Traveling With Fibromyalgia

I love to travel. I love going to new places and seeing new things. I even enjoy driving to the destination, because I can enjoy the countryside and take whatever I like along. The problem with travel is my fibromyalgia. I am a very high functioning, energetic person for someone with fibro, but I have to compensate for it.

I like to drive, but my trouble spots are the spot between my shoulder blades and my lower back. Driving to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan required 14 hours in a car, one way, for a total of 28 hours of driving round trip. I made very good time on the trip, but sitting for that long causes a flare-up of pain in my problem spots. My back tightens up, the pain radiates down my arms and up my neck. Sciatica flares in my legs, especially my right one, and the disruption of my normal routine can set off my IBS.

Knowing that these problems are likely, it is probably difficult to understand why I like to travel, but I do and I plan for it. First, I made sure I had enough muscle relaxer, Ambien, and Tylenol for the trip. I tend to use these drugs sparingly, but they are invaluable for combating the onset of a flare. Next, I made sure I carried foods I normally eat, so that my diet wasn't too disrupted. During the drive, I stopped briefly every two hours or so, just to get out and walk around. This helped alleviate the muscle stiffness.

Finally, I made sure I got adequate sleep. On the outward trip, I took both the Ambien and the muscle relaxer the first night, to give my body adequate rest after the drive. I woke up the first day in Michigan feeling quite good. I even got a nice bike ride in that day. My mistake that night was not taking a muscle relaxer after the bike ride. My arms went numb, and my second night of sleep was not as good as the first. I still managed to fit in two days of hiking as well as three interviews. I was doing pretty well.

Things started to fall apart at the end of the trip. My last day in Michigan, we spent a day traveling around the UP. I wasn't doing the driving, but being in a car for a whole day, aggravated the upper back.
The pain radiated up my neck into my jaw. I could feel the muscles spasms in my jaw. Throughout the day, I performed the isometric exercises I learned in physical therapy to settle the spasms. They helped a bit, but I could still feel the tension in my jaw. I couldn't afford to take a muscle relaxer that night because I had to get up very early the next morning to embark on my return trip. Muscle relaxers effects can linger and make you groggy. I settled on half an Ambien to ensure that I at least slept.

I was wide-awake for the entire drive back, but my back, neck, and jaw were knotted in pain by the time I reached Canada. My TMJ (temporal mandibular jaw syndrome) was the worse I had seen it in years. My head was throbbing so badly in Canada, I had to take some Tylenol. That dulled the pain, but didn't erase it.

If you watched me on the last leg of the journey, you would have seen me doing all sorts of gyrations trying to stretch out the tension in my neck and jaw. I made it home, and again I took the Ambien, more Tylenol, and my muscle relaxer. Miracle of miracles, I woke up the next morning pain-free. The muscle relaxer and a good night's sleep had done their work. The spasms had subsided. 

By planning for the worst, I managed to avoid a major flare, I avoided the fatigue of fibromyalgia, and I enjoyed the trip immensely. Yes, I had a few set backs, but back when I assiduously avoided drugs, the effects of travel were a lot worse. I would often be extremely fatigued, and it would take weeks to recover from IBS.

For some tips on planning for travel, google traveling with Fibromyalgia. I have included a link here to some tips: Ten Tips for Travel.