Smoking & PreOp cheating

[clopezrogina 3]

Okay I'm human... I'm scheduled to be sleeved June 30th and I'm nervous! For 2 main reasons. Number 1 I stopped smoking the day after they scheduled my surgery. (June 5th) & they told me to stop smoking. I stopped. But than started again June 11th and stopped today. I know I shouldn't of started again! Also, this liquid diet. I cheated the FIRST DAY did great the 2nd 3rd and 4th and than (ate cheese and turkey those days as well) but last night I ate a pork chop, Mac and cheese, and green beans! I was starving. But now I'm worried about my liver not being well. So many things running through my mind! I need some one to tell me their experiences! I've lost 8 pounds so far on pre op and I have 7 days to go still!

[simplyamy 14]

One cheat meal won't hurt you, my diet was liquid for 7 days with ONE cheat meal before the liquid diet. But after that, I was back on the diet (and I was very strict). So your liver should be fine.

As for the smoking, that might be a big no-no. I heard smoking and slow down your healing process. Not to mention that you'll have extremely weak lungs after surgery. So I'd reallyyyy talk to your doctor about this. :-/

[clopezrogina 3]

@@simplyamy thank you! I did hear a story about ppl eating a meal and not suppose to be. And the doctor seeing food in the stomach and stopping as well.

[akreese02 174]

In terms of diet, I could eat normally until three days pre-op then I was on a strictly clear liquid diet. It was hell and I'm not sure how people function longer than that!

Smoking - I'm an ex smoker but had quit well before surgery except, occasionally I cheat (1 or 2 every four to five months only when I'm somewhere where others are smoking which is rarely ever). I went to a party a month before surgery and smoked about four cigarettes then stopped again.

[LynRey70 56]

@@clopezrogina I feel you on being nervous had the same problem with the smoking and the cheating on the liquid preop diet. My advise to you is stop smoking period its just a few more days till surgery and I know how hard it is to quite believe me I know but stopping sooner is better. Then the second thing is I know how hard it is to not cheat in the prop diet cause you get this mental thing that tells you OMGEE im never going to be able to eat pizza or a hamburger!!!! once I have my surgery!!! you start tripping and sudenly want to eat everything! Right I know... if you have cheated well hun you cant uncheat now silly but from here on out its best to stick to the preop diet cause for one its helps you to prepare for how you will HAVE TO eat for a while after surgery seriously. But the most important no cheat days are the three day clear liquid days prior to surgery and the bowel cleanse the night before!! Super important!!! Best of luck to you and just food for thought If you cant control your eating now theres a good chance that once you heal you may just cheat later on and you'll be defeating the whole reason for the surgery. Remember this is not a magic pill and the weight is going to come off! Surgery is just a tool that you are given succes is up to us and how we utalize what we are given the amount of work you are willing to sacrafice to get results it strickly up to us???? best of luck to ya!

[slvarltx 332]

My doctor told me on the pre op diet if you don't follow it, typically the liver will be larger and it will take a 90 minute surgery and turn it into 4-5 hour surgery because the liver keeps getting the way.

[clopezrogina 3]

Thanks everyone for the support!

[FrankyG 1,450]

The main reason you even have to do a pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. If your liver is too large, they might end up damaging it during the surgery. It sits almost blocking most of your stomach, so they have to use the laproscopic tools to lift it and then hold it out of the way while they cut away the stomach. If the liver gets damaged, it could not only turn a fast sleeve surgery into an hours long nightmare, but you could have serious complications - a damaged and bleeding liver could mean you're hospitalized for days or even weeks. You do not want that.

That scared the crap out of me and although I had one moment of weakness during my pre-op, I did my very best to stick to the diet because I knew it had nothing to do with weight loss - it was to prevent me from having very bad complications. I was doing the surgery to improve my life, not damage vital organs.

As far as the smoking...

I was a very happy smoker for the last 20 years. I started as a teenager, and I was pretty mad about having to stop for this surgery. But same thing again - I am doing surgery to improve my health and my entire rest of my life. Smoking is bad. There is nothing whatsoever good about smoking. I know I am addicted, and quitting is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I had never been able to quit for any length of time before, but making the decision to have sleeve surgery meant I cared enough about my body and my future that continuing to be a smoker was just the most assinine, stupid thing I could do. And so I quit. And I had one slip up about 2 weeks out, but I got right back into quitting and I didn't slip again, and it's now been over 260 days since I had my last cigarette. I won't lie; I still want a damned cigarette almost every day, but I know it's bad for me and that's not who I am anymore. I won't let them control my life any more.

Cigarettes are just as bad as being addicted to drugs or being an alcoholic - you are allowing an addiction to ruin your health and jeapordize your future. If you care enough about yourself to have this surgery, then show that you care enough also to get off the smoking and put ALL of this awful stuff in your past.

Most surgeons will test you for nicotine and even the metabolized form so you might just be kicked out of the pre-op the day of if you haven't quit with enough time to get it out of your system completely. At least a month out should do it, and that includes using gum or Patches, but if you only have 7 days left, then quit right now. Even if they don't test you, you're risking a poorer outcome. VSG is major surgery, don't fool yourself that you can just keep sneaking one here or there and it won't hurt anything. You are hurting your body every time you smoke, and you are risking poor circulation, poor healing, poor lung capacity and issues with breathing during surgery and even clots for months after. Why? So you can feed a deadly addiction?

If you continue to smoke, you're saying to yourself that you aren't worth having the best possible outcome and faster healing and better health. You're better than that, so start thinking that way, and fight hard for your health. There is still time, and you are so worth it. You CAN do this!!

(I used Patches and gum for a week, then cold turkey. I also used a quit smoking app on my phone - Butt Out - that was a lifesaver as it has a community that was really supportive)

Edited June 24, 2015 by FrankiesGirl

[bb3586 7]

I didn't eat much at all on my liquid diet but it was only 2 days and I quit 1 month b4 the surgery then smoked 2 days b4 the damn surgery I'm 4 weeks post op and I smoked today and felt like an idiot so I'm done but it gets better for us I hope

[efierke 60]

To be honest? get serious about it or re-schedule the surgery. Your liver is in the way more than anything else and an liver laceration can be fatal. Do people cheat on the pre-op diet? absolutely. I had more veggies than I was supposed to and had two small handfuls of mixed nuts on my 10 day preop diet. I also lost 19 pounds on the pre-op diet and was absolutely miserable the whole time.

Smoking is a big issue too though - it slows down healing and dramatically effects your lung function. Get the patch, get some gum, throw out your cigarettes and know that you're just going to be miserable. it's part of the process, to be honest.

[clopezrogina 3]

I've been doing great! I've lost 13 pounds on the pre op diet so far and have 3 days til surgery! Havent been smoking as well! Thanks everyone!

[nistb 2]

Its ok to cheat, i had my sleeve done june 24th. I cheated in the weekends a little for my 3 week preop diet.. But the 2 days before i was strict. Surgery was fine. U will do great good luck!!

[clopezrogina 3]

Luckily I have pulled it together! I'm haven't thought about food. Its weird! Lol. I've been very strict and I just gotta keep it up a few more days! & after of course. ????

[clopezrogina 3]

3 days post op! Everything went great! Thanks everyone for the kind words and advice!