Traveling With Illnesses Part Two--Managing Limitations

Traveling with Illnesses–part two

MANAGE YOUR LIMITATIONS

Now you're planning out your trip, how do you plan for limitations you may have?

Show yourself some grace

So many of us with chronic illnesses expect more from our bodies than what's realistically possible. It's no different when we are on vacation. That's when you need to show yourself some love and patience.

This is really difficult for me. In my everyday life, I struggle with doing and planning more than I should only to find I've over extended myself. When I'm on vacation, I want to see and learn as much as I can about any given place I may be visiting. Therefore, I can be guilty of pushing myself too far. Definitely not good for my body.

By cramming too many activities on your trip, you will experience mental as well as physical burnout. If you push your body past its limits, you can hurt your body by bringing on a flare and/or other negative health conditions. As a result, by focusing on the tasks of a trip, you will miss the point of vacation— to enjoy your experiences while you're away and come back to your everyday life refreshed.

Before planning any vacation, be honest with what you can realistically accomplish in a day. It can be extremely difficult, but try to make peace with what your body does for you everyday no matter what your limitations may be. You may not be able to see and experience everything you want to while on a vacation, but you'll savor the sites you do experience. Furthermore, you'll have a better and more fulfilling vacation. The main reason you vacation in the first place.

Back to the doctor

You have your doctor's permission to travel. You have a plan for your medications. Now you have one more task to do with your medical provider before you make solid plans. If you're prone to flares or exacerbated symptoms of your inflammatory condition, talk to your doctor about how to manage those issues while on vacation. Before I go on any trip, my doctor prescribes a prednisone regimen for me. As a sufferer of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and fibromyalgia for over 20 years, I'm able to sense a flare coming on. I've experienced flares while on vacation, but having prednisone on hand made those trips total successes. Speak with your medical provider on how you can combat medical issues that may arise when vacationing.

Know thyself

Be honest with yourself. If you have a full day of walking and sightseeing, will you be worn out the next day? Sightseeing can take a lot out of a healthy individual, but can be particularly taxing on those of us with chronic illnesses. This is why it's crucial to know how to plan your trip according to your needs.

My suggestion to you is to write down your top 10 sites or activities you want to experience. Now look at your list. How much time will each excursion take to adequately enjoy? Don't be precise. Actually, adding a couple of hours to that time will ensure you can see your destination in a leisurely enjoyable way rather than a precise and hurried fashion.

Next, how many days are you staying at your vacation spot? Is it a few days? A week or two? A month? How does that work with your top 10 list? It may be better to whittle down your list to a top five instead.

Plan your days

I'd never recommend you plan every minute of every day of your trip. To the contrary, I suggest you give yourself plenty of leisure time between each excursion to do nothing more than to take a leisurely stroll or to sit at a nice restaurant and people watch. Enjoy your vacation.

Rest your bones

The best laid plans of mice and men. Murphy's law. Well, they apply to vacations as well. Despite your most detailed plans, things go wrong. There are flares that all the prednisone in the world won't fix. Sometimes your body is just tired. What do you do when your body is exhausted? Rest your bones so you can recharge and heal.

I was in Europe on a month-long trip. I went to Scotland, Ireland, London and Paris. During the third week of my vacation, I was totally spent. I had been in London for 10 days. The Star Wars convention was over. My friends who had met me there in London for a week had flown home. My body was absolutely tired.

To recover, I spent the day in my hotel room eating take-out and watching reruns of Games of Thrones. It really was the last thing I wanted to do while in London, but my body needed the rest, so I took it. I'm so glad I did. That day of rest was what my body needed to recharge and refresh. I absolutely had the best time for the rest of my trip in London and Paris. Literally, that was the best thing I needed on my trip to have a fabulous vacation. Listen to your body on vacation.

Communicate with your travel-mates

Talk with your travel-mates if you are traveling with others or meeting up with people while you are vacationing. Let them know what's going on with you. Whether it's stiff joints, anxiety, or brain fog, the people in your group should want to understand what you're dealing with. It’s difficult to tell others about the limitations you're experiencing because no one wants to be a burden or slow their companions down. That's often why I travel solo!

But seriously, friends and family are likely to understand your situation. Furthermore, they'll be caring enough to be sensitive to your needs. Trust that their love for you will overshadow whatever activity they may want to see. At least they'll walk slower so you can keep up!

I had to do that when I vacationed in Japan. I had recently been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, I was suffering a rheumatoid arthritis flare, and I was going through some major brain fog. Japan's train system is quite complex, and when we were looking for a route, my companion had to repeatedly tell me the same directions. I could feel her frustration. I was getting frustrated with myself and finally I had to explain I was having major brain fog. Not being the type of person who likes to air my weaknesses (yeah I'm prideful as hell), I was on the verge of tears from embarrassment. But guess what? she understood! She was also sensitive to my rheumatoid arthritis flare as well.

Having these types of conversations can be uncomfortable, but it helps all parties involved. Be fair to your companions. Share what you're going through. Think of it this way–it’s part of an experience you came together to share.

Relax, it's a vacation

Regardless of how much preparation you make for any trip, things do not always go as planned. You know, that's okay. We get away for experiences, to relax and have a different atmosphere. Most importantly, it's how we respond to these experiences that create memories for better or worse.

Try not to get perturbed if you have a minor health issue while on vacation. You take all the precautions you can, that's the best you can do. Expectations make all the difference. If you expect a perfect trip, you're going to be upset when something you didn't anticipate happens. Ride the waves when they unexpectedly happen rather than fight it.

