After all of my worrying, I called Dr. Garromone's office and it turns out my doctor had my sent the recommendation paper directly to the office. So, it's actually happening! I couldn't sleep all night. I've been wired since I called them at 11pm last night here. I still have to buy plane tickets and coordinate travel plans which is a daunting task, but one that I am all over. Just over 6 weeks and I'm there.
I know I asked about flights after surgery before, but I wanted to ask another question. I have heard that after the drains are removed you feel much better than before. I am torn between waiting one day or two before I head back overseas. On one hand it won't change the ticket by much. I'm already looking at $2,000+ for travel so a little more isn't going to kill me. But paying for food, room and board and such for one day will add up and I have a feeling I'll be eager to get back home. Any opinions on how long I should wait after post op?
Riding in a car sucks with drains, can't imagine a plane for over day.
For me, it wasn't so much pre- and post-drain as just how many days I was post-surgery. I would have been miserable traveling right after my surgery. How long is the flight back?
The flight back is around 18 hours in a best case scenario. We found one that has only one layover and it isn't very long.
I'm really not looking forward to it, but I can't get around it sadly. :/
The relief isn't going to be the drains themselves, it is going to be getting the ace bandage off!
Personally, I would head right to the airport after Garramone's office. You really aren't going to feel much different the next day. You can call and confirm with Garramonethe latest that you could see him for your post op appt and then buy your ticket. New Beginnings tells the person any plane from 2:00pm onward is safe to make and they have driven a ->-bleeped-<- ton of people to the airport to have worked out that theory.
I seriously see the wait as a waste of cash and you will be riding high after seeing your chest for the first time. The adrenaline itself will carry you through!
I stayed a couple days longer. I would probably have left the day after if I had it to do over again. More because I didn't sleep too well the night I got the bandages off. I was very anxious and so forth. But staying more than one day later, I don't see the point. You aren't going to feel that much better. I agree that getting the bandages off is the big deal.
--Jay
Just wanted to say grats Ayden!!! I haven't had top surgery so I can't offer anything as far as that goes but just super excited you got everything going on the ball now!
Your original post said "I," so I got the impression that you would be alone. If you are traveling alone, I would advise you to recover for at least two days unless you are pretty tough. I am certain that I would not have been able to handle extensive travel the same day or the next day. Not on my own.
The second day, too, would have been difficult under such circumstances.
If you have a companion who can handle everything logistical, then leaving almost immediately might be worth it for you. You will likely be pretty unhappy, but if you're like a lot of us, you wouldn't sleep through the night without interruption anyway. Most of my sleep the first couple of days was just dozing throughout the day and night. You can do that on the plane unless you are seated next to babies or serious ->-bleeped-<-s. And one advantage of a plane is that you actually CAN'T sleep in a bed, so you probably won't stress your incisions while you sleep semi-upright.
Remember, too, that movement will be limited. The last time I was on a plane was years and years ago. Are disabled toilets standard equipment nowadays? You might have a hard time in one of those little airplane toilets, but a bathroom for the disabled would give you room to twist in weird ways to reach the toilet paper and so forth. In addition, you or somebody else would need to empty your drains at some point, but you should be able to coordinate that so that you do it on the ground or even wait until you get home.
It sounds like a stretch to me, but I have heard that people tend to heal better in familiar, comfortable surroundings. In other words, home.
Ayden, research the airport where you would have a layover. Some airports are massive and confusing, and you could be walking around for an hour looking for your flight if you get particularly unlucky. My main concern would be severe turbulence. I had an experience on a plane that was worse than being on a roller coaster - it was so bumpy that it made my teeth hurt, and the plane took such a steep dive at one point that there were objects rolling up the aisle. I'm not sure that would be safe with drains.
Quote from: Arch on June 04, 2014, 07:22:51 PM
Your original post said "I," so I got the impression that you would be alone. If you are traveling alone, I would advise you to recover for at least two days unless you are pretty tough. I am certain that I would not have been able to handle extensive travel the same day or the next day. Not on my own.
The second day, too, would have been difficult under such circumstances.
If you have a companion who can handle everything logistical, then leaving almost immediately might be worth it for you. You will likely be pretty unhappy, but if you're like a lot of us, you wouldn't sleep through the night without interruption anyway. Most of my sleep the first couple of days was just dozing throughout the day and night. You can do that on the plane unless you are seated next to babies or serious ->-bleeped-<-s. And one advantage of a plane is that you actually CAN'T sleep in a bed, so you probably won't stress your incisions while you sleep semi-upright.
Remember, too, that movement will be limited. The last time I was on a plane was years and years ago. Are disabled toilets standard equipment nowadays? You might have a hard time in one of those little airplane toilets, but a bathroom for the disabled would give you room to twist in weird ways to reach the toilet paper and so forth. In addition, you or somebody else would need to empty your drains at some point, but you should be able to coordinate that so that you do it on the ground or even wait until you get home.
