This is my first post since Friday. I've been traveling for work, so I didn't really have time to do much else. Our company flew the entire Executive Team to Las Vegas for our annual summit; we arrived on Sunday and left Tuesday morning. Although we were busy with work events much of the time, we did have a little free time, which I used to get in some naps.
This is the first time I've flown since being diagnosed, and it was hard.
Two of my worst symptoms are vertigo and dizziness, and the flight and stress of travel brought those to the forefront. Add in the dehydration that tends to occur when you fly anyway, and I was not a happy camper on that plane. I tried to drink as much water as I could, but it just wasn't enough, apparently. I ended up being so dehydrated on Monday that I barely urinated until late afternoon, despite drinking gallons of water all day. The increase in vertigo also caused me to struggle with take off and landing...I felt like I was literally going to hurl (cue the deep breathing exercises).
My facial nerve symptoms (pain, heat, fullness) were horrendous while flying. NOTE TO SELF: Take my cooling towels with me the next time I fly. They would have helped tremendously, but they were in my checked bag...where they didn't do shit.
The leg and foot weakness, heaviness and occasional numbness was, naturally, an issue with all of the walking. Even the jaunt from our room to the meeting room was more than my body needed at that stage, and I HATED that this was the case. How the hell did I go from being able to complete two obstacle course races in one weekend, to now barely being able to walk 1/2 mile without feeling like my legs have had enough?? It is so incredibly frustrating to be experiencing these limitations, and to have what was supposed to be a fun, beneficial summit turn into an "I-can't-wait-until-this-is-over" trip. I couldn't wait to get back to my room and sit down, lie down, sleep, etc. My diet sucked, too, because it was Vegas, and I paid for that in terms of additional inflammation from sugar, excess dairy, unhealthy fats, etc.
Between the issues with flying, my utter exhaustion, my headache, my nausea, my jello legs, and my facial issues - I felt like my body was being pistol-whipped.
Don't get me wrong - It was so wonderful of our company to give us such an incredible trip. They paid for us to stay at The Bellagio, one of the nicer Vegas casinos; they paid for our flights, and they gave us spending money (quite a lot of it, actually). They fed us with great meals, took us to see a show (Pen & Teller - AMAZING!), and gave us a great meeting with some good information to take back home.
But, as I said in a prior post, having MS is about learning your own body and how it reacts to things, and how your symptoms manifest - what are your triggers, things that make your symptoms worse. I'm having to learn (reluctantly) how to conserve my energy in small ways throughout each day, so that I don't end up paying for overexertion later.
Note for Non-Ms'ers - Overexertion for someone with MS doesn't look like overexertion for someone without MS. It's different for every person, and may be as simple as sweeping the floors, cooking dinner, or doing laundry. Sometimes, that's enough of an energy drain that we have to take a nap or sit for an hour or so to recharge. Our energy banks are all a different size and shape, and I have to watch mine constantly. I'm not always very good at listening to my body...I tend to push myself too hard most days. But I definitely need to be better at managing my "energy output" a little better...and not being afraid to ask for help when I need it.)
LESSONS I LEARNED
- Stay hydrated
- Easy on the processed sugar and unhealthy fats
- Don't be afraid to say you need a break, or ask for help
Fellow MS'ers - Any tips for travel? Our family lives in Maryland, and we live in Texas. We love it when we get the chance to visit, but I don't want to feel miserable the whole time. Have ya'll found any good strategies for minimizing the impact of your symptoms while traveling?
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