Sleep Apnea, Smoking and Surgery Dates

LOL @ the mask and chemical warfare. I don't plan on wearing it either. I figure if sleep apnea hasn't killed me all this time, why would it now especially if I'm going to be smaller? I know I won't have a choice but to wear it after surgery. I'll be unconscious so I'll deal with it.

I know I can quit for this because I really want it. The hard part will be not picking back up once I'm told I'm cleared. This site and the stories of what happens to those that don't follow directions is helping to keep me straight though.

1) If I did not bring my CPAP machine then my surgery would have been canceled on the spot.  The last thing your surgeon needs is a patient gasping for air while they sleep - which you'll do a lot - and dropping their oxygen levels while trying to recover from surgery.

2) I'm not a smoker so I don't remember what my surgeon required but I do remember that they swabbed every patient's skin on the operating room table and if they tested positive for nicotine the surgeon would walk away.

Thank you.

I've I'm giving a machine, I will bring it to surgery and use the machine until I've been told that I'm "recovered". I need to wake up from surgery and enjoy life.

My husband smokes so I was hoping that they would do a urine or blood test to prove that "I" really quit if they needed to test at all. I don't believe in lying to doctors. This is too serious to try to ease one by them. LOL

Ok, I am totally laughing about the chemical warfare and zombie plague :-)  Too Funny!!!  My hubby said to me " Luke, I am your father".

I am pre-op and had the sleep apnea study ( I snore badly) and the results showed I have mild sleep apnea & restless leg syndrome  but not enough to have a CPAP machine, but, here's the kicker, when I did stop breathing, my oxygen level dropped the 79 - not good.  So that made the CPAP machine necessary as the oxygen deprivation can cause memory loss and the doc said they were surprised I have not experienced memory loss already.  So I have the machine and i use it every single night.  I truly thought that I would not see any significant difference but the first night I used it, the next morning was 100% better and I could not believe it.  I honestly thought I slept fine each night and was just tired during the day because I have 2 elementary age kiddos and I work and am constantly on the go.  Now, sitting on the couch being a lazy butt drives me crazy most of the time where 2 months ago, I would have been just fine sitting on my backside  and I am still 3 months to go on my supervised diet.  I have to say if your doc says you need the machine, try and use it because you may feel so much better as I do.

As for the smoking, I have never smoked but my grandmother did (she passed away from lung cancer) and my hubby smokes but I make him smoke outside 100% of the time and never around me or the kids.  You are embarking on this journey to a healthy life and life style, so try your best to get rid of ALL the unhealthy things!!!

Keep on going forward and jump through all the hoops you need to!!!  You can do it!!!

If you have sleep apnea and don't use a CPAP, then you're just adding to the stress of surgery in your body. It's not about the snoring, it's about the stopping breathing, which you can't know for sure about unless you're tested.

Recovering from surgery takes energy. I mean for months after surgery, your body is still healing. You do not want to layer more problems on by depriving yourself of oxygen while you sleep.

Wearing a CPAP mask isn't a big deal. You just get used to it. Others around you get used to it.