DS vacation high lights

Never the most prompt person I meant to do this when I got back but a week and a half later better late than never. I spent 6 days in Naples Florida with my brother and my nephew and it was great.
I'm 2.5 years post-op and I haven't traveled for at least 4 years pre-op so I was a little nervous.

I worried the whole night before about the airplane and bathrooms and gas or anything else. I ate sparingly the day before and was fine with one bathroom break on the layover in Chicago and could even have done without that if I needed to. So big worry not necessary.

It's been many years since I've flown and I fully remember being embarrased about the extender and how much room I took up. All perfect this time except I swear Frontier is making it bad for anyone except the smallest people in the world.

No problems packing my vits and protein powder in a checked bag going or bringing back the leftovers in a carryon on the way back.  We left a day early so I had spare vits and powder.

What can I say about Florida. Sun sand, water, and biking. Naples is a beautiful laid back spot off season. I understand it is a little more busy mid winter. Along with some good sea food meals it was perfect.  Very hot and humid but it didn't hit me half as hard as when I was last down several years before my DS. Although I did make the mistake of biking after an afternoon rain and I thought the humidity would do me in before I got done. :)

It was a good thing I packed the ozium and citrus magic. Even though I didn't share a bathroom and ate mostly high protein they were still necessary but that was pretty much the only real DS accommodation that I felt I had to make. 

Chilean sea bass the first night - I could do that every night if I could afford it. Scallops a couple of nights that were uniformly good. Slow roasted chicken that was good but I immediately regretted it because I have chicken all the time at home but the waitress really sold it. My last night I indulged with a chocolate souffle - I slept satisfied that night.....  Jerky to snack on in the evenings and something called skinny sticks that we picked up at a fresh market store, kind of like a baked potato stick but they were made from Quinoa. A couple of quinoa salads for lunch.

And the good news I lost a ton of weight while there. I have been going between 220 and 230 for a good 6 months prior to the trip and by the end I was down to 211. Living right may be it's own reward but I was happy to be rewarded on the scale for my efforts..

I'm not sure what I expected DS wise but I came to the conclusion, for me at least, the imoact of my DS was pretty minimal.  Good to know. So, all my worries were pretty much over blown. No embarrasing issues travelling or staying with my family. 

Pete

Hi Pete, sounds like a good trip, and congrats on jumping back on the travel bandwagon.

I travel for work all the time and will be heading to India and Hong next week. The bathroom is always a little bit of worry, but it never turns out to be the problem I expect it to be. Also worth noting that planes have great air suction so gas moves quickly with minimal notice.

The best part of the WLS surgery from a travel perspective is fitting into seats. I used to really hate being on planes for the tight space that I didn't fit into. Now I hate it for other legit reasons like being stuck on the tarmac and crappy food options.

What a wonderful trip! I bet you did lots of stuff you couldn't or wouldn't have done before your DS. I've also traveled some as a post-op and have done fine with plane trips and even on cruises. I probably do eat more carefully when travelling but that's a small price to pay for living and enjoying life.

Larra

Thanks for posting this, Pete! Glad to hear the trip went so well, you ate well, and you didn't experience any DS-related headaches!  Also the weight loss from the trip is a nice added bonus.  I am now dreading travel a little less!

So happy for u Pete !!!!! Glad u got to fly again. I'm hoping one day soon I can do an air trip somewhere! I'm jealous