It sounds like a stretch to me, but I have heard that people tend to heal better in familiar, comfortable surroundings. In other words, home.
Hey, Arch, I am wondering if you think he is considering going right after surgery? I think he is asking about flying out 6 days later, the day his drains are removed.
I don't know that there is much difference between 6 and 8 days tbh. You aren't going to be able to lift more or be that much more mobile. It's a very long time on a plane, but what are you going to do. Be sure to wear the compression socks, I think this is a situation where they are pretty important.
--Jay
Quote from: Brett on June 04, 2014, 09:38:51 PM
Hey, Arch, I am wondering if you think he is considering going right after surgery? I think he is asking about flying out 6 days later, the day his drains are removed.
Yeah, maybe I missed something.
Yeah, I was wondering about travel after my drains are out. I'm a little crazy but I'm not crazy enough to jump on a plane with drains right after surgery! Lol.
I am taking my flights alone, but I will have family with me for the week after surgery before I leave. I called the office and the lady said I could fly out same day. I think I may fly out late night on a red eye or early the next morning
Well you are a younger man than I am Ayden. LOL
--Jay
Quote from: Ayden on June 05, 2014, 04:04:59 AM
Yeah, I was wondering about travel after my drains are out. I'm a little crazy but I'm not crazy enough to jump on a plane with drains right after surgery! Lol.
I am taking my flights alone, but I will have family with me for the week after surgery before I leave. I called the office and the lady said I could fly out same day. I think I may fly out late night on a red eye or early the next morning
Is it possible for your family to take all of your luggage home? I had my girlfriend with me, but I know that Jay traveled alone. Jay, any tips for Ayden? What kind of bag did you use and what was the weight would you say?
Quote from: Brett on June 05, 2014, 05:53:25 PM
Is it possible for your family to take all of your luggage home?
I can have family carry my luggage in the airport in Florida, but she is not coming bak to Asia with me. I'm going to pack as lightly as possible, so very few clothes and only a few things to keep me occupied. I'm going to start test packing after I pick up a few button ups. My hope is that I can have everything in my small carry on size suit case and I can just check it on the way back. With one layover I can get by okay like that and just check my bag all the way through. When I land here I'll have to get it myself and get through customs, but baggage claim and customs are literally side by side, and right in front of the lobby where my husband will be to pick me up.
But any tips on just the essentials I need while traveling would be great. I can keep myself busy and I'll sleep for a couple of days, I'm sure, so I'm not worried about bringing tons of things to keep myself busy.
Quote from: Brett on June 05, 2014, 05:53:25 PM
Is it possible for your family to take all of your luggage home? I had my girlfriend with me, but I know that Jay traveled alone. Jay, any tips for Ayden? What kind of bag did you use and what was the weight would you say?
The airport will handle transfer of luggage, the only place you need to worry about is the airports (I don't know re: customs. There must be provisions for disabled visitors. You might look up this particular problem. I'm sure this is done all the time. Coming in I think I did drag my luggage (see Cami). The deal about light weight carry on type stuff is very important. You can do TWO carry ons. One to carry on and the other you can have them send for you. Have one carry on that is light enough that you could put in your lap. I called ahead and got a wheelchair at the transfers. However, since Cami dropped me off at the airport so early, I was there for hours and didn't think anybody would have been there with me for hours like that.
I packed very light, btw. You are just not going to need as many clothes so don't take them. You are going to be hanging around in pjs and the like. I took a pair of slacks (elastic and belt loops), a couple pairs of pj bottoms, and a pair of shorts (elastic) for going out in Fl as well as bottom down shirts. Maybe about right for the "bottoms". I carried everything in what was essentially a carry on and then had a man purse. The man purse was what I carried around coming home as I checked the carry on. That was a nice idea except with an iPad and all the "murse" was 15 lbs. However, nothing terrible happened. I didn't walk around much.
I left a few old button downs at NB. :) I think one pair of slacks (to travel in), a pair of shorts for Florida, and pj bottoms (1-2 pair), bottom down shirts (larger size), a light weight zippered hoody, a long sleeve shirt (also button down or zipper), 1 old binder, socks and underwear is good for clothes. Bring shoes and slippers you can slip on. Be sure to bring computer, e-reader, tablet, etc. for entertainment. Dont' think you are going to have great concentration to read complicated books or anything. Because unless you are way different than I am you won't. When you get to Florida you can get a trial subscription to Netflix (if you have a credit card).
Don't pack heavy. Don't carry heavy books, lots of clothes, etc etc.
--Jay
You are fine flying once you've had your post op appointment.
