First Long Haul Trip

5 months after my surgery I took my first long haul flight.  The flight was approx 11.5 hours and was travelling to West Coast USA so to a hotter country than the UK.  

For the actual flight itself I wore: Solidea Arm Sleeves., some Marks & Spencer firm compression thigh shorts/pants and Sigvaris Comfort tights.

I took a bag with me to put on the floor as a footrest, so I could get some more comfortable elevation of my feet, rather than trying to keep them on the little footrest from the seat infront.  

I made sure I was in my compression from early in the day before I flew, so I was starting off with very little swelling - other than the arm sleeves which I forgot to put on and had to pull them on in the airplane loo!  I also kept the compression on at the other end until I got to my hotel when I removed my arm sleeves.  

In flight I did some walking and stretching but nothing exceptional, and just checked my compression for wrinkles/ensured it was staying in place from time to time.  

On arrival at my hotel I found my ankles were around 1-1.5 cms larger than normal.  This took a few days to go back down.  Do bear in mind that I did not have liposuction below the knees, so this could be a normal part of my lymphatic circulation and so doesn't mean this will happen to anyone else.  

I didn't have all my measurements with me so can't be quite sure if I was bigger all the way up my legs or not.  

I had no pain or discomfort.

I wore my compression garments daily, wearing a combination of the Sigvaris Comfort Class  2, Sigvaris Diaphane Class 3 (so the same mmHg as different class system) and Mediven Ellegance Class 2.  The Comfort were the coolest and most comfortable in the heat but the ellegance were OK too.  

The main thing I did that I think got my leg swelling down after 3-4 days was a daily pool session. I either went to an actual aqua class or did a session in the hotel pool so was doing around 45 mins to 1 hour a day.  I went to Walmart and purchased a couple of pool noodles for less than £5 and a childs inflatable ball to help me get a good solo workout.

I had travelled on business so in the office I elevated my lower legs on a chair wherever possible.  

Flying back to the UK again my lowers swelled up and took several days to reduce - again I was going to the pool as much as I could but not as easily as in the US.  

    

Marks & Spencers Control Pants as a top-up

Despite wearing class 2 compression, I have wanted more panty support (to be honest I felt like capris with my tights would have been great as they would have covered all my surgery areas with extra support).  Now that I am in month 5 I feel less need of the extra support other than for sport.  

As I didn't enjoy wearing full compression leggings over my tights, I went for compression type shorts under my tights.  If you like the idea you could try the Solidea range or the Haddenham Veni capris.  Solidea have a wide range of lengths which runs from pants at around £20 through to shorts and capris at around £40 and then the full leggings.  They are generally only light compression of around 12mmHg so I wouldn't wear them on their own. 

I wanted something that would go under dresses and skirts without poking out as I moved, and I was a bit impatient so I went into M&S to try control underwear.  This does not have a compression rating but the first set you see here, which was labelled firm control, felt quite similar in fabric style to my comfy ETO compression.  



The only problem with these shorts was that they have a seam which is stuck down on the front.  As you can see on the right it came apart.  I returned the first pair, but then seemed to have the same effect happening with the replacement, but not as badly.  








I liked the feeling of support and the lack of overheating groin, so I invested in some extra pairs in a different style, which might be a little less compressive as the tummy is slightly less firm.  You can get previous seasons cheap on ebay so I got two pairs for around £5 each!  They are a little shorter and are made of the same fabric all round so don't have the front seam problem.  They feel a little less compressive and I have to be careful when getting my tights over them not to roll up the bottoms of the legs, but they are very comfy for all day wear.  

  

I have been wearing these nearly every day under my compression (unless I wear the Sigvaris Comfort Bodyform tights I got recently, which have compression to the waist and which are now, at six months post surgery, supportive enough on their own for daily living and badminton!).  

I find these are easy to put on without gloves.  I pull the bottom of the legs down and ensure they are smooth before putting my tights over the top.  Once I've got my tights up I slide my hand down inside and again pull the legs flat or run my hands over them if needed, to ensure they are smooth. That can need repeating as you take your tights down and up when visiting the loo!

I think if you want some extra support to supplement your garments as you heal, or for sports, then this can be an economical option that my husband says looks nice on!  

Swimming in Lübeck

I spent the six months before my surgery getting fit.  I did that in several ways, one of which was to attend every aqua exercise class I could find, so prior to my surgery I was at several classes a week.  I became so keen on the water that I was sad to think about having to stop whilst my incisions healed (and as it turned out I had a leaky one it was around a month before I could get back into the pool).  The hotel I stayed in didn't have a pool so on my way back from the consultation with Professor Schmeller, my long suffering husband joined me at the local swimming pool, Zentralbad Lübeck.  The photo above shows the opening hours (and that if  you are brave or have some German you could even join in an aqua exercise class on a Monday!) but you should check them out at the highlighted link to be sure they are current when you go.  Incase it isn't obvious, Öffnungszeiten means opening times and Zentral is central so I believe this is the main swimming pool in the town.  

The price of a swim was 4 euro each, so I thought it was good value.  The water temperature was a bit cold - 26 degrees Celsius according to their website but I can only say it felt cold to both me and my husband. He still remembers it as a bit on the cold side but says it was OK.  It was one of the coldest pools I had been in for a while so I had to move around briskly - so it did me a favour really!  We went in the shallow pool as they have a shallow pool and a deep pool - the deep one was full of lane swimming at the time.  Maybe that pool is warmer but I am sure I touched it before leaving and it felt the same!

My tips for the pool (other than be prepared for a bracing temperature!) are:
* take flip flops or pool shoes as no-one wears outdoor shoes in the locker or changing areas.  That is a strict rule and will be enforced by the staff (they are friendly and will help you and show you the way around etc)
*the changing area was separate for men and women so ensure you have separate bags and shower items if you go with someone of the opposite sex
* I can't remember if you needed a coin for a locker - if so they would take a one euro coin
* the shower was a communal open shower (but just for your own gender as I recall) - so again I recommend using your flip flops.  The shower temperature was fine though!  You will need to take toiletries with you.  
* I don't remember about hairdryers - I left mine towel dried as we walked just around the corner straight into a restaurant for dinner so I was dry before we went for the longer walk back to the hotel.  

The pool was nice and clean so I would swim there again and would recommend it to a water lover.  I wanted to get a bit of pressure on my lymphatics after the flight and before my surgery, in the hopes it would help (and I find water workouts and swimming great stress relief).  If you feel the same I hope this post helps you!

In checking the details for this post I found that there are  other swimming pools in Lübeck so I have included a link which reviews the Zentralbad and the others.