I have smoked for about 18 years,tried and failed to give up (or gave up and put on another 40+ lbs so restarted) Anyway..before I went for my banding they advised for me to cut down(I was on 15-20 a day) and I found it impossible.I was on 2 week pre-op liquids and found giving up 1 addiction ie. food was hard enough,and didnt do very well cutting smoking down. I had to stay in hospital overnight for banding,so there was no way I could smoke.I was really worried how I would cope,but the night before my banding 1st March,I put on a patch. I havent smoked since,and dont ever want to smoke again! The banding will give me a new lease of life in more than one way now....I will lose the lbs and I am also free of smoking too!! I thought I want to reap the benefits of feeling healthy,and I am suprised how easy its going! I have also lost my need for caffine too as I dont want tea of coffee either.

Yep, I quit with the patch back in 1997. Can't even picture myself as a smoker now. I remember how much energy I had. You'll be DOUBLY amazed at how much better you feel with less weight AND more oxygen!

I think the patch is a good analogy for the LapBand. It works on the addiction, so you can work on the habit.

:lol:wow...consider that a gift of God or whatever out there is on your side. Hey,as long as you are going through all the addiction withdrawal why not a 2 for 1.

good fidget factor ideas, knitting, beading, model making, painting blogging, cleaning, gardening...make a sailors valentine...paint your house, clean closets. Get an Ipod and plug in to happy music and books ( I love that...even though I am 50 and should be too old..it keeps my mind from overthinking... whoo possibly one of the traits of generation y:cool2: now thats disturbing but maybe not a bad thing...but thats another subject entirely:sleep:)...it all helps redirect.

remember 30 days off smoking is a magic number...I hope you get there and stay there!..and great luck with your band too. How good you will feel to be so very clean and healthy after this crazy adjustment period!

You will smell good too...how about bath salts and stuff to get your sniffer back in gear...buy a gardenia a week and keep it by your bed...that sniffer is a huge perk when you stop smoking...and just might help keep you off it!

I suspect the only thing harder than giving up smoking is the food problem...The smoking is probably going to be the easy part if you let it...

Hugs and all the prayers and best of results to you...Turnaround time!!!!! get your life back...:eek::tt2::tt2::thumbup:what a ride!

That is fabulous news. You should be really proud of yourself!

I quit with the patch also about a week before my surgery. I was scared that with not being able to eat when I was stressed I wouldn't be able to stay quit with the smoking, but I have. I think I am too happy and feel to good to allow myself to fall back right now.

congratulation on your success breaking such a loong term habit.:sneaky:

I quit with the patch also about a week before my surgery. I was scared that with not being able to eat when I was stressed I wouldn't be able to stay quit with the smoking, but I have. I think I am too happy and feel to good to allow myself to fall back right now.

congratulation on your success breaking such a long term habit.:blushing:

Well done to you as well! Im finding food is more of a challenge than the smoking! Just think how healthy we will feel in a few months.

Thankyou for all the positive words. :biggrin2:

Just an update...still no smoking! Waiting for my 1st band fill.

Good for you, one month down - the rest should be cake! Hmmm...bad choice of words maybe

Go baby go...you got through your addiction hump!!! Woo Hoo wonderwoman look out. I am sooooooooooohappy for you! I think you should go buy yourself a bracelet or something you can look at and fuss with if your fingers get twitchy again....

"someone saved my life tonite...." Whoa! It's you!!! go grrrl!

Finding it hard, but dont want problems with band because of my smoking, plus my health not to mention all the money, going to try patches again, tried years ago and had bad nightmares, try again, like with the food, try and try till i succeed.

I stopped smoking a year a go as I got my first appointment for the lapband. I wanted to show the doctors that I could commit to something. Then my periodontist gave me a program to Stop Smoking, not to quit smoking because I am not a quitter. I did not want to use the patch because I did not want to give myself more nicotine, so I told myself everynight while I looked at myself in the mirror that I would stop smoking, without recurring to food or getting crancky. It helped and also I tried to stay busy. Whenever I had a bad craving for a smoke I would hold a cinnamon stick in my mouth or fingers, like a cigarrette... wow that helped a lot. Every day was one more day....And so far...13 months and counting... I do not want to smoke ever again!! I never thought that after smoking half a pack a day I would be able to stop. But everything is possible....

Congrats to all the other ex-addicts! I cant stand the smell of smoke now..or smokers lol To think I must have smelled that bad to all the non-smokers when I was 20+ a day! Not on patches now,but I still find my food cravings harder to beat. Feel so much better for it-and I find if I tell myself its not that hard to give up,it somehow makes it easier. I do not want to smoke again ever!

I quit smoking 13 months ago... It was the best thing I ever did. I cannot stand the smell of the cigs or people that smoke. I won't even patron a place that allows smoking. I cannot even believe those things are legal now... They have got to be like trying to quit heroine or something (I have never done drugs) I had some fierce withdrawls... There were times I couldn't stand myself I wanted to jump out of my own body and run away.

With all the stop smoking aids on the market I can't believe that anyone would still smoke.... what makes me the most upset is I was killing people around me with second hand smoke not just myself

Congratulations Laney! Quitting smoking is probably the best thing you could ever do for yourself. I put on over 70 pounds after I quit (not just due to quitting but health issues and a year on steroids) and I still feel better than when I was puffing on the coffin nails, even with only 47% of my lung function remaining.

I'm like most of you, I can't stand the smell of that poison or the smell of the people who ingest it.