Travel issues

[drz]

I know in past we have had considerable discussion about various issues related to traveling away from home. One of the big ones is getting insurance that will cover you in another country. The other is how you would get access to good emergency care in another country since it is often difficult to find in our home areas as few doctors know much about GPA.

I have been told also it is inadvisable for me to travel to places with a higher risk of getting an infection due to having a poor or broken immune system. And to avoid places without good medical services or quick access to such services if needed. Any place that requires an immunization that uses a live virus would also be out.

Traveling was one of my retirement dreams but I have done very little except for short medical trips since I was diagnosed with Wegs almost four years ago. My two excuses besides though above are lack of energy to handle the busy demands of most tours and limited finances due to now having extra high medical costs to maintain my health after having GPA and damage it caused to my body. A divorce also hurt my finances badly. My attorney fees alone would have covered a nice cruise around the world.

I still dream of doing some limited travel and looking as possible options in seems short cruises might be best option for me. They usually have ship doctor with some services available. Many even offer dialysis for people on a cruise. They usually stop every day or two at a port where one cold fly home if necessary. I carry such insurance to cover return home or to nearest qualified medical facility. Cruises usually don't have a real busy schedule so getting enough rest and naps should also be an option.

What travel arrangements have you found best for you. I know many here have done some rather extreme vacations and long trips abroad without much trouble but how about those of us that feel more limited by our Wegs and it damage to our body? What works for us?

[andrew]

The two biggest things for me has been rest and hydration. Keep yourself hydrated - LOTS of water! I can't emphasise this enough!! This can be particularly difficult when overseas and everything is amazing and the adrenaline is high. I had a major issue caused by pushing myself too far a couple of years ago in Poland. Lovely country but not the best place for me to disintegrate LOL!!

This year when I went to France I scheduled rest days - just doing absolutely nothing except watching TV I couldn't understand, drinking lots of water and eating foreign food Coped MUCH better this time. My mate who I travelled with knows all about the WG so he would just go off and do his own thing for the day. I have a massive trip planned next year so these things will be even more important.

Lastly DRZ I hope your travel dream comes true even in a limited fashion. That cruise you mention sounds awesome

[chrisTIn@]

I cannot add much tips to this excellent advice of Andrew.
However, I have a question.
When travelling, I use plastic waterbottles that contain mineral water.
My daughter emailed me an article today, in which is stated: quote:

Studies show that you can prevent getting cancer later on in life by simply making life style changes.
Lots of our daily habits these days will cause us to have cancer in our lives so we have to make changes now before it is too late.
The compound found in plastic bottles is known as BPA. This is considered very toxic and is found in all water bottles.
To avoid this look for bottles that say " BPA FREE" on the labelling and stay away from canned food.

Have any of you heard of BPA, and...
Is this for any of you a reason NOT to drink water out of plastic bottles?
I'm pretty much in doubt now... Always thought this mineral water was so healthy,
and I find little plastic bottles better to carry and to handle than glass bottles.

Any advice?

[mishb]

Christine, it seems like everything these days will give you cancer.........I wish they knew what gave us WG

I think the last thing I read about the plastic bottles is that you shouldn't continually refill them because as the plastic starts to breakdown, then the carcinogens leach out.

I have about 4 water bottles on the go at the moment, and I can't see anything on them that would show if it is BPA free or not.

drz - I hope you do manage to get some travelling done, somewhere other that to the doctors.
I have managed two overseas trips so far, and one of my posts has told of the extensive precautions we took whilst travelling.
We have also, always, put in rest days, where I can just sit around and read or watch telly or catch up with sleep.
As Andrew says, this is very important.

I am of the opinion that if you can go at least three to six months without needing medical intervention, then you would be right to travel for a week or two without any problem. Of course the precautions still need to be taken and you need to be aware of any possible emergency that could happen.
Goodness, you don't have to have WG, to need medical help on holidays. Just tripping over your own feet, can land you in a heap of trouble.

Therefore, Water, Rest and Preparation are the keys.

The world is out there waiting for you drz - go out and follow your retirement plans

[MikeG-2012]

The two biggest things for me has been rest and hydration. Keep yourself hydrated - LOTS of water! I can't emphasise this enough!! This can be particularly difficult when overseas and everything is amazing and the adrenaline is high. I had a major issue caused by pushing myself too far a couple of years ago in Poland. Lovely country but not the best place for me to disintegrate LOL!!

This year when I went to France I scheduled rest days - just doing absolutely nothing except watching TV I couldn't understand, drinking lots of water and eating foreign food Coped MUCH better this time. My mate who I travelled with knows all about the WG so he would just go off and do his own thing for the day. I have a massive trip planned next year so these things will be even more important.

Lastly DRZ I hope your travel dream comes true even in a limited fashion. That cruise you mention sounds awesome

I agree with Andrew, HYDRATE. I feel like crud when I haven't had enough to drink during the day and CRASH BAD in the evenings when I haven't properly hydrated. I carry a couple packs of Pedialite drink mixes in my backpack. They have less sodium than the other kinds, and Pedialite gives you the stuff you need to hydrate back if you find yourself in the need and are run down. A couple long distance motorcycle riders put me on to those a few years ago. they are nice in emergencies when you feel dehydrated.

Hope your dreams come tru as you travel! (-8

MikeG-2012

[drz]

I cannot add much tips to this excellent advice of Andrew.
However, I have a question.
When travelling, I use plastic waterbottles that contain mineral water.
My daughter emailed me an article today, in which is stated: quote:




Have any of you heard of BPA, and...
Is this for any of you a reason NOT to drink water out of plastic bottles?
I'm pretty much in doubt now... Always thought this mineral water was so healthy,
and I find little plastic bottles better to carry and to handle than glass bottles.

Any advice?

Most re-usable ones here are now labeled BPA free and they are made of metal, or hard plastic. Glass is safe to re-use but then there is risk of breakage. The throw away plastic ones are ones most likely to leach out harmful chemicals and I try to avoid them. I usually take a re-usable one with me and fill it at home. I try to buy ice tea or some thing in glass container if traveling. I would chose to use a water fountain rather than bottle water in most places where water is safe to drink.

[vdub]

I certainly agree with Andrew about having rest days! When we vacation, we are active only 5 or 6 hrs/day and we schedule down days.

One of problems is getting drugs across the border without a visit to the Bangkok Hilton. I make sure all my scripts (now 23) are totally up to speed and my docs are on speed dial.

I'm going to England this spring. Some of you might be on speed dial :-)