traveling after surgery

[kara1022 0]

Hello,

Has anyone from the group traveled on a plane for more than 17 hours after getting sleeved. I have a trip already booked for Dec 10th to South africa and my surgery date is Nov 15th. Has anyone experienced traveling with any issues.

[Arabesque 7,572]

No sorry didn’t experience air travel for that length of time. But I’d be concerned about how to manage my food intake on the flight especially at about 3/4 weeks out. Depending upon your plan, you may only be on the purée stage or beginning soft foods & you may find your tummy is pretty sensitive &/or fussy after surgery. You may struggle to eat the food provided on the plane & ensure you’re following your plan & meeting Protein & fluid goals.

Sorry if I sound negative. Others may have advice on how they managed in a similar situation that soon after surgery.

[vikingbeast 987]

I would invest in some compression socks. DVT is a real concern after surgery. Try to get up and walk around every half hour or so... get an aisle seat so you're not That Person.

[Sleeve_Me_Alone 657]

Agreed with the above. You need to plan food & drinks very, very well as options will be limited and that early out you'll need to be hyper focused on nutrition and hydration. I also echo the DVT/blood clot concerns. Talk to your surgeon about the risks and whether or not a longer course of blood thinners may be appropriate.

I am 3 weeks post-op and just recently had two 2 hour flights. It was manageable, but not great. I honestly don't think I could do a multi hour flight at this point, but I'm sure others absolutely could. There is really no way to tell exactly how you will feel, as everyone heals at their own pace. But if the trip is set in stone, the best thing you can do is prepare well.

[lizonaplane 1,613]

I am going to be 5 weeks out when I have my first flight - it's only going to be 6 hours, but still long enough. I plan to buy a Protein Drink at the airport (I know already where they sell the kind that works). If you can look at the airport restaurants and find where they might sell a tuna fish sandwich or tacos or refried Beans or bean Soup, those might be your best bets. Obviously, just eat the tuna or deli meat or taco meat, not the carbs they come stuffed in or any veggies. You can also look for hummus or string cheese or hard boiled eggs at the little stores (I almost always find these). You can probably also find yogurt, but it may not be low sugar. You might be able to get a doctor's note to allow you to bring some more liquidy food through security; talk to your surgeon. Also, you can bring powdered Protein through, but for best bets, have it in small amounts. You can then buy milk or mix with Water.

As others have said, get up to walk every hour that you are awake. This would be the time to pay extra for an aisle seat.

Is this a direct flight or do you have a connection? Be aware that your core muscles will likely be very weak so you may want to check as much of your luggage as possible or ask someone (not the flight attendant; another passenger) for help putting up your bags. I say don't ask a flight attendant as they generally are not permitted to assist, and it puts them in a bad spot, since if they get injured doing a favor, they don't get worker's comp depending on the situation.

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

It sounds like others have you covered. I will just add that that I would definitely still run this by your doctor in case they have anything to Add.

[Queen ApisM 427]

Oof, having done that flight to South Africa many times, that is not something I would look forward to doing post surgery. Personally I'd also be concerned about how much control I would have with food once I got there, but I was always on work trips with limited options, and 1 month out is still very early on and your stomach really can have a mind of its own at that point. This is less relevant if that's not an issue.

I personally would not do that flight 1 month from surgery. It's a tough one. I would probably try to postpone surgery until I got back but that's just me.