No, not a big vacation - but my parents have offered to take me to their home for my recuperation period. That's about a five-hour drive.

Good idea/bad idea?

Hi there! Have you had your surgery yet? You should ask your DR their thoughts and advice because they have a well defined protocol for check ups and appointments. I seemed to have a bunch of appointments with my DR and Dietitian in the first month, so would you be able to get back and forth to those?

I am not an expert, but I can tell you that sitting for long periods and riding in the car were painful for my incisions and abdomen in the first few weeks. And moving through the early food phases was the hardest part for me. I felt really good the first two weeks and tolerated the liquid diet phase well. But at week three it hit me hard- the whole drain of the surgery and the physical changes really hit me with fatigue. Plus, moving from the liquid phase to the soft foods was hard as you start to "feel" the food more in your new stomach pouch. I had a lot of nausea and vomiting at that stage.

So having some extra help really sounds excellent, especially with groceries and food prep. Just be aware that you may need to be closer to your team for appointments for follow-up.