Smoking with Surgery

[refocus 6]

How many of you were smokers pre surgery? How long did you have to quit before you could have surgery? Did you remain a non smoker after surgery?

[ssarduy 5]

I stopped smoking exactly 1 month before sugery I did opt out for a vape pen used for a few days with time I used it less. I am 7 days post op and I have no urge to smoke a cigarette or the vape pen

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@refocus - I started smoking and chewing tobacco when I was 16. At 49 I came home to Oklahoma at the height of allergy season was outside smoking and started all the coughing and had a Sudden Moment of Clarity..."dude this is your respiratory future if you keep smoking." So I quit. Three weeks cold turkey. But while I didn't "need" to smoke (after 3 weeks your body's need for the nicotine hit goes away) I still found myself very unfocused and I could not concentrate. I did some more research and found out just how odd the nicotine drug is on the system. I chose the least harmful way of getting nicotine without going to tobacco and that was vaping.

One in ten American's adults now vape and 50% of smokers have quit using it (20 times greater success rates than gum, Patches and other drugs). So I do recommend it. I was showing COPD symptoms prior to the vape and those are all gone. I have now seen long term data that shows that all respiratory damage done by smoking reverses with vaping.

I was self pay in Mexico so I didn't have the "no nicotine" restriction that many here have faced. Smoking/tobacco is hard on the stomach and will make healing more difficult. Vaping didn't have any noticeable negative effect. So talk it over with your doctor.

[Lutasha 102]

I quit by vaping. It's been my most successful "quit." Almost 3 years now.

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

me too. I vape still. 0 nicotine...melon ball is my flavor of choice these days! That and BIG clouds!

[refocus 6]

Thanks everyone for the feedback..I feel like an idiot that I smoke period..but it's not surprising to me that I do something that I know is harmful to myself. I have been smoking for 20 years now with only one year break and that was when I pregnant...my husband is a heavy smoker and I know that will make it harder to quit this dirty habit. I don't know anything about vaping but will definitely check into it! I figure if I'm going to go to the extreme to have surgery I need to be all in to get my health back! Thanks!

[RyansGirl89 67]

I am so grateful that Vaping helped me get off of cigarettes too. Went from 24 mg of nicotine down to 0 and it was easy peezy...i had tries Chantix, lozenges, gum, Patches, hypnotism and cold turkey with little success until Vaping. The cigarette companies send out reports all the time on dangers of Vaping but as far as I am concerned, it was the best thing I ever did besides the surgery I'm about to do.

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

@@refocus YES!! I felt the same exact way! I smoked lots longer than you. My hubs quit with me. He vaped for a while, then just quit everything altogether. Now he'll have a cigar every once in a great while. But I still love my vape. Mostly in the car. Sometimes at home, I forget where I put it. But I love it when I am in the car when I am driving, or when I'm riding shotgun. Just throw those cigs away and get a quality e-cig. not one of those ones from a gas station. KC Vapes is who I use..they are local to me. But they have a website too.

[Leesa926 72]

Trust me I know how you feel. A week ago I thought I couldn't do it. Here I am 5 days smoke free! I have been smoking for about 20-22 years started in high school. I smoke a lot 1.5-2 packs a day. I started Chantix about 25 days ago. Many have bad side effects. For me I may as well be taking tic tacs as I don't feel anything.

Wednesday I said ok let me start using the vape and not smoke and I did. It really hasn't been bad at all. Hubby even smoked in front of me last night. The vape I believe is helping I am on the lowest nicotine, starting 0 % next week. I can't believe how easy it is for me so far - trust me I was the LAST person you would think could quit with ease. I did try to take a few drags, snuck when hubby was sleeping and it didn't taste good (think that is where the chantix came in)

Now I don't know if it is the Chantix, vape or mix of the 2 but I am doing it! and it is surprisingly easy!! Sure i want one and my big fear is when people talk of that urge, it really does only last a second. My problem is habit - I keep grabbing for them.

Good luck - trust me sooooo much easier than I ever thought!!

[Leesa926 72]

Btw my doc said I have to stop for 6 weeks

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

I quit a year and a month before surgery....I knew I wanted my lungs healthy during surgery, with the anesthesia, and to be able to breathe deeply with the breathy thingy afterward, so I didn't get pneumonia. I don't miss regular cigs at all.

[RyansGirl89 67]

Anyone looking to quit smoking can quit Vaping. Yes, it is important to buy a quality vape from a vape store and get the clerk to show you about how to add oil or put in new itemizer etc.. I spent about 100 to get started and it only cost me an average of dollars a week to vape that is amazing. I also suggest a back up vape and holder to keep it around neck so as not to lose it. Start at a nicotine level equivalent with amount you smoke and step down to lower nicotine levels each month or faster if you can handle it. I did it slowly so I didn't suffer but others stepped down fast. I prefer regular cigarette flavor as opposed to sweet flavored juices because it made it feel more like a cig to me and eventually was down to 0 level.... Any smoker can do it.. The first 3 days quitting from the regular cig is slightly edgy but not bad.

Oops I only spent 5 dollars a week on Vaping

[refocus 6]

Very Encouraging everyone! I'm going to stop before I even meet with a surgeon...I want to make sure I'm on the path and feel confident. I don't want to increase any chances for complications. I'm worried about quitting but even without the surgery it needs to be done...I think it is the most disgusting habit...I mean I get the food addiction but cigs...I really don't understand. They stink, make a mess, yet I'm constantly reaching for one. I swore I would never be a smoker!!! I also never thought I would need to have surgery due to my weight...I don't know anything! lol

[mystiq 9]

i was able to quit 5 days before surgery! it was the easiest time i ever had to quit. I guess its because the surgery was finally going to happen, and I knew that if i was going through this big change I would have to be in it 100% so I made up my mind and just quit. That day i didnt have any cravings at all. I was focused on what i can and cant eat or drink. And i just spent every moment thinking about different foods and recipes i could do. I think thats what helped me quit. Just focus on something else.

[Dub 9,922]

Very Encouraging everyone! I'm going to stop before I even meet with a surgeon...I want to make sure I'm on the path and feel confident. I don't want to increase any chances for complications. I'm worried about quitting but even without the surgery it needs to be done...I think it is the most disgusting habit...I mean I get the food addiction but cigs...I really don't understand. They stink, make a mess, yet I'm constantly reaching for one. I swore I would never be a smoker!!! I also never thought I would need to have surgery due to my weight...I don't know anything! lol

You said a mouthful right there !

I said the very same things, yet there I was....addicted and having to quit.

Cigarettes are hugely addictive but just like OKCPirate said.....after a while the desire goes away. I quit several years ago, but were I quitting now.....I'd pursue the vaping thing. I've known some guys at work who quit this was recently with great success.

I wish you the best.