Im very very new to the whole idea of the lap band and have been doing some reading here and noticed that lots of people are quitting before they have the surgery, can someone please tell me why? Is it a requirement? or just something that helps out in different ways.

Thanks

Tina

Well my surgeon just said he required this of all his patients, including his GBS ones. He didn't give any other explanation than just the simple fact he is giving us this surgery to better our lives and to be more healthy.

We all know smoking is very unhealthy. So why not make a change in that area too?

I am 37 and smoked for 22 years, so like you, I was a bit apprehensive about undergoing weight loss surgery AND quitting smoking! There was not 1 surgeon I could find that would operate if I smoked within 2 months of the surgery. The reasons are as follows:

1) Smoking present a much larger risk with anestesia

2) Healing is much slower as there isn't much oxygen in the blood

3) Smoking can cause ulcers. Ulcers create serious problems with any weight loss surgery, specifically erosion with the band.

4) You're undergoing a major procedure to get your life back...and yet you're still doing things to sabotage your health...

So...to make a long story short...I am an asthmatic...yes, a smoker with asthma. I walked around for years with my albuterol and a cigarette. What an idiot. By the grace of God, I was driving to work one morning and felt tight in my lungs so I decided to NOT have a cigarette that morning. That morning was December 1. I used Commit losenges to help but my last cigarette was November 30th. Good luck. I know this is a tough deal, especially for a smoker. Be an advocate for your health though. You won't regret it.

I smoked for almost 11 years. I started my process with getting banded in March. I was devistated to find out I had to quit smoking for 2 months before the surgeon would even let me go to his siminar.:thumbup: I was told I couldn't even use nicotine gum or patches. I actually have to take a nicotine test. :smile: Well Apr.6th was my last smoke and I won't go back. I sucessfully stopped smoking with both of my pregnancies. Why I started back I will never know. june 6th I can make as appt for the siminar and I can't wait.:thumbup: I do still miss smoking and do crave it but I will not let smoking interfer with my health anymore.

Edited April 24, 200917 yr by talkalot1981

In addition to the advice others have given , I was also adviced that my surgeon had found a high rate of people who had smoked had managed to give up following the procedure. It was his opinion this was due to the fact of them having the operation and generally with them being a little under par the need for a smoke was not as great.

I would have to say in my case with giving them up prior to surgery , having complications with my initial band and being in hospital for over a week , when I returned home I hadnt had a smoke for three weeks , I remember his closing words to me were ... youve managed 3 weeks , its out your system dont go back ... sadly I did 5 days later .. worse mistake I did but Im coping on 10 a day rather than the 40 I used to smoke so not all is lost ... I intend to stick to the 10 for a few months , just to get settled in fully with the band , then Im gonna crack that whip and give it another try to quit again ..... whilst if I lose weight it prevents the issues with heart disease , diabetes , my bad back .. it would be a shame to get that under control for me in a few years to be told my smoking has caused something or even worse ... the whole exercise with the band is to get me on a healthier track of things , and of course to make sure my young kids have a father for a good while yet.

My surgeon requires patients to have been non-smokers for 3 months prior to surgery. He also randomly tests to see if patients have really quit. He cited all the reasons prior posters have menitoned. It has been a rough part of this process for me, for sure. Giving up caffiene has been hard too, as I used to drink coffee pretty much all day long. Sometimes when I read posts here from people whose surgeons require hardly anything of them before they get the surgery I get a little frustrated and jealous. But, when I think logically about it, I am lucky to have a surgeon who, along with his staff, is so throrough and rigorous with their requirements. In the long run I think it will result in me being healthier physically and more mentally prepared.

Edited April 24, 200917 yr by TSB
typo

Im very very new to the whole idea of the lap band and have been doing some reading here and noticed that lots of people are quitting before they have the surgery, can someone please tell me why? Is it a requirement? or just something that helps out in different ways.

Thanks

Tina

Hello Tina ok this is what I know about the whole smoking thing. Lap Band surgery is an Elective Surgery. And that is why there can do anything they want. Not saying that is a bad thing. And I say that because I am an ex-smoker know next week will be 3 months. And it was hard very hard I am 48 and have been smoking for 33 years. And I also wanted to quit so Surgery or Smoke. I pick surgery I want to lose weight more then anything else in this world. Plus I want to see my 7 grandchildren as they get older. Tina you can do it and trust me I know it is not easy. Talk to your Doctor I did and she gave me something to take the edge off. Good Luck

My Doc told me that he has done 1400 surgeries, and he had four complications. One man had undiagnosed cancer, and the three others were smokers who all crashed on the table and needed to be resucitated.

The reason why is

As mucus clearance from lungs is accomplished by cilia, which are hair like projections lining inside of, the lungs constantly move dirt, bacteria up into the throat. Smoking paralyzes cilia so no more clearance and lungs become clogged with thick secretions of mucus ,bacteria and dead cells with infection is more likely to occur.

Also, Inhaling nicotine causes release of adrenaline, which is known to increase heart rate; blood pressure and this in turn will increase the oxygen demand of the heart. However, smoking reduces the oxygen available to tissues so will result in the heart not having enough oxygen and possibly a heart attack occuring.

Smoking also induces liver enzymes that metabolize drugs used for induction and maintenance of anesthesia making action and duration of these drugs less predictable.

Emergence from anaesthesia is usually not smooth, breath holding, laryngeal spasm, bronchospasm, hypoventilation and hypoxia can occurpostoperative pulmonary complications including atelectasis, chest infection or pneumonia is common. The incidence of these complications is increased 5 folds in smokers compared to non-smokers.

Wound infection a study comparing risk of respiratory complications and wound infection in patients undergoing ambulatory surgery in smokers versus non smokers concluded an increased risk in smokers.

Hope this helps.

I often struggle to understand your health system and insurance issues, they seem so senseless. It is SO much cheaper and more efficient to pay for lapband surgery for people from quite moderate levels of obesity rather than to clean up the mess that their ill health creates further on down the track. Diabetes, heart disease, they're expensive public health issues.

However it makes NO sense to me that an insurance company would fund lapband surgery for someone who does "qualify" (BMI 40+