Question:
blood test to see if you are still smoking-
pretty pretty please.......not lectures LOL...I am having Plastic surgery Aug 5th- When I went for my consult, My nurse told me I needed to quit smoking 2 weeks prior to surgery- (she was new in the office) Well, I'm now 2 weeks from surgery (and quit today), and I was looking through my paperwork, that (silly me) I didn't read beforehand- Well it says the Dr. has a new requirement to quit one MONTH before surgery- It says they will test the morning of surgery to make sure the patient has quit (of course I understand why)...I am totally freaking out- I am very healthy, I can run up a flight up stairs with no problem- Does anyone have any idea if I will pass the test he gives me? How long can smoking be detected? I have an ENORMOUS amount of skin on my belly, that causes me unbearable pain, I NEED to have this removed NOW- I do not want to "be honest" and postpone my surgery- So what I need to know is will he be able to tell I quit 2 weeks prior to surgery, and not 4 ???? Was anyone else tested the morning of surgery ? Sure would appreciate any replys !!! Signed- Shaking in my boots — WABBIT F. (posted on July 22, 2004)
July 22, 2004
Just stick to the non-smoking and go forward. What they will probably do is
a breathing test to make sure that there are no anesthesia problems. Don't
worry too much. It's just fantastic that you stopped in the first place!
— coffenut
July 22, 2004
The rules are there for a reason, prevention of complications. What if you
dont call and tell them? say its catched the morning of surgery, and your
surgery is cancelled. That wastes the OR time plus everything thats needed
for YOU. Your surgeon might get upset and refuse to do you at
all:(<P> Pr say they dont catch it and you have troubles post op with
poor healing... Again preventable. I think you should call and tell your
surgeon, respect his decision, its your life and health on the line...
please let us know what you decide.
— bob-haller
July 22, 2004
BTW I understand the test looks for cotine level in your blood, and is
highly sensitive. its a component in nicotine. so you will likely get
cauught. better too fess up in advance. if you dont tell and get caught the
delay will likely be longer...
— bob-haller
July 22, 2004
Hi! Don't know about the plastic surgeon, but my oncologist always knows
when I have smoked, cut down, or quit entireley. Think it is something to
do with protien levels in a blood test that they do regularly a day before
I go see him. If it were me, this is too important to let slide, be honest
and up front.....the rules are there for a reason, and your surgeon is
looking to keep you healthy and get you through a surgery the best way he
knows how. I have been honest with my plastic surgeon, and although it has
not been for a tummy tuck....I am going through breast reconstruction for
cancer....it did mean a great deal in the healing process. In fact,
because I was a smoker, it eliminated one way I could have gone to have a
tummy tuck at the same time as the breast reconstruction by using the
tissue and muscle from my stomach. I respect my surgeon, so took him at
his word that it would not be a good thing to do. Has something to do with
the vascular system not being able to heal, and smoking causes constricture
of the arteries, which can lead to the healthy tissue dying. In my
opinion, not worth the risk. Let us know what you do...will keep you in my
thoughts and hope that you make the right choice for you.
Best of Luck,
Dorrie J
— DorrieB
July 22, 2004
I was waiting for my appt. with my P>S> and they had to delay my wait
since the last patient seen in her exam offfice wreeked so horribly of
smoke they had to fumigate the room..The entire office and MD were so
upset, as they REFUSE to operate on anyone who is a smoker...They
apoligized to me for my delay as I drive over 2 hours each way to see this
SPECIALIST...It is not a lecture to you, but for the safety of you and
others Please...Don't be goofy..YOU have too many relatives and friends
that love you to risk TWO WEEKS?????? of your life for your habit...Pray to
God and I will too along with many others..I smoked 3 packs of KOOL
MENTHOLS a day since I was 12 years old..I stopped cold turkey at age 27
(WORKING IN A CASINO MIND YOU) am now a 47 year old woman who has never
picked up a ciggy since then,,,,,,It is not easy, and to this day still
have the urge...WHAT A HORRIBLE ADDICTION to still tink about it 20 years
later....Hold off on the surger,,,,quit NOW !!! It is your LIFE !!!!!! Why
have P>S> if you may die from it due to NICOTINE ?????????Most
respectfully, Irene
— irene B.
