I Can't Believe I'm Doing This... Questions for Everyone!

goodluck! You'll do great. I never quit smoking. My mom and friends did those losanges and they said they helped tons. My boyfriend is on the patch and doing great but smokes a cigarette or two a week when out and drinking. Is the tummy tuck super expensive?

I know nothing about both subjects but I know you. Cut whatever time anyone suggests for the recovery in half! You may even have to halve it again. :p

You are far too much like me in this regard so beating everyone's record will be your focus. :)

I double dog dare anyone to tell her you were running around the day after your c section. Mwahahahahaha

Great advice so far!

Cut up some carrot sticks (or similar) so you have something to grab and munch on when you need to. Keeps you from going for the cookies and crackers.

Also, if you have to sneeze or cough after surgery, hold a pillow gently but firmly against your stomach so it doesn't hurt so much.

Good luck!

Not a smoker, so can't help you on that one. But, I did have a c-section, and I agree with the others....it was painful. The first two days were worst. My best advice to you is to get up and walk around. The more you do that, the less sore you will be. I'm not saying do a power walk, but a slow, easy-does-it stroll up and down the hall, or to the bathroom/kitchen. At least you won't have to deal with them coming in every few hours to massage your uterus!! :-)

I've not smoked, R. - can't help you there. My dad quit cold turkey when we went on vacation - it was a Christmas present to us - he got out of his normal routine and that's what helped him.

Bob quit smoking a few years (like 10) ago - he weaned himself off - by breaking the "unthinking cigarettes" - like one cigarette an hour - the things he typically did when smoking a cigarette - drinking coffee, talking on the phone, etc. then started spreading the time about between cigarettes - he broke the mental addiction then the physical one.

I know you can do it girlfriend!! It's not easy - but you can do it!!

Well two of my sister's had it done and they are fine! Don't worry about it! It'll all be ok. Yes, you will definately need someone at home to help you out with kid's and house work only because you don't want any of your stiches to rip. It's funny you bring this up, yester my little sister was over and we were looking at her stomach, she had always battled with weight gaining problem's, she could drink a glass of water and gain 5 pound's! She has/is always eating healthy and works out religiously so when she seen that there were no results in her losing her belly fat she finally decided to have a tummy tuck done. Yes she was scared which is normal but she is completely happy that she did it. Now, even after having her tummy tuck done she started to notice the weight going to her back and other places. Yesterday she was talking about going back in to have the side muffin top removed too. That is normal to have only because when they did the tummy tuck they removed all of the skin from the front right about the bikini area. My older sister just had that done two weeks ago. It is alot of money but my sisters are happy they did it. My older sister also had to quit smoking, we are talking about someone that smoke's two packs a day! But after the surgery she started to smoke again and she admits it was very hard. She managed by getting those fake or electric cigarettes, she said it was almost like the real deal. Hopefully you will be fine and everything will run smoothly! Good luck and I pray you have a quick and easy recovery!

Buy gum-it helps with the cravings for cigarettes. Wear the band they give you after the tummy tuck for as long as you can-it helps hold the tummy in for better results. And I was up walking around within hrs of my c-sections  mainly because being medical I know that you must force yourself up even if it is only to sit in the chair!

My co-worker tried to quit smoking. By the end of day 2 she was sobbing. It was emotional for her to give up something she saw as part of her identity. She gave up and started smoking again. Last month she started taking Chantix and is now completely quit. She says "when you take Chantix, it quits you" Whatever that means! But, No tears. No emotional attachment to the smoker she used to be. She is completely smoke free. So, I guess it's hard but possible with the right tools.
The rest I dont know. You will need help, but not sure how long.

Ah, well I quit soda the morning we talked about it - sometimes I crave one, but not normally. I know if I had one I'd be right back in routine. It's mental...you have to THINK not to do it. I'd have 4-5 cans a day!! So it was hard to get out of the habit of having my diet coke to help relax me and get me through things. So I make myself think the option is not there for me. That helps.

My friend had a tummy tuck and was down for a week or two - I don't remember. But she was in pain (as with any surgey). C-sections are just learning to move slowly. Don't make quick movements and relax. It's hard to not use your stomach muscles...you'll learn qucikly how often you do use them.

You'll do great though! You're young and healthy...so that helps big time!

21 days to break a bad habit or establish a new O..

My brother quit smoking cold turkey on Jan 1st and he's still smoke free.

Good luck!

Like we talked about the other day, you'll be fine!
I quit smoking cold turkey 10 yrs ago. It helps to have a motivator.
So... look up pictures of skin necrosis at surgical sites, to understand what really happens when you smoke and combine plastic surgery. Imagine giant holes in your incision, with black dead skin around them.
That should do the trick!

