Hello. My lap band surgery is scheduled for next Friday, February 8th. I would like to know why we are told to quit smoking before the lap band surgery? I had to sign a paper saying I would quit smoking 4 weeks prior to surgery. This was back on January 2nd. I have been having a difficult time quitting. I even have an electronic cigarette. I had two major surgeries last year and was only told not to smoke 12hrs prior to surgery. So, what's with this 4 week thing? Thanks for you help!

My mom had gastric bypass 7 years ago and her surgeon told her the exact opposite, to not stop smoking right before the surgery because her veins and arteries would constrict and make the surgery a lot more difficult. The morning of her surgery was her last cigarette because after the surgery she had no desire to smoke. She actually got sick when we took her home in her car she always smoked in because of the smell. Maybe your surgeon wanted you to quit a month before your surgery so your veins and arteries wouldn't constrict? That's the only thing I can think of.

Smoking can have a big impact on blood flow, especially to the stomach. It can impede the healing process as well. Also, at my info session the surgeon told us that smoking and drinking alcohol are 2 big factors in the development of ulcers down the line. I feel your pain and have been struggling to quit. I don't anticipate having my surgery till April, so I have time to quit, but it has been a definite struggle. Good luck! Hopefully after your surgery you'll be so focused on what you need to do to heal and stay on track with your new lifestyle that you won't miss smoking so much.

Smoking also puts you at a greater risk with general anesthesia.

There are many reasons they tell you to stop smoking. The main one being that if you smoke, you're at much greater risk to having an adverse effect to the anesthesia. The chemicals in cigarette smoke adhere to the red blood cells making them far less effective oxygenating the body properly. Also, it makes it harder to recover after surgery and more likely to wake up with a tube down your throat because your body simply can't get the oxygen it needs.

After surgery, smoking seriously interferes with the healing process and people who smoke are far more likely to suffer infections, bleeding, and wounds that don't heal properly.

The 4 week thing is because WLS is an elective surgery thus they can make whatever rules they want to do it. 4 weeks not smoking allows the body time to rid itself of all trash and toxins, reducing all the smoking related risks. I've known surgeons who actually nicotine test their patients and if they test positive, cancel the surgery.

Quitting sucks, I know, I quit smoking 18 months ago. But, you're getting WLS to be healthy, why not actually be healthy and quit smoking too?

Best wishes.

You are putting yourself at risk once you are under anesthesia. People who smoke come out of surgery with breathing problems. Might make your surgery more of a risk.

It really is a good time to make this a hand in hand journey of health. I too struggled to quit...but I am not having surgery to look good in jeans. I am doing it to live a longer, healthier life. Continuing to smoke, for me, makes no sense.

Not all people who smoke have problems with surgery. Not that it matters but I smoke lightly... Maybe a pack every few days and while my lapband doctor preferred that I quit I was honest with him that I could not quit eating and smoking in the same year. LOL. He made sure the anesthologist knew because of the oxygen flow issues. I didn't have any problem.

Now my plastic surgeon was different story. in December I had to quit 2 weeks before tummy tuck surgery or he wouldn't do it. The morning of surgery and they did an oxygen test.... If I had been smoking i would have failed it.

I am not a medical professional nor a advocate for smokers... I am just telling you my personal experience. Make sure you are honest with your dr as I know there are some out there that won't operate on a smoker. And that is their choice.

I vote for the 2fer... but don't kid yourself, it will be hard.

I quit smoking the minute the clinic told me too. They gave me a list of reasons on why smoking is bad while banded. That was back in October. I just had my surgery Wednesday. I don't crave it at all and and super glad I did it.

I smoked the entire time, over three years with the band... I quit last November though for band unrelated reasons.

Hi Cajun, you've probably had your surgery already as you were scheduled for February. I hope you are doing well and did, indeed, quit smoking. I was a smoker before surgery, quit for about six weeks after my Jan 2012 surgery, and started again until I quit for good around the holidays. I really wish I would have just stayed quit at the beginning; it kind of put me in a plateau weight-loss wise at a time when I "was getting used to the band," instead of when you're really going-ho at the beginning.

Feeling and smelling clean in smaller size clothing is really a thrill for me, not to mention all the positives you already know about quitting smoking.

BTW, smoking produces a great deal of acid in your stomach, which can aggravate your band or create reflux symptoms or irritations that could lead to ulcers or erosion. That's what my doc told me, anyway. I so totally know how hard it is to give up the smokes, but this is your year to own your power! Hugs to you.

I had to have a nicotine blood test done about a month and a half before my surgery. If I failed, no surgery! My surgeon gave me all of the reasons people outlined above but the most important was that I was electing to undergo surgery to be healthy and smoking was in direct opposition to that.

How did you quit?

I quit smoking 10 years ago (after about 15 years of a pack a day). Wellbutrin did it for me. The idea is that you take it and still smoke for a few weeks...except it disrupts the part of your brain that reacts to the nicotine... After a while your body realizes that smoking doesn't seem to "work" anymore and the addiction subsides...I was still fairly miserable, but I haven't gone back to smoking on all those years. Good luck!!

Wellbutrin is a good option to quit smoking but it isn't the only option. There is also Varenicline (Chantix), nicotine patches, gum, hypnosis and many other tools. Wellbutrin is not a great drug for people who have anxiety, but one of the side effects of Wellbutrin is loss of appetite! Talk to your pcp about your options and what is right for you. You don't have to go through it alone!

Good Luck!