Hi guys as some of you may aleady know, i was recently discharged from hospital and i had been told absolutely what i can and cant do whle my avm is still active! I know i cant drink alcahol while im on the medication i am on, but im wondering if im able to safely continue with my cigarette smoking habbit, now that im out in the real world smelling and watching my friendss etc… Enjoy a cigarette makes me crave soo bad for one. I just need to know if its safe to continue smoking as i was before the initial bleed? And also if anyone knows of things i shouldnt do while i still have my avm?
You may be interested in this previous discussion, Kyle: http://www.avmsurvivors.org/forum/topics/i-can-not-seem-to-kick-the
This is what I was told after my bleed: Every severe trauma to the brain requires AT LEAST one year of healing. It takes the brain AT LEAST 6 weeks to absorb blood if there was a bleed. Cigarette smoke doubles your brains "healing time" which means, as I was told, the one year minimum for your brains recovery is instantly doubled to 2 years, slowing down your recovery (obviously) and decreasing your chance for earlier gains (if you have physical or any other lingering/residual effects your bleed has caused).
I quit smoking when I was told this. I was 27 when I had my bleed. I started smoking cigarettes when I was 11 years old. I had a 6 month break when I quit when I was 18 because of a bad bronchial infection I couldn't drop. As soon as it was cleared (took 6 months) I started right back up again and didn't quit until I had the stroke. It was one of the few thin threads of positivity I have found in all this avm bull. As for smoking pot....not one doctor would talk to me about it. But also, not one doctor suggested I stop either. I hope you quit because....cigarettes stink and are getting ridiculously expensive. Good luck.
Same here kristi. All of my neuro's know I do, none of them suggested I stop - knowing I do along with my prescribed meds.
www.esmokeclub.com. I got these and they saved my life, they taste better too. I of course had a cigarette here and there, took me 9 months to fall off the wagon, but when I did start smoking cigarettes by the pack... I had a grand mal seizure and I swear that it contributed to it. I won't touch another real cigarette again. And then I see this one commercial with this woman laying in a hospital bed with her son bathing her leg and she's speaking about her stroke. Yeah, that could be me after inhaling another cigarette, or just because of my AVM. So I'm going to do everything within my power to not have one. That cigarette is not that important. All of those toxins... try the e-cigarette and be happy! Plus if you do ever end up in the hospital again, you're the only one who CAN smoke, lol. I smoked all the way up to my mri's and testings and immediately afterwards, hahaha. I kept my e-cig right by my side in my hospial pants or shirt pockets. Just made sure it was always charged and had a fresh drop of liquid on the atomizer because I vape, I don't use a cartomizer. My nurses and nursing assistants were SO jealous of me during my last hospital stay watching me smoke in my room and they weren't able to smoke at all. lol
I'm a smoker, still it's best to quit. It raises our blood pressure and causes other problems.
Hi Kyle. When dealing with doctors and hospitals…it is always a good idea to have an advocate (another person) nearby. They can ask questions you forget and remember other good stuff too. If you were 100% you would not be there in the first place!