I left it a couple more days and stayed until day 8 post op (my post op appointment was only 5 days after surgery as I was scheduled for a Friday). I wanted to stay in case of complications, it would have been cheaper/better than if I'd flown home and had a complication. (Luckily Dr G doesn't seem to get any major complications, so that shouldn't be a worry).
The other thing to think about is that it's damn scary having your first shower which is the day after your post op. I'd recommend staying for at least one night so you can do that before flying home. Although having said that, that's assuming you are staying at NBR? As otherwise, if you're stuck in a hotel on your own, you might as well be at home!
Hope you are staying at NBR, it's fantastic and really helpful for advice and seeing others going through the process :) I wouldn't have done it any other way :)
I decided on leaving the day after my post op so I can shower and such before I hop back on a plane. I'll have help so I'm not worried about showering too much, thankfully! The extra night is costing me a little more, but it's worth it so I can have one night without drains to get ready for a 21 hour trip. I chose not to go to NBR, so I'm staying in a nice hotel instead.
Quote from: Ayden on June 22, 2014, 03:25:55 AM
I decided on leaving the day after my post op so I can shower and such before I hop back on a plane. I'll have help so I'm not worried about showering too much, thankfully! The extra night is costing me a little more, but it's worth it so I can have one night without drains to get ready for a 21 hour trip. I chose not to go to NBR, so I'm staying in a nice hotel instead.
Sounds like a good decision. 21 hours with no shower, after you are finally "free" to do so would suck. plus a restful night without the drains before a long flight is a good idea.
I agree that it was scary to take a shower after top surgery. And it is REALLY nice to have a shower before you leave. I used a lot of baby wipes but still wasn't able to get as clean as I would like and I never washed my hair. I know the feeling of being scared of taking a shower is pretty normal. As it was it was very much easier than I imagined, though my range of motion was limited.
I think staying 1 day after your post-op is a good idea and one I would recommend. Several days isn't necessary but I understand a few countries actually will not issue a VISA for too short a stay for surgery.
--Jay
Quote from: aleon515 on June 22, 2014, 11:30:47 AM
I agree that it was scary to take a shower after top surgery. And it is REALLY nice to have a shower before you leave. I used a lot of baby wipes but still wasn't able to get as clean as I would like and I never washed my hair. I know the feeling of being scared of taking a shower is pretty normal. As it was it was very much easier than I imagined, though my range of motion was limited.
I think staying 1 day after your post-op is a good idea and one I would recommend. Several days isn't necessary but I understand a few countries actually will not issue a VISA for too short a stay for surgery.
--Jay
I have really nice scented wipes for order control that they sell here. As far as I know it's the only place in the world that uses this specific brand and they are amazing. With all the hygiene products available here it amazes me that people here don't smell heavenly all the time.
I'm fortunate in that I don't need any visa to return to the states. Coming back is also easy since I have unlimited reentry privileges as long as I have my current visa. It's been a huge help to not have to worry about that.
Quote from: Ayden on June 22, 2014, 03:25:55 AM
I decided on leaving the day after my post op so I can shower and such before I hop back on a plane. I'll have help so I'm not worried about showering too much, thankfully! The extra night is costing me a little more, but it's worth it so I can have one night without drains to get ready for a 21 hour trip. I chose not to go to NBR, so I'm staying in a nice hotel instead.
Sounds like a good plan. You may not be too worried about the shower now but I bet when the time comes you will be. It's always fine of course, but when everything feel so vulnerable, especially your nipples it's really nerve racking.
Fair enough re NBR. I was worried about whether it was the right thing to stay there, especially as I didn't think I'd really want to hang out with others much, but having done it I would have opted that way over a hotel every time. You just get so much support.
I haven't read all the thread, so sorry if this has already been said, but when's your date?
Exciting stuff!!! :)
I'm sure I'll be crazy paranoid about showering when the time comes! But, lucky for me my sis has some experience with medical stuff and even had surgery (not trans related) pretty recently. Her father was a obgyn so he has medical training too.
Personally, I think NBR is a great idea in theory, and most are really happy with the choice. I thought a lot about it and talked to dozens of guys before I made the choice. I'm pretty positive I made the right choice for me, but I wouldn't discourage people from choosing otherwise.
My date is the second to last week of July. I'm sitting at almost exactly 30 days. Every time I put on a binder I've been telling it that it's days are numbered. I think my chest has been hearing that for about the last 6 weeks!
Very excited for you! It was all kind of scary and unnerving going thru two time zones (let alone the International Dateline) for top surgery. But it was all worth it and I'd do it again (well I mean if I planned for it again I'd do things the same way, with very minor differences).
Staying at NBR was a good thing for me, but I'm sure things will be nice for you as well.
--Jay
Congratulations dude