I was wondering if anyone was smoking after being banded, and if so are there any side effects? The doctors keep telling me not to do it and stressing how I NEED to quit but are they just being doctors or is there really a reason to quit (besides the normals reasons)?

I was wondering if anyone was smoking after being banded, and if so are there any side effects? The doctors keep telling me not to do it and stressing how I NEED to quit but are they just being doctors or is there really a reason to quit (besides the normals reasons)?

I'm sure you aren't asking for the obvious reasons.... It will kill you the same way excess weight will. Weight increases the risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, etc. You are taking the right step to lessen those risk from excess weight. Why not take the opportunity to rid yourself of the smoking as well? Not to mention improve the way you smell.

Smoking does act as a appetite suppressant for many people. You will get that from the band. You do need to have some appetite, however!!!!

These are just my own humble opinions. Good luck!!!

I was wondering if anyone was smoking after being banded, and if so are there any side effects? The doctors keep telling me not to do it and stressing how I NEED to quit but are they just being doctors or is there really a reason to quit (besides the normals reasons)?

From my understanding, smoking can make it harder for you to heal. That was the less obvious reason that my doctor gave. Good luck to you.

Im almost 4 months smoke free..yes i have cravings but 40 seconds later im ok...smoking with the band can cause ulcers u dont want that!! Just quit i smoke 10 years and quit cold turkey u can do it!! good luck

I only smoked for a little over 3 yrs when I was banded. I smoked my last one about 4 hours before I had the operation. I haven't had one since and that was August 15 of this yr. I still have craving for one now and again but they dont last long.

The Nurse told me right before I left the hospital that I had a greater chance of a GI bleed if I continued smoking. The way I look at it is this way, I went through the whole thing before surgery, the pre-op diets, the doctors visits, my insurance, all of that jazz, in the end I was banded and I wasn't going to continue throwing my life away on something that not only stinks and makes you stink, but something that last less that 10 minutes, so I threw them down and haven't had one since.

Now just the smell of them makes me sick!!! You can do it, I believe in you.

Perhaps this link from the National Institute of Health will answer your questions. If you are going to keep smoking, it's best if you don't get the band.

Smoking and Your Digestive System

You should really quit.

Then you can be like me... one of those former smokers who bugs the hell out of smokers and reminds them how they are slowly killing themselves every single day, remind them of soinso who died from cancer, remind them how ugly wrinkles around the mouth are after years of smoking, remind them of how bad they smell, remind them how much better life is without smoking, remind them how much money they will save, etc etc etc etc etc..... I call my mom on a regular basis just to bug the crap out of her about smoking. She'll quit one day, I swear.

You should really quit.

Then you can be like me... one of those former smokers who bugs the hell out of smokers and reminds them how they are slowly killing themselves every single day, remind them of soinso who died from cancer, remind them how ugly wrinkles around the mouth are after years of smoking, remind them of how bad they smell, remind them how much better life is without smoking, remind them how much money they will save, etc etc etc etc etc..... I call my mom on a regular basis just to bug the crap out of her about smoking. She'll quit one day, I swear.

You hit it right on the money there Kaytiebugs, I do the same thing. My husband is still smoking and I make him go brush his teeth before kissing me now. He gets mad and says, "you never made me do this before, why are you making me do it now"? I just tell him, "before I still smoked and couldn't taste it, now when you kiss me it's like kissing an ashtray and it's NASTY". We were driving down the road the other day, now, I have fully cleaned my car and gotten rid of all the smoke smell, he lights one up, I turn on my blinker, pull to the emergency lane and stop. He asks whats wrong and I said if you are going to do that its not going to be in my car, either throw it out or get out and smoke it, maybe it was mean but I didn't want that smell back in my car or on me. He threw it out and didn't speak to me the rest of the way there

I haven't touched a cigarette since my surgery on September 9. It hasn't bothered me yet. BUT I haven't had any "drinks" either and I'm sure it will then but I'm going to try to stay strong. Anyways, my Doctor told me that other than the obvious reasons for a person not to smoke he said that it can also cause your stomach to erode. He explained if that were to happen it could cause a major surgery to repair. I told him that a only smoked a few cigs a day (which was true, I used to be a pack a day smoker, I got pregnant then quit, had the baby and eventually started up again but kept it to a minimum) he said that I still should just quit. So, I figured it the way everyone else has. If I'm gonna go through all this to lose the weight, why would I keep smoking?? Good luck to you !!!

Smoking increases the risk of esophageal cancer. Considering that you have the band so close to the esophagus do you really want to risk it? Esophageal cancer is almost 100% fatal. My non-smoking husband died of it 3 years ago at age 56 and his cancer was caught very early. Didn't matter.

As you've read theres definately major reasons related to the band for quitting. I used a site to help me quit. www.whyquit.com it made a lot of sense and somehow made quitting cold turkey more bearable. Heres a little info that i still keep ongoing track of

I have been quit for 1 Year, 3 Months, 1 Week, 3 Days, 16 hours, 5 minutes and 58 seconds (468 days). I have saved $3,374.42 by not smoking 18,746 cigarettes. I have saved 2 Months, 4 Days, 2 hours and 10 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 6/20/2007 12:00 AM

Good Luck!!!!

quitting smoking 2 and 1/2 years ago was one of the hardest things i have ever done. now i have been banded 9 days ago this might be harder?? one thing i know is that no amount of nagging ever helped me to quit. in fact i think i may have smoked an extra cigarette for every time somebody nagged my ass. I am still waiting to find smoking the stinky repulsive habit all these people expressed. I pass somebody smoking and i still go "mmmmmmm smoke" But that being said, I am really happy I quit because I can breath. I think that quitting smoking is a pretty big deal and so is the banding. maybe postpone your band until you are ready to quit? Good luck with whatever you decide.

one thing i know is that no amount of nagging ever helped me to quit. in fact i think i may have smoked an extra cigarette for every time somebody nagged my ass. I am still waiting to find smoking the stinky repulsive habit all these people expressed. I pass somebody smoking and i still go "mmmmmmm smoke" .

Thank you for your honesty I was beginning to believe I was the only person who smokes who has been banded. While I do plan on quitting I just honestly do not think that right now is the best time for me to try it, with the loss of food and then to try and add ciggs to the equation I feel like I would lose my darn head. I did not have to see a dietian like others so my food coping skills (or lack thereof) are coming from my desire to lose weight, and giving up my love for food is hard enough right now. One step at a time. Thanks again Pbody!:cursing:

Just to clarify. I did quit smoking 2 and 1/2 years ago. I was banded 10 days ago. But for sure I think"if"I had to do both at the same time I'd go totally mental. Good luck to anyone who tries anything to better their health, it's a tough road.