Get in shape

If you're planning to do a lot of sightseeing while on vacation, you're going to do a lot of walking or moving. The average sightseer walks eight to 12 miles a day when vacationing. That's a lot of steps. If you're not used to that, you're going to be exhausted. If you have physical limitations, that can spell overexertion and pain. If you have the ability, get yourself into shape to prepare for your trip.

Whenever I travel, I go sightseeing. I love learning about people, cultures and the history that shape the places I visit. I've definitely walked 10 plus miles a day touring many sites. For me and my illnesses, that can be quite challenging.

There was a stark difference from my vacation in Europe to my vacation in Japan and it was all due to how I prepared my body.

A tale of two vacations

Before I traveled to Europe, I did a great deal of self-care. With the plans I had, I knew I would be on my feet for the majority of my vacation. So, I got a good pair of walking shoes. A great pair of walking shoes gives your feet and body the energy to move because your feet stay comfortable and don't get worn out quickly. I promise it's absolutely worth it. Your back, legs and feet will thank you for it! I also got myself a manicure and pedicure right before my trip. My feet felt and looked fresh. I recommend a pedicure to prepare your feet for the demands of your trip even if you're walking on the beach. Besides, if you go barefoot or wear sandals, you don't want your feet to feel and look like crusty bricks!

Second and most important, I made a point to exercise and walk more everyday. It was the single best thing I did for my trip. I visited Scotland, Ireland, London and Paris. All in 29 days and much on foot. I took a bunch of tours, went to many museums, and ventured out on my own excursions. I met up with my friends for a week in London and spent four days in a hot Jedi costume at the Star Wars convention. It was more physical exertion than I anticipated. That extra three to five days a week of exercise before I went was the key to make that trip a total success.

Although my trip to Japan was an absolutely amazing vacation, preparation would have helped me a great deal. This is where I should have heeded my own good advice. As I stated earlier I had to show myself some grace. I had several series of unfortunate events before my vacation that exacerbated my stress and I neglected the need for self-care.

A couple months before my vacation Western Washington experienced a cold snap. Rodents decided to make a home in my car and did over $7,000 worth of damage. So strange because it never happened before, but this is one of those things, I guess. Either way, I used my comprehensive insurance but the $1,000 deductible hit my vacation savings fund.

Second, the son of my close friend who died suddenly two years prior called me. His wife was taking my friend's dog, whom I loved a great deal, to be euthanized because of old age and a poor quality of life. Although the pup had a long, happy life, it was still emotional for me. I drove home up into my driveway. I thought my golden Newfoundland, Quinn, was in the house. No, he was in the driveway and I pinned him under my car. I thought I ran him over! I imagined Quinn sustaining horrible internal injuries and I was in total distress. So my roommate and I picked him up and loaded him in the car. I rushed him to the emergency pet hospital.

Turns out despite being in shock, he was totally fine. Quinn spent the night in the hospital for observation and because of all the tests, we found out he has degenerative disc disease in his spine.

Quinn is now being treated for the spinal issue and he's moving better than he was before. It worked out the best way possible, but I was totally just stressed that I carelessly hit my baby boy.

That accident cost more than $4,000. Thankfully, I have pet insurance, but the 20% I was responsible for was another major hit to my Japan vacation fund. Because of these events I had to find a way to get money fast.

From there I started two businesses: dog grooming and deep cleaning house services. In addition to my dog sitting business, these two types of businesses probably weren't the best idea with my health. That became quickly apparent.

With all the work I was doing, I falsely thought I had no time for exercise and self-care. I was definitely not attending to my health and I was curiously gaining weight at a rapid rate. I was extremely tired and my heart was fluttering all the time. It all came to a head one day when I took my pulse.

Breathing was a struggle, so I took my pulse and it was weak and thready. I went to the hospital and I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. After three days in the hospital, I was prescribed heavy water pills and was directed to rest. Either way, I was determined to go to Japan

I did. I had a fantastic time. However, there was a stark difference in my stamina in Japan from two years prior for my trip to Europe. I do realize that I was slowed down by a newly diagnosed congestive heart failure diagnosis, but I surely would have moved better in Japan if I had spent more time exercising before I left.

The trip involved a lot of walking. Several times on my excursions I had to stop for a break. At the end of each day I was exhausted! my legs ached and several of the 20 days I was on vacation my feet were swollen.

Speaking of feet, I didn't think about a new pair of shoes. I used the pair I wore in Europe. Not a good idea. I neglected to examine that pair of shoes before I left and I found out much too late the supports in the shoes were worn. Walking was a bit uncomfortable, but I did get through it. Although Japan was one of my favorite vacations ever, I could have lessened some of my discomfort during the vacation if I had gotten a solid pair of walking shoes and exercised before I left.

Take away

1. Show yourself some grace and appreciate your abilities no matter how limited. Your body is the only one you're given and you have to care for it as best as you can. That includes what you're able to do on vacation.

2. Be realistic with what you can accomplish on your vacation. Write down five to 10 things you really want to do or see while on your trip.

3. Plan out your days while on your vacation, but don't jam activities in every waking moment on your trip. Plan out what you want to do, but give yourself plenty of leisurely time. Whether it's something as simple as getting a beverage and people-watch. Remember you're on vacation.

4. If you get tired while on vacation, take a break. A few hours or even a day of rest will help your body heal and possibly avoid a flare or exacerbated pain.

5. Get yourself a great pair of walking shoes on vacation to help your body move better and care for your feet. Do some exercise before leaving. Walking more can do wonders to help you be better prepared while on vacation.

By keeping these tips in mind when on your vacation, you will be better prepared to manage your conditions while on your trip. Those of us with chronic illness or any medical condition may have to take extra steps to ensure we have a wonderful vacation, but it is possible.

Me in Hakone, Japan 2025

Me in Versailles, France 2023