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International Travel after VSG



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I was sleeved on December 10, 2012, and I just returned from a 5 day business trip to China during the last week of February 2013. I scheduled my surgery in December hoping that I would be well enough to travel, and I am happy to report that everything went just fine.

Here are couple of points that may help future travelers:

- Overall, my recovery from the surgery has been trouble free, and I feel that I could have easily made this trip at the end of January.

- I was a little nervous about carrying all of my Vitamins and meds (Multivitamin capsules, D3 gels, Biotin, calcium chews, and Prilosec) through security, but no one even asked about them.

- I did not bring any Protein Powder, but I did eat 3 or 4 Quest Protein Bars during the trip.

- I had no problems getting enough to eat. Most mornings I had an omelet in the hotel for Breakfast, and I had chicken and vegetables for lunch and dinner. I avoided some of the more exotic food choices, but I did try Yak meat for the first time.

- All of my colleagues know that I have the sleeve, so they were generally supportive of any special needs such as eating half of a Protein Bar for a mid-afternoon snack.< /p>

- I did not use this suggestion, but I read in an earlier post that some travelers sent Protein powder and other food to their hotel by FedEx so that they would not have to carry it through airport security.

- I thought that I was over eating during the trip and promised myself that I would get back to my normal eating practices as soon as I got back home. However, I was surprised when I found out that I lost 5 pounds in 5 days.

- For exercise during the trip, I walked on a treadmill in the hotel everyday for at least 45 minutes.

Good luck to all.

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Thanks for the tips!

I've got to ask because I love exotic foods--how was the yak meat?

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The Yak meat tasted like beef, but it was a little sweet. Maybe it was the seasoning?

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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