My AI disease has more or less been in remission for about 6 months (the doctor officially gave me that status in July). As such, I was very optimistic about my travel plans to Turkey and Egypt for November. I mean, I would have gone on the trip regardless, there was just less planning around how to manage than there would have been before (I almost wrote worry instead of planning, but truth be told I am able to limit my anxieties around travel because it is a values-based activity for me). Travel for me, means going on adventures – doing as much as I can, eating whatever I want, and just having as amazing an experience as I possibly can…
And I did. I ate my way through Istanbul. Did 2 walking tours, climbed a tower, went on a boat ride down the Bosphorus, had drinks on a rooftop patio looking out at the Galata Tower. In Egypt I went on a Nile dinner cruise, saw the Great Pyramids of Giza, had an authentic night out with friends (1 of which is a local) in downtown Cairo, went to the Citadel, the Egyptian Museum, Temple of Karnak and Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings and Queen Hateshpsut’s Temple, and did a hot air balloon ride over Luxor. Literally packed so much in. And then came home to some body aches and pain, an upset stomach, and a cold.
To be fair, the cold could’ve been (a) because there is one going around that I’ve been told about many times, or (b) because I was up for almost 36 hours (minimal plane sleep due to crying infant) and had to run through an airport in order to catch my last flight home. However, what is important for me to remember is that remission could go away if I’m not careful. So, here are three lessons I’ve learned when travelling while in remission from AI.
- Getting enough rest. Sure, if your vacation is all about laying on a beach, it’s easy to pace, get enough rest and enough sleep. If you’re like me and prefer an adventure vacation, then it’s important to not overdo it. To be honest I think I overall paced well. Only 1 (maybe 2) activities per day – until the last day, in which I crammed more in. I struggled with the sleep part, again, particularly at the end of the trip. Being awake for 23 hours before boarding my first flight was perhaps not the greatest idea. And while I don’t regret the activity I did that sacrificed sleep, I think that squeezing in some rest/nap time, as impossible as it seemed, would have helped me a lot. So don’t forget to (a) Pace your activities, (b) rest between activities, and (c) get 8ish hours of quality sleep every night (and don’t stay up too long!)
- Watch what you eat. I had cut out dairy and gluten and meat last fall, which has really helped me a lot. On the trip I ate a lot of dairy, gluten and meat. It is possible to have limited some of this (the gluten would have been hard). And I did have days where I limited the meat and dairy in particular because I could tell it was rocking my body in all the not good ways. While I think it’s important to always be flexible (including with diet), flexible doesn’t mean swinging to the opposite extreme. Lesson learned.
- Keep stress low. Theoretically my vacation was relatively stress free. At least the vacation part of the vacation was. The travel part was not. Pretty much every plane was delayed, and/or we were running through airports to catch flights. Much of this was out of my control, of course, and yet taking more time to meditate, ground or recharge (on the flights for example) would likely have helped me get my stress levels back down much faster. I did keep up my meditation practice (for the most part) throughout the trip, which was likely helpful as well.
Staying in remission is a delicate balance. I got here through a change of diet, consistent exercise, and stress reduction, so it makes sense that changes away from those things that have helped me could lead back to AI flares. As Alanis Morrissette once said, you live you learn and that’s all any of us can really do. I’m going to continue to pay attention to and honour my body in anyway I can (at home and while travelling) – and I hope you do too – so that we can keep making the most of it!
Chronically Living 