July 22, 2004
I did a lot of research on how long nicotine can be detected in the system.
I went to many websites, and all of them say that your body is free of
nicotine in 72 hours. Go to www.nicotine.com, (or other smoking related
websites) and there are answers there. You have to really search, and it
took me a while, but I found my answers. My biggest question was how long
before it leaves the system? Also there are some disturbing things on
these sites that will really make you want to quit for good! Don't be
nervous.
Desirae
— Desirae V.
July 22, 2004
It's unfair to your surgeon and a vast amount of people on his team to not
be honest. It is expensive and time consuming to the hospital/clinic to
schedule any kind of surgery, especially major surgery like this.
<br>
It is really in your best interest to be honest and call your surgeon
yourself today and explain the situation. Tell him of what you were told
vs. what you read. And consider quitting permanently - your healing will be
much faster (fomr everything, not just this procedure), and since you took
the time to get healthier by having WLS, why not take the last
step?<br>
Good luck, and I would bet that your surgeon will appreciate your honesty
TODAY, and not find out you lied about in in two weeks.
— kultgirl
July 22, 2004
They may check arterial blood gases. The effects of smoking are cumulative.
Having ABG's drawn - or the threat of having them drawn - would make me
quit, if I smoked! The blood is drawn from an artery, usually in your
wrist. I won't kid you - it is painful, even if the person doing it is very
skilled! The toxic chemicals in smoke are not just in your lungs - they are
shipped thoughout your body via your bloodstream. Smoking can hender
healing by reducing the amount and quality of oxygenated blood that can get
to the tissues. Geez, smoking one cigarette paralyzes the cilia in your
respiratory tract that help to clean out your lungs. All the dust and crap
you breathe in stays put. Then after a smoker sleeps, the cilia get some
movement back, and in the morning, the smoker hacks up most of the crap
they have inhaled; the lungs are trying to clean themselves out. Our bodies
are so miraculous that they try to undo the crappy things we do to it!
Stopping even for two weeks before surgery will help, but don't start again
after surgery, please! You still will need to heal! They probably won't be
able to tell if you have stopped smoking for 2 weeks or 4, but I would
still be honest about it!
Good luck!
— koogy
July 23, 2004
I just wrote a magazine column on smoking and surgery. Here's some
information I found very interesting. After you have been under general
anesthesia it is very important to breathe deeply and cough. This can be
difficult and painful for a smoker. If you are not able to breathe deeply
because of smoking you are at an increased risk of pneumonia. Cigarettes
also contain nicotine which raises your blood pressure by making your blood
vessels smaller. When this happens you don’t get good blood flow
to your new incision so your incision heals slower. The nicotine in
cigarettes also affects the platelets in your blood which could lead to
blood clots. So as you can see – smoking isn’t good
for anyone having surgery. On a lighter note, just look at what gets
better if you quit. It only takes 8 hours after you stop smoking for the
carbon monoxide in your blood to return to normal. You are at a decreased
risk of heart attack only 24 hours after giving up cigarettes. 2 weeks
after you quit your lung function is improved by 30%. 1 year after
quitting you are half as likely as a smoker to develop heart disease. Best
wishes to you!
— ronascott
July 23, 2004
No lecture as per you request. YES, they can tell how because at 2 weeks
you will still have "residual" smoke in your arterial blood flow,
in your hair, in your nails and in your skin. Honesty is very important
when it comes to surgery.
— Anna M.
July 24, 2004
Yes they can tell....I am a nurse in a pulmonary office...we do pre-op ABGs
everyday. Your carbon monoxide level will still reflect that you have
smoked. Granted the level will be much less....but it will still be
there!!!! Don't lie to them.....I would call them now and let them know,
it would suck to get there and be turned away because you did not quit when
you should have. Be honest...they might let you slide, they may not, I know
our office policy is: surgery canceled!!! It would be for your own good
though, as a smoker, you heal slower, harder to come out of anesthesia,
higher risk of pneumonia, and blood clots. Good luck to you!!!!
— jennap
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