I am trying to "fit" my surgery in and wondering... Do you think I can undergo banded plication and be ok to ride 2 hours in a car to go to the beach for 4 nights with my family? It is almost impossible to schedule other times to go due to the kids training schedules for school sports... Any thoughts???

From the title of your forum, I assume you are looking to travel seven days after your surgery? You should be fine to make the trip but I would plan on having someone else do the driving and also being able to stop and walk at least once. Sitting for two hours one week post-op could become uncomfortable.

You should also plan to make it a very relaxing holiday i.e. no strenuous activities, probably still no swimming, just walks, window shopping and concentrating on your recovery. Be sure to consider your diet at this time as you will probably be on liquids and not able to eat out with the family.

Enjoy

Personally I wouldn't be in the right frame of mind to take that on. There is also the task of packing and unpacking, you can't go in the water.. I was still really out of it three days later and although seven days later I was at work, it was just sitting down and doing a lot of nothing on the computer... I was pooped out by the time I got home. So as much as I would want to I would figure out another time if possible. I guess if that is just the only time available, just plan your liquids ahead of time and be prepared.

I'm having banded plication on 5/29, so I will keep you posted.

I had a cruise planned when they called me with my surgery date which was one week before the cruise.

Although I had to postpone my surgery a month I am still very glad I did that. I enjoyed the cruise had a great time and started my pre-op diet when I returned. If I had went after the surgery I do not think It would have been as enjoyable.

You have to decide what is right for you but I am very happy I took the vacation and postponed the surgery.

Thanks for the input... still not sure what I am going to do, on one hand it may be easier... kids (teens) will be eating out, no laundrey to worry about (I am a clean laundrey freak... gotta have it all done everyday), I will not be stressing over the house being clean, and will not have to worry about driving anywhere. We will stay at a resort type hotel so I will need to worry about my nourishment and not becoming dehydrated. It does seem that many feel much better after a week so I really need to figure out if I can get my needs met nutritionally... and not being able to go in the water will be a real bummer

Honestly, the healing all depends on various factors with the individual (age, activity level prior to surgery, etc).

I, personally, flew to/from Las Vegas for a work convention four days after surgery and spent a lot of time up and about. I felt almost 100% normal after day three but did make sure to take my pain meds and a small pillow to hold against my tummy just in case I started to get sore.

My main advice would be to have dedicated liquids for your diet. My hotel room did not have a fridge so I had to do soft foods for a day until I got back home.

I would say that at 7 days out, you should be fine. You may even want to check with MD to see about going in the water. I think the biggest thing will be just making sure you have the kinds of foods you need accessable to you when on vacation and plan for that. Everything else will fall into place. I was off all pain medications at that point, and was back to work. I think really after the 4th day, I could have done just about anything. Having had the LB with plication myself, I think that 7 days out, you really should be fine, and it will give yourself a situation where you can relax and heal. Just keep the right kind of foods around and drink your water and you should be good to go.

I am 7 days post op and now feel well enough to be up and about. I think you should be ok. Bring a pillow for your tummy just in case the seatbelt rubbing your incisions is still sensitive. As long as you take it slow and have the drinks/foods you need, should be fine. Have a great trip.