How traveling with a chronic illness went from good to bad to what the heck just happened!

 

Traveling with multiple chronic illnesses has never been easy.  This was extremely frustrating for someone who loved going on road trips or flying across the country.  Before becoming chronically ill I never had to consider my illnesses which include, but are not limited to, fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, and endometriosis.  All I had to do was throw some clothes in a bag and head off to destinations unknown.

Even though I didn’t receive my first diagnosis until 2001, symptoms from all of my conditions began interfering with my life as early as 1998 when a weekend that was supposed to be spent at the beach was instead spent in bed.  In 1999, I spent two days out of my seven day honeymoon cruise in bed because of pain and fatigue.  By 2000 I could no longer drive from Denver, CO to Phoenix, AZ without needing to nap at rest areas and stop to sleep at a hotel for a night. By fall of 2003 I had received all of my diagnoses.  Instead of experiencing any sort of relief or improvements my pain and fatigue levels continued to escalate.  All vacations from that point on until the end of 2015 required more time spent in bed than exploring and they took weeks or months to recover from.  I began to loathe traveling.  What was the point of spending money to travel when all I did was see the walls of my hotel room?

*This post contains affiliate links. I am not a medical professional and nothing I say should be mistaken for medical advice.  All thoughts, opinions, and experiences are mine and mine alone and have in no way been influenced by the products I endorse.

Things began changing when I decided to make changes to how I planned and prepared for my getaways in December of 2015.  I didn’t have to travel far, we spent 5 days at Disneyland and were only 45 minutes from home. But this trip did require my being able to function for 5 days in a row because I was spending it with my best friend and wanted to enjoy every moment. By listening to my body I was able to spend time in the park with my best friend and her family every day.  I didn’t always last for the entire day, but long enough to create lasting memories.  Had I not obeyed my body I would have been lucky to have enjoyed one or two days out of the hotel.  From that point I learned to accept that I would have to limit my time out of bed and be happy with the time I spent out of it.

Then something amazing happened in the summer of 2017.  For the first time in what feels like ages, I only had to spend one of the nine days we were on vacation in bed.  The rest of the trip was spent laughing with family, going out to eat, and sightseeing.  Nor did I need much recovery time.  In fact I was back to my normal routine within days.  Even better was the fact that not since 2005 had I been able to get through a vacation without the use of a wheelchair, but on this trip I only needed to use it for one day! Thrilled by this experience I excitedly planned our next vacation which I just returned from last week.  This vacation was even better!!! My body did NOT need any days in bed, nor did I have to use a wheelchair.  In fact I only took three one hour naps throughout my entire 8 day vacation!!!  Even more impressive was that I was also able to reach my daily fitness goal of 10,000 steps per day and then some each and every day!! This included the days that we were traveling!!!! If that wasn’t enough, there has been no recovery time needed.  I jumped right back into my regular schedule the moment I returned home and have continued to do so.

Wondering why this was possible? It all comes down to the changes I have made in regards to how I treat my chronic illnesses and pain early in 2017.  The first change I made was adding exercise to my weekly routine.  I began with exercising 2-3 times per week and increased as my body allowed.  The second thing I did was to add PEMF therapy with Oska Pulse to my pain management plan.  This device reduced inflammation and pain better than anything I had tried in the past and combined with medical marijuana I was able to increase my physical activity.  This year I began making more changes by cleaning up my diet.

I credit how well I did on this vacation to NOT taking a break from how I treat my conditions, exercising, and following my dietary restrictions as closely as possible.  While away I continued my pain relief treatments the same as I do at home with the exception of increasing treatments when I experienced an increase of pain.  I thought I had sentenced myself to spending the remainder of my vacation in bed after my best friend and I walked 3.4 miles around Tempe Town Lake. I could barely walk or stand that evening, but after running multiple PEMF treatments to my knees, hips, and back along with rubbing my muscles and joints with my favorite topical CBD oil from Bio CBD+, I was up and walking without pain the next morning.  When my body asked for a nap, I gave it one.  To continue with my smoothie breakfast bowls, I packed my Ninja Juicer and went grocery shopping the night we arrived in Phoenix.  I refused to allow being on vacation to be an excuse for eating like crap and gaining weight.  I exercised and carefully selected what I ate each and every day, including our travel days. Before hopping into our car I went for a morning walk, then walked at the rest area and gas station, and  walked again when we reached our destination.  My reward was getting to laugh and spend time with my friends and family.  The memories made, which include dancing at my God daughter’s wedding, have filled my heart with joy. Click here to see my terrible dance moves.

I am so thankful that I added PEMF therapy to my pain management plan. In the years that I was treating my chronic illnesses solely with medical marijuana, I was able to reduce the widespread and reactionary pain to the point of being able to recognize my pain sources. Oska Pulse now helps me reduce the pain and inflammation in those areas. The combination has gifted me with the energy and stamina needed to be physically active every day.

My improvements didn’t occur over night. It took months before I experienced a drastic reduction of pain in my spine, tailbone, hips, and feet. It took a year to reach the amount of distance that I’m able to walk today. I use my device daily for a minimum of 20 treatments each day. Most days I use it from the time I wake up until I go to bed. When I first began my PEMF treatments I often needed to medicate with medical marijuana during the day in addition to before bed every night.  Now, a year later, I no longer need to use anything besides my Oska Pulse and topical CBD oil for daily pain relief.  I still medicate with marijuana at bedtime, because I would never sleep without it, but the amount of medication needed has decreased greatly in the past year.

Don’t give up trying to improve your chronic life, pain level, or vacation experience! Continue seeking new ways to do what you want and always listen to your body!

What have you done that has improved your vacation experience?

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