I was smoking! Drug tests and everything would be done periodically if they had any reason to believe I was still smoking! Maybe they say that just to scare me! But I was scared....and made sure I did what I had to!

They say you Should quit because it can cause the band to corrode!

Again I am sorry by the way I came off! But just really think if you are tying to be healthier, do it all the way and quit smoking! Try the chantix! It really is a miracle drug!

Sorry again Rachel!

Hi Rachel!

I just wanted to let you know that I feel EXACTLY the same as you do. I am ready to live a healthier lifestyle, I am ready to shed this weight that prevents me from starting a family, I am MORE than ready to be healthy for the first time in my life since I was 6, however for me..just like you, the hardest part is quitting smoking at the same time as giving up carbs, soda, coffee, and buffets :-) I kept asking myself "Is it REALLY necessary to quit right this second? " "Will I REALLY experience post-op problems if I don't?" It has been my experience that many things are made to seem worse than they actually are, so I just kept telling myself that it didn't REALLY matter if I quit or not before the surgery. I would just quit afterwards. Except I realized that after my surgery, when I'm sitting in bed recovering, then adjusting to my new diet, the urge for cigarettes would be MUCH worse than before. And this I DO know: You heal much faster minus cigarettes, than you do while smoking. I can't be out of work for too long, so for me, this was the argument I needed to kick my butt into gear. I need to heal as fast as possible. Plus, my husband will be taking care of me afterwards, and he will not let me smoke as he is vehemently opposed to it. In the end, I just think it will be easier to quit beforehand while I still have work and housekeeping (and yes...buffets) to take my mind off of it, than when I only have Oprah, Ellen, and Optifast.

As for a helfpul way to quit:

My surgeon did give me a script for Chantix, but I can't afford it and my insurance won't cover. So for Christmas I asked for an electronic cigarette. It contains nicotine, but none of the other harmful substances, also no smoke, odor, ashes, or spending $6 a pack. I just started using it a week ago as I told myself I would stop smoking exactly 4 weeks prior to my surgery. I haven't had a craving for a "real" cigarette since. This is MUCH better than doing a patch or gum because you still get to physically hold something that looks like a cig, and physically inhale and exhale, which as I'm sure you know are BIG parts of the addiciton.

I hope that you quit too, if need be look into the electric cig. It costs about $80 to start, but (with the one I bought) it comes with 25 cartridges. 1 cartridge=1 pack of cigs. After that it is $6 for 8 cartridges (8 packs of "real" cigs) so in the long run you save a LOT OF MONEY in addition to all of the other obvious benefits.

Good Luck, I have confidence that you will do what is best for you and your health, and if you ever need some moral support, don't hesitate to message me.

Wow, who'd have thought? An electronic cigarette!! Where in the world do you get such a thing? I've never heard of this or seen it anywhere.....but then I'm living in the dark ages.....

Hi Rachel!

I just wanted to let you know that I feel EXACTLY the same as you do. I am ready to live a healthier lifestyle, I am ready to shed this weight that prevents me from starting a family, I am MORE than ready to be healthy for the first time in my life since I was 6, however for me..just like you, the hardest part is quitting smoking at the same time as giving up carbs, soda, coffee, and buffets :-) I kept asking myself "Is it REALLY necessary to quit right this second? " "Will I REALLY experience post-op problems if I don't?" It has been my experience that many things are made to seem worse than they actually are, so I just kept telling myself that it didn't REALLY matter if I quit or not before the surgery. I would just quit afterwards. Except I realized that after my surgery, when I'm sitting in bed recovering, then adjusting to my new diet, the urge for cigarettes would be MUCH worse than before. And this I DO know: You heal much faster minus cigarettes, than you do while smoking. I can't be out of work for too long, so for me, this was the argument I needed to kick my butt into gear. I need to heal as fast as possible. Plus, my husband will be taking care of me afterwards, and he will not let me smoke as he is vehemently opposed to it. In the end, I just think it will be easier to quit beforehand while I still have work and housekeeping (and yes...buffets) to take my mind off of it, than when I only have Oprah, Ellen, and Optifast.

As for a helfpul way to quit:

My surgeon did give me a script for Chantix, but I can't afford it and my insurance won't cover. So for Christmas I asked for an electronic cigarette. It contains nicotine, but none of the other harmful substances, also no smoke, odor, ashes, or spending $6 a pack. I just started using it a week ago as I told myself I would stop smoking exactly 4 weeks prior to my surgery. I haven't had a craving for a "real" cigarette since. This is MUCH better than doing a patch or gum because you still get to physically hold something that looks like a cig, and physically inhale and exhale, which as I'm sure you know are BIG parts of the addiciton.

I hope that you quit too, if need be look into the electric cig. It costs about $80 to start, but (with the one I bought) it comes with 25 cartridges. 1 cartridge=1 pack of cigs. After that it is $6 for 8 cartridges (8 packs of "real" cigs) so in the long run you save a LOT OF MONEY in addition to all of the other obvious benefits.

