November 14 was to be my surgery date.

I've been seeing a smoking cessation lady at the hospital. I was doing really well. Then I went off the NRT, namely Nicotrol Inhaler. I immediately wanted to smoke. The urge got so great that I didn't call anybody b/c I didn't want anyone to talk me out of it. I've been smoking ever since.

At my last appt. w the lady, I registered a 3 on the nicotine inhaler, which is very good.

She suggested that I go off the NRT and do it with a nicotine lozenge. I said, "I'm good. I don't need the lozenge."

There I go again trying to run the show.

I felt so bad that I decided to give up on this program, the all or nothing thinking. Throwing the baby out w the bath Water. I started eating more than I should, even though it was the right food. I wasn't drinking my water.

Then something kicked in and I realized that just b/c I started smoking, all is not lost. The worst that will happen is that my surgery date will be pushed back. I don't like that, but I can deal w it.

So, I'm back on program. I see the lady today. I even started walking three days ago.

Now, I will follow her advice.

This is one vice that I really enjoy. It is one that I really don't want to part with. It's darn hard. I even joined an open mic 12 step group for nicotine addiction.

Just venting, I guess. Any comments or advice is welcomed.

Thanks for reading.

I smoked for 30 years prior & I quit on March 1st for this surgery. I was never one of those folks who was always trying to quit. I liked smoking & knew that I would only quit when something was important enough to me. My insurance required me to be smoke free for 90 days, so when making the decision of whether to have this surgery, part of it was to be really sure I was committed to quitting. I used a rechargeable & refillable e-cig vape to transition from cigarettes. I showed it to my surgeon & he OK'd it. After awhile, though, I didn't even use the vape very often...maybe once a week or so.

My surgery was on June 19 & I have done very well postop. I have lost about 65 lbs so far, I am exercising regularly & genuinely enjoying it (shocker!!), and last night I got into a pair of size 18 jeans. I haven't worn a size that starts with a 1 in YEARS!!! The benefits of the sleeve to my life far outweigh any enjoyment I found in smoking. Good luck to you...it's not always easy, but the rewards are so worth it!!

I quit 5 1/2 years ago, and I had to go to the Pulmonologist the other day for clearance. I had done the breathing tests, and chest x-ray a week before. I got scared out of my head about that chest x-ray. It was clear, thank goodness! I used to cough all the time. I had to be on antibiotics 3 or 4 times a year... had a few bouts with pneumonia. All that is gone now. It is worth it!

This is one vice that I really enjoy. It is one that I really don't want to part with. It's darn hard. I even joined an open mic 12 step group for nicotine addiction.

Just venting, I guess. Any comments or advice is welcomed.

Thanks for reading.

Former smoker here, so I know what it's like. Even now after 12 years have passed, sometimes I still have an urge for a cig... but I beat it back.

I didn't go through any program to quit. I just went cold turkey..what made me go Cold Turkey? Breast Cancer.

I don't want to scare you, I just want you to think about your life and what's good for you and those that love you. My story is a long and involved one (breast cancer, ovarian cancer (recurrent 2x) but just wanted you to know, you can kick the habit...you really can...I just don't want it to be fear that does it for you.. I want it to be you...for you.. you will feel a whole lot better, believe me. If I had to deal with my weight issues and smoking right now..I'd be starting way behind the 8 ball...

Good luck to you..and I hope you conquer and succeed.

Bountiful Blessings...

I don't know if my doctor tests for nicotine or not, but I am really worried. I was supposed to quit 6 weeks before surgery and here it is 31/2 weeks.

Bonnie

Bonnie,

Most doctors do pre-op nicotine testing.

I also used the rechargeable e-cig vapor method, after 30 years and found it incredibly easy. I put down my half pack of cigarettes in the vapor store and haven't missed it for even a micro second. The thought of having a real cig does not appeal to me at all. I highly recommend it. My lung capacity is great, no more huffing and puffing while walking, trying to keep up with people. It's great. Its easy to taper down the nicotine till it's gone.

My doctor said that ecigs okay. It's the smoke that messes you up not the nicotine. He said I'd be fine for the surgery if I only used ecigs. You might want to ask your surgeon about them.

Robert Rowe

I'm not a smoker, but I honestly wish you well in your efforts to quit. My mom was a smoker for many years. She started smoking as a teenager, then quit in 2007 after being diagnosed with COPD. Her doc told her after seven years of not smoking, her lungs would essentially clear out and regenerate and function like those of someone who had never smoked.

She was smoke-free for about three years, then began having a puff, then a cig, here and there with friends as they went out on smoke breaks. The little bit increased to an average amount, and in March 2011, she fell down at work. In hunting for the reason for the random fall, bloodwork showed unusual potassium levels, and one test led to another test that revealed she had Oat Cell Carcinoma -- a difficult to trace, inoperable, super aggressive, and always fatal type of small cell lung cancer found pretty exclusively in smokers. (4% of diagnoses are in people who work in as asbestos mines, 96% of diagnoses are in people who smoke, 0% of diagnoses are random.).

She was so sure she'd never get lung cancer, but still, she was proactive about her care. Just the month prior, she'd initiated a lung x-ray to verify she was tumor-free. Unfortunately, Oat Cell Carcinoma doesn't show up on X-rays.

I was her primary caregiver through radiation and chemotherapy as she worked so hard to extend her life, and it was her cancer journey that prompts me to have weight loss surgery now. Her grief in dying was so compounded by the fact that she didn't do enough to change her journey before she got sick. I want to now do WLS now because I don't want to get sick and die from issues related to obesity and feel that same compounded grief. It was unbelievably painful to watch.

My mom died in my home on July 31, 2012, sixteen months after her initial cancer diagnosis. She was 56.

I have never smoked, but I have to tell you that your description reminded me of how i finally had to give up being the "know it all do it my way" about eating. As a liftetime dieter, in general, nutritionalists annoyed me. In truth, alot of them aren't that inspiring but the real problem was my attitude about it - I hated being talked down to or accepting that I needed further education and support.

I lucked out in that I got the perfect NUT to work with - she understand that I was fairly well self educated and she helped me move out of the "thinking analytical" part and more into the emotional "learn to trust my body" part of the journey.

I had pretty much hit rock bottom so I would have taken advice from anyone at that point, but I lucked out on who I got.

When I read your post, I feel like you have had an ephiphany - don't need to do "all or nothing thinking" - you don't need to QUIT just because you messed up a little. You are open to learning from this. I think this all bodes very well for your long term success.

Good luck and keep on trying every.single.day.