WLS and Quitting Smoking

Shelle921

I expect to have my surgery in January and although I haven't been given a deadline on when to stop smoking, I know that I will need to quit. (Of course, I KNOW I should quit anyway!) Has anyone here had to deal with simultaneously quitting smoking AND losing the required amount of weight beforehand? What have been your experiences as far as WLS and smoking?

Michelle

Onaughmae

WLS + smoking= dont do it! I know its tough...been there, done that. I quit smoking 6 months before my surgery. My doctor said if I was still smoking a month before surgery he would cancel my procedure. You shouldnt smoke with any surgical procedure, it can hamper healing. It is also a higher risk to put a smoker under anesthesia. Post op, nicotine causes blood vessels to constrict...including the ones in your gut. Which is going to impede your ability to absorb nutrients even further. I know several people that have had RNY. The ones that do not smoke always look healthier. It seems the ones that start to look kind of haggard and rough around the edges are the ones that went back to smoking.

I was a long time smoker, but I knew I had to do it. I even managed to do it without gaining any weight. I didnt lose much...but I didnt gain any either so I took it as a win Of course I wanted to stab everyone I saw in the eye for about 2 weeks...or so...but it passed. I kept a lot of crunchy snacks like celery and carrots around. I also carried sugar free toffees with me everywhere and pretty much constantly had one in my mouth. Do I still occasionally want a smoke? Yup...but I know I cant even go there.

Best of luck to you!

Shelle921

Thank you!

pjmcinnis

I was told I had to be NICOTINE free for a minimum of 6 mos before my surgery. That included patches, gum, what ever you might use that had nicotine. Now, I was not a heavy smoker by most standards, however, I enjoyed it and nobody hade given me a good enough reason to give it up for good. (Yah, yah, I know.... cancer & heart disease... well my father's side all dies with cancer, my mother's side is all about heart disease... genetically i'm f*cked anyway)

The reason I was given was that nicotine causes the stomach to be more brittle putting you at risk for a whole or split in the stomach which would then cause the digestive juices to empty into the body cavity where all those pesky essential organs are located. Hydrocloric Acid will mess you up! Kill you even!

I wanted the surgery badly enough to say OK, good reason, and I quit cold turkey 2 days later! Haven't had a smoke since except for a couple of excellent ones in my dreams... but they don't count!

My weight jumped15 lbs, but on the pre-surgery liquid diet, I lost that and went into surgery @ 225. 6 mos post surgery and i'm down to 190!

phinners

yes, I quit smoking 2 weeks before my surgery. Because I knew I had to.

I had smoked 20-40 a day for 23 years. I read the Allen Carr Easy Way to Stop Smoking. And quit literally over night. That was 2 1/2 years ago.