I leave to go to Belgium for my Lap Band surgery in 6 days. Do you guys have any last minute suggestions for the trip or any neccessary items that I would need to take with me?

If you are going by yourself, take as little as possible. If you have someone you might want to take a pillow or folded sheet to help ease the tummy. Take some loose fitting clothes for afterwards. Listerine strips helped me thirst wise and freshen my mough. Good luck and keep us posted.

Wow!!! You're going to Belgium for your surgery? How long are you staying? How long is the flight?

Things to pack:

Chapstick

liquid tylenol

slip on shoes

loose clothing

gas-x

reading material

Snacks for whoever may be going with you

you'll probably want to bring some bottled Water on the flight home

Madeline's Mom: I can't think of anything else to tell you to bring except maybe a book to read. I just want to send you lots of support and encouragement for your journey. Got Passport?

Now that is the way to get your band in stlye!! what a trip - I hope you can go a day or two early just to enjoy a site or two. I can't wait to hear how well your doing & wish you luck.

Yes my husband and I are kind of incorporating this into a vacation. We will fly into Amsterdam for 2 days prior to the trip take the train to Brussels spend one day there and I will have surgery the next day (March 15th).

Question: What does the folded up sheet or pillow help with and if it's for the 9 hour flight home will one of those little airplane pillows work?

This was geared toward going to Mexico but still has some great travelling tips in it. Good luck and have a safe trip!!

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=5161&highlight=travel+suggestions

The folded sheet is easily to pack and carry. It's good to hold against your sore tummy. I can't wait to hear about your trip and banding experience! May God guide the surgeon's hands and your recovery be noneventful. (((Hugs)))

hi there and good luck

take towels with you as they dont provide them in the hospitals...

happy banding

love tracey

Apparently the Belgians aren't too fond of the Dutch - maybe a little teasing to the belgian nurses about Amsterdam will get you extra pain relief???!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL

Before you arrive, e-mail your surgeon's office to find out if you can have some of that delicious dark Belgian chocolate the day before your surgery! Just wondering: will the nurses speak English? French? Flemish? All of the above? Great idea, combining your banding with a vacation.

You might want to ask for or take a spare pair of TEDS, the compression socks you need to wear after the op. Flying long-haul increases your risk of blood clot significantly as does having surgery. During the flight, keep flexing your feet to encourage the blood to move out of calf muscles and do try and walk round the cabin when it's safe.

Also, you may get shoulder pain - so maybe a hot Water bottle (the stewardess would fill it with hot water for you) - or those pads climbers use to heat up their feet and hands. You get them in outdoors shops.

And remember, you MUST drink water, especially on the flight. This will help keep you hydrated and reduce the risk of clots.

Other than that - good luck, enjoy Amsterdam! Remember coffee shops are different there!!!!!!

Hey girl! Very good advice here by everyone who responded. The only other thing that I can think of that helped me a lot was my heatable bari bear. He's a bear shaped piece of fleecy material with heatable stones in him. If you can't find anything in the stores with heatable stones, then you will probably be able to find the little heatable herbal pillows somewhere. (Basically the same thing) You can ask the stewardess to heat it in the microwave for you, and then bring it right back to put on your tummy. It sure helped relieve my port pain that I had that 2nd day.

Good luck to you sweetie. I hope that you and your husband have an extremely safe trip, and I will pray that the surgeon's hands are guided by angels.

Lots of Love, ~Kelly

Awww I want one!! I am a sucker for anything that looks like a teddy bear. Good luck Madeline's Mom. Come and give us an update when you feel up to it.

Hey girl! Very good advice here by everyone who responded. The only other thing that I can think of that helped me a lot was my heatable bari bear. He's a bear shaped piece of fleecy material with heatable stones in him.

I want to thank all of you for all your good packing advice. I really appreciated it. I will update and post as soon as possibe with me luck and keep me in you prayers or thoughts.

Hi Madeline,

I lived in Amsterdam, NL for 10 years and spent a lot of time in Belgium. This is the only advice I can give you that might be useful. The Belgians (like the Dutch) are not big on pain relief. I would bring the strongest pain relief meds that you can with you on the trip. Its hard to get anything more than an aspirin and you really have to beg at the hospital if you want something strong to take the edge off. Also, the Belgians think Americans whine a lot and are wimps about surgery, pain management etc.... So you will get more flies from honey than vinegar, so try to be nice and keep the complaining to a minimum. The hospitals are more basic and you may have to share a room with several folks. The quality of care is exceptional most of the time, but a lot more basic than what you might be used to here in the US. Unless this is a private clinic. The good news is that the costs are lower for pretty much any services you need cause they dont have the same problems with malpractice as we do in the US. Are you going to Flanders or Wallonia? If you are going to Flanders, the healthcare professionals will speak Flemish or English. If you are going to Wallonia (french speaking part of Belgium) most people dont speak English and speak French. Just be prepared for this and maybe learn a few key phrases? Good luck and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Babs in TX

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