I'M GETTING REALLY SCAREDxxxx SMOKING....

hi everybody I have a question about smoking  OK so I smoke (cigarettes) for 15 years and my doctor said I should stop smoking BUT I DON'T HAVE TO FOR SURGERY I was soooo happy about it
BUT I keep reading so many BAD THINGS about smoking b4 and after wls
 NOW I know its really bad for you anyway and I LOVE smoking I never wanted to quit until NOW but I can't do it alone!!!
what can I do to quit?
can I use chantix?
patches?
what?
is any of that safe b4 surgery?
I'm sure It's safer that cigarettes but I really need help every time I light up a cig I think about the surgery but I still smoke ITS STRONGER THAN ME!!!!!
everybody around me always said that they can ever see me without a cigarette  I DON'T WANT TO QUIT but I have to
My surgery is 8/9/11 so if I quit now I would still be 1 month smoke free b4 surgery that's better than nothing right???

plus this is a Lil weird but my hospital called for a few questions b4 surgery and one of them was if I smoked 20 years or more and I said no but around 15 years (witch that's allot) but she said no that's OK its only for 20 years or more!!! 
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??? I know 15years is not OK  whatever!!! 
All I know is that I need help!!! I never thought in a million years I would ask for help to quit smoking  but I know its for a very good reason!!! and plus I'm getting this surgery for a better and longer life and that means cigarettes GOT TO GO!!!! 
thank you please help

I know quitting smoking is going to be hard, ask your doctor for help. You are having the surgery for a healthier you, quitting smoking is just that much more of a healthier you!  It will be so worth it in the end. 

Good luck,
Donna

dear scared,  maybe u should ask your dr. about wellbutrin it worked for me and i smoked 4 40 years. it would be 2 your benefit 2 stop now. u have know idea how much better u will feel in only 1 week

I feel for you - my food addiction is strong as it is... I can't imagine if I had to give up smoking too!! (I don't smoke)

I don't have any advice but I hope you can quit, the sooner the better, if only so your lungs will be able to keep up with your great new body!!!

I was a smoker for 10 years (1-1.5 packs a day) and quit 6 years ago... best decision I ever made for myself.  That was my first, only and last attempt to quitting - I didnt use drugs, patches, gum etc.  I always believed that they were enablers, feeding into an addition thats been there for years.  I never even imagined myself as a non-smoker because it was such a common practice of my daily life.  The cig on the way to work with coffee, the 10:00 break cig, the before/after lunch cig, the 3:00 cig, and then smoke the rest from work to home...

I quit by reading this book "The easy method to quitting smoking" by Allen Carr.  I dont think that anyone needs something to get them to break the habit - the BEST tool in my opinion is WILLPOWER.  The cig is not stronger than you, you are giving it power to control you.  Yes, it is a very addictive legal drug - it taps the same part of the brain as heroin does!!  But if you can get it out of your system for 3-4 days, the physical addiction is over.  The worst is dealing with the mental addiction, which is what I felt was helpful with Allen Carr's book.

I would be very cautious about smoking after surgery becasue your lungs tighten up and its hard to breathe - having an extra bit to make it more difficult will not only be painful but may delay your progress in healing...  I, as well as other WLS patients, were given a breathing tool to help expand the lungs post-op.  It was really tough to do, not being a smoker.

My opinion is... use the WLS to say goodbye to this unhealthy habit.  You'll be in the hosp as it is and will have other things to distract you anyway.  Then its up to you to keep the momentum...

Good luck with whatever you do!

I don't know if this will help as I can't offer any advice about quiting smoking since I haven't ever smoked, but, what about these thoughts:

Get a jar or can and use it for a "Small Clothes Fund". As you start losing after surgery, you will need smaller clothes and you can start putting the money you would have spent on cigarettes in the jar and as a dual reward (weight loss and cigarette free) you can go on shopping sprees as needed.

Tell yourself that you surgery will be more successful if you quit smoking now. I'm not saying that is a fact but your mind is a powerful tool, and if you tell yourself that enough, true or not you will begin to believe it. (I've told myself that if I eat sugar i.e. cookies, pie, cake that it will make me get sick. I don' t know if that is true, I really kinda doubt it is but it is always in my mind when I am tempted and helps me stay away)

These might be "cheesy" ideas but you have already made a huge life changing decision that required a lot of strength and determination (the surgery of course), and I have no doubt you can do this!

