SO I FINALLY HAD A CHANCE TO MEET THE SURGEON TODAY, AND I SAT THRU THE SEMINAR...PRETTY COOL...I REALLY LIKE THE DOCTOR, I'M FEEL REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH HIM SO FAR...BUT HE DID MENTION THAT HE WILL NOT DO THE SURGERY IF I SMOKE CIGARETTES...NOW I KNOW THEY ARE NOT HEALTHY AND I DO EVENTUALLY WANT TO STOP, BUT THE TRUTH IS: ITS EASIER SAID THAN DONE...AND IF YOU ARE A SMOKER YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN..NOW I CAN SEE MYSELF SLOWING DOWN AT FIRST AND WORKING TOWARDS QUITTING, BUT TO JUST UP AND STOP WILL PROBABLY DRAW ME BACK EVEN QUICKER AND I'LL PROBABLY SMOKE MORE...ANYWAY..HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD A PROBLEM WITH SMOKING AND BEING BANDED, OR BEING APPROVED FOR SURGERY AND BEING A SMOKER??? I GUESS I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT SMOKING CIGARETTES CONFLICTING WITH GETTING BANDED...

I'm a smoker. My doc said the same thing so I just didn't smoke before surgery. I did on the way home and IT was a great cigarette!! I'm still alive and healed just fine. :-)

I don't think so. I know this is a mixed subject with people. I agree with the doctor though. For me I wouldn't want to be banded and spend all that money and do all that life changing for the chance of knowing I would put on weight when pregnant. Of course I'm not trying to tick anyone off here when I say this' date=' its my opinion and we all have them. Another thing I sometimes see on here are people that are not overweight on here (ok, weight proportioned to height I know) so I'm going o say this. If somene is 5' 7" and they weight 180 lbs and a doctor is going to perform this surgery on someone. I chalk it as a greedy doctor wanting to get rich. No haters please.[/quote']

The band also helps u lose the weight after pregnancy. I am only 25 and plan to have at least 2 more kids. I got the band so I can have a normal healthy pregnancy.

I think a doctor only banding you if your done having kids is ridic!

i was what they termed a passive smoker...i smoked when i drank and i let them know this...they required that i be smoke free 90-120 pre-op...i'm not drinking anymore so i'm not smoking! a co-woker also had the band and is a smoker...she quit for the 90 days and is back to smoking and drinking...she seems to be doing ok...

Getting pregnant isn't a big deal. They can take a little out to help you meet your requirements for pregnancy and fill postpartum. It's smarter to be smaller with a lap band and pregnant than morbidly obese without one and pregnant. Right?

Smoking can significantly increase your risk of blood clots after surgery, which CAN KILL YOU. Other than the anesthesia risks there is no long term consequences. Could you give it up for two months knowing it's temporary? One month before, one after.

yea i can give it up eventually and even slightly temporarily...but to up and give it up outta nowhere can be quite hard...and its not like imma wait til i have finally completely gave it up before i try to pursuit the surgery...so it makes it a harder situation...but i guess imma have to do what i have to do...in all honesty, the procedure can be abit stressful, so i anticipated on using the cigs to help me get thru it...guess i can cancel that plan...lol

I'm a smoker. My doc said the same thing so I just didn't smoke before surgery. I did on the way home and IT was a great cigarette!! I'm still alive and healed just fine. :-)

how long you been banded???

Lu Lu, I'm a looong time smoker myself, and I think the reason Dr's want us to quit before surgery is because anytime you have a general anestheia, they have to put a tube down your throat to "breath" for you. This tube is pulled out before you go to the recovery room. IF a person is a smoker, it COULD lead to problems when its time to breathe on your own after the tube is removed. I hope this helps.

are you banded already??? if so did you stop smoking??? or are you waiting to get banded??? if so, what is your plan about the whole smoking situation???

how long you been banded???

I was banded 10/27/2011

I was banded 10/27/2011

you still smoke???

I smoke and filled out my paperwork and said I didn't bc I was afraid they would not band me.

I wasn't sure and hate lying so I had my grandma call the Dr's office and ask a few questions as if she was interested in the procedure and also asked about the smoking, and sure enough he won't do it If you smoke.

So I figured that if I bought an electronic cigarette and used it on days when I go to their office and make sure I wear smoke free clothes then they can't smell it on me, I also wash my hands and use a pumice stone to keep my fingers from yellowing so that their is no sign of smoking their either. With all of this I should not be ousted as a smoker!

My friend has a script for Chantix that I am getting tomorrow and will start it tomorrow because I really would love to quit and if I can AWESOME! If only before surgery awesome too but would love to quit forever!

Wish me luck with the Chantix because I want it to work. I know a lot of people that have had great success and are usually smoke free by the 5th or 6th day!

Just to be clear-I have been prescribed Chantix I just never got a chance to fill it because of losing my insurance and she decided she was going to wait to stop smoking and would fill it on her insurance so I didn't have to go go doc and get new script and pay full price.

Really just chew the nicotine gum instead. You will still get the nico fix and no one needs to know. I quit smoking cold turkey and frankly it drove me near insanity. The gum makes quitting so much more doable!

Really just chew the nicotine gum instead. You will still get the nico fix and no one needs to know. I quit smoking cold turkey and frankly it drove me near insanity. The gum makes quitting so much more doable!

I've tried the gum and Patches before and honestly it just doesn't work for me! Forget cold turkey!

I got the chantix and started it today. I'm not telling them that's for sure. Hopefully I'll be quit by Sunday. We shall see how it goes!

Hi all! I was a very heavy smoker for 14 years! I never listened to anyone about the risks and all that blah blah blah and people who haven't ever smoked don't understand! However with that bein said you have to want to stop smokin! I tried everything under the sun to quit and nothing, finally I decided to quit on a Monday not a weekend and use the nicotine lozenges! They worked miracles, I have been a non smoker for two and a half years now and honestly thinking about it now, one of the main reasons I decided to have the lap band is getting healthier, but if u still smoke it's just canceling back out again! I promise that quitting smoking is a hell of a lot easier than retraining your body to quit eating the wrong foods and eatin too much! Besides no one wants to see their kids grow up and pick up the same nasty smokin habits so better yourself 100%!

Well i have to admit i was a smoker since the age of 40 yrs i was asked to cut out smoking prior to my lapband surgery and the week before i did virtually stop smoking, i used patches and a plastic cigarette. I knew that there were increased risks with surgery and the to be honest the most dangerous side effect of smoking and surgery is DVT u are far more prone to it as a smoker, also coughing afterwards hurts like hell .. but i got through it fine, i am not advocating smoking and a lapband as it obviously is better that u dont smoke, i could not give up just because someome told me too, i have to do it for myself, smoking helped me lose all the weight i did , but i will not be an advocate for smoking.

Fast forward to this year, i knew i would be having extensive cosmetic surgery to remove all my excess skin, so it was no shock when the plastic surgeon said no way will she do this surgery while i still smoke, i agreed to give up smoking .. i had to be smoke free 1 month before surgery and 13 weeks ago i gave up smoking using Champix and 11 weeks ago was my last cigarette. I was 11 hours in surgery and i know that i recovered as well as i did because of not smoking.

I had so much weight to lose i didnt think i could give up smoking and eating at the same time and it hasnt been easy even after i lost all the weight to give up, but now i have and it feels so much better. Dont get me wrong i still miss smoking but i know i cant afford it health wise or money wise a pack of cigarettes in the UK will cost u at least $12 per 20 ... give it up if can its worth it in the long run