Vaping before and after cataract surgery

[LordOdin]

I’ve had several operations here in Norway, and every time they’ve warned me not to use nicotine 24 hrs before the operation, because of the anesthesia. I have chosen to ignore this completely (my choice), and have vaped to my heart’s content prior to admission My logic was, quite simply, that going through nicotine withdrawals during the operation was not a good idea (and I was less nervous)…

After my first cancer operation, as soon as I could stand, I was outside in a bathrobe with my IV, vaping away. On one of my trips outside, I met my surgeon, and he firstly praised me for quitting smoking, and then told me they were overly cautious, and that it would’ve been far more dangerous if I had taken an aspirin a day or two before the operation

I am not advocating for you to take any risks, just conveying my experience

I was smoking at the time and at that point i didn't think an operation was enough for me to quit smoking, if i had been a vaper and been warned about Nicotine i may have stopped vaping till after the Op. Also at this time, if i knew my legs were going to be as bad as they are i most likely stopped smoking, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

[Blazing Atoms]

You might get some peace and quiet!! Many thanks.

 

[stevoknevo]

I had cataract surgery in October '22 and again in March '23, both day surgery and under a general anaesthetic - I hadn't mentioned anything to them about vaping at the measurement appointments nor the pre-op because they only asked if I smoked and I said I'd chucked it ten years ago (but it should be in my medical records as my GP knows I vape)
I was a bit under the weather with my chronic health condition for my second eye and wasn't sure whether they'd go ahead (and it'd already been cancelled due to a booking error on their part, so I was keen to get it done!) But they went ahead with it and I had to spend a wee bit longer in recovery on oxygen to get my sats up - anaesthetist said I had to be at 94% before I could get out of bed/ready for discharge.
A family member/friend has to collect you for discharge and you're not meant to drive for four weeks - first one I stayed at my mum's overnight after surgery and got the train home next day; second one I drove to the hospital, my brother collected me for discharge, I dropped him at his then drove myself 100 miles home...

Only changes I made with vaping prior to both ops was to sling a new coil and fresh wick in for the journey to the hospital the day before However for both ops I had to be at the hospital at 8am and literally only had 2-3 lung fulls (from waking up) in the car park before checking in, and vaped as normal about an hour after discharge when I was back at my mother's.

However, as a former nurse, ex smoker, and current vaper who's had multiple surgerys as both a smoker and a vaper...if I had my time again I wished I'd have taken the advice when I was a smoker prior to surgery as it certainly hampered my recovery - there's a huge difference in post surgery recovery for smokers due to the carbon monoxide levels present in the bloodstream that inhibits the physiological repair process due to decreased oxygen levels, that doesn't happen with vaping - even the NHS say as much here - https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/vaping-myths-and-the-facts/

Now, I'm not telling you to do as I done and nor am I telling you not to vape as that decision is yours to make based on your own situation given your personal health situation is likely very different to mine - bear in mind that cataract surgery is usually carried out under local anaesthetic so the fact yours is being carried out under a general, as mine were, is based solely on your individual risk factors, so base your personal decision of 'to vape or not to vape' on that risk factor

(I've got Tourettes so it was safer to stick me under than the risk of me ticking and giving myself a frontal lobotomy...despite some on here and people who know me thinking that might have not been a bad outcome...)

 

[ZT]

Ive had two hernia ops under general

on both occasions i was vaping before i went into the hospital and within an hour of coming round.

granted its quite a light general for that.

 

[stevoknevo]

Ive had two hernia ops under general

on both occasions i was vaping before i went into the hospital and within an hour of coming round.

granted its quite a light general for that.

I went for hernia surgery, told it would be keyhole and woke up with an 8" wound as it had been a lot deeper than anticipated - overnight stay and they discharged me at 10.30am.

Time I phoned a taxi, got downstairs, and it dropped me off at my flat it was 11am and the gates of hell/pub across the road had just opened so I went for three swift post-surgery anaesthesia in pint form - went home and laid on the sofa, fell asleep...woke up 90 minutes later, Jesus fuck from the dog above! The pain from a full bladder from needing a piss was incredible, near passed out on the 15 feet or so journey to the jax and had to sit down for it as the coldest of sweats was upon me. My bollocks were about four times their usual demeanour afterwards, honestly don't know how the staples in the wound held on...

Prior to that I badly broke my ankle, came round and told them I was going for a fag, you can't, I'll be the judge of that - ripped the venflon out my arm spraying blood all over the place, calling everyone in the vicinity a bunch of F&Cs, then promptly got out of bed and heidered the floor as the bastards hadn't told me they'd also given me an epidural when I was under! I should have known better cause the guy in the bed opposite had done the exact same routine the day before and I was like "that's terrible craic mate, no need to be acting like that!" - so now I, and probably him too, have it in my medical records that I'm allergic to a certain general anaesthetic! (personally I think the anaesthetist that few days made an arse of things)

Oh and I went into respiratory arrest twice on the table when my appendix ruptured - getting woken up a couple of times with shots of adrenaline mid surgery by bemasked people with concerned eyes asking if you're okay and you not having a fucking clue where you are nevermind what's going on was probably the worst trip I've ever been on (and that includes getting sectioned for 72 hours when I was sixteen after getting spiked and tripping solidly for about four days!)

And yet after all of that I decided becoming a nurse was a good career change

 

[Netvaper]

It's worth knowing that while vaping is not prohibited on NHS sites recharging an e-cig in the hospital is.

 

[Chrisp58]

I know it’s not totally relevant, but I had both my cataract ops done under local anaesthetic back in 2015 so a bit surprised at them doing it under a general, I was smoking then and was advised not to smoke 24 hours beforehand.
Talking to a consultant anaesthetist who was saying that anaesthetic gas is constantly being refined & “upgraded” they are more concerned about a patients weight.

 

[stevoknevo]

I know it’s not totally relevant, but I had both my cataract ops done under local anaesthetic back in 2015 so a bit surprised at them doing it under a general, I was smoking then and was advised not to smoke 24 hours beforehand.
Talking to a consultant anaesthetist who was saying that anaesthetic gas is constantly being refined & “upgraded” they are more concerned about a patients weight.

As I outlined, there's generally a very specific medical reason for cataract surgery being undertaken under a general as opposed to the far more common local.

 

[Blazing Atoms]

As I outlined, there's generally a very specific medical reason for cataract surgery being undertaken under a general as opposed to the far more common local.

Personal choice sir, already had both retina's reattached under general. Had local for laser and injections. Just need a good sleep lol. But I do have other ongoing medical issues going on.