Ok, so with my first visit to my Doctor we discussed my smoking. Then, I was smoking a pack a day, now I am able to make a pack last a day and a half. Just wondering if anyone else out there smokes and if my smoking will complicate the surgery?

I smoke.. no problem with the surgery or after. I know I should quit (I will eventually) but its my last vice left... and when I have head hunger I just smoke. I smoke 7-10 butts a day... I'm focussing on my weight for now... The smoking, that's down the road...

Tina

My doc won't do the surgery unless you quit smoking several months before surgery. I dunno of any who will...I guess unless you lie but I figure the doc could tell.

I smoked right before I went into the surgical center. Not that I am advocating it... but the night before is fine for sure...

Just quit smoking, if not for yourself then for the rest of us who have to smell you!!!

Sorry if it's harsh but smoking is disgusting and makes you smell really bad!

You might do a search for posts related to smoking. I don't know of a doctor who will do surgery on a patient that he/she knows is smoking right up until surgery. You can compromise your surgery and recovery time one being your chances of getting pneumonia is greater if you smoke.

Hello,I was so worried about this also! I smoked all the way up to the hospital! If I could do it over I would have definately quit atleast a few weeks before hand! When they took the breathing tube out and told me to wake up and to breathe......WOOOO ........I had a majorly hard time! I woke up saying atleast 150 times....."I cant breathe" I cant breathe" I cant breathe.....over an over and over.....like a broken record. Guess I was also having anxiety too, well anxirty because I could not breathe good! They kept telling me it would get better and that my vitals looked good and to breathe......huh...easy for them to say! :ohmy: Anyhow, I have not had one cigarette sine my surgery on tuesday 7/29.....nor do I really have a craving ordesire for it! To be honest I think that is what helped me to kick thehabit is to smoke rightup tosurgery and have a hard time with it. I am not condoning that....Cause I really should have stopped b4hand. I am still not breathing the best and my chest feels heavy still but it is getting much better day by day! When I walk now I can actually breathe a bit better! Plus I can get my incentive spirometer to go up more...to 2000 ...use to be 5oo! You can do it...You will know when the right time is. For me I figure I want to get healthy and getting healthy is go8ing to require me to quit smoking! One day at a time.....:wink2:

Take care of yourself, Debbie :teeth_smile:

My doctor didn't insist upon giving up but he highly recommended it. He explained it in terms of healing and recovery time. Smokers have diminished oxygen supplies in their blood because the carbon monoxide (amongst other things) is bonding with the haemoglobin, instead of oxygen. This makes healing slower and the chances of infections and skin necrosis on scar areas higher - all scary things.

I couldn't face the idea of giving up entirely but I could cope with the thought of it being temporary. I used Patches for the two weeks leading up to the surgery and was genuinely surprised at how well they worked. I kept them up for 2 weeks after the surgery too, but have gradually slipped back into smoking. I haven't made the mental transition yet that says "I WANT to give up" so it's not happening long term, but I am also finding that I am smoking less now than before (about half).

I also found that the patches really helped control the hunger pangs when on the pre-op diet and in the post-op phase. I have a hard time telling the difference between "I'm hungry" and "I want a cigarette", so having the patches also worked to kill some of the hunger pangs beforehand, and having the band is helping to kill some of the smoking cravings afterwards.

I don't smoke but when I was talking to the anesthisiologist the morning of my surgery I told him I was nervous, he asked me if I smoked, I said no. Then he said oh you'll be fine,..... So I don't know if it makes a difference when Being put under...

And it's not easy to quit smoking... U can't just say oh it's disgusting u should stop.... I've never smoked but I've done research for term papers and stuff I always try to relate to people smoking... Some one could and probably has said the same thing about me and being obese... I.e it's disgusting the people around me and makes me look really bad, heck it's true but it's easier said than done... Just cause I'm fat doesn't mean because today u see me eating French fries doesn't mean I have tried 800 times to lose weight and just cause some one smokes doesn't mean that haven't tried to quit before... Ease up.. :teeth_smile:

Just quit smoking, if not for yourself then for the rest of us who have to smell you!!!

Sorry if it's harsh but smoking is disgusting and makes you smell really bad!

this is way too harsh and if you are on this site then you probably have a issue with your weight, so saying something like that would be like a skinny person telling you to quit eating... not for yourself but for the people that have to look at you!!!! Smoking is an addiction and its very difficult to quit, especially when you are trying to change your eating habits. Just FYI your comment was not cool. :thumbup:

To smoke or not to smoke??? is there anyone in this day and age that doesn't know smoking is bad for you, especially when you'll be on oxygen during surgery?

I know its hard to quit, I did it myself, but come on, do you really need to ask on a message board to know the answer to this?

Sorry, I am honestly not trying to be mean, but I just don't know any other way of saying it than how I did.

this is way too harsh and if you are on this site then you probably have a issue with your weight, so saying something like that would be like a skinny person telling you to quit eating... not for yourself but for the people that have to look at you!!!! Smoking is an addiction and its very difficult to quit, especially when you are trying to change your eating habits. Just FYI your comment was not cool. :thumbup:

It was not my comment you were talking about, but the comment was 100% true

It was not my comment you were talking about, but the comment was 100% true

I quit smoking too, and because I know how hard it is I would never, ever be mean or cruel about someone smoking. We all have our vices and some people need to learn to lay off. :thumbup:

My doctor clearly states in the FAQ packet he gave out before the seminar began that he will NOT operate on a smoker and he WILL test for nicotine. I was smoking about a pack every day and a half. After coming to the forums to learn about what can happen and why docs don't want to operate on smokers, I decided to quit. I spent 5 days cutting back... I allowed myself 5 per day, then just two per day. My pack was laying on the railing of my front porch while my hubby was watering the plants, the pack got wet. I threw them away and didn't buy anymore. It took about two weeks before I started feeling normal again.

Now I thank God that I quit. It's BAD for you... for a zillion reasons. Being obese is bad enough, why add smoking to it? Regardless of what your surgeon says, you should quit.

As for the effects durring surgery.... supposedly your recovery time is longer, and there are serious complications that can happen durring surgery if your lungs aren't healthy enough to handle the anesthesia. Your chances of post operative pneumonia are higher too.

I went to several info seminars and most of them clearly stated right off the bat that they do not operate on smokers. There must be a logical reason for this.