Question:
52 yrs old, smoked for 30 yrs, surgery is on july 9th
My mom has surgery on july 9th, im scared to death! she is 52 and has smoked for almost 30 yrs. im just wondering if there is anyone out there who has had the surgery and has smoked for so long. I had the surgery in october of last year and my lung partially collapsed, im 23 and i dont smoke. im scared that my mom wont make it. any advice or words of encouragement from anyone that can relate to my situation or my moms would be greatly appreciated. — lisa N. (posted on June 30, 2003)
June 30, 2003
hello! i am 52, smoked for 40 years, had surgery feb 20, 2003 and had no
problems. i quit smoking april 2002 so i had been away from them for quite
sometime. i had to go to a pulmonologist and cardiologist for testing and
was surprised that i had no problems. i was very faithful in doing the
breathing exercises before and after surgery. i had a little
"catch" in my breathing post surgery that went away in about 1
1/2 weeks but i had to work at it. i just couldn't take a good long deep
breath. i had no problems coming out of anesthesia at all. remember that
my experience is mine and might not be the same with your mom. i hope she
has quit smoking for good. it is one of the best things i have ever done
for myself and a huge source of pride. you know the other is wls. i'm
down 68 lbs. good luck to you and your mom. get her to use the breathing
thingy as often as possible. it really helped me.
— Priscilla A.
June 30, 2003
I smoked for 22 years and 42 years old. I quit on 5/24/02 had surgery
9/3/02. Everything went fine, I did my breathing exercises all the time,
no problem waking up from surgery either. If she follows orders she should
be ok.
— Jeana S.
June 30, 2003
I smoked 2-3 packs a day for 30 years, and quit 2 months before my
surgery....I had no respiratory complications. My surgeon will NOT operate
on anyone who has not been smoke free for at least 30 days prior to
surgery.
— Linda 1.
June 30, 2003
I smoked for 20+ years and had surgery and did fine. And I didn't quit for
the surgery - had a smoke 3 hours before the operation and as soon as I was
up walking. In fact it motivated me to GET UP and get walking :>) It
depends a LOT on her general over-all health. I'll say a prayer for her!
— [Deactivated Member]
June 30, 2003
I had my surgery when I was 44 and had been smoking for 28 years (had quit
for 6 years, but went back to it 2 years before my surgery). While I
intended to quit before the surgery, I was just too nervous, and wound up
smoking even more during the few weeks prior. I was up to 2 and a half
packs a day. I even had two cigarettes on the drive to the hospital the
morning of my surgery. The nurse didn't like the sound of my lungs, and
had me inhale Provental (an asthmatic medication) for about 30 minutes
prior to going into surgery. I had no complications AT ALL. I'm not
advocating smoking, and the best thing your Mom can do is quit before hand
(it really is a nasty habit), but don't assume the worst. Plenty of
smokers have all kinds of surgery and survive it.
— Cyndie K.
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