smoking

I am being told that you must quit smoking before having surgery, because of necessary oxygen levels during surgery, I was wondering if anyone DID NOT quit and suffered because of it during or after surgery. I am not so sure I can do this, just looking for more info before I make a decision. THANKS

HI LORA! I TOO AM A SMOKER. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO QUIT FOR SOME TIME NOW AND I'VE BEEN SMOKE FREE FOR 2 DAYS AND MY SURGERY IS IN 8 DAYS. CAN SOMEONE HELP SHOULD I POSTPONE FOR A LATER DATE?

The risks of complications from surgery are much higher in smokers in ANY surgery not just WLS. You will be at higher risk for blood clots, respiratory complications and wounds don't heal well in smokers. The reason most MD's want you to quit is for your own good (if you have less complications, it keeps their reputation good too!!) There are a couple of ways to check to see if a smoker has quit and for how long. To the lady who has quit and surgery is just a few days away.. Congrats and keep up the good work. Your blood work should look just fine. I quit the minute I realized I was going to try to make WLS a reality for myself. I still struggle (its been Four weeks, 9 hours, 43 minutes and 18 seconds since my last cig!) I would suggest for some really good info that you check out whyquit.com Good luck to you guys!!

The risks of complications from surgery are much higher in smokers in ANY surgery not just WLS. You will be at higher risk for blood clots, respiratory complications and wounds don't heal well in smokers. The reason most MD's want you to quit is for your own good (if you have less complications, it keeps their reputation good too!!) There are a couple of ways to check to see if a smoker has quit and for how long. To the lady who has quit and surgery is just a few days away.. Congrats and keep up the good work. Your blood work should look just fine. I quit the minute I realized I was going to try to make WLS a reality for myself. I still struggle (its been Four weeks, 9 hours, 43 minutes and 18 seconds since my last cig!) I would suggest for some really good info that you check out whyquit.com Good luck to you guys!!

Hello. I was told that in order for your blood oxygen level to come up clear, you need to stop smoking 3 weeks prior to surgery. Anything less than that is a risk of having traces in the blood and THEY WILL POSTPONE YOUR SURGERY. It was a hard thing for me to do, but it was so worth it.

I also am a smoker. I just started my journey and dont have a date yet. I was told that I needed to stop smoking 2 months before. I started out doing it cold turkey, that lasted 4 days before I caved. I started only smoking a quater of a cig at the end of the day. I have been doing that now for a few days and smoking less every day. this seems to be working. In the past week I have smoked about 3 cigs. In the end I think I want the surgery so bad that this should be all the motivation I need. If you really want to have the wls then do what I keep doing and thats keeping my eyes on the PRIZE :0) GOOD LUCK!!!