Did anyone smoke when they had surgery

[Wendy B 0]

I am on day 9 of my 14 day pre-op diet and had fully intended to have quit smoking by now, but have only be able to slow down to 4 or 5. I know this is horrible, and I'm scared it might affect my surgery, or they will cancel it, and as I'm going to be in Mexico, that would really suck!

I would like to hear surgery stories about people who still smoked during surgery(and have hopefully now quit this horrible addiction). Did it make surgery harder? I now it defianately affects the healing process.

Feeling very scared right now.

Wendy

[GramaLisa 0]

Hi Wendy,

I am a smoker too, I know I know, terrible habit. I haven't had surgery yet or even gotten a surgery date, but I will have to stop smoking too. Hang in there and keep up the good work! I bet after your surgery you won't even feel like smoking. Lisa

[Florida girl 0]

Wendy, I don't want to scare you more than you already are but I am going to. Smoking is the absolute worst thing you can do up to and after surgery. The healing process is compromised, your sutures will not heal at the same rate as a non-smoker, your lungs will not recover as quickly. There are just so many bad things. Now, here is the kicker... They can tell you have been smoking when you go in. I am not sure about Mexico, but any surgeon in the United States would check blood gases prior to a surgery. They will be able to tell you have been smoking and very well may cancel the surgery. Stop now. Don't pick another one up. Do it for yourself as this is an important step that absolutely must not be skipped.

I hope I wasn't too harsh but I wanted you to get the seriousness of what the outcome could be if you continue to smoke. My thoughts and prayers will be with you! I sincerely hope you quit smoking and are able to have your surgery because I know how much we all want to succeed. You hang in there!

[fur365 0]

hi there,yes i smoked till they moring of being banded. but no i didn't kick the habit yet.i still smoke 4-5 a day.i was o.k. i didn't feel like smokeing till 2 days after. good luck. funny thing my name is wendy too.:ohmy:

[jdzoe1 0]

Hi Wendy,

I would never encourage anyone to smoke, but as a smoker I thought maybe I could put your mind to rest. I actually smoked the morning of my surgery and about 1/2 hour after they let me out of the hospital. Was that the smartest thing to do? No. Did it cause any actual problems? No. I was honest with the anethistesia Dr. and it was not a problem. It's just very important to be honest so they know what they are dealing with. If you can cut back to just a few a day that is great. I am down to about 5-6 a day. I know it's not great, but as a former 2 pack a day smoker...this is great for me. I have honestly never heard of smoking to be a reason to cancel this surgery. I suppose if you have lung problems from the smoking that would be another story.

Hope this helps. Good luck to you. My best advise is to make sure you have Gas-X strips on hand because the gas pains can really hurt and the quick strips help A LOT. The other thing is sacks of frozen peas. They are great ice packs and offer a ton of relief for the pain and swelling. Also, warm broth feels good going down.

Blessings to you, Julie :ohmy:

[gemini2502 0]

I cut down quite a bit, but no I didnt quit...

[slinkymalinky 0]

Just wanted to add my two cents. I was a pack a day smoker until 2.5 months ago. I had tried every imaginable aid to quit, with no success. I managed to quite reading a book by Allan Carr called something like Quitting Smoking the EasyWay. I know that won't help you right now, but if you try in the future, give the book a try, as it worked for me, and I was a die hard smoker. I don't even miss it now, so willpower doesn't even come into play.

Good luck with your surgery, and eventually with quitting smoking.

[Yvonne72 0]

I have not had a cigarette in 5 years... however, the morning of my surgery, they had to make me wait because of an emergency!

A woman who was banded who did not quit had an ulcer and because of her continued smoking- she wound up with a hole in her small intestines.

Please stop- there are reasons they tell you not to smoke anymore. More than you can think of or even hear about on this forum. It's not something to fool around with.

Try going to a hypnotist or having that new laser treatment that will help you quit. There are a million books to buy to help you quit. Try everything you can.

Best of luck to you. I apologize if these seemed harsh- but you asked the question.

[::tracy:: 0]

i gave up before my pre-op diet ... sadly i have started again ... 6 months later .... i will give up again ... but disappointing.

As far as surgery, yeah, you really have to think about if you want to be in the best shape for it and for the recovery.

[lynzz 0]

Hi Wendy,

A woman who didn't quit smoking was scheduled for surgery the same day as me, but was denied because she couldn't pass the breathing test. She was totally devastated . They prescribed Chantrix for her, have you tried that? She eventually quit and rescheduled her surgery for 3 weeks later.

It is still not too late to quit...I am a 15 year die hard smoker and managed to quit exactly 1 week before surgery. I just made a decision that this surgery is more important. It is, isn't it to you?

You can do it!!!

Edited June 23, 2008 by lynzz

[fletcher97701 1]

I quit smoking one year ago and since my doctor knew that he did three labs all the way until the day before surgery! I had actually thought about having one one night when I went out like two weeks before surgery but the thought of coming all this way and that ruining me having surgery scared me and I didn't! I am not sure if they do labs like that in Mexico?

[ssdown 0]

Talk to your MD and see if you are a good candidate for Chantix. I am a dental hygienist and have had several die hard smokers quit using the prescription.