Hello!

I am getting banded on January 8th! I am also hoping to go to Disney World Jan 17-22. At that point I will be on the second week of my post op liquid diet. Is this a crazy idea? Also I would be going with my best friend who does not know about the surgery and I am not planning on telling him. Does that make it even crazier? I don't know what to do!? Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? Thanks in advance!!

Where are you planning on staying?

I wanted to stay on resort at probably All Star Movies. However since we are already on such a tight budget we are looking at places off resort. The cheapest place we were able to find so far is the Howard Johnson's Maingate East. Its about $26/night, but they also charge a $2.50 resort fee each day. I read a few okay reviews but also some not so good reviews! Any suggestions?

comfort inn, lbv, has a special $29, and it is nicer. the hojo's is kind of icky.

priceline has 3 1/2 stars for about $35 a night, and 3 stars even better.

lol, i love looking for hotel deals. it is a geeky hobby...

Haha! Yeah I have heard a few icky things about the hojo. Cockroaches, and other dirty things...haha But yeah ive been looking around a lot for the past few days and I wouldn't mind paying a few extra dollars for a hotel that is a bit nicer, but my friend doesn't want to spend any money on Disney as it is. He is willing to settle for the lowest price hotel even if it is a bit icky. :smile:

i like the EAS premade shakes. they come in silver drink boxes. they do not tast chalky and kind of have a yoo-hoo taste to them. i get them by the case at the warehouse club. sometimes i get them in vanilla (4-pack) from the grocery store since i can only find the the case in chocolate.

moving around will help you in your recovery regardless if you go to disney or not. only you (with the guidance of your surgical team) can make the ultimate decision. good for you for thinking ahead and going through the scenario is your head now.

here are a couple more thoughts from me....

i mentioned the hummus and stuff before because i know that i was moved off full liquids after 7 days by my surgeon. he also has the 2 weeks rule but i think it is one of those rules they look at for each person. since i was so active that first week he gave me mushies with no hesitation so i could get more energy.

if you want to bring a couple of those hand held sipper campbell Soups there are actually microwaves in the disney parks. they are in the child care centers. you can just walk right in and use them. if someone stops you -- you should have a card or something from your surgeon and just show them that and i am sure they will be ok. i want to say there are microwaves at Cosmic Rays in the MK -- but maybe not. i need to remember to hunt these down next week if we go.

get spanx or some other type of binder for your midsection. because i was moving around so much i pulled a muscle above my port (right at the base of my breast). no damage and apparently common according to my surgeon. get a pair now and definitely plan to wear it when you are traveling and at the parks.

not all rides are herky Jerky at disney. as a rule of thumb look for the warnings about pregnant women or bad backs. www.allears.net has a great ride guide as well as menus. i am sure you will use your good judgement and will have a great time!

My .02...

I was back at my desk the day after surgery and back working in my warehouse the next day (albeit with lift restrictions). Two weeks after my surgery, I had to remind myself constantly about the lift restrictions because I felt really good. However, after a couple of hours walking around my warehouse, my port would get inflamed just from the movement of walking. This actually continued for almost another 3 weeks.

That said...there are others on here who didn't bounce back as quickly and you won't know which you are until that time. You may find after an hour or so of walking around that you're exhausted.

Also, remember that your port has just a couple of stitches in it to hold it while it's settling and you are healing. Even the most innocent of rides, ones a pregnant woman could ride safely, might jerk you in such a way that you rip your stitches, increasing the risk of your port flipping and needing further surgery.

I'm not trying to scare you but you should go into this with eyes wide open (which it sounds as if you're trying to do).

Final thought. I would tell your friend about your surgery in case something happens and you need medical care and are unable to speak for yourself. Cover all possibilities.

Personally, even knowing how well I felt at 2 weeks...and by the way I had started back on regular foods so you're also going to be most likely dealing with lower stamina since you'll still be on a liquid diet...I wouldn't go.

Mom on the go, I do have a pair of spanx and an off brand version from victorias secret I believe, both are uncomfortable, but I can see how they would be beneficial while traveling and at the parks. Hopefully I will have lost a few pounds and they will be slightly more comfortable!

I'll have to try some of those EAS shakes, I know I had a strawberry flavor that was in a box like you are talking about, I didn't really like it so I hope the chocolate and vanilla taste better. Since I will be on full liquids I know I can at least have some of the soups without chunks so that will probably help energize me and keep me feeling full longer if they don't decide to move my mushies in sooner than 3 weeks out.

Thanks for the advice about looking at which rides have warnings for pregnant women and those with bad backs, I think that will really help me determine which rides I will feel comfortable on and which ones will be safer for me to ride!

ElfiePoo, thanks for your tips! I do not want to risk my port flipping over or anything so I will make sure to discuss that point with my surgeon as well!

I think I will tell him something regarding the surgery, not nessecarily what it was for, or I might use the hernia suggestion from earlier. I'm not sure yet.

Also, I have heard a lot of people mention that my stamina will be lower. I have expected this since I will be on liquids. However does anyone have any suggestions as to liquids or something I could have that would help me have more energy and stamina? That might be wishful thinking, but I thought I would ask and see if anyone had any suggestions!!

This is probably TMI, but it was my experience. I would have been miserable at a setting like Disney. I had horrible, "urgent", bowel movements when I was on liquids. Urgent defined as 1 minute or less to make it to the restroom.

Just something to consider....

Thanks for the tip. That would be no fun!

I don't know what is going to happen. My friend is saying that he wouldn't pay to go to disney...so IDK what will happen...

That is making me more upset than anything. Being a student I always have to go to Disney during the hot/crowded/and more expensive busy season. This is the perfect almost once in a life time opportunity because I am taking all online classes this semester and his school has a "Winter Session" where you can take classes for just the month of January while everyone is on Winter break. It is optional and he has chosen not to participate this year. So now is the perfect time to go and probably the only time we will both be able to go during a slow period at the World. :thumbup:

Last time we went was Summer 2008 and it was really hot and crowded and expensive. I think that kind of left him with a sour taste in his mouth regarding Disney. We paid about $730 each for just the hotel/plane/park tickets, and then with food and other activities we spent much more money.

Right now I have been able to find a Hotel/Park Tickets for about $350-$400/per person. That is considerably less than last time (but still more than he is willing to spend on Disney World), and since we are driving we have no plane fare (although now we have gas to pay for), and we can take our own food to save a lot of money in the parks, even more so for me since I will be on the liquid diet. I can't seem to make him understand that it will be a much nicer trip if we go now because of the low crowds and the nice climate. :thumbup:

Will have to see how this all pans out. :/