pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
still too warm for me ... but on the edge depending on humidity.
Traveling after surgery?
- Thread starter PhillyJohn
- Start date
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First off, kudos to you for taking charge of your health! Moving up your surgery shows determination and courage. As for your trip at the end of February, it's understandable to have concerns. Speaking with your surgeon and doctors is definitely the way to go. They'll have the best insight into your recovery timeline and whether traveling 10 weeks post-surgery is feasible.
@PhillyJohn As we're now in April, I wonder if you did travel in February, and if so how did everything go? I suspect all was fine, but others might find your experience useful.
Best wishes
Best wishes
RobThatsMe
Well-known member
Hi Andy,
I had my surgery in March and went to Hawaii 1st week of June. Granted I wasn.t moving around too fast as I was still recovered, and spent a lot of time either on the beach or in the water.
My doctor advised me to go, and that it would probably do me good.
Only two things I really noticed were my legs getting all rash like pimples. and how weird it was to hear my heart clicking when snorkeling.
. Just make sure you have located a good hospital should you happen to require one while on your trip.
also, I home test, so took my tester with me on the trip to make sure my
inr levels stayed in check.
I was 50 then.
All the best, hope this is a vacation and not a business trip you are going on.
Cheers,
Rob
I had my surgery in March and went to Hawaii 1st week of June. Granted I wasn.t moving around too fast as I was still recovered, and spent a lot of time either on the beach or in the water.
My doctor advised me to go, and that it would probably do me good.
Only two things I really noticed were my legs getting all rash like pimples. and how weird it was to hear my heart clicking when snorkeling.
. Just make sure you have located a good hospital should you happen to require one while on your trip.
also, I home test, so took my tester with me on the trip to make sure my
inr levels stayed in check.
I was 50 then.
All the best, hope this is a vacation and not a business trip you are going on.
Cheers,
Rob
pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
I remember when my friend had surgery last year, she was itching to get back to her travels. After consulting with her doctors, she ended up postponing her trip by a few weeks to ensure she was fully recovered. It might be a good idea to look into flexible accommodations, just in case. If you're traveling with pets, check out https://tripsavannah.com/savannah-pet-friendly-accommodations for some options that'll accommodate your furry companions.
Sorry for the late reply! I'm probably no longer a good barometer for this question -- I experienced some relatively serious complications from my surgery which required a second surgery in January (just like Bill Clinton!). Even so, I probably could've managed to travel in February, but I would've been miserable.
Luckily we were able to move our trip to late March, and had an amazing time - I felt no restrictions from the surgery at all, except maybe a little more hesitation to expose my large new collection of scars to the sun. A child did happen to ask why I "have so many boo-boos", though.
Drinking 10-12 Pacificos a day and eating basically zero greens did raise my INR slightly, but I brought my meter with me so I was able to adjust during the trip.
Sorry to hear about the complications, but glad you got away and enjoyed the holiday. Yes, even though I continue to eat leafy greens whilst on my holidays, the increased alcohol consumption affects my INR too! So useful to be able to check our INR ourselves.
Good point re sunbathing - I was told to avoid it on my scar for a year, to avoid it going permanently dark.
Just an update, I went on my holiday pre surgery. I had been advised that it would be dangerous to fly for even an hour due to the pressure and the current state of my valve, however my surgery kept getting delayed so I decided to risk it. A 7-hour flight ended up being 12 hours due to floods, and then another three similar flights. Did not have any problems and in fact I think my symptoms were better while I was away!
pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
I often wonder how much of symptom magnitude is created by "viewpoint"
A change of venue (holiday) can often help in that case
Best Wishes
I had my surgery (St. Jude implant) on August 21 1991. Six weeks later, I was back at work as a reporter, flying from L.A. to San Jose (California, not Puerto Rico). I had no problems with compression, decompression, etc. I didn't even really think about it.
