I was just wondering if there are any others here who are anticipating surgery, but are smokers. I read today on the site of the group that is doing my procedure (hopefully) that I have to commit to them that I will NEVER smoke again... Not sure that I can promise anyone that. Would just kill me if my addiction to nicotine keeps me from having this done.

Thoughts - prayers - ideas??

Thanks!

Smoking restricts your blood vessels and can impair healing etc. I suggest you call your doc, get chantix and the patch, and quit if you can. I understand how hard it is; I smoked back in the days when it was mostly legal everywhere and had a 3+ pack a day habit. I quit in 1995 and the urge DOES go away. It's the single best thing I ever did for myself....probably even better than the band. Smoking can be hard on your stomach as well as increasing your blood pressure, so I'm sure that's why they want you to quit.

I think you need to really do some soul searching and see if you think you're ready. If not, you may not be ready for the band, either. It takes a lot of changes...not smoking is just one of them.

Good luck; I know you are the best person to pick what will work for you! :embaressed_smile:

This might sound a little harsh... But why in the world would you do a life altering surgery for your health to sabatoge it with smoking?

I decided to get healthy, quit smoking, had surgery, Wont touch it again.

Been over a year and a half since I quit smoking and 5 months since surgery.

Ugh... I know. I'm just so weak!

I had lung surgery 5 years ago, so if anyone needs to quit, its me! I quit before that surgery and stayed off for a whopping 3 months until I felt better again then started again.

I was on the Chantix a few months back, and was doing good until all the nausea set in. I tried to tell myself it was all in my head, but it really wasn't.

I'm totally committed to giving up drinking, overeating, I cant wait to be able to exercise again and feel like it's not going to kill me. I guess I have a couple more months to make the commitment to myself to quit smoking.

I'll do some searching - I think it's got a little to do with feeling like I'm giving up all my crutches at once. Just feels a bit overwhelming.

I'm sure I can handle it though - especially with everyone's support here.

Thanks,

Linda

Linda it really does get easier. I was petrified because I knew people who smoked and then quit and 5 years later would say "I STILL want a cigarette"...Well, #1 even if they do, it's a passing thing. It isn't a HARD WANTING like when you 1st quit! and #2 by about 15 months out I was a thorough non-smoker. have never wanted on AT ALL.

By about 3-4 months I'd have long periods of time where I didn't even want them. And when I did, usually telling myself NO really firmly took care of the craving. Unlike food, we don't have to smoke. People don't say "It's Linda's birthday...let's all smoke today at lunch" LOL

If you are firm with yourself, it loosens its grip and then disappears. So you can be totally free of it... no more wondering "can I smoke here" or "when is my next break" etc. As a crutch, it's a bad one.

Good luck! I KNOW you can do it if you decide YOU want to. No one will make you....it's your call.

I quit smoking cold turkey 4 years ago and haven't touched on since and haven't wanted to! I think that it is worth giving up something that's killing you for something that is going to save your life! This is a win win...you quit smoking and killing your body and you get a new start and lose weight. You need to quit...when you're ready it wont be a hard decision trust me...

Ahh...not everyone can just put them down and walk away. But, everyone can quit. There's no shame in using help (like the patch, commit lozenges, wellbutrin, whatever) just like there's no shame in using the band. The point is to quit, whatever it takes. I always envied those who "just put them down" but in the end, I am a non-smoker just like they are. So what if I would go to bed crying because I wanted to smoke but wouldn't? End result is the same! :embaressed_smile:

Linda it really does get easier. I was petrified because I knew people who smoked and then quit and 5 years later would say "I STILL want a cigarette"...Well, #1 even if they do, it's a passing thing. It isn't a HARD WANTING like when you 1st quit! and #2 by about 15 months out I was a thorough non-smoker. have never wanted on AT ALL.

By about 3-4 months I'd have long periods of time where I didn't even want them. And when I did, usually telling myself NO really firmly took care of the craving. Unlike food, we don't have to smoke. People don't say "It's Linda's birthday...let's all smoke today at lunch" LOL

If you are firm with yourself, it loosens its grip and then disappears. So you can be totally free of it... no more wondering "can I smoke here" or "when is my next break" etc. As a crutch, it's a bad one.

