Help nicotine test

[Frenchie1977 262]

My surgeons office just called and told me that my pre-op date is 11/22 that's 19 days away and that I will have a nicotine test, I didn't even know I will have a nicotine test. If I don't smoke again will I be ok for the test? Or am I doomed to have to reschedule this surgery date I waited so long to get?

[KristenLe 5,980]

The only thing you can do is quit now and hope for the best. If you have to postpone - at least you'll have 19 days smoke free under your belt.

[ShelterDog64 2,364]

Does your surgeon think you've already stopped smoking or does he/she know that you're still smoking?

[Frenchie1977 262]

He knew I was smoking the last time I saw him and commented that I would have to stop before surgery, but never said when exactly, and I was planning on quitting next week, one week before my pre-op diet, but now I find out I have to pass a nicotine test in 19 days and that if I don't pass it he won't do the surgery

[blizair09 3,250]

The best thing you can do is quit now and have an honest conversation with your surgeon about the date you quit beforehand. I think that it would be better to give him a complete picture of the situation than have it come back in some test result.

[ShelterDog64 2,364]

I agree with Blizair...you need to tell your surgery team. Nicotine use greatly inhibits healing and your surgeon needs to know what to expect post-op.

[genn 460]

I would suggest u quit now and be completely honest with ur surgeon bc it's not just ur life at risk on the table but the life's of everyone on that operating team if something happens to you that is affected by it. I quit cold turkey the day after my first appointment 7 months ago. I still crave one over 50% of the time but I also see how much healthier I feel and how less often I'm sick!! My surgery is also on the 22nd!! Gl

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[Stevehud 1,790]

id quit now, and go with lots of fluids, you need to flush your liver. nicotine stays in urine ( and hair but thats never checked) the longest, so flushing your liver from now till surgery shoudl make it fine, but definitely inform your surgeon. Dont hide anything, trust me they are used to it.

you can also try a liver cleanse although i think they are probably a bunch of bull, but drink as much fluids as you can, the more you pee the better youll be.

and it rhymes,, so there is that..

Good luck youll do great!

[Hammer_Down 631]

You need to clarify what, exactly, they are testing you for and why.

There are 3 substances that could be ordered on the test from your surgeon:

1) Nicotine itself, which passes out of urine in a few days.

2) Cotinine, which is a metabolite produced when your body processes nicotine (I would suspect this is the more likely test, as most nicotine will be broken down into this metabolite) Cotinine is detectable in urine for about a week.

3) Anabasine is a metabolite that is produced ONLY when you use tobacco products. Nicorette, e-cigs, Nicoderm etc will not show a positive test for Anabasine. Only cigarettes, cigars, chew, snuff, etc will. This test. Ales the most logical sense, since it is smoking that causes blood clots after surgery and not nicotine.

hair tests are very expensive, and you would need to be clean for a minimum of 90 days to pass a hair follicle.

Blood tests have a much smaller detection window, hours instead of days. Urine testing is cheap, easy, and instant. You can buy a home urine test yourself on Amazon for any substance(s) you like for a few bucks. If you're concerned going into the surgery, I would do so for the peace of mind.

[Frenchie1977 262]

Well I believe it would be the second test then since they told me no nicotine replacement therapy could be used either and advised that second hand smoke has been known to effect the test. I'm pretty sure I'm ok with 19 days to go, I just got panicked when I heard it, as I had just finished a cigarette.

[Hammer_Down 631]

19 days should be fine unless you are eating cigarettes instead of smoking them.

I would order some nicotine/continine panel urine test on eBay or Amazon for peace of mind. You'll be nervous enough going into the surgery, and drinking a gallon of Water to try to dilute the test the day of surgery is not only an obvious to the tester, but will make for a terrible surgery day trotting to the toilet every 30 mins for the day. No surprises, no problems.

[rdharri 46]

Not sure about cigarettes but I was off of Nicorette gum for 10 days and passed the test. It was the cotinine blood test.

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[FrankyG 1,450]

Why not call back the doctor's office and ask them if quitting right now is enough time out from surgery? Save you from worrying over it the next few weeks as they'll tell you absolutely yes, or no, we need to push the date out a little.