I never dreamed, even a year ago, that I would attempt a trip to Europe that would require an 11 hour flight, and weeks filled with activities!
We will be flying into Rome for a few days, before departing on a Mediterranean Cruise of Italy, Greece, Montenegro and Croatia. After ending up back in Rome, we will fly to London for 4 days. Then I will be flying home and my hubby will meet friends in Scotland for their annual Golf trip! It’s all so very adventurous and exciting for me!
There was a time, just a few years ago, that if I knew I had doctor’s appointment on Thursday, I would have to shower on Weds to get ready, and then recover for a week afterwards. My only activities were doctor visits. I couldn’t even plan dinner with friends, let alone plan a vacation!
Boy has my whole life changed, yet again. This time for the better. I will live with these diseases for the rest of this life, but my pain and symptoms are manageable now, and we are out in the world again, living!
So, here I am getting ready for it and I’ve decided to add posts about this, as I’m doing it all, so that maybe I can share tips and lessons that I learn throughout this next chapter in my journey!
My biggest “fear” right now is that flight! We did book premium economy class because it had a bit more room and a foot rest. First Class certainly would have been nice, right, but it’s way too expensive for us! I’ll be sure to keep you updated on how that goes.
Some of the things that I’m doing to prepare for this I’ll share now.
1 - I’m taking a carry on that can also act as a possible foot rest. I do this on my car rides and it helps tremendously by helping me recline in a way that takes a little pressure off of my sacrum.
2 - I’m taking a pillow to sit on. I still haven’t found a seat cushion that works as well as a simple throw pillow that I picked on sale at Walmart for $10. I’ve tried most of them because we actually own a medical supply business! We sell them! My throw pillow beats them all, so take it from an expert, you don’t have to spend a bunch of money to get relief!
3 - A neck pillow is also going in my carry on. I have a few so I’m going to have to try them all to decide which one offers the best support.
4 - My doctor has prescribed me a stronger muscle relaxer to try to help “knock me out”, so that maybe I can sleep through a lot of the flight. I tried one yesterday because I wanted to test the effects of it, before just using it on the flight. It made me very sleepy and I slept well, at 8:00pm. I’m a night owl so the test was a success!
5 - My doctor has also written me a note to show the airline that it’s very important that I be able to stand and walk around regularly. I’ve heard that some crew members can get picky about this issue, especially now that so many people are traveling, and so many passengers have become very rude. They’re more understanding with a doctor’s note.
Beyond preparing for the travel days, I’ve also got to make sure that I have all of my meds with me in my carry on. I sort my pills in weekly organizers but it’s also very important to have the actual prescription bottles with you.
I also ask my pharmacist to give me a print out of all my current prescriptions. This helps in Customs when you carry so many medications.
While traveling out of the country, of course I take my regular medications, but I also make sure that I have my “rescue medications”, and devices, from my “tool box”.
Those include a Medrol Pack of steroids, in case I have a flare caused by inflammation. It’s always good to have it around in an emergency.
I also take a broad spectrum antibiotic, in the event of an infection. I take medical grade urine strips in particular, since my kidneys often have issues. Ask your doctor which antibiotic that he would recommend.
I keep an emergency prescription of Diamox, in the event that I get a flare caused by high CSF pressure too. This is rare for me now but Diamox is also used for altitude sickness and knowing that I’m going to be on a plane for 11 hours, I want to be prepared.
Lastly I take my blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, and I have a FitBit that can give me an EKG. These are things that just give me peace of mind when my cervical or thoracic cysts act up and cause heart and stroke like symptoms. Again, I really haven’t needed them in well over a year but I’m definitely keeping them close by so I can just check myself without it inconveniencing others and it becoming a big deal.
It’s all about being prepared for any possibility. You don’t want to be in another country and be unprepared.
Another big tip about travel is that, although it’s great to go on a trip with your spouse or significant other, I highly recommend that you find other friends to travel with you.
You don’t need to do everything together, all the time, but having people there that your spouse can do things with, when you’re having a down day, takes a great deal of pressure off of both of you!
This is a particularly a good idea with cruising! You can do as little or as much together as you like and then all meet up for dinner in the evening.
I’m going to try to post updates of the good and the bad, as we enjoy our first big trip to Europe! We leave July 3rd and I’m getting very excited for it!
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