Question:
HELP!HAS DR.J NEWEIGH CANCELLED SURGERY FOR NOT LOOSING WEIGHT OR STOP SMOKING?
HAS ANYONE HAD DR.J NEWEIGH , HOUSTON,TX TELL YOU TO LOOSE 10LBS AND STOP SMOKING BEFORE SURGERY.MY PRE-OP IS THIS WEEK 10/23 AND I AM SCARED HE WILL CANCELL MY SURGERY .I DID QUIT BUT HAVE HAD MAJOR FAMILY PROBLEMS THIS PAST WEEK AND SMOKED ON SUNDAY AND TODAY.I ALSO DID NOT LOOSE THE TEN LBS BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO QUIT SMOKING.I AM SCARED HE WILL CANCELL.HAS ANYONE BEEN IN MY SITUATION AND IF SO WHAT HAPPENED? — WENDY W. (posted on October 20, 2003)
October 20, 2003
I was told to lose some weight and stop smoking beforehand. I went to the
consultation weighing 323 and went into the operating room 8 months later
at 308.5. I stopped smoking 3 days before surgery and had no problems. They
are very adament about not smoking but I know what you're going through.
It's very hard to stop. About 2 weeks after my surgery I started smoking
again but intend to quit eventually. It's very difficult to go through the
loss of food without some sort of a crutch. I know I'm bad but that's just
how it is with me. You'll do fine and good luck with your surgery!!!
— Shari T.
October 20, 2003
I was told to quit smoking also and not to gain any weight. Can anyone tell
me how to do both?LOL Anyway, I did quit smoking, cold turkey, because I
want this surgery more than anything but I have gained a couple of pounds.
My doctor's office does a blood test the morning of surgery to check for
"tobacco". I did not know that they could do this but they can.
Tobacco stays in the blood stream for 2 weeks. The reason they do this is
because a patient that said that she had quit smoking and had not threw a
clot to the lung after surgery and was in ICU for 6 weeks. Now I don't know
about you but that scared me enough to put them down real quick. Smoking
makes healing after surgery real hard. I don't mean to scare you or
anything but it did scare me enough to quit. I don't want to go through all
the pain of surgery for nothing.
— CAMFR
October 20, 2003
I hope you don't think I'm being too critical of you, because I don't mean
to be, except to say, if you can't loose 10 pounds prior to surgery and
completly give up the smokes, as the Dr reqires only for "Your"
saftey...How can you expect to follow program in loosing weight and
becoming healthy again after surgery. Granted I never smoked... "Thank
God"... It's an addiction, just as food is!
You have to be committed 100% for this procedure to work at best, even from
the start. Evaluate your goals and stick to them for success. Good Luck!
— Hazel S.
October 21, 2003
Wendy, it is likely he will cancel your surgery due to the smoking alone.
My surgeon absolutely would not do surgery on me if I was smoking and I had
to quit 8 months before. As for the weightloss, I think all surgeons ask
that you try to lose at least a little before surgery but smoking is a
definite no no. Stop now and do not jeopardize your surgery date. Hope
this helps darlin. God Bless
— Egyptianeyesdiva
October 21, 2003
Wendy, go to your pre-op as planned BUT be very honest about the smoking.
They need to know this information. I don't know if it will postpone your
surgery or not BUT if you don't tell them, it could mean some major
complications during the surgery with your lungs. It isn't worth the risk.
I have never smoked, but my surgeon asked me to lose a total of 46 lbs
before surgery. It has been very hard. My pre-op is 1 week from today and
I have 2 final pounds to lose. I have been told that if I don't have the
weight off by my pre-op date that my surgery will be postponed ... no
exceptions. I can't believe they would do that, but I sure don't want to
take any chances. So I'm eating light (1000 to 1200 calories a day) and
exercising as much as possible. Hope everything goes smoothly for you.
Throw away any cigarettes you have, don't have them around to tempt you.
— [Deactivated Member]
October 21, 2003
I know some of these answers sound harsh but the truth is - if you were one
of our patients we would cancel you. It wouldn't be because we didn't care
about you. It would be because we DID care about you. Losing weight -even
a small amount- shrinks the liver making it easier for the surgeon to see.
Anything that makes it easier for the surgeon ultimately makes it easier
for you. We also blood test the morning of surgery for smoking. We take
the health and well being of your lungs very seriously. I think Hazel put
it best - you have to be 100% committed and it seems that family problems
won't allow you to be that committed at the moment. No one is flaming you
or bashing you - we just want you to be healthy and safe and successful.
If your surgeon does cancel you - DON'T GIVE UP! It's just a bump in the
road and you can get it together and still have surgery. Best wishes to
you for only good things in the future.
— ronascott
October 21, 2003
I guess I got lucky. They also told me to quit smoking, but said they only
had my word for it. They said they didnt want to do this surgery if I was
going to kill myself smoking.
I went on Welbutrin, and it did not help. I cut down, but on the day of the
surgery, they called me 3 times to change the surgery time - the surgeon
was running behind. This only caused me to smoke and have a glass of wine
for good measure.
I don't know if they tested me or not, they didn't tell me. However, i have
to question the accuracy of such a test, does it allow for 2nd hand smoke?
My weight loss is very slow; only 28 pounds in 9 weeks, and I'm doing
everything else right. For me doing both at the same time proved too much.
Good luck
— Sandy A.
October 22, 2003
I don't know about the smoking. But Dr. J did not ask me to lose any
weight pre op. I was a BMI of 54 and he said "fine, we do an
open" that was the only difference. The anesthesologist might want you
to quit smoking. As for not being able to follow the eating if you can't
lose weight before hand, well,that is bunk. Of course you will be able to
follow it after wards. Before and after surgery are two different times in
life. If we could lose weight with diet then we wouldn't need the surgery
would we?
— Ruth S.
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