I didn't smoke but I have to run now, time for my vicotin prescribed by my doctor.

No, my doctor is not House

I had an interesting experience about smoking about a month ago.

I was in the "casting" room to be fitted for a giant plastic hateful plastic monstrosity for my broken toes. (can you tell I hated my cast?)

The large room was made into small cubicles by hanging curtains. That mean one could hear everything said on the other side of the curtain.

A guy had fallen off his ladder and broken the heel of his foot. The casting guy asked if he smoked cigarettes. The guy said yes. Then the casting guy told him the bones would not heal because he smoked. The doctor came in and said he could not operate if the guy continued to smoke.

The two of them really got serious with the man and what smoking was doing from a medical standpoint.

I felt bad for the guy. I could tell it was not going to be easy to stop smoking plus having to do it cold turkey. There was not much choice.

Wow, Cyn, what those Docs did, is just awful. Shame on them.. I hope the guy got a real Doctor to operate.

@Sally. no, they were just telling him the options because he smoked. They recognized it was difficult but it was all medically motivated. A doctor willing to take the poor guy's money would be the bad doctor. The doctors were nice. I could just hear how difficult it was going to be for him.

I just felt sorry for him. I do not remember what the doctors said but it was brutally honest. He had the option to keep smoking. It was one of those "reality bites."

I did not realize there is a correlation between bone healing and smoking. Lungs yes but bone repair, no. Not until I heard them giving him the information.

I have a friend who needs some eye surgery done, and they refuse to operate on her till she is at least 3 months smoke free. Not cut back, or cut down, but smoke free.

My sister who is a hypochondriac runs from MD to MD looking for pills or surgery or whatever, and she too is recently finding many MDs wont touch her till she quits smoking. She needs her replacment hip to be repaired and they wont touch her till she has quit for six months. She has lied to several and told them she stopped, but they smell it on her, and told her when her blood test show clean, they can fix it.

Smoking is horrible for you.

After all these years we are just now finding out smoking causes bone healing problems? How did all those bones heal back in the day when everyone smoked? I think, for me, no matter how nice they were, I'd have gone to another facility. Don't get me wrong, I am planning to quit new years (I know, you've heard it before) but that's just so strange to hear that a doctor will not do bone surgery unless a patient stops smoking. Maybe they are right but I'd seek a second opinion to be sure. Now, excuse me while I go research some of this stuff. Jim's doctor told us smoking increases UTI's. Since cutting down to 3-4 a day he does seem to have less UTI issues, actually none in a couple of years. Or maybe it's the macrobid he takes. We think it may be both?

it surprised me too. I am sorry I cannot give more details than just a quick overview. It was the orthopedic surgeon from Mayo here in Scottsdale.

It really started with the "cast" guy and then was repeated when the surgeon came in. It was nothing personal. It was just the facts and statistics.

@SandyC. good luck with quitting smoking. It took me 4-5 tries before I succeeded. The thing that put me over the edge were massive headaches. I would get one when I gave in and smoked a cigarette and again when I would quit. The thought of a headache was my deterrent!

I also would buy a pack and throw away the pack, keeping just one cigarette. Got too expensive!

For what it is worth, it took me about six months and my craving disappeared. Maybe my tactics can help you.

I have no plans on quitting my 1 pack/day of Lights but a girl in MS support group quit and said it helps. She had a MAJOR relapse while quitting (can't win) but she says the MS is better now. Used Chantix.

Well, I have "far advanced brain atrophy for someone my age" according to brain MRI report done six years ago.

I have smoked six cigs a day since I was 12 yrs old. I am down to four cigs a day with smoking only half of each cig. SO WHY THE **** DONT I QUIT!!!!

I don't know why...

I sorta wanna quit but I think I'm stuck in Dejibo's "I DONT WANNA"
but now that I got my medical records and discovered that I have a small lung disease starting...NOW I will quit. But dont hold your breaths!