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Ovie

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 25, 2011
Messages
493
Location
Sioux City, Iowa.
I smoked for about 9 years before my AVR, after that I stopped, I quit for an entire year, and recently picked it up again, not like before..but I have one here and there. The cravings have been immense and the stress in my life just broke me. I'd even read about how it effects those who have had heart surgery and all the terrible things that can happen etc but just didn't care. I'm curious if any smokers started up again after their heart surgery and what they did to stop eventually or methods they are currently using to help stop.

Smoking for so long I'm educated in what can happen and what it does to you, but I'm just in such an awful place right now that none of it seems to help, but I'm just reading articles online, thought I'd try and talk to a community that maybe has a few of people in the same situation as me, that being a smoker after heart surgery.

Thanks.
 
Smoking changed to E cigarettes with MD's OK

Smoking changed to E cigarettes with MD's OK

Hey all, I had had several big changes and losses the year before my unexpected heart surgery. I was born with a biscuspid Aortic valve and now also had an aneurysm above it. My cardiologist and Cardiac surgeon gave their approval to the E cigarette and I have been using those for the past 2 years. I feel better, not so cheated of my stress relief. Just a suggestion to discuss with your MD's
 
I've heard both sides to that, yeah you don't have all those nasty chemicals but still nicotine is not good for you. Granted I seem to not care about outcome, but i have read arguments on both sides of that by surgeons and cardiologists. Thanks for chiming in!
 
I smoked from the age of 18 and even after surgery I continue although I was a health professional!

9 years agoI finally stopped(having stopped for 2 years and then started again) using a site called Quitnet.com
It is American and was started by Boston University Public Health.
It is a support network with forums and small groups and uses positive reinforcement to maintain your motivation.
I really struggled for the first 5 months although I did not use any nicotine replacement as I only think you have to
come off those as well.
I did find this site a brilliant resource and I learnt that I can never say yes to one cigarette ever again.
I hope you might find this helpful

Adrienne:cool:
 
Ovie, years ago I smoked....it helped with stress , I thought. Then I quit and relaized it helped more with weight gain, must have put on 25 pounds that year.
I will say I'm fatter but I'm extremely happy I don't have that habbit any longer.
 
Lucky I will check out that site and see what it's about, thanks.

Bradvo, yeah..I too have put on some pounds since quitting, to be honest I wasn't happy off them, I will say though I was running at softball in the outfield before I started having a smoke here and there and the stamina I had and not so out of breath felt really good, I'm not a pack a day guy again, but I usually have a couple at night, only been like 2 weeks..but I felt like weight was lifted off my shoulders when I started up again, however I know I need to just stop again.
 
I still smoke even now knowing my surgery is soon. I am no dummy to the health risk but just dont want to quit yet. Good luck you are not alone.
 
I'm not a smoker, just wanted to say that I've heard that it can be awfully hard to quit.

Sorry that I don't have any practical advice for you - but I'm pulling for you and I really hope you are able to quit.

Rachel
 
Hello Ovie, don't be hard on yourself mate. I smoked for 10 years and the more I was hard on myself , example, I have to quit, this is bad for my health etc etc... the more I smoked. Finally, in 2009 I just said **** it, I ain't having a fag any more, I just find something else and.., guess what, food was the answer :) so I gave up since.... Got myself out of a recognisable human shape in 2011 and 2012 (I went Malta and my mum thought I ate a whale!) ......Fast forward to today and I'm nearly back to my weight and also got muscle etc and eat nice and healthy... So, getting fat , eating takeaways etc to give up cigarettes, was so damn worth it, as I still don't smoke!.... No NRP's, no online stuff nothing, just kept my last packet in a safe box and wrote on top of the box, ..." this is my very last cigarette I ever bought"

Wish I'm like this with my anxiety though!
 
I smoked from the time I was 14 until a year before my surgery. At that time I had tried to quit several times, obviously unsuccessfully. I decided in 2010 to quit for the month of January as a New Year's resolution. That way I knew that at the end of the month I could start up again, and I would go a month without freezing my butt off outside for a cigarette. For me, that was what was needed, as I knew I could start up again after a month. Turns out that after that I had the odd cigarette for a few months, but they didn't taste good and I didn't really enjoy them. I haven't had one for at least two years now, and am very happy for it. I do still have the craving on a particularly stressful day while driving home, but it hasn't been enough to make me stop and buy any. The fact that they are $17-20 a pack here in Australia may have something to do with it too!

Jason
 
I'll give you a little bit of added inspiration:

My mother was a heavy smoker from her teenage years through age 55. At 55, she had a nasty stroke, losing complete use of the left side of her entire body. Her doc visited her in the hospital and told her she would possibly walk again, but with either a walker or cane. No promises about her hand or face. He also told her, "I can only offer you two choices -- you can either smoke, or you can live. If you continue smoking, you will die sooner rather than later."

Now, mom was a very headstrong lady. She looked the doc in the eye and, using her one good hand, took her last cigarette pack in her hand, crushed it and tossed it in the trash. Never smoked again. She also continued rehab and went on to wear out about 4 exercise bicycles and "earned" a complete recovery. No limp, no cane, both hands strong, all was fine.

Now, this all sounds like the bad story with the happy ending, but [Steve climbs onto soapbox] mom had it good until she was about 81 years old. She was in otherwise good health (some heart issues, but being managed well with meds and a pacemaker) when she was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Her oncologist told us that bladder and urinary system cancers were as common among smokers as lung cancers, except that these did not get all the news coverage. Mom went into the hospital for removal of lesions on her bladder - but they also found very advanced kidney cancer. She went into the hospital and never got to go home. If it wasn't for the smoking-related cancer, she would have had some more good years to spend as she chose. You will never convince me that smoking was worth it.

