Geri

I do hope you aren't in any profession where empathy is a core component. Your responses and use of words like "flounced" really tell a tale. There is more to the term "complications" than just physical. I applaud your ability to conquer your smoking habit and work on your food addiction. I do hope that, should I be successful in my 8th attempt at smoking cessation, that I will still be able to understand what it's like in those old shoes.

Dee, I didn't mean it the way you think. My original statement was that it irresponsible for posters to respond to the OP with inaccurate info in such a judgmental manner. This is what I said: "But to tell someone who is contemplating or recently had the sleeve that they need to cut off one addiction while having major surgery for another is, in my opinion, irresponsible."

Based on why my orthopedic doc told me prior to the ankle fusion, I specifically asked my bariatric doc if he recommended I quit prior to sleeving and he said that the psychological impact was greater than the risks of smoking during the healing process. After I reported what happened when I didn't listen and attempted to quit 3 months after the sleeving, he reiterated his advice pretty strongly. I received this information from a qualified medical professional versus advice on this forum. Merely making a point here that smoking with bariatric surgery is a completely different situation than smoking and other procedures that have no psychological core.

You've taken my points completely out of context and assumed things that were not stated. My point was that attempting to quit 2 addictive behaviors at once could very well cause psychological issues that bear more consideration than the type of replies the poster received. I also find it interesting that the same bias that is generally applied to overweight people is being applied now to smokers. To have it come from the same folks who are or were once a target of that bias is disappointing. I knew there's a reason I lurk and not post. Back to my cave....

Your use of that statement indicates to me that you may not have a full understanding of what addiction entails. We can agree to disagree. Everything on these boards is opinion. I was stating mine.

All good info. Even though the last line of the article indicates that the results are not statistically significant, I do believe this is an important factor but not the only factor. When I had ankle fusion surgery 4 years ago, the doctor would not operate on me if I did not quit smoking prior to, as the incidence of non fusion was an actual point of failure for the procedure. Because of this, I was surprised at my bariatric surgeon's stance initially, but after researching, the position made complete sense. As with most things, there are compromises with everything. My opinion is that one should not underestimate the power of addiction and its emotional affects when considering surgery - smoking or eating. Everyone brings different situation to the table and the importance of quitting smoking is relative when considering all the other factors in totality. It will be interesting to see research on this topic as this surgery gets more and more prevalent. Any one who has experienced from people in their life the negativity and dismissiveness associated to bariatric surgery ("Oh, you can just exercise and stop eating") speaks to the emotional challenges of beating this thing. Again, it's all relative. I certainly am not a smoking cheerleader but have been on both sides of the fence. This surgery and its mental associations are much more complex than what people perceive it to be.

With all due respect, it is not apples and oranges. An addiction is an addiction regardless of the substance, and all forms have a psychological component. There's a reason that those in rehabs are not asked to give up smoking at the same time as attempting to quit any other substance. And, yes, there are food rehabs as well. I totally understand that the healing process may be compromised, but the emotional component of food and its effects are just as powerful. The feelings of despair I encountered are not unique and no less dangerous than those physical ones associated to a medical procedure. To assume as such is, well, irresponsible. Why on earth do you think that there is a percentage of bariatric patients for which the surgery has failed? It's all a part of the addiction cycle. If one has difficulty stopping the pattern of addiction, then relapse occurs. Many people have the false notion that this surgery is a magic bullet, just like methadone for heroin addicts or Anabuse for alcoholics. The physicality is just the beginning. To disavow the importance of suicidal thoughts when attempting to break the cycle of any substance abuse issue is indeed, to me, irresponsible.

I am pretty surprised by many of the responses here. Chances are most of us on this board were addicted to food and required surgery to correct the weight issues that came along with said addiction. Any good doctor will advise that If the issues that contributed to the weight aren't worked on, then eventually the weight will return. Yes, smoking is bad. However, when one attempts to stop one addiction, chances are good that another obsessive behavior - be it shopping, exercising, cleaning, sex, drinking, smoking, etc. - will attempt to take its place as a relief mechanism. My doctor knew I smoked. He said it was more important that I beat the food issues that contributed to my obesity AND that one should never try to beat 2 addictions at once. I continued to smoke for 3 months after my surgery with no healing issues. Then, I tried to quit (for my 6th time) and I literally felt like hanging myself: With no food crutch to fall on, it was one huge feeling of despair. Now that I am 8 months from surgery, I have started Wellbutrin (aka Zyban) to see if it will work for my 7th attempt, helping to keep those feelings at bay. I know the food issues are slowly diminishing - I am at a point now where eating is like doing laundry: Something one has to do but not something that is happily anticipated and planned. It's an amazing feeling and one that I am proud I was able to achieve. The surgery is just step 1 and anyone who thinks otherwise should rethink their plan. Hopefully my next quit attempt will work. But to tell someone who is contemplating or recently had the sleeve that they need to cut off one addiction while having major surgery for another is, in my opinion, irresponsible. I was aware enough that I could recognize why I was feeling the thoughts I was having when I attempted to quite smoking right after surgery. Others may not be as in tune with their emotions. We all know any addiction is difficult to beat. We also all know that it didn't matter one bit when others would comment (with the best of intentions but judgmental nonetheless) on our food intake. Until one is ready, it doesn't make a bit of difference what others say, and any comments generally alienate and shame the intended recipient. Just my 2 cents as a current smoker and one who is coming up on 100 #s down and keeping it off.....

I have been lurking here since before my surgery on 4/18/2011. The weight has been coming off steadily, with some stalls here and there. Through the knowledge gained in this group, I've known not to worry about the stalls. When the clothes sizes weren't coming down quickly, I learned that once you pass from plus into regular sizes, the sizes start dropping fast. Again, you all were right. Today is a victory, so I thought I'd share. This morning the scale read 199.4. Now, I've been waiting for this awhile, hovering every morning, so this isn't a surprise. It's been reading 208 for about 6 weeks now and recently started decreasing again. Even though I knew it was coming, I could not believe my eyes. I've lost 80# now and have gone from a size 26 down to a 16 (so far!) - all in 6.5 months. To say I feel both mentally and physically great is a gross understatement. Thanks for all your postings that help me all the time. Here's to the next 25!