Nicotine

Does anyone know why having nicotine in your system is a bad thing?  I quit smoking  years ago, but I still chew nicorette - my family physician has been chewing nicorette for over 20 years! He and I have discussed our 'addiction' on many occasions - I have wanted to stop chewing - and he keeps saying that it's not the nicotine that is harmful - it's all the carcinogens etc in cigarettes that'll kill you.

So, why is nicotine in your system a detriment to surgery?

 

I would certainly look at getting another doctor...just because your doctor does it doesnt mean it is correct. Nicotine is an addictive drug. It gets right into your blood stream and heads to the brain with in 20 seconds of in take. It is bad for your liver, increases your blood pressure and heart rate, Also you have a higher rate of going back to smoking .. it is the nicotine that is addictive... not trying to sound rude but you might as well still be smoking. It can hurt you and or kill you on the operation table and or after. Please stop!!! I quit after 31 years of loving to smoke for this surgery. I used the nicorete inhaler for about a month.... I will be smoke and nicotine free for almost a year next month.

Google it and do some research hun.

http://smokingaddictionhelp.net/nicotine-addiction-is-danger ous-for-your-body.php

The common assumption is that you smoke tobacco, which is a far worse thing than having a nicotine addiction. So if you say you have a nicotine addiction which is really not that common, then the default thinking is that you're a smoker or you're a smoker who is trying to slip one past them. Smoking tobacco is very bad in this situation as it can introduce so many more problems into an already fragile system. But of course you know that. 

So on to the Nicotine problem. Alone it's sort of like caffeine in hyper mode. Gets your heart beating a little faster, which gives you the juice to "git er done". If you have high blood pressure or heart issues, well no need to tell you what is going to happen there.

It also has an effect on the brain. Like Cocaine!  lol

Nicotine will cause dopamine to be released into your system which is why both smoking and Cocaine are so addictive. Not that it's a huge problem but you are giving your body a reward for doing nothing. When you grasp something you've been trying to learn, or someone you haven't seen for too long appears before you, you're happy happy happy because of good old dopamine gushing about in your nervous system. You're brain sucks some of it up and life is grand. So some resistance can build up like it does with most opiates and alkaloids and you need more to get the same amount of happy. Not that it matters much, but if you suffer some form of depression it could mean feeling down in the dumps longer than you usually might because it's difficult to get happy on the amount of dopamine the body is naturally producing. 

All that nit picking I know, I know but forewarned is forearmed as they say. 

As I see it, you're going through all this trouble anyway, might as well make a clean sweep of it and get it all out of the way at the same time. 

Best of luck on your up and coming.

Thanks everyone - food for thought. I have wanted to quit the gum for a very long time - I guess this is a great time to do it. 

I believe they say that is can slow down healing...."smoking" that is...not sure how much of that is the nicotine alone. If you have just had your surgery and you are feeling serious cravings or withdrawals from the nicotine I would NOT opt to chew the gum, only because it can create air in your pouch and be painful...BUT maybe consider getting an extremely low dose nicotine patch (stage 3 or 4 I think they are). I do know that some doctors say putting your body through withdrawal can be MORE damaging sometimes, if your body is not strong enough to handle it. Talk to your surgeon or an RN or your family physician. I am not a doctor, I have not yet had surgery...but I AM an ex-smoker and know the side effects of quitting right NOW may not be the best thing. Good luck =)

P.S - Popsicles are a great distraction too =) Plus they're just yummy, lol

LOL - I was just having a sugar free freezie when I got your last email.

Hi Suzie

 

PLEASE....quit the nicorette....

My sister in law passed away from esophageal cancer after chewing nicorette for 18 years......they blamed the gum- the thought was it caused silent reflux which allowed the cancer to go undetected until it was too late

My best friends father passed away from pancreatic cancer after chewing nicorette for 15 years.....they have always wondered if the gum was the factor

 

 

 

I am so sorry about your family loss. I will quit.  Thanks for sharing that.