Vacation with a New Band?

[Denice 0]

I am looking forward to being banded in May and have an opportunity to travel to Hawaii around the end of May. Besided worrying whether I will fit in the seats of the airplane, what about traveling so far away (from Florida) following surgery? I have waited forever for my band and can't wait any longer. My plane tickets require me to be back by June 12.

Another concern is that I get car sick when I ride around mountains and must take dramamine. Will I be able to take it after my band? I've never been to Hawaii but the pictures look like lots of mountains.

Thank you for any helpfull ideas.

Denice

[Penni60 45]

The dramamine could most likely be broken in half or even crushed and taken that way. If it can't be crushed or broken in half then ask your doctor about a liquid form.

And if all else fails then don't go on mountains. LOL!! Sorry that was my attempt at humor. I envy the trip to Hawaii.

My daughter suffers from motion sickness and she takes dramamine as well. I think you should be able to take the pill. If it comes in capsule form then that would be NO problem taking. The rule of thumb wiht pills is if it is bigger in diameter than an eraser on the tip of a pencil then it needs to be crushed, broken up, or use alternative forms (ie: liquids, etc).

The travelling aspect of the trip should not pose a problem but check with your doctor prior to leaving. Just know that you won't get to enjoy some of the great foods you will be tempted with. You will be in the mushie or even on the tail end of the liquid phase.

Something else to keep in mind, when I travel (meaning fly) I always always without question am more restricted. So, if you have great restriction after surgery then your restriction might be increased for a day or two after you arrive in Hawaii. It takes a few days to stabilize. If you are like me I am at the higher restriction the entire time I am travelling. Then the minute my plane lands at home my restriction disappears. LOL!! Just my weird body.

Pictures are a MUST when you travel to Hawaii.

[a_bit_pink 0]

Hey! I'm going on holiday as well in June but i had my band on March 14.

If you are recovered from surgery (it took me a week to recover) then it should be fine! You just have to then worry about the liquid diet and make sure you stick to it.

We have to be careful - chew properly, and not gulp everything down lolss! And drink a bit slowly and stuff. As long as we are sensible it will be ok!

I'm also going to check if there are any lapband docs where i'll be going on holiday - just incase anything does happen (if the band slips or anything...).

Before i had my first fill i could take panadols or any other pills so i guess you can too. But you should ask your doc first.

Ohh! and even i'm worried about fitting on the bloody small plane seats! Pehehe!!!

[Rhonda63 0]

Denise, I was in your same situation, I was banded on 3/10 in Mexico, then

flew to Northern Ca for vacation on 3/17 (I live in Ga). I had no problems

with the flight but like Penni said, the worst thing was being only 1 week out, I

wasn't able to eat out with the family. We worked it out by going to places that either had a wide variety of foods (ie-soups) or I would get something that

I could eat and stay in the room while they went out (for pizza, no less).

Otherwize, I was able to do everything else and as we did alot of tours with

walking, it helped with the soreness. I told my DH that I didn't need to lose

ALL my weight in 1 week LOL

Enjoy Hawaii!!

Rhonda

[Mariposa Bella 3]

Oh wow, I have always dreamed of going to Hawaii, can I come? I had my surgery in Nov, and went on vacation to Mexico for the x-mas holidays and was miserable, there was so much wonderful food to enjoy and I couldn't enjoy any of it, it was reallly hard for me, especially the eating out part, I got sick lots of times, it was even harder that I was still learning to eat with my new band and its tough. But oh well, you will be in paradise, who cares if you can't eat, if your still in the liquid phase, just drink tons of mixed drinks that should keep you happy, LOL

[Denice 0]

I sincerely appreciate everyones good advice on this upcoming big trip of a lifetime. Do you think I would be better off postponing the band until I return? I've heard they make dynamite macadamia pancakes in Hawaii. How important are damn pancakes? I'm so tired of being tired from carrying around all of the extra pounds. I'm ready for the lifestyle change. liquid diet sounds realistic at home...I wouldn't want to be sick so far away from home. I like Rhonda's idea of just staying in the room while the family goes out to eat-but I don't think my husband would cooperate. He's kind of funny about that kind of stuff. I just do not know what to do.

Do you think they have band doctors in Hawaii. So many islands, so many mountains, so much food. It is turning me into a whiner. Normally I am a positive and upbeat person. This is making me sound spoiled and difficult.

There must be a solution.

Again, your help is much appreciated.

Denice

[Mariposa Bella 3]

Denice, I am sorry you are having a difficult time with this, all I can tell you is what I would do, now that I know what banding is. I would postpone my surgery until after my trip, just because it will be a more difficult recovery and you will more than likely want to cheat on your diet, because there will be so much tempting delicious foods around. I fell to temptation and took a spoonful of food when I was supposed to be on the liquid diet and got so ill and so tight I landed in the hospital not being able to keep anything down. It was a very bad experience for me. I don't have any will power that is why I had to get this band to help me control my eating. If you postpone your surgery a month it won't kill you and you will have the beautiful memory of your trip and you will have savored all those delicious things that you won't normally experience here. Once banded you might not ever be able to eat any dynamite macadamia pancakes, because I sure can't even eat regular pancakes, their too doughy and make my pb everytime and boy do I sure miss pancakes. Well these are just my thoughts you do what ever you feel is right for you. Also, if you get ill and your family has to take care of you, you will cheat them out of a full Hawaiian experience, if they have to slow down to take care of you. Sorry if I'm being so real about it, but these are my feelings, you don't have to take them, I just want to tell you what I would do.

