I am heading to Oklahoma from Wyoming to visit family this weekend and am considering getting a small .25 cc fill since I will be in the same town as my doc on Friday before my mom and I fly out. I don't get down to him often (4 hours away). My concern is flying right after a fill. I had .5 taken out about a month ago because I was way too tight and have been starving since. I have lost about 7lbs since that and am just struggling. I am trying to weigh the risk of being a tiny bit tight on my vacation against the fact that my life is getting really busy and another trip to the doc in the next month is unlikely. Opinions please!

My opinion, wait till you get back. You should still be feeling some restriction/satiety from your band so why risk the swelling and possible overly tight band for just a week or two? You have years to make this work, no need to panic over a few days.

If you are worried about the effects of flying on your band, my experience has been that flying has no effect on me. I fly longhaul (13 hour) flights frequently, and never have an issue with the band tightening up in flight or afterwards, myself. I bring my own band-friendly food for the airport and the flight so there's no risk of getting stuck or (worse!) going hungry because there is only sandwichs or Pasta available.

What about getting the fill when you fly back in from your vacation? If I'm understanding your post correctly, your fill doctor is in the same city as your airport. Could you schedule a fill for the day you return? It's completely understandable that you would not want to make a four-hour drive to get a fill.

BTW, 7 pounds in a month is AMAZING! I'd take that! But yes, if it was 7 pounds down while struggling, that isn't ideal.

One of the questions on the sheets I fill out for each visit includes a question on whether I will be traveling in the near future. Having a fill before leaving on vacation is taking a chance. If you have episodes of being stuck you'll be looking for an ER or bariactric doc.