we are headed to Disney for 1 week at the end of February for our first family vacation. My concern is this: My dr. requires a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery. If I started the liquid diet Tuesday (1/18), that would put my surgery around 2/1. I know for the first 2 weeks after banding, you need to follow the liquid diet. for the next 2 weeks, you do the mushies. If that is correct, I would be able to eat solid food for the first time on the 1st day of our vacation.

basically, what I am getting at is, should I now wait until after my vacation to do this? I would be terrified eating for the first time 1000 miles away from the Dr. and wouldn't know what to do if anything "interesting" would happen.

I assume when we get back, my insurance approval should still be good, and I can start the process then (early March). FWIW, I finished my 6mo. diet in Nov, but the Dr.'s office forgot to submit my paperwork for 2-3 weeks. When they did, we found out that I needed an additional letter from my PCP for a "Medical Necessity" that took another 2 weeks to get, which put me way off of my original timeframe (thinking surgery would have happened in early/mid Dec.)

Thanks for your support/advice.

Mark

I say if you are concerned wait....enjoy your vacation with your family!!! Good Luck

I agree.

if you can wait then wait, for me it's been pretty easy going, I have never thrown up (aside from anesthesia on day of surgery) however I don't think you're body will be in any shape to be walking around Disneyland after surgery it takes a while to get strong again and I had terrible shoulder pain from the gas they used to open up my "body cavity" to do the surgery. I'll be honest i wasn't up to doing anything fun until at least 3-4 weeks after surgery it was hard. and that doesn't even take into account it being scary eating food for the first time. i think you should enjoy disneyland be careful don't gain weight and have the surgery when you get back.

we are headed to Disney for 1 week at the end of February for our first family vacation. My concern is this: My dr. requires a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery. If I started the liquid diet Tuesday (1/18), that would put my surgery around 2/1. I know for the first 2 weeks after banding, you need to follow the liquid diet. for the next 2 weeks, you do the mushies. If that is correct, I would be able to eat solid food for the first time on the 1st day of our vacation.

basically, what I am getting at is, should I now wait until after my vacation to do this? I would be terrified eating for the first time 1000 miles away from the Dr. and wouldn't know what to do if anything "interesting" would happen.

I assume when we get back, my insurance approval should still be good, and I can start the process then (early March). FWIW, I finished my 6mo. diet in Nov, but the Dr.'s office forgot to submit my paperwork for 2-3 weeks. When they did, we found out that I needed an additional letter from my PCP for a "Medical Necessity" that took another 2 weeks to get, which put me way off of my original timeframe (thinking surgery would have happened in early/mid Dec.)

Thanks for your support/advice.

Mark

you should really wait till u get back. you will not enjoy your vacation if u do it before and should let your self total heal about 6 weeks before doing the rides. you could alway start your liquid on the vacation or just wait. good luck

I think it's a good idea to wait too. Although - this band, to me, is better than any vacation or trip I could ever take. I am over the moon knowing I have this tool - I don't think I need a spring vaca this year . .....and I definitely can't afford one now!

Waiting to do something about my health is what lead me to where it is today. Vacation or not, my advice is to do it and dont look back or let future plans of vacations stop you. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, you may not have the money or you may lose motivation, it's best to do it now, IMHO.

Find out what your surgeon's post-op requirements are. He might not allow you to ride a ride for 8 weeks. It also sounds as thought you are unsure of his post-op diet requirements. But note that just because you are allowed to return to solids on day one of your vacation does not mean you have to. You can stay on mushies until you are home and closer to your surgeon.

As a note, I was on Clear liquids 3 days post-op, then full liquids until 1 week, then transitioned to solids as tolerated. I did not do a puree stage at all. A friend of mine was on Protein shakes for a month post-op. So don't assume anything with post-op orders that you see here. Each surgeon is different, each case is different.

With all that said, if I could postpone it without risking the insurance approval, that is what I would do. Rather than have the stress of a complication disrupting my family vacation, I'd wait. But do consider the timing of the surgery, if it is very soon after the trip, you might be on a liquid diet with no band while on a family trip. That could be a drag, but not impossible.

Best wishes for whatever decision you make!

I was doing the pre-op diet before Christmas and post op after Christmas. Bad bad timing. If I had a choice, I would have waited. It will bother you more than you think right now because you'll be hungry, tired from surgery, maybe sore...while the rest of the family is having fun. My advice, wait til after the vacation!!