For your recovery, you will be bed ridden, 100%, for 3 days. You will be moving very slowly and hunched over/unable to stand upright for the following 5-10 days - depending on how tight you're stitched and your pain tolerance.
So for the first 3 days, someone else will need to do the parenting. You'll need help getting up for food, going to the bathroom, showering, etc...
I was moving again like normal by day 8, but no lifting anything over 10lbs, and again, moving more slowly.
It IS very similar to a c-section, in that the range of motion is limited for about 2 weeks (rolling to get out of bed, no twisting...), and that coughing, sneezing and laughing will be EXCRUICIATING for about a week-2 weeks.

I'm so excited for you!

I can only talk about the quitting smoking cold turkey.

I have done this a few times...obviously I have not been successful (So sad) ....anyways...the thing that helped me the MOST was going to the local HeadShop and buying one of those 'one hit' pipes they sell that looks exactly like a cigg! I was comforted a HUGE amount by just being able to hold the fake cigg and turn it around in my fingers! Seriously, this helped me the most!

Good Luck!

I quit cold turkey 4 years ago for my daughters birthday. I had smoked for 14 years consistently. The first week was the hardest and after the first month it was a breeze. I never think of cigarettes anymore.

Check out about.com they have a great smoking cessation forum.

The only surgery I ever had was 3 c-sections. Yes,it hurt afterwards. Kinda feel like you stomach been ripped out. Best thing is to get up and move. They had me maybe 24 hours later(at the most) move and walk around. You don't want to get a blood clot. I never did. I did great with all my surgeries and had no problems after the recovery. Its going to take some weeks/months to get back to your full self. Its going to hurt to move the first time but its going to get better after doing it some time.

I quit smoking cold turkey 10 years ago. Its not going to be easy but you CAN do it. I NEVER picked another one up and that is the key. You should intentionally avoid being around others that smoke at first and also avoid places and things that will trigger you. The first month is the worst and then it gets easier month by month. At about a 6 mos-year you will probably find you don't think about it anymore at all. After a while I could be around it without any temptation at all. Today I am actually quite repulsed by it. Your lungs will heal if you give them a chance. In about 6 mos you won't believe how much better you feel! I have always been a runner and looking back who knows how the heck I ran and smoked!?? It was just my youth I guess but it felt so much better after quitting. Good luck with it. It takes determination those first few months but you have to stick to it and remove temptations from your life temporarily. Just remember its your health and only you can take care of it. Don't worry about offending people the first few weeks if you choose not to go do something to avoid the temptation. If you set yourself up to fail you will. Set yourself up for success!

As for the surgery I can't speak to it specifically but I know all surgery is painful to recover from. It passes quickly as you heal though. Good luck!

My husband quit smoking years ago, and he still chews gum like a crazy man!

Good for you for quitting smoking, and for doing something for yourself!

Don't have any experience with the quitting smoking but good luck . Oh, I do know a couple people that were hypnotized and it worked. Anyway , about the tummy tuck. Depending how extensive your procedure will be , I believe the recovery time is longer than a section. I would expect to need extra help for a few weeks & your lifting will be very limited. If I am wrong & recovery is comparable with a section, my recovery ( 3 sections) , went smoothly. As long as I kept up on pain management , those first few days, pain was minimal. After that, I was just moving a little slower and be conscious of my movements . Good luck , how exciting!

My grandmother quit smoking cold turkey and she had a pack and a half a day habit. She only went back to smoking occassionally when her alzheimer's kicked in and she didn't remember she had quit and my cousin would provide her with cigarettes. So as for the quitting smoking you take that one moment at a time. Find some new things to do to continue to break yourself of the habit and culture of smoking.

The c-section is painful and makes it difficult to move but they require you to move. The oddest thing is that your brain will tell you that you can just swing your legs off the bed and get up but the reality will hit you like a ton of bricks that you just can't. So take it slow.

It will take you time to get back to some form of normal. It took me at least 1 year to feel normal again meaning not feeling any pulling when I moved certain ways and not feeling my insides. I don't know if this is normal but it was my experience.

Tell yourself how much better you'll feel without smoking, how you will smell things again, taste again, breathe again. I know at that point you won't care if you smell, taste or breathe again but you have to just do it. It will take a long time maybe....a month...even a year to feel really 'free' of wanting one but you will do it a day at a time. You'll be so glad you did after you are 'free'. I know so many who do this and get to a month or more and go back. Don't do it.
As for the tummy tuck. Wish I had one or the nerve to have one but I never had that or a C section so can't help.

