RNY and international travel questions...

I am going to Spain in two weeks.  I will be there for a week in Girona, about an hour outside Barcelona.  Looking for some wisdom on....

1. Travel in Spain with RNY... food choices... availability of protein drinks, bars, my fav standby of cottage cheese and pineapple (LOL), etc.  Do they even have RNY's there?  If I say Bypass Gastrico (or Desviar en Estomago or whatever), will they have any idea what I am talking about?

2. Travel in Europe with RNY.... general tips.

I know Spain is not exactly a third world country, plus I am relatively fluent in Spanish and we are staying on the coast so I will have plenty of seafood available to me... but do I pack emergency food?  Does the airline even allow that? (American).  I will of course call the airline... but looking for personal experiences first.. food-related and anything else I am not thinking of...

Thanks,
Audrey

I dunno much about foreign travel.  I never get to go anywhere!  I'm jealous.  Have a great time.

I'm assuming they would have things like cottage cheese, yogurt, etc.  And fruit.  They may not have a big selection of protein shakes or bars, or if they do, they may not be familiar brands.  So I would probably try to pack those things and take them with you.

The food in Spain (definitely NOT a third world country!) will be far more suited to your needs as an RNY'er than an American diet - abundant protein sources, fresh ingredients etc.

I'm not sure why you would need to tell anyone about your surgery unless you had a medical emergency and then RNY would be understood by any self respecting doctor - I would be very surprised if you encountered one in a city that didn't speak English. We Europeans generally speak two or more languages .

You can pack protein powder into your checked luggage if you feel you may have any food emergencies.

I hope you have a great time - Spain is a beautiful country with very welcoming people (usually!)

I have been to Europe ( France, Italy, Turkey, Holland) many  times and have never had any difficulties with meals and food.  Plenty of salads, protein sources such as meat, fish, shrimps and shellfish...and fruits and cheeses, yogurts etc...and Spain has the most fabulous almonds ( flat white round ones)..Just look at menus the way you do here at home...choose from the appetizers for the right volume size as people don't leave restaurants with half their meal boxed up for take-out.

A salad appetizer I found great as a meal is the buffalo mozzarella and sliced tomato on fresh lettuce...delish with a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar ( aceite y vinagre)  or balsamico...chorizo, and tapas are another great choice...( tapas are small plates!!! Chose the healthier ones, many are just bite size pieces)....

If you wind up in hospital tell them you have a "desviacion gastrica"...but I would be surprised if ever you had to tell anyone or wound up in hospital..If it makes you feel better, get a Medic Alert bracelet with your surgeon's phone number, gastric bypass,  and whatever else you feel should be on it. I never felt the need.

As for  the airline, I never told them I needed a "special meal"  When their small airplane meal arrived, I just ate the chicken and veggies..soon done, perfect portion, if you skip the rice or pasta or potatoes,  bread and butter, and the carby dessert.  You can bring protein bars with you in the on-board hand luggage, ditto for nuts, dates, BabyBel lights, but not yogurts or anything liquid like ready-made protein drinks.  You can bring protein powders with you to mix up with milk the cabin attendant  can supply on board, just ask for a plastic glass or styrofoam mug  and use your plastic fork..but you will be stirring a lot...personally a protein bar is the best solution for the hungries...

In Spain they have supermarkets (they are everywhere in every country, and range all sizes from the huge hypermarkets to small corner stores), so you can buy anything you want and think you can eat...( all kinds of  fruits, yogurt, olives, cheeses, ham slices, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes,  nuts, whatever) for your snacks...You won't find protein shakes or bars, so suggest you bring those with you in your checked luggageand in amounts suitable  for the duration of your trip.

Restaurants in other European countries are much like in Spain ir anywhere else...choose fish or meat and veggies, ask them to hold the potatoes or rice if you are not strong enough to resist fries and whatever...or remove from your meal plate if it arrives despite requesting no fries ( use your bread and butter plate or a saucer to put your main plate rejects, like you would do in a restaurant here at home)...Frankly, you won't have any difficulties eating for an RnY surgery oevr there....not any more than you would have over here...

Edited:  Forgot to add that when you return home, make sure you've consumed all the nuts, dates and fruit and cheeses you brought in your hand luggage as snacks during the flight(s), as you are not allowed to bring in any food at all into the USA.

Thank you everybody!  All sounds like good advice... and I think I'll invest in some powered protein packets (I usually drink the EAS 42g shakes) as the liquid shakes sound like a no-no.

Honestly I can't wait for the seafood... I love it so, and in Illinois where I live it's all crap!

Audrey

shrimps or cuttlefish ( "sepias" which are more tasty than calamari) on the grill, basted in olive oil and garlic as they cook...YUM...(you are not going to be able to avoid at least 1 slice of baguette bread to soak up the garlicky olive oil...)...Fresh fish on the grill, basted in lemon juice and olive oil. and a  green salad, or a sliced tomato and diced green onion salad...(Argh...can I come?  I'll help you eat well!!! ) Hotel breakfasts tend to be carby (continental breakfasts with sweet bready stuff and jams) so buy yogurt and fruit and cheese/ham ( to make "roll ups") at a supermarket, and go have a coffee at a sidewalk cafe....I also brought some SF single serving pouches of oatmeal to eat at hotels where breakfast was included in hotel room price...I ate what I could from what they offered ( lucky if I had a piece of fruit or a yogurt and coffee) and if nothing I could eat available, I  had their coffee or tea  and asked for ho****er and leche caliente  and a soup plate or bowl to stir my oatmeal pouch together...I often had a piece of fruit like a banana or an apple in my purse  I could dice up into the oatmeal  ...presto: edible RnY friendly breakfast. You could use one of your protein powder pouches and ask for leche fria y un tenedor ( cold milk and a fork, the latter to stir like mad)...

So easy to travel...no problemo!

I travel quite a bit for business in US and Europe. I always pack ready made shakes in my checked baggage--double bag them in grocery bags just in case though I've never had a spill of any kind. And I bring protein bars for the plane ride. I've also brought powder and a shaker cup on board to use with milk supplied in flight in the early days but now I find I'm fine with the protein portion of the provided meal and have protein bar with me just in case. As others have said, it's really not a problem at all. Have a wonderful trip!

Lovely thread! 

I'm going to be out of the country for a week in December and for three weeks in February. So I'm worried about it too. More worried about the longer vacation than the shorter one.

The short vacation will begin and end in Miami (cruise in the Carribean) and I will have no issues bringing enough protein powder for my beverages for that vacation.

The one I worry about the most, since I'm perpetually drinking protein shakes, is the 3 week vacation. It will cost me $5 for ever pound over the alotment on the way out, and $14/pound for every pound over alotment on the way back. (which is great, because if I bring 3 to 5 pounds of protein shakes with me, I'll use them up or leave them behind in the end.)

I've been trying to decide if I should have a medic alert bracelet. I am more worried about the hypoglycemia than the RNY. The first trip is mostly to spanish speaking countries and I'm fluent, the second one is to Australia and New Zealand, so the language doesn't bother me and I'm pretty sure it'll work out just fine in the end.

Good luck and report back on how awesome it was! 

I will definitely report back, and you too!

Audrey