Good luck! I KNOW you can do it if you decide YOU want to. No one will make you....it's your call.

"It's Linda's birthday... let's all smoke today at lunch" That totally cracked me up.

By the way - sorry about yesterday - the anxiety is really starting to get to me.

Thanks again - Linda

I currently am a smoker and have wanted to quit for a very long time. I was able to quit while I was pregnant with both of my kids but always picked it back up again. Knowing that I can't have this surgery unless I quit is giving me the kick in the butt I needed. My husband and I both went to a stop smoking class through Kaiser two days ago. We now have a plan of attack - We are both going to be taking Wellbutrin and the patch at the same time. Our stop smoking date is 10/4/08. They won't allow us to take Chantix unless we can prove that the wellbutrin and the patch together don't work together. I know it will work, because this time I've made up my mind. Before I was always too afraid to quit (if that makes any sense).

Just like the other posters have said, if you want to get healthy, you need to make a 100% effort. If you have a Kaiser near you, you can also go to one of their classes even if your not a Kaiser patient. It's free to the public.

Good luck to you

Yesterday is water under the bridge. Change is hard...even if its happy changes, changes that we want.

Well, I will confess on here, I am a social smoker. It sounds weird, but every few months if I'm at a club or bar with my friends, I want a margarita and a swedish Sweet Dream vanilla ciggy. Does this make me a smoker? I don't think so. I can go months and months and months without them.. I don't have to have them. But, I enjoy one every now and again. And I have a lot of friends who are this way actually. Kind of like my husband who has a cigar once a year. Does that make him a smoker? No. He likes to enjoy one everytime we go to Mexico on our yearly cruise.

I guess everybody's perception is different though. :embaressed_smile:

I quit smoking a few year ago.

I know my surgeon is very strict about this. He said he has had some people go back to smoking after surgery and EVERY ONE of them had a complication overtime b/c of it. That would be enough to scare me from smoking again. I know it is a toughy to quit, but soooo worth it. There is nothing wrong with using Chantix or something like it...I think that is what my surgeon recommends. Good luck!!

Watch out the smoking police will come and take your band back!!!!!

Just kidding. Yeah, I smoke about a pack a week. I went to my doctor who said that this wasn't considered a habit just a bad choice. He said that they didn't have anything that they could treat my small problem with because it would all make me sick.

I did quit before my surgery for about a month and didn't smoke again for about 2 months after surgery. You'd think I would have just stayed away from them. Well, I guess if I had to give up one crutch when I'm stressed, food was the choice with the band. Now I've lost the weight and I'm on maintenance. Maybe my New Year's resolution will be the smoking.

Good luck. It is far better to be one of the people who have responded to this. Hopefully someday I'll join that group too.

I quit smoking in April 2007 and got banded in August 2007.

I quit cold turkey, but used OTC sleeping pills for the first few days, that way I just came home from work and went to sleep. I still get a craving every once in a while, but they are very infrequent.

For me, quitting smoking was about a MILLION times EASIER than losing this weight, and battling my food demons.

My lap band surgeon never said anything to me about quitting smoking...my plastic surgeon made me cry everytime he got onto me about it...my surgeons nurses harrassed me relentlessly....but no one held weight loss surgery over my head if I didn't stop. It is a nasty, horrible, health disaster waiting to happen habit...but 5 years after my band...over 170lbs lost....I still haven't made the committment to quit...I need too but your docs are harrassing you like all docs do about smoking.

I don't think they're harrassing you...The surgeon needs to make sure that the surgery goes as smoothly as possible and the chances of blood clots are there, but they are so much higher and riskier if you're a smoker! The doctor isn't just holding surgery over your head and saying nana you can't have it until you quit. They don't want to lose a patient or have a patient get a blood clot! They want you to be healthy and I'm sure they want to see how well you handle drastic changes...I think you should try all you can to quit...it's not like quitting would be a bad thing! Good luck...you can do it, but only when you're ready to give it up...