My point here, Ovie, is that you've already been through an awful lot. You have a chance to regain probably better health than you've had before. Don't blow it on smoking - PLEASE. Think twice about the value to you of that smoke. [I'll step off the soapbox now. Hope I haven't offended anyone. If so, my apologies, but I'm pretty emotional about this. Ask any boy who has lost his mom before her time.]
 
Ovie, I'll give you my two cents worth on quitting smoking, and you can take it however you like. I have a different idea than most people about it. I've done it twice. Once, when I was 23, I quite after having smoked for 9 years. Foolishly, I did start again 5 years later. I subsequently smoked another 9 years, and quit a few months before my surgery.
What I learned was this:
1. Quitting smoking is not nearly as hard as people make it out to be. Allowing yourself to believe that it is difficult gives you an out that isn't helpful. Quitting smoking consists of being mindful for somewhere between 3 and 5 days, that all of the anxiety and irritability you feel is from the adjustments your body is making as it learns to live without nicotine. It will all pass, and won't hurt you while you are feeling it. If you think about it, that's not a long time.
2. Staying quit isn't hard either, it's just tricky. If you're determined to stop, those three to five days will pass fairly quickly. The subsequent three months or so, will be annoying too, as you'll be constantly reminded of past pleasures every time you have a cup of coffee, a beer, arrive home at the end of the day, reach break time at work, or any other time you'd normally be smoking. No pain here, but sort of a sad longing.
3.Never starting again requires you to tell yourself repeatedly, that smoking is stupid and disgusting, and that heart patients who partake of the habit are irresponsible. (I know, it's harsh, but it helps once you've quit. Don't be too hard on yourself now...wait 'till you've quit!)
4.We should all forget everything we've ever heard about quitting smoking being tougher than quitting heroin, or other such tripe. I've seen people come off heroin, and believe me, nicotine is like a slice of apple pie with butter pecan ice cream by comparison.

I mean no disrespect to anyone who has struggled with this but I speak from my own experience, and from my observations of others as they ditched the habit, or gave up trying. Just remember, the part we all perceive as hard is over in just 3-5 days. From that point on, you begin to feel better and better, wake up feeling sharper and brighter, stop coughing, and begin to find exercise a pleasure again.

I wish you the best of luck with it. You're more than capable of doing this.
 
Ovie said:
I've heard both sides to that, yeah you don't have all those nasty chemicals but still nicotine is not good for you. Granted I seem to not care about outcome, but i have read arguments on both sides of that by surgeons and cardiologists. Thanks for chiming in!
Click to expand...

Perhaps I misunderstood but I am yet to read a single supporting argument on the side of smoking

I didn't say anything at first because I can only say quit now, it doesn't get any easier.

I can make no comments because I have never been addicted to anything.

Quit and rant here as much as you want. You can be sure that I will reply with encouragement for as long as you remain off it

:)
 
I quit for a year and 2 months, it wasn't until recently that I broke down and bought a pack, I've only bought one pack and only have a smoke at the end if the day, the cravings to smoke all day are there but I fight it. Like the guy above, I started eating more when I stopped smoking.

EPS, that story was very motivating and I'm sorry of your loss. I know the right thing to do is not even touch one, but I get so torn up that my judgement goes out the window. Quitting was not easy, and I hated it, I really don't want to get started like I was before I quit. I try and hit the gym if I get cravings but its just painful. It really is about choosing life or death, having a stroke terrifies me and what has probably been the reason I haven't gone all out yet. Thanks everyone.
 
Smokers

Before I had surgery, my cardio strongly recommended that I quit. My question to him was, "will it have any effect on my valve? Will it fail sooner because I smoke?" His answer was "No." At that point, my decision was no different than anyone who chooses to smoke.

I did eventually quit smoking when it started making me sick to my stomach...that's how I found out I was pregnant! I have had the occasional cigarette or "puff" off a cigarette since then. One puff is usually enough to remind me that it really doesn't taste good. Some days it's easier to take the puff to remind me I don't like it anymore than to sit there wishing I had a cigarette.

One thing I did was give a friend money toward cigarettes, but I never bought them. I would give her money in exchange for being allowed to "borrow" one every once in a while. Having to ask someone for cigarette keeps me from smoking as much as I would if I had my own pack.

Hang in there!
 
I quit smoking 4 months prior to surgery with a laser treatment which worked very well for me, it's been 5 years now and not even thinking of going back to that bad habit, I guess i'm one of the lucky ones to have had it easy even if i had been smoking for over 25+ years. I gained weight after quitting and surgery but faced the challenges one at a time. When i was up to it after surgery i went for the weight loss i succeeded and feel so much better, but take it one day at a time it cannot be done together.

Hang in there! Eventually you will succeed also.
 
Ovie, i think that you can quit. Think carefully about your second chance at life and all the good that is still ahead of you. Some days just feel shitty, but life goes on.
My husband had tried to quit a couple of times without success. Finally, when I was 6 months post op, he was ready to try again. He put his last pack in the garage and bought tons of gum.
Yes, it was hard for him. Yes, he was a moody ass some of the time. Yes, he succeeded. That was 7 years ago. :)
 
Thanks everyone, I know this is never a fun route or topic. I think that after craving them so badly and the stress I had to give in. I've only purchased 1 pack, and finished it tonight. I have no intentions of buying more, but I know here and there ill probably break down every couple weeks/months and have a couple. I've obviously quit before so it's not impossible. Once things settle I'm sure they'll be a thing of the past once again.
 
you finished a pack in 1 day?

well, like I said. Stick with giving in, post here and I'll post back positive vibes ... but don't go cheating on yourself now
 
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