Good Luck, I have confidence that you will do what is best for you and your health, and if you ever need some moral support, don't hesitate to message me.

Hehehe. I don't really even remember where I heard of it, but somehow I did. I've been thinking about it for a few months so just went online and typed into Google, electronic cigarette. A BUNCH of different ones came up, so I did some research and went with the one that seemed to suit me best.

The one I have is black, approx the same size of a cigarette, and a bit heavier, it looks like a Clove cig if you've ever seen one of those. It is essentially (forgive me...this will be VERY simplistic..) a battery with a light at one end that glows red when you inhale, I'm guessing they wanted to make it as much like a cig as possible. The battery twists into a heating element. The heating element twists into a cartridge that is filled with some type of Fiber that is soaked in menthol flavored liquid nicotine. You charge the battery in the wall, or your pc via a USB cord. The battery charges the heating element, the heating element vaporizes the liquid, and you inhale menthol nicotine vapor.

Its pretty nifty. All the benefits of appeasing a smoking addiciton, without all the negatives. Plus, you can "vape" it anywhere. (Although, to be honest, I still get weird looks from people, and have since quit smoking it anywhere I felt like it..plus it fools my mind into thinking it is a "real" cigarette when I tell myself I can only smoke it outside, etc.)

Hi Rachel!

I just wanted to let you know that I feel EXACTLY the same as you do. I am ready to live a healthier lifestyle, I am ready to shed this weight that prevents me from starting a family, I am MORE than ready to be healthy for the first time in my life since I was 6, however for me..just like you, the hardest part is quitting smoking at the same time as giving up carbs, soda, coffee, and buffets :-) I kept asking myself "Is it REALLY necessary to quit right this second? " "Will I REALLY experience post-op problems if I don't?" It has been my experience that many things are made to seem worse than they actually are, so I just kept telling myself that it didn't REALLY matter if I quit or not before the surgery. I would just quit afterwards. Except I realized that after my surgery, when I'm sitting in bed recovering, then adjusting to my new diet, the urge for cigarettes would be MUCH worse than before. And this I DO know: You heal much faster minus cigarettes, than you do while smoking. I can't be out of work for too long, so for me, this was the argument I needed to kick my butt into gear. I need to heal as fast as possible. Plus, my husband will be taking care of me afterwards, and he will not let me smoke as he is vehemently opposed to it. In the end, I just think it will be easier to quit beforehand while I still have work and housekeeping (and yes...buffets) to take my mind off of it, than when I only have Oprah, Ellen, and Optifast.

As for a helfpul way to quit:

My surgeon did give me a script for Chantix, but I can't afford it and my insurance won't cover. So for Christmas I asked for an electronic cigarette. It contains nicotine, but none of the other harmful substances, also no smoke, odor, ashes, or spending $6 a pack. I just started using it a week ago as I told myself I would stop smoking exactly 4 weeks prior to my surgery. I haven't had a craving for a "real" cigarette since. This is MUCH better than doing a patch or gum because you still get to physically hold something that looks like a cig, and physically inhale and exhale, which as I'm sure you know are BIG parts of the addiciton.

I hope that you quit too, if need be look into the electric cig. It costs about $80 to start, but (with the one I bought) it comes with 25 cartridges. 1 cartridge=1 pack of cigs. After that it is $6 for 8 cartridges (8 packs of "real" cigs) so in the long run you save a LOT OF MONEY in addition to all of the other obvious benefits.

Good Luck, I have confidence that you will do what is best for you and your health, and if you ever need some moral support, don't hesitate to message me.

Wow, that's genius. If I still needed to quit, I would so be getting one of those!

Hehehe. I don't really even remember where I heard of it, but somehow I did. I've been thinking about it for a few months so just went online and typed into Google, electronic cigarette. A BUNCH of different ones came up, so I did some research and went with the one that seemed to suit me best.

The one I have is black, approx the same size of a cigarette, and a bit heavier, it looks like a Clove cig if you've ever seen one of those. It is essentially (forgive me...this will be VERY simplistic..) a battery with a light at one end that glows red when you inhale, I'm guessing they wanted to make it as much like a cig as possible. The battery twists into a heating element. The heating element twists into a cartridge that is filled with some type of fiber that is soaked in menthol flavored liquid nicotine. You charge the battery in the wall, or your pc via a USB cord. The battery charges the heating element, the heating element vaporizes the liquid, and you inhale menthol nicotine vapor.

Its pretty nifty. All the benefits of appeasing a smoking addiciton, without all the negatives. Plus, you can "vape" it anywhere. (Although, to be honest, I still get weird looks from people, and have since quit smoking it anywhere I felt like it..plus it fools my mind into thinking it is a "real" cigarette when I tell myself I can only smoke it outside, etc.)