I have a question on smoking - Page 2 - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

Grauntie · 09-30-2006, 10:12 AM

WLS is hard on our emotions. Very hard at times. Quite frankly, if you cant/wont stop smoking, I dont think WLS is for you. After surgery you MUST adhere to strict diet rules. To quit smoking is trivial compared to a life changing surgery.

Texasflygirl · 09-30-2006, 01:38 PM

I have never smoked, even though both of my parents smoked. Statistically, this is very unusual. Chances are very high that if you and your husband smokes, so will your children when they grow up.

Here's my plea.....PLEASE quit smoking! My mom died when she was 40 years old, and the doctors told us that the only reason she died was her smoking. It restricts the blood in the arteries, which caused her to have a massive heart attack. She was a size 6, and was a beautiful woman. She was so afraid of being fat that she smoked cigarettes and drank coffee all day and basically didn't eat. I was 21 when she died, and I can honestly tell you that there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her! I miss my mom so much it hurts. As you know, there are many phases of grief. I went through my "angry" phase of grief. I'm past that now, and cherish every memory I have of her. I couldn't help thinking what would've happened if she had a "scare", maybe a mini-heart attack to wake her up to the health hazards of smoking. Would she have quit if that had happened? We'll never know, because the doctors said her heart attack was so massive that she didn't know what hit her.

Just like weight loss surgery is a "tool" to help with obesity, there are many "tools" for the difficult task of quitting smoking. There are patches, pills, therapies, etc to help you. Do it for your overall health, and if not that, do it for your kids!!

I hope I don't sound judgmental, because that is not my intention. I am VERY aware how addicting nicotine is and how difficult it is to quit the habit. I wanted to share my story, because this is a subject very close to my heart, that has impacted my life in a very tragic way.

(FYI: my Dad died of congestive heart failure at 58 years old, largely due to smoking 3 packs a day)

aesidwell · 10-01-2006, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenomia

I had to quit or no surgery as well. (I quit the minute they told me to.) I believe comes down to How BADLY do you want this surgery? If you want it bad enough, you will QUIT, you will SUFFER and you will stay QUIT in order to Get it.
This site may help you.

AMEN sister! The minute my surgeons said, "You have to quit smoking or no surgery," I went home to my chimney of a boyfriend and said, "I have to quit. You can smoke, fine, but if I even so much as look at one, I want you to glare at me." And that was it. I wanted my life back, and it wasn't fun, it wasn't pretty (WOW, did I have a bad attitude for awhile), but I decided getting my life back was much more important than having a few minutes of destress from a cigarette.

Duckie · 10-02-2006, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenomia

I had to quit or no surgery as well. (I quit the minute they told me to.) I believe comes down to How BADLY do you want this surgery? If you want it bad enough, you will QUIT, you will SUFFER and you will stay QUIT in order to Get it. I honestly believe that the Drs. are not only looking at our overall health and well being, but are also putting this out there as a test. If we can't quit, then how are we going to follow the lifelong changes that are needed to make this surgery a success? If we can't change a behavior that is so ingrained in our lives, how are we going to develop brand new healtly eating habits? I believe they are both correlated and it simply becomes a matter of choice. You can choose the cigarettes and stay where you are, or you can convince yourself that this is the FIRST thing you need to do to PROVE that you are ready for this Life Changing Experience!! JMO

http://www.quitnet.com
This site may help you.

I absolutely agree with you Zen!

I quit cold turkey because I WANTED THIS SURGERY and I wanted to be healthy. The thought of smoking now makes me sick.