Hey everyone,

So I am super nervous about my upcoming gastric sleeve surgery, which was scheduled for July 3rd, but has now been moved to July 13th. I was looking forward to having the surgery on July 3rd since that would have put me at 6 weeks post op before my vacation to Spain and Italy. If I stick with July 13th then I will only be 4 weeks post op when I leave for my trip. I am debating if I should just hold off until September. Can anyone here share their experience with international travel after surgery or more specifically your energy level and what you ate if you went on vacation 4 weeks post op.

Thanks!

Edited June 21, 20179 yr by krs1

I highly recommend you have your surgery AFTER vacation. There are so many changes you are going through and dealing with for about 6 to 8 weeks after surgery. If you want to enjoy your vacation wait till AFTER it to have surgery.

I would definitely delay surgery. It sounds like a wonderful trip so why not be able to enjoy it 100%? At four weeks I was definitely still trying to figure out my food intakes and that's with having known foods, known quantities and regular meal times. I also found myself tired and at times, not wanting to be too far from the bathroom as everything "got adjusted" in my digestive tract. Safe travels!

I recommend that you wait. At 4 weeks, you may still be very exhausted with low energy. Some people bounce right back, but it is a big surgery and for a lot of people, it takes a while to get your energy back.

Also, you'll still be very reliant on shakes and have to lug them around with you, and you'll also have to find soft foods to eat, which could be problematic in a foreign country.

Have fun on your trip!!

Edited June 22, 20179 yr by deeveg

I'm just over four weeks out and still haven't found my energy. I'm trying to figure out foods and take all my vitamins and get all my water in. I'm feeling no pain but it's still a lot. The fatigue is real for me. Enjoy your vacation.

I have a big international trip scheduled for about six months after surgery. But I will probably take a few weekend trips (here in the US) before then, and I plan to take powdered protein mix packets and my shaker bottle. Those will probably be two days each, which I believe will be manageable.

It seems to me that you should have surgery after the vacation, as you'll be able to experience the food properly, which is always the best part about visiting another part of the world. You should probably concentrate on sensible meals. One thing I've noticed in Europe is that people tend to eat at a slower pace. No one is rushed out of restaurants. So this might be an ideal opportunity to practice slower eating, putting down utensils every couple of bites, and so on.

PS. Where in Spain? If you're going to be in Madrid, there's a great bullet train that takes you to Toledo in no time at all. Toledo is a great day trip! That's the advice I give everyone who travels there.

I went on a cruise in April and my doctor made me hold off on the surgery until I got back. He wanted six weeks of no flying after surgery because of the risk of blood clots (even though I was on lovenox twice a day). I could've had it in February, but I ended up having the surgery two weeks after I got back in April--which actually worked out for the best. I'm a big believer in 'things happen for a reason'. If I were you, go on vacation and enjoy the pasta, pizza, and wine. Because, let me tell you, life changes in a big way afterwards.

Good luck!