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Newly banded on vacation?



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I haven't been banded yet, but just got a call today from my doctor's office and am scheduled to start my mandatory 8-week classes next month, so it's looking like surgery will be in January/February. My question is this: We are planning a vacation to visit some family for a week in North Carolina in March. Let me first state that I have planned not to tell many people about my surgery so the people we are seeing and going with, minus my DH, will not know about the surgery. If I am only 1-2 months out from surgery, will I still be on mushy foods, have you had a fill by this point, etc? I am almost wondering if I should request to wait until beginning of April after we get back from our vacation before having the surgery? Yours thoughts please :eek:

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if you have your surgery in January or February you may be on solids, particularly January. If your surgery is in February it will be really close to your vacation so I would wait until April or May if I were you. Its tough enough to be banded, but when you are mushy stage that is tough.

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I went on a cruise 8 weeks after surgery (2 weeks after my first fill). I was on solid food with no problems. I could eat just smaller portions. Try to get your surgery scheduled for january so you will be on solids and just tell your fam and friends you are on a diet. I wouldn't postpone ( there is no reason to postpone your life one more day....it is time to start living it...at least that is how I feel....everyday is getting better and better). Good Luck!

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I went on vacation 4 weeks after being banded. I was really nervous but everything worked out well. I asked at restaurants to have whatever I ordered pureed. Everyone was great about it and no one asked any questions. I was only able to eat a small amount but that was fine. I kept plenty of bottled Water and Crystal Light in the hotel room and used the 42 gram New Whey Liquid Protein which I mixed in a bottle of water.

Everything went much easier than I had anticipated. I wouldn't postpone your surgery. Like jfran said, it's time to start living!

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

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I had my surgery while ON vacation. Took a cruise for 4 days and then went back down to have the procedure. Do what's best for you but you should be fine. I was up and running around within a week and back to near normal. No one knew a thing.

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I traveled domestically 2 weeks after surgery and was fine. Now I am in Europe 4 weeks after surgery and I am ok. However I was on full foods after 17 days.

your 1st fill is not usually until at least 4-6 weeks, but some wait even longer (only a few do it sooner).

Don't delay your surgery. Things will work out.

I kept having "what if" scenarios planned around my vacation/work travel and in the end, my surgery kept getting pushed and pushed that it became the higher priority and I just had to work around the circumstance.

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Thanks for the question and the posts. I was banded on 10/08 and thought about postponing it many timesdue to business travel. I am leaving for NYC in 10 days then in early November I will be going to India and Manilla for about a week. Wish me luck.

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    • 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. 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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