[Road Queen 0]

Denice, since I don't have a band yet I'm not expert but my cousin (who got hers in Oct) has done alot of traveling since then. When we talked about it, this is part of a journey to change our lifestyles and just view this as part of the process. Enjoy Hawaii and its beauty and start replacing eating with other habits - walking on the beach, enjoying the flowers, etc

[DeLarla 22]

Dramamine contains the same medicine as Benedryl. You can buy liquid Benedry, which slides right down with no problem.

I adored Hawaii... if you are in your mushy stage, you could live off the macadamia ice cream and just spit out the nuts! You sound like me, I go on vacation to eat, but I also weighed over 300 pounds. What's more important?

You say you're getting banded in early May and traveling late May? Most people feel good after 2 weeks (a lot of people feel better much sooner.)

[Rhonda63 0]

DeLarla, what a fabulous idea (the ice cream!) When we were at Yosemite,

the family all had BBQ, hot dogs, etc and the only thing I could eat on the

menu was ice cream so that's what I ordered. Little miss size 4 behind the

counter looked at me like that was the last thing I needed LOL Little did she

know.....

Rhonda

[Denice 0]

There are so many good reasons to get banded as soon as possible. Unfortunately my PCP doctor is on vacation and I only need one letter from him to submit to United Health Care. He gets back on May 3. When do I have pre-op and what does it consist of and how long does that take?

Thank you Mariposa Bella for giving me the option of waiting until I get back. I needed that option...but instead I think I will use your experience to help me keep from taking that one bite that could really mess up our big trip. It will give me the strength I need. Do you think I could take some dried Soup mixes with me and then just ask for hot Water when we dine out. Then move up to ice cream for special treats.

I have been pushing through these appointments as fast as possible. At the end of June my husband has his 25 year reunion with Southwest Airlines (line mechanic) and I want to try my hardest to melt some pounds away before that. His discount plane tickets to Hawaii expire on June 15. So, time is not on my side. I just got back from buying two bathing suits (size 20 & 22 sadly.)

It is too tempting to eat what I can while I can, knowing that it will be over soon. I really am ready to put sinfull favorite foods behind. We eat out too much. Portion Control has always been the kiss of death for me. I stopped drinking beer and wine months ago and don't miss it at all. If food is that easy to give up I'll be fine.

Oh Rhonda, when you mentioned Yosemite it reminded me of those mountains...that is when I first tried Dramimine-I took it, fell asleep imediately and missed out on the rest of the mountain ride which worked for me! Nobody told me that Puerto Rico had mountains too- thank goodness we found a little pharmacy that had Benedrine or something. It didn't put me to sleep and I did enjoy the sights after that. Before that I was closing my eyes to try to keep from being sick, which didn't work, while Charlie drove up & around & around the mountains while reading the map at the same time.

We have a time share week banked that we need to use or lose but RCI only offers one condo in Hawaii and it looks like it is up on a mountain. Not cool. I'm going to check out some Bed and Breakfasts next. (liquid Breakfast for me please) Has anyone been to Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach? Do they have mountains? I guess it is a good thing for me that Florida is so flat.

Talk to you soon.

Denice

[Rhonda63 0]

Denice, Hilton Head is flat with lots of pine trees. I haven't been to Myrtle Beach

so I can't say. Which island were you going to in Hawaii? I think Maui is alot

more mountainous than Oahu. Maybe you could do alot of your sightseeing

at sea level (the Arizona, Pearl Harbor, etc) then take your Dramamine when

going back up to your condo. Another thought, you could do a cruise around

the islands. Norwegian does one that leaves from Honolulu and goes to all of the

Hawaiian islands. If you didn't want to go to the condo, and were looking at

other hotels, this might be a good option. Gosh, I sound like a travel agent (which I am not) but I just love to travel. It helps that I am also a line mechanic's wife (Delta). Do you have to go and return by June 15th? If you

had your surgery in early to mid May, you would be out of the liquid phase

(depending on your dr) and into mushies. This would make it easier to find

things you could eat.

Have fun!!

Rhonda

PS what part of Florida are you in? My sister lives in Mulberry (Lakeland)

[Debby 0]

I bought the Starkist albacore trna salad lunchkits to take with me when I don't have refrigeration at hand, such as in a plane or car trip. It comes with light mayo and you don't need the crackers to enjoy it and you'll always have something you can eat. Plus, if you con't drain off the little bit of Water it really goes in nicely. Debbie