I have my surgery scheduled on the 20th of March in Mexico and will fly back to Georgia on Friday the 23rd. I am planning on loose pants but am curious if anyone else has flown that far after their surgery and how was it??

I am 52 years old and made this decision in the past couple of weeks after a 2 year research. I am paying for my surgery and pray it goes well.

I am going to spend time reading a lot of the past posts and know this will help me in preparing for my new journey.

:clap2:

I dont know about the time you need before flying back. but you should be prepared to feel a lot of pain right after you wake up. the good thing is it goes away as you move around. atleast for me it did. they asked me to breathe deep several times a day to keep the lungs open and to prevent fluid from collecting, you dont want to get pneumonia [sp?] after surgery so i would suggest you take time each hour to take in deep breathes. if you have to cough they advised me to hold a pillow to my abdomen to keep from push to hard and getting jolted by pain. oh and you might want to go to Walgreens and get one of those abdominal wraps (just in case they dont give you one at the hospital in mexico) it really help to keep things in place so you can walk easier the first few hours. also as far as airport security goes, you need a passport now to fly in and out of the us, even if you are a citizen, so make sure you have that. I don't know if they are still making people dump liquids at airport security (I think they changed that to allow liquids bought INSIDE the airport) but if they havent then your pain killer (liquid form) may not make it through if you get it from mexico. it would be best to get your pain med rx filled before you leave so you can take it as soon as you get home. same goes for your heparin injections, you will want them ready to go to avoid blood clots.

I had surgery on the 2/20 and flew back home on the 2/23. My flight was close to 4 hours, not 6, but it still felt really long. At that point, I was feeling a lot less sore. My doctor suggested wiggling my feet frequently and if possible getting up and walking a little. I didn't walk any, but I did wiggle my feet. He also suggested to drink water. Wearing loss clothing is good. If you need a wheelchair for the airport, you can request that.

I dont know about the time you need before flying back. but you should be prepared to feel a lot of pain right after you wake up. the good thing is it goes away as you move around. atleast for me it did. they asked me to breathe deep several times a day to keep the lungs open and to prevent Fluid from collecting, you dont want to get pneumonia [sp?] after surgery so i would suggest you take time each hour to take in deep breathes. if you have to cough they advised me to hold a pillow to my abdomen to keep from push to hard and getting jolted by pain. oh and you might want to go to Walgreens and get one of those abdominal wraps (just in case they dont give you one at the hospital in mexico) it really help to keep things in place so you can walk easier the first few hours. also as far as airport security goes, you need a passport now to fly in and out of the us, even if you are a citizen, so make sure you have that. I don't know if they are still making people dump liquids at airport security (I think they changed that to allow liquids bought INSIDE the airport) but if they havent then your pain killer (liquid form) may not make it through if you get it from Mexico. it would be best to get your pain med rx filled before you leave so you can take it as soon as you get home. same goes for your heparin injections, you will want them ready to go to avoid blood clots.

I guess everyone is different. I didn't have much pain after surgery at all...I really didn't even believe for a while that I had surgery (since my pain tolerance isn't good). I had surgery on the 2/20 and had stopped taking my pain meds by the time I flew home on 2/23.

My flight was just over 5 hours, and we had another 5 by car. I did it on the 3rd day, and only needed a shot of liquid Tylenol for a headache. I was tired when I got home, but the pain was not an issue. I would suggest, as you board the plane, ask for a seatbelt extender right then....she will reach behind her and hand it to you---no fuss! Those already boarded will be settling in their seats, and those behind you do not see what's going on. If you wait and ask after everyone is seated, then they walk back down the aisle with it--for all to see. Also as you head for your seat, grab a pillow---it is nice to have it between you and the seatbelt. I actually needed it in the car more than the plane. My incisions are up high so the lap belt did not affect them, but the shoulder belt did. I did not feel steady climbing out over people so stayed seated through the flight (we did have a layover, so I walked then), but I rotated my ankles, and raised and lowered them, and lifted my legs in my seat. My DH knew what I was doing, the woman in the next seat probably thought I had ants in my pants!!! But I was told to move to avoid blood clots---so move I did!! I just sipped on a bottle of water, when they offered drinks.

As well as your loose pants, plan on a loose fitting non underwire bra. Many say they could not wear one at all. I am too big to not wear one in public! I wore a looser fitting, soft (basically worn out!) bra...and did fine. Also slip on shoes---nothing that takes effort to get on and off---you will have to remove them in the airport. You don't want to be bending over tying shoes with your incisions.

And pack lightly--you will be lugging the suitcase through the airport---and you shouldn't be lifting much.

A friend and her DH were banded together, and he got airsick on the way home, and he threw up non stop, well dry heaved for 2 hours---scared them so bad. When they landed they called the surgeon, he said just to take it very slow, and try to begin sipping some flat 7 Up in a couple of hours. He did, and now 2 years later, he is 140 pounds down!

As soon as you can following surgery begin walking---I think it is the best advice I was given, I feel like it helped me immensely! They put some pain meds in my IV not long after surgery, but they give me headache so I requested not to have more, and was given Tylenol---and did fine. This was an easy surgery in my case. It felt very anticlimatic! I prepped for months, expecting to feel "different", and there was discomfort as opposed to pain, and nothing felt changed! You will do fine---the flight was not a big deal. I was given the advice about asking for the extender going home, and it made it so easy!! I hope you have as simple a go of it!!

Good Luck!!

Kat

I won't need a passport....the Kuri Team will have someone pick us up at the airport. ...I will ask for the extender when I board the plane and remember to grab the pillow....good idea....I will take drugs if I need them before I board the plane and then pack them in the suitcase.....I just love this website....THANKS AGAIN!!!!

Yes, you should be fine. I flew to Monterrey a few months ago for mine and had to fly back after surgery to Houston, then board another plane to Nashville, then 3 hour drive home and did great. No problems whatsoever.

I will also be flying from Mexico to GA. I bought some elastic pants from Lands End I'm hoping will work and I'm bringing some of the powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken broth so I have something to "eat". A friend is taking me and picking me up from the airport. I live approx 2 hours from the airport and I'll stay with her if I don't feel like driving home.

I had a C-section with my son, but that was 24 years ago AND I had a husband around to do the "hard" things, lol. One thing I've realized is that I'll have to stay away from the dogs for a few days as they climb all over me.