Smoking and Diet Mountain Dews

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crittermom

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A few people have told me I would have to stop smoking completely prior to surgery and it has been suggested that the caffeine in the Dews is also bad for my bones. Is any of this true??

When my pain is way up there on the charts, I do smoke a lot more and drink a lot of the Dews. We are going through a financial crunch just like a lot of other people and hubby asked me to cut back as much as I could on the smoking and Dews and this causes me to bristle. :mad: :mad: I feel like I have given up so much, had even more taken away from me because of my back; things I want to do and can't, things I need to do and can't. In a lot of ways I feel like I don't have much left and feel very defensive about my smokes and Dews. :mad:

Is this something I need to give up prior to surgery??
 
smoking definitely does hinder fusions from healing. it has been proven to knock something like 10% off the chances of a good fusion. the earlier you quit before surgery the better off you are.

that being said, I had my last smoke 3 hrs before surgery and healed fine. however I also healed very slowly.. smoking may of been part or all of the reason.

definitely dont smoke after the surgery. thats the most important.

never heard of the caffeine bit. I drank like 8 cups of strong coffee most every day after my surgery. well not quite that much the 1st couple weeks after because getting out of bed to use the bathroom sucked.

stay away from NSAIRAB and other anti inflammatorys (aspirin, ibuprofen), they interfere also.
 
The smoking can definitely interfere with the fusion process.

As for caffeine being bad for your bones, I had heard years ago that soda in general was bad for your bones and looked into it because I was at high risk for osteoporosis (which I now have). I couldn't find anything anywhere to support that. I finally found e-mail addresses for some nutrition specialists, both a doctor and a nurse. They both gave me the same answer: it's not really that soda is bad for your bones. The real problem is that soda is taking the place of things like milk that your bones need. Maybe you can find coupons or sales for your diet Mountain Dew, or even try some store branRAB. Some of them aren't so good, but some are just as good as the name brand.

Hope this helps.

Emily
 
Please quit smoking.............Definately VERY bad for fusions, hinders the process.............Even if you don't have the fusion.....QUIT SMOKING it does nothing good for you.......:(
 
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