I'm probably having surgery in August and I'm wondering when it might be possible for me to take a trip to Hawaii to go swimming, snorkeling, and hiking. Would November be too soon? So, that's about 3 months post-op. Due to my work schedule and COVID, I haven't been able to take much time off this year and I'd like to take a vacation after surgery. If swimming, hiking, and snorkeling would be too much, are there other things that would be easier, like just walking around a city? I thought of Hawaii because it's in the US and going abroad might be hard due to COVID, plus it's warm in November.

Would a long flight be really challenging? What are some things I'm not considering about how I'll feel 3 months out? I can't get anyone to go with me, so I'll almost certainly be going on my own unless I take a package tour.

Unless you have serious complications or have some condition that causes your body to heal incredibly slow, you’ll be fine three months out. Many people fly to other countries for surgery and fly back a day or two after (you’ll see many doctors will want you to wait an extra day or two, but you get my point). At two weeks I felt “normal” but still took it easy because of healing.. at one month out I was more active than I was preop. Obviously the safest advice is to consult your doctor, but I can’t imagine a typical scenario where any of those activities would be even a slight problem three months out. One thing I would add is can you do all those things now? If yes then you’ll be fine… just don’t expect such a huge transformation that you’ll be able to do significantly more physically than you could pre-op (you likely will be able to do more but how much I couldn’t say).

6 minutes ago, Slightly Less Fatty Matty said:

One thing I would add is can you do all those things now? If yes then you’ll be fine… just don’t expect such a huge transformation that you’ll be able to do significantly more physically than you could pre-op (you likely will be able to do more but how much I couldn’t say).

Yes, I just came back from a hiking/walking/swimming trip on Sunday. I haven't gone snorkeling in a year and have only gone a few times in my life, but that's because I live where it's too cold and I'm scared of the ocean (I like to swim in pools). I was more worried about my incisions healing and having enough energy. I know people say they have more energy after surgery (once healed) than before, but I have a ton of energy now (until dinnertime and then I fall off a sleepy cliff until 5AM when I'm wide awake).

should be fine.