Oh My God! I'm Going On A Plane! Freak Out Mode Has Officially Begun!

Yep, those were the crazy thoughts going on in my head when I was getting ready to fly on a plane for the first time with my band.

Jump into the time travel machine and let me take you back in time... to Thanksgiving of 2009.

Yep, I first flew with my band when I was 5 weeks post op...all the way to Orlando, Florida.

Could I fly any farther away from Oregon and still be in the good ol' USA? There should be a language change and currency exchange with that much flying.  Seriously.

So...back to Thanksgiving 2009: to say that I was a little freaked out was an understatement. I am an experienced world traveler, but with the band, this would be a completely new experience.

I may have looked like this on the outside (always a smiling face), but I was a bundle of nerves on the inside.

(30 lbs lost, 5 weeks post-op)

Here are all the crazy thoughts that were swimming around in my head before my trip:

• I've only just started mushies and soft foods, what would I eat? Oh no! 
• Will there be anything in the airports to eat? drink?! Yikes!
• Would my band swell up to the size of Texas while I was in flight and then I wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything?
• Why won't those TSA people let me take a yogurt or a protein shake through security? They're a bunch of meanies.
• I haven't had a fill yet, is it possible to get an unfill this early? (I had 4.5ccs put in at surgery)
• Maybe there's a Lap Band doctor in Orlando that could do an unfill for me? I should google that.

This list could go on and on...

Of course, all of that freaking out was not necessary.

I was able to eat and drink...on and off the plane.

I've found that Starbucks is a bandsters best friend.  Their strawberry smoothies have about 250 cals and 20 proteins.  And we all know where there's an airport, there's usually at least one Starbucks.

I ate and drank all through the Orlando area and the Disney parks during that Thanksgiving weekend.  I noticed that I could always find something on the menu that would work for me.

I am so happy that I got all that anxiety over and done with on that first banded trip.

I just counted the number of flights that I've taken since being banded (I used all my fingers and toes to count...and Pemberley helped): 48 flights with no issues or problems at all.

And do you know what the biggest challenge is now when I fly?  Saying "no thank you" to the flight attendants when they tempt me with their lovely red shiny cans of Coke Classic and tasty oatmeal cookies.  Damn you Alaska Airlines and your crack cookies.  I still struggle with the idea that traveling means that I get to go off of my eating plan.

Anyways, now that I am headed to London next month, I have no worries about traveling and flying with my band.

But I do have one concern: bathrooms.

I drink tons of water now and I know how there are not many public bathrooms available in London.  I was not a water drinker during my last trips to London.  Any ideas?  Starbucks? McDonalds?

Help.