Travel

Hi VSG-ers! I am new to the OH site, this is my first post. I am pre-op, scheduled to have the surgery on July 22! Very excited and nervous too. My question is about traveling in the first 6 months. Did any of you travel after surgery? If so, how long after surgery before you could fly? How did traveling affect your ability to plan your meals? What about protein shakes, are they harder to get in while you're on the road?

My job requires me to travel a lot and I want to plan for success now so I won't be in trouble later. Any tips or tricks are very appreciated! Its nice to meet you all. :)

There's no set amount of time you have to wait to fly after surgery - people have it done in Mexico and fly back home within days.  I personally had my first flight 3 months after surgery.  I did make sure to pack a bunch of protein bars just in case I got stuck somewhere although I could always find muscle milk in the shops, and plenty of meat in the restaurants.  Another good suggestion for travel food is the pouches of tuna - just make sure you have a fork!

Thank you for your response. You're right about people flying directly after surgery--I should have thought of that. (Duh!)

Good suggestion on the tuna envelope thingy-s too. I am eating those now on my pre-op diet and they're not bad.

I will also pack protein bars, great suggestion. I much prefer the bars to the shakes. How long after your surgery did you have to wait until you could eat the bars again?

I also travel often.  I had my surgery 5/28 and flew roundtrip across the country for work on June 7th.  I knew about that particular travel in advance and my surgeon cleared me for it (otherwise I was going to change my surgery date).  I brought protein powder and a jar to shake it up in and requested water as my only refreshment onboard.  I'm five weeks out and I still take protein powder with me wherever I go but that is because I have food allergies and sensitivities so I feel most comfortable eating things that I know the source of rather than from a restaurant kitchen.  I spent four days in Orlando a couple of weeks ago when I was on purees and ate out without a problem then, but when I was still on full liquids I didn't dare take the chance. 

I was a little scared before the first flight and put some steri strips over my glued-shut incisions but that was not necessary physically, it was all in my head.

Thanks for your response. I will be traveling about 6 weeks after my surgery and I am nervous about both the physical aspect of travel (lifting suitcases, sitting in a seat, etc.) and even more so the food. I am supposed to be back on regular foods at that time, but from what I've read it seems like people are on protein shakes for months, even after they are cleared for regular food. I love your idea of brining protein powder. I will do that and bring my shaker bottle too.
Sounds like you are doing great on your progress though! Good job!

(Just out of curiosity, what did you order at the restaurant while you were on the pureed food? Soup?)

It was a restaurant that served hummus, which I knew in advance, so I was game to go.  I also had some very mushy cooked green beans that I chewed up into liquid before I swallowed.  Maybe two spoons of each but that's what doggie bags are made for, right?