Have faith in yourself, we all support you!!! 

I quit smoking 13 years ago.  I used the patch for the first two days.  At the end of the 3rd day I realized I'd fogotten to put it on that morning, but didn't notice any difference.  But, I smoked lower nicotine cigarettes and I think I was more addicted to the action of smoking than the nicotine.

My advice is that if you do smoke higher nicotine cigarettes, to start weaning yourself down to the lower ones.  Also, know your triggers.  From my previous attempts to quit smoking I knew what it was that made me start smoking again...  drinking alcohol, going to bars, etc.  I would always allow myself to smoke when I drank and it would always lead back to full time smoking again.  So I knew that if I was going to quit for good, alcohol would have to take a back seat.  About a month after I quit I went out with some friends to a bar and allowed myself one drink.  It was too hard not to smoke so I went home.  A month later I tried going out again, it was still too hard.  So I waited a whole year before drinking or trying to go out again.  And then it was okay.  What I'm saying is that you have to make it the most important thing in your life.  If you get a craving, change what you're doing.  If you're watching TV, go out for a walk.  The good thing for me was that restaurants didn't allow smoking and I was used to not smoking after meals.  I was also used to not having smoke breaks at work.  And on my 30 minute lunch I would scarf down food real fast so I could go out and have two cigarettes.  After I quit I got to enjoy a more leisurely lunch.

This is hard for you since you're also having the VSG in August and you'll be needing to make that the most important thing in your life as well.  But you can combine the two and go towards total body wellness.

And if the patch or gum or Chantix will help you, then you should try them.  But I would talk to your surgeon first to make sure they won't counteract with your sleeve.

Best wishes to you on both quitting smoking and your VSG!!

I smoked for about 15 years and quit last summer.  My reason for quitting was I didn't want my son to ever see my smoke and at the age of 4 1/2 (at the time) he was way smarter than I thought he was.  Anyway, I wore the patch for 2 weeks to help me break the habit of putting my fingers to my mouth.  The biggest thing I noticed was that I was NOT addicted to smoking, I was addicted to the act of smoking.  I had to break the habits I formed.  So, I enlisted the help of friends.  I would talk to a friend on my way to work, so I wouldn't smoke.  I stopped going outside on breaks at work and instead walked around the building or had a light snack.  I also chewed a lot of gum.  I honestly hate the smell of smoke now and am so happy that I don't smoke.  I currently surround myself with people who are healthy councious (they don't smoke, they workout, and they eat healthier).  Birds of a feather flock together...good luck!

 On July 10, I will reach my 5 year anniversary from quitting smoking. I can honestly tell you THAT was the best decision I ever made. In the long run, it saved my life. I just quit...cold turkey! I had tried all the other stuff and decided to just love myself and made a choice to LIVE. I read once that smoking is harder on your health than gaining 100 pounds!!! WOW! 

So the second BEST decision I ever made was marrying my husband! The Third and foremost was getting the sleeve. I am 35 days out and down 36 pounds.  Now, I am smoke free, losing weight that has held me down for years and feel a sense of hope that I have not had in a long time. 

I think you have to love yourself and your life enough to quit smoking. It is hard but once you make that decision and you start envisioning a life in which you can be proud of yourself and make healthy decisions, you will easily forget the dark passenger friend of cigarettes! It is not your friend! LOVE YOU! I know you can do it! Do it first and then do the sleeve! You have no idea the mountains you will be able to climb!!!
HUGS
Jenni

They have anywhere cigarettes that you can buy at the mall to gradually quick, they still have tobacco but not all the other stuff.  You cut down gradually.

I did it cold turkey as it has be 17 years ago and I had smoked for 30 years.  Was I a grump? Yes, but you can talk to your doc about that.

As I have said before and told my daughter this.  This is the only time you will be able to lose weight when you quit smoking so it is probably best to go ahead and do it now.  I know I was always thin until I quit and I blew up and stayed that way for the most part.  My daughter has lost over 50's after VSG 3 mos ago and she quit smoking a month or so before surgery. 

Not sure what the 20 yrs vs 15 yrs meant but the sooner the better.  Go for it!
Mary K