Smokers & Ex Smokers: After Surgery

[LaLu 37]

Sorry if this is already a post somewhere, I'm new to these forum sites and i'm not sure how to search for topics.

So i'm a light smoker, and i quit smoking 2 weeks before surgery and cut down to only one every couple of days before that. Now it's been a week after surgery and my aniexty is starting to get the better of me.

I strongly believe that i need to be mentally ready to give up smoking before i can actually quit. Just like going for the lapband, you needed to be mentally pumped up and ready for a change, or you would'nt be able to lose weight because you wouldn't be motivated to. You can't just do it because people tell you it will eventually kill you.

With that being said, it's been a week after surgery for me and i want to know if its "safe" to smoke again. Or if i might get an infection or a chest infection etc.

Please don't lecture me, i know i shouldn't smoke but i just want to know the facts, When can i start smoking again, Can it harm my lapband, How much do you smoke with your lapband or so.

Like i said at the start i am a light smoker, before everything to do with the lapband i only smoked 1-3 ciggerettes a day. And i will probably smoke even less than that now i have my lapband.

[NC Dave 1]

ANY smoking will slow the healing process.

dave

[nancy_marie_00 10]

My doctor says no smoking....period....i used to be a smoker, and the way i kicked the habit is when i stopped, I stopped cold turkey and I just had to tell myself when i felt the urge to smoke that this is as bad as the urge will get, if i give in now i will only have to go through this feeling again..do you really wanna relive the first few days of not smoking ever again? The answer for me was HELL NO!!!! I am smoke free for 4 years now!

[honk 780]

Please don't consider this a lecture, more of a statement of fact. I come from a family of addictive personalities. For me and my sisters (though they have never been as over weight as I have) it's food; for my brother who is a recovering alcoholic it was alcohol, pot and smoking. He gave up the alcohol and the pot but can't give up cigarettes. He is the only smoker (well his adult son smokes) in our immediate family (our dad was a smoker). He had a heart attack at like 43 (had to have stints put in); and tried to stop smoking. But it has not taken. He can not stop smoking. So yes I know quitting is horrible and in my brothers case not happening (his wife does not smoke). If you have gone this far please try to stay with it. Can you speak with your PCP about the new perscriptions? Again I am not lecturing. My brother says that in all the NA and AA meetings he attends most people there chain smoke because it is the only thing they left.

[LaLu 37]

ANY smoking will slow the healing process.

dave

thanks dave, but i'm wondering how long is the healing process for?

[LaLu 37]

Please don't consider this a lecture, more of a statement of fact. I come from a family of addictive personalities. For me and my sisters (though they have never been as over weight as I have) it's food; for my brother who is a recovering alcoholic it was alcohol, pot and smoking. He gave up the alcohol and the pot but can't give up cigarettes. He is the only smoker (well his adult son smokes) in our immediate family (our dad was a smoker). He had a heart attack at like 43 (had to have stints put in); and tried to stop smoking. But it has not taken. He can not stop smoking. So yes I know quitting is horrible and in my brothers case not happening (his wife does not smoke). If you have gone this far please try to stay with it. Can you speak with your PCP about the new perscriptions? Again I am not lecturing. My brother says that in all the NA and AA meetings he attends most people there chain smoke because it is the only thing they left.

Thankyou honk, shame about your brother. I hope he finds the courage to quit if that is what he wants. My grandfather is dying from smoking and drinking at the moment, and even though it's not his choice to quit, it's hard to watch people try to quit and end up back in square one. But i am aware of the side effects smoking will do. And i plan on quitting, but right now i'm not in the state of mind to quit. So i'm just trying to find out the dangers it can have now that i have a lap band.

[LaLu 37]

My doctor says no smoking....period....i used to be a smoker, and the way i kicked the habit is when i stopped, I stopped cold turkey and I just had to tell myself when i felt the urge to smoke that this is as bad as the urge will get, if i give in now i will only have to go through this feeling again..do you really wanna relive the first few days of not smoking ever again? The answer for me was HELL NO!!!! I am smoke free for 4 years now!

Thats really good to hear; i am very happy for you quitting :thumbup: And i hope your courage and motivation lasts a life time. But i am not addicted to smoking, i didn't have a problem giving it up for my operation, although i've been smoking for almost 7 years now. I'm just trying to find out if people are saying stop smoking because they hate smoking and its bad for you, or if they are saying stop smoking because it is dangerous with a lapband or if it might even slow down my weight loss.

[Caimenmom 0]

First off if you want to smoke, you will smoke. No amount of hearing negative effects will stop a person who is not ready to quit. As far as the healing goes, smoking decreases blood circulation and the bloods ability to carry oxygen. Your blood is carried in arteries and veins that branch off into smaller and smaller capillaries. The smaller cappillaries are what feed the skin. These small capillaries are what are damaged most by the chemicals in tobacco. Smoking will increse the time it takes your surgical wounds to heal, increase scarring, and increase your risk of infection. I hope you can avoid cigarrettes for at least six weeks, but if you cant then you cant. Just please take care of yourself and limit your smoking like you said you already do. PS I am an ex smoker and use the electronic nicotine inhaler for my nicotine. I have used it for two years. I dont care to hear anyones opinion on that if anyone reading this has one.

[YUMMYTUMMY 0]

I'm a light smoker also (about 1 pack a week). My doc never said anything about smoking. I know it slows the healing process, but 2 yrs ago when I broke my arm they told me the same thing...it will slow the bone healing, and I should quit. Well, I got my cast off 2 weeks early b/c I was healing so fast...go figure!

Anyway, I'm not condoning smoking after ANY surgery, (I know it is not good for me) but sitting around the house for a couple days after surgery, I was definately smoking. I can only work on one vice at a time, and this surgery was my first step in living a healthier lifestyle.

Soooo...about 6 weeks later, everything is fine with me and I've been smoking since. But like I said, I'm not a heavy smoker!

Just being honest!

[eadreel 0]

My doc said he would take the band out if I started smoking again, and I don't know if he is serious or not, but he did say that if I started smoking before surgery he would not give me a band. I quit 14 months before surgery with Chantix.

I think I read somewhere that smoking increases acid production in the stomach and can lead to heartburn, reflux and ulcers. I think I also read somewhere that smoking increases the chance of band erosion into the stomach.

[LaLu 37]

I'm a light smoker also (about 1 pack a week). My doc never said anything about smoking. I know it slows the healing process, but 2 yrs ago when I broke my arm they told me the same thing...it will slow the bone healing, and I should quit. Well, I got my cast off 2 weeks early b/c I was healing so fast...go figure!

Anyway, I'm not condoning smoking after ANY surgery, (I know it is not good for me) but sitting around the house for a couple days after surgery, I was definately smoking. I can only work on one vice at a time, and this surgery was my first step in living a healthier lifestyle.

Soooo...about 6 weeks later, everything is fine with me and I've been smoking since. But like I said, I'm not a heavy smoker!

Just being honest!

Thankyou for your honesty! I appreciate it. I'm planning on only having one when i need it (probably once a week or less) at least for the next month. And see what happens from there.

[smeadmark 0]

absolutely no smoking.

[PuppyBandit 2]

My understanding is that smoking with the lap band you have a larger change of getting ulcers.

[wildbill 0]

I'm not a dr., but John Daly (professional golfer) had lapband and he smokes like a train, and has lost close to 100 lbs. I too am a smoker, and my dr. told me I needed to quit. I did quit for about two weeks. I have since started back, and told my dr. He told me that I needed to quit for my health, not the lapband. Just my experience.

[BetsyB 9]

2-4 weeks postop is recommended. Hold out as long as you can--it really will help your wound healing.