Smoking ?

[chunkycharlie 26]

I have been doing my research and I see that some people are required to take a nicotine test before surgery. I am currently a smoker, not a pack a day but none the less a smoker and it is a battle for me because when I try to quit , my weight increases dramatically then become stressed out and go back to smoking. My question is if I stop smoking and start chewing the cessation gum a month prior to surgery will I be denied because of weight gain during the pre-op diet phase, and because I have nicotine in my system from either the patch or the gum ? Has anyone had to overcome this obstacle ?

[sharonintx 1,275]

Oh goodness. You'll be sorry about asking the smoking question here. Expect some scolding comments to come your way. And really the comments are right and very valid points.

I already got scolded a couple years ago so I won't care. Since you already know that smoking is bad for you, I can tell you that my Dr in Mexico did no testing for that issue, in fact some of the patients were smoking outside while waiting for the leak test, and the staff at the recovery center did not like for me to smoke but they didn't hassle any of us very much.

I healed up just fine, I had no complications during or after surgery, and all went well.

[mclorrie 219]

Hi! I wish I could answer your question! But I think that would be a question to ask your PCP or surgeon. Good luck to you!

[mmwishart 41]

I think my program required that you have quit smoking for 6 months prior to the surgery. They do test for nicotine. Ask your doctor.

[chunkycharlie 26]

I want to quit completely, the gum and the patch help curb the craving but the actual not smoking starts me to gain weight, if your a smoker you know exactly what I mean.

I just don't want to set myself thinking I'm doing the right thing with cessation aids and then some one is like oh here's a cup so we can test your nicotine.

Thank you guys for answering by the way :-)

[zanderman 41]

@@chunkycharlie You're grown, I'm not going to judge. I quit knowing I'd gain weight (and man did I gain weight). I put on 45 lbs, and quit using a combination of an e-cigarette and nicotine lozenges. The good news is, I've had my surgery, and including my preop diet, I've already lost the 45, I no longer use the e-cigarette or lozenges, and I'm losing weight. For the first time in a long time, I'm getting healthy - and so can you.

It's a hard road, but you can do it. Hey, you have to lose weight anyway, right? Think about this in terms of your life, forget about the surgery for a minute. It sure would suck to drop your weight and try to quit smoking then, right?

[chunkycharlie 26]

Yes I can agree :-)

[perk4756 259]

I was told no nicotine at all. It's the hardest thing to quit. I'm only 2 weeks non smoker and still a big hurdle a few days at a time, but I keep myself smoke free. My paperwork said 8 weeks pre surgery I had to quit. Probably ask your Dr. You can do this????

[snickysnack78 131]

I'm not a smoker but the Dr mentioned that you need to quit three months before surgery. In the initial class, they threatened to test for that, however I never got any testing for it. With kaiser they have in your chart of your a smoker or former or never smoker, so that may determine if they test you. Good luck with quitting. My boyfriend is trying to quit, and I know from his experience its not easy

[perk4756 259]

Oh yes I do believe they will test for it. Even read on this sight where 2nd hand smoke has canceled ppl surgeries too

[chunkycharlie 26]

My lord !, second hand smoke really ? That's horrible, especially if your not even a smoker, what if it's the spouse ? Can't kick your spouse out if they don't stop smoking.

And a lot of these sound like doctors are going over board and probably never been smokers. I say this because when I was 21 , I had to have my gallbladder removed and I was a heavy smoker then....I was out the bed and moving around the next day, never had any complications nor was smoking ever mentioned. My PCP now was a smoker and has been smoke free for 5 years, but he said it took him years to quit and his approach with me is totally different than with docs who have never smoked....if I'm making sense, sorry it's very early.

[mandaroo 78]

I had to quit six weeks prior ro surgery... I had my pre op diet last week and the nurse told me Jo smoking after cause it will cause ulcers in my pouch... Maybe he was just trying g to scare me. I really want a cig.. Hahah... But I'll try not to

[perk4756 259]

Wow good to know. I'm same way, dying for a cigarette at times still. Lol. The Chantix obviously helps, but still hard to do. My paperwork said 8 weeks before, but didn't want to cut so close because I knew it would be hard. One of my back surgeries I had to quit also due to having bone transplant too. But went back to it soon after.

[chunkycharlie 26]

I forgot to mention, I have not smoked actual cigarettes in a while, I actually use a hookah pen and just add juice that has nicotine in it, but I have a consult in 3 weeks so I will definitely bring it up then.

[chunkycharlie 26]

OK not sure why Hooka was blocked out but otherwise known as a vapor pen.