Hello everyone,

My girfriend is getting banded in about a month and the preop information packet they sent says "absolutely no smoking for 2 weeks prior to the surgery". She says she'll do it but keeps badgering me for a reason (i'm handling most everything related to the surgery - finance, setting up, research). The only thing I can think of is maybe it interferes or affects the effectiveness of the anesthesia?

Do any of you happen to know why this is required?

Thanks,

-Bobdole

It's called diminished healing capacity. She shouldn't smoke after her surgery either. Have her discuss with her MD to see if she is a good candidate for the prescription "Chantix". I've had several patients tell me of their success with the prescription. I wish her luck. SS

She will have an extremely high chance of getting pneumonia if she doesn't stop. She's lucky she only has to be smoke-free for two weeks; many want their patients to be smoke-free for at least three months.

there is a variety of things in my pre op pack that are not allowed pre op

no smoking for 2 weeks

no drinking for 2 weeks

no painkillers or Multivitamins for 2 weeks

no garlic for 48 hours

but every surgeon is different. but all of this is related to the healing process, apart from im not sure on the reason behind the multivitamins!

Smoking can cause breathing problems while under anesthesia and Smoking after surgery can cause difficulty/delayed healing.

I just wanted to chime in and say that if your girlfriend wants to make this an opportunity to quite smoking than do it. I have been a smoker for 10+ years and have quite now for 21/2 years. I was put on the Chantix and it worked wonders for me. I tried patch and gum and did not help. She's lucky though, my surgeon requires a patient not to smoke 2 months prior to surgery not 2 weeks. I wish her best of luck.

I smoked up until the surgery then I quit 2 years later using Chantix. It was quite difficult and it took me 2 times on the drug to actually quit.

well my doctor is makin me stop 6 weeks before surgery and im already on my 2nd week...its def hard but i know its worth it to stop...best of luck to ur girlfriend she's lucky that its 2 weeks and not longer..hopefully she doesnt go back to smokin

I smoked for 25 years (started as a teenager) and quit on Chantix this past January. It's the best thing I've ever done. Chantix works. A thirty day supply is $125 and most insurance plans won't cover it, but if she smokes a pack a day, then she spends more than that in a month for cigarettes so it's a much cheaper option in the long term. My husband also used it at the same time and he quit about 2 week later than I did.

I'll ask the patient coordinator next time I speak to her, but do you think a nicotine patch would affect anything in place of smoking? I'll look into the Chantrix deal as well, just trying to investigate everything.

I'm blown away that they are doing the surgery when she still smokes at all.. My surgeon does a nicotine test every visit and on the day of surgery. If you test positive for it at any time he will postpone or cancel surgery. Smoking with the band or with gastric by-pass is proven to cause ulceration at the band and by pass sights. I guess my surgeon believes that if you want to get healthy then you need to quit smoking too.. I am so glad I quit, its been 3 yrs and I will never go back to it. I needed a hysterectomy and my risk of getting other cancers increased with just that let alone if I still smoked so I stopped cold turkey.. The first year was rough, but I haven't looked back since.

Hope your friend quits,, its the best thing!

Ya'll are lucky, My surgeon's office requires a 6 month quit, and does testing on their patients... even those of us that have never smoked because they don't know if we're lying. So it's very fortunate that she only has to quit for 2 weeks.

It hinders healing, and also can erode the band, and or junctions where the RNY has been sewn.

good luck

teri

there is a variety of things in my pre op pack that are not allowed pre op

no smoking for 2 weeks

no drinking for 2 weeks

no painkillers or Multivitamins for 2 weeks

no garlic for 48 hours

No garlic? Are they using vampire doctors now?

:cursing:

juliaN

it is a natural blood thinner, which as i am now on 10 days worth of medical blood thinner they obviously did not want it to affect that.

the only reason i know this is because it can be a natural deterent for fleas in dogs if given in tiny ammounts as it thins the blood so they cant suck it up. random information for the day!!