I thankfully cant help you with the c-section recovery and hope I never know what that feels like but I am a former smoker who quit cold turkey and it was definitely hard but do-able. Experts say that the first 3 days are the toughest because thats approximately how long the nicotine takes to clear out of your system but I found that it was the days after that that were the hardest. I had this idea that once you got passed the first few days that it would a breeze and I was way wrong. Thats when you 'expect' it to become easier and at that point its all about the first smoke of the morning or the one you enjoy right after a meal or on a break with a nice cup of coffee and then that moment when you are watching a movie or TV or something and you see someone oh so enjoying a smoke and you feel like you are going to freakin crack. Like I said its not easy but damn when you actually quit - like know for sure that you are okay and can fight off those cravings it is such a great feeling - and just wait until you hit 1 month, 6 months, 1 year smoke free, it feels amazing
Good Luck, Im sure you will do just fine

I can't help with the smoking but I can with the c-section. Simply put - don't be a hero. It may or may not hurt. You won't know until you are post-op. I have a very high threshold of pain but my c-section was a major deal. In contrast my wimpy friend breezed through hers. Think bounding rabbit and inching turtle. You just never know so don't make any assumptions and go with the flow.

I got up out of bed early and got moving around just like they recommended. I kept myself mobile but I just took it easy without pushing myself. If it hurt, I stopped whatever I was doing to sit down for a breather. Also I tried to stay ahead of the pain - see above (don't be a hero). I took the pills at the recommended times they suggested for at least the first week. Then I started trying to skip doses or take the lower strength pills. If I started experiencing pain, then I stopped skipping doses, took the skipped dose and/or kept with the stronger pills. I played with medications until I was off them completely but it was on my terms and not someone else's. I trust that makes sense.

Also I wore the garter they provided. I don't know if you get one with your tummy tuck but it was a lifesaver. It kept the incision pushed in and comfortable. I wore it for close to 7 or 8 weeks. Towards the end I took it off for only a few hours at a time to get my body used to it. Good luck and best wishes on all your undertakings.

I was a smoker and quit cold turkey. You have to WANT to quit for yourself. Chew gum, put a pencil between your fingers or anything to replace that urge. Of course you dont want to go and eat everything in site :)

For me, it took me not being able to last one whole dance that a group of us did at a local country dance club. I was in shape and I couldnt do it without being out of breath. So that was it for me. The best thing you can do is keep yourself busy.

Good luck!!

The first two weeks of not smoking are the worst, day by day you will start to not think about having a cigarette so by the time you can start doing normal things again you won’t want to smoke. (I hope no one else in your house smokes that will make it much harder).
As for the C-section I had one and it is painful after, I say that because the ONLY pain meds I could take was Tylenol (I am highly allergic to almost all of the others). The first day or two after the surgery were the worst for me and trying to stand right after was awful. If you can take pain meds then you should be fine, just do not lift anything or workout etc. until the doctor says it is OK.

I quit smoking quite a while ago (but unfortunately started again.) For some weird reason, I found day 3 and month 3 the hardest - don't know why. The one thing I did do was to keep a pack of cigarettes in the house. At the time I was a single mother and I KNEW that it would make me crazy after I put DD to bed to KNOW that I didn't have any cigs and I COULDN'T go to the store! So, I kept a pack in the drawer and when I had a craving, I knew I could have one so I would tell mysel 'who's bigger, you or those cigs' and I won every time!

Don't know why, but that just isn't enough this time. I truly hope you are able to do it. Another tip is to find something to keep your hands and mind occupied - something that you can pick up any time and fiddle with - like you would a cigarette.

Good luck to you with all of this! I'm sure it's going to be great.

I have had 2 csections.... like everyone else said, move! With my first, I listened to the nurses instead of my body and stayed in bed for 24 hours. I could hardly move!! With my second I begged them to take the catheter out and was (very slowly) shuffling down the hallway 3 hours after I was out of recovery. It's what ever works for you. I also had my gallbladder out (very similar to c-section recovery) in between the 2 c-sections....

I can't help you with the quitting smoking, because I have yet to be strong enough to do that. But I congratulate you!! I have tried numerous times, and failed.... I suppose I just am not strong enough to be a "quitter" (that was a joke.... ha ha).

I don't have any advice on the smoking, but I agree with the other posters that said to get up and move as soon as possible. I've had three c-sections, and the sooner you can get up and walk the faster you will heal. It's going to hurt like hell, the first time, but it really does help. The key to recovery is to not do to much to soon, and to have some help for the first two weeks. I'm sure you will do great.