do i need to stop smoking before surgery.

[Fathead]

Im going in for surgery on tues. they be using general anesthetic, should i stop smoking or does it not have any effect on the surgery? any replies would be greatly appreciated.

Fathead Reviewed by Fathead on 09-21-2006. do i need to stop smoking before surgery. Im going in for surgery on tues. they be using general anesthetic, should i stop smoking or does it not have any effect on the surgery? any replies would be greatly appreciated. Rating: 5

[ghettoBlunt]

hmm...type of surgery??

[birdgirl73]

Hello, Fathead. The answer to your question is yes. Yes, you need to lay off smoking weed before your surgery/general anesthesia on Tuesday. You need to do this to keep your lungs clean and clear of smoke and irritants before you are going to be inhaling the anesthesia and oxygen that day. Stay away from cigarette smoke, pollution, smog, and dust, too. Take deep breaths of clean, clear air and practice expanding your lungs to their full extent. Hold those breaths. Then expel and do that again. 15 - 20 repetitions. Three to four times a day between now and Tuesday. Then keep that up for five to seven smoke-free days afterwards, too.

The weed likely doesn't have a negative effect on the anesthesia or other drugs themselves, but the truth is this hasn't been tested and so no one knows that for sure. Weed's strongest neurological and medicine-affecting effects wear off fairly fast. But people who smoke weed have a higher rate of bronchitis, lung infections, and irritation than people who don't. (Just like cigarette smokers do, too.) That's why every smoke-free minute you can give your lungs to make sure they're un-irritated and completely clear and ready to use that anesthesia efficiently will help.

Good luck with your surgery! Let us know how things turn out, OK?

[Fathead]

sorry for the delay in responding, im getting a lump of fat removed from the back of my head. Ive smoked tabaco and weed for 20+ years, you think stopping for 3days is going to make a difference? anyways my wife is a rn so im going to stop anyways otherwise i will never hear the end of it. thanks for your info i will do the breathing excersizes and maybe quit smoking because of all this. cheers

[robert42]

i had severe surgery to the muscles on my leg,

i didnt smoke the night before, but i smoked right after surgery and it helped me ALLOT.

[Fathead]

Well the Lump is gone and all is well so far. Sorry for the delayed response, forgot my password.

[birdgirl73]

Glad you're back on your feet, as it were, and through with that surgery!

[mrdevious]

Hello, Fathead. The answer to your question is yes. Yes, you need to lay off smoking weed before your surgery/general anesthesia on Tuesday. You need to do this to keep your lungs clean and clear of smoke and irritants before you are going to be inhaling the anesthesia and oxygen that day. Stay away from cigarette smoke, pollution, smog, and dust, too. Take deep breaths of clean, clear air and practice expanding your lungs to their full extent. Hold those breaths. Then expel and do that again. 15 - 20 repetitions. Three to four times a day between now and Tuesday. Then keep that up for five to seven smoke-free days afterwards, too.

The weed likely doesn't have a negative effect on the anesthesia or other drugs themselves, but the truth is this hasn't been tested and so no one knows that for sure. Weed's strongest neurological and medicine-affecting effects wear off fairly fast. But people who smoke weed have a higher rate of bronchitis, lung infections, and irritation than people who don't. (Just like cigarette smokers do, too.) That's why every smoke-free minute you can give your lungs to make sure they're un-irritated and completely clear and ready to use that anesthesia efficiently will help.

Good luck with your surgery! Let us know how things turn out, OK?

I owe you my thanks as well birdgirl . I'm going in for surgery this Friday and had no idea I should stop smoking, so I'll be doing so as of right now. Thanks for the info .

[birdgirl73]

Hey, MrDevious. Sorry to hear you have to have surgery on Friday, but I'm glad you'll be working to keep your lungs clear until that's over. It really does help, both during and after surgery to have smoke-free, unirritated lungs. During surgery, clear lungs help you to use less anesthesia and use it more efficiently. And after the surgery's over, smoke-free lungs help keep you from getting pneumonia, which is easy to pick up in a hospital (and notoriously hard to get rid of afterwards), particularly if you've had thoracic (chest) or abdominal surgery and are having a hard time taking deep breaths because of post-operative pain. Good luck on Friday, and definitely let us know how you did afterwards. I'll be sending good thoughts!