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Travelling With Fibromyalgia

March 11, 2019 Comments : 8

A girl with pink hair wearing a black flowery dress sits on the floor of the Elbe Tunnel, Hambury, during a Fibromyalgia flare up

If you look at the picture above, you’ll probably think it’s a nice shot of me, taken by a professional photographer in Hamburg, and maybe not notice anything wrong, right? Well, if you know me well or if you look closely, you may notice the pain on my face. This was taken at the end of a very long day in Hamburg, the day after an even longer day, when I’d not slept well, it was freezing cold, I’d been on my feet all day, and the photographer wanted me to sit down on the kerb for the photo. This face sums up travelling with Fibromyalgia, for me.

As someone who travels a fair bit, mostly solo, travelling with Fibromyalgia is more difficult. As I’m newly diagnosed (I’ll be covering that soon on the blog) the condition is still completely new to me anyway, and before this trip I’d JUST started new medication. My emotions were all over the place, my pain was bad, made worse by lots of walking and the cold weather, and I was determined to spend eight days rushing around Hamburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm like I normally would. I soon realised that travelling with Fibromyalgia meant I had to travel differently.

It was hard for me to realise this during the week and I know that others will be in the same boat, so I thought I’d try and help my sharing my tips for travelling with Fibromyalgia, based on the one trip I’ve done so far, and coping strategies I’ve started to find in my day to day life.

Pace yourself

This is the thing I found the hardest, I think. I’m not very good at sitting still, or having a lie down, and resting. I want to cram in as much as possible in each city, if I have an hour left I want to fill it with seeing one last thing-but on my last day in Copenhagen I realised I was exhausted and I just couldn’t walk anymore. I started sitting down for ten minutes at least every couple of hours, using the cold as a handy excuse to go for another cup of tea (or Warm Chocolate, which is a warm version of a Hot Chocolate and therefore at a drinkable temperature) and I found it easier to cope with the pain in Stockholm because I’d paced myself.

Wear layers

I’ve always been a warm person, it’s a joke amongst my team at work that I rarely wear a coat, but since the Fibromyalgia diagnosis I feel changes of temperature so much more. On trips, in the car and even in my house, I need to wear layers, so I can quickly add or remove one depending how I’m feeling. A delightful new symptom is the top half of me is really warm, so I’m in a t-shirt, and my legs feel like ice-so I’m often found with three coats wrapped around my legs because I don’t have a blanket at work. Always wear, or at least pack, layers, including thin but warm scarves which can double as a handy blanket when needed.

Plan public transport

I’ve always been a walk everywhere person, clocking up 20-30,000 steps per day in a new city, but I can’t do that anymore. Walking that much would mean a day in bed the next day and I can’t spare the time, so now I research the city’s public transport before I go. In Hamburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm I used their metro system as often as I could, even if I was just going to the next stop, and it did help.

Take the lift

Or the escalator, or the moving floor in the airport, or the ramp. Steps hurt me the most and so I’ve even started using the lift to go down one floor at work. This is the reason WHY there is a lift, don’t be ashamed to use it. No one has asked me why I’m going down one floor, hopefully they never will but if they do, I’ll explain.

Ask for help

If you need a hand lifting your bag into the overhead locker, ask if someone else can help. If you need a seat, ask someone to move. I appreciate this is hard and not everyone feels comfortable doing so but genuinely, most people will help.

Have you ever experienced travelling with Fibromyalgia or any other health condition? Do you have tips to add?

Previous:
48 Hours In Copenhagen
Next:
48 Hours In Hamburg

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Comments

  1. Kizzy says

    April 8, 2019 at 5:18 pm

    Travelling can be stressful even when you are feeling 100% so I can only imagine how difficult it is if you are struggling with your health too. I have a few friends with Fibromyalgia I’m sure they’d appreciate this post too.

    Reply
  2. Fran Back With A Bump says

    April 8, 2019 at 5:31 pm

    I don’t really know much about Fibromyalgia but it sounds like it’s tough to deal with. I hope you can get some relief and things get easier x

    Reply
  3. Sabina Green says

    April 9, 2019 at 9:22 am

    I know a few people who suffer and it is so tough on them. One I know either feels freezing cold, especially across his tummy, or he is sweating hot. Great tips here for this invisible illness.

    Reply
  4. Lynndee says

    April 9, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    I’ve only heard of Fibromyalgia on TV. I haven’t experienced having it nor know anyone who is suffering from it. Thank you for sharing your story and for sharing the tips. This would be helpful to those who are suffering from it.

    Reply
  5. Sonia says

    April 10, 2019 at 9:35 am

    I cared with someone with CFS for a long time and defiantly agree with all of these especially pacing yourself and not over doing things. Take care of yourself lovely x

    Reply
  6. Melanie says

    April 10, 2019 at 7:47 pm

    Not heard much about Fibromyagia, but it is great to see posts like this that spread the word for sure. Top tips xx

    Reply
  7. Nadia says

    April 15, 2019 at 10:21 pm

    Sounds like great tips for anyone in a similar situation. Well done for sharing

    Reply
  8. Emmie Togneri says

    May 9, 2019 at 10:43 pm

    I really struggle with walking as well now which is a pain as I’m on my feet all day for work and I’m just eating pain killers like they’re sweets at this point! More specialist appointments soon to try and tweak my treatment plan so it more tailored to being effective but really struggling until then. It’s a lifesaver to research public transport! Great post, thank you 🙂 x

    Reply

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About Me

Welcome to my little corner of the Internet! I'm Laura, a 33 year old Yorkshire girl aiming to see as much of the world as I can, usually by myself. I'm a big fan of animal print, bright lipstick, gin liqueurs, cocktails, photography, writing and booking flights. I'm in love with a Lhasapoo called Buster and if I don't have my phone, laptop or a camera in my hand, you probably need to ask if I'm feeling okay. I blog about short city breaks, usually solo, on a budget without a hostel in sight. I also cover food reviews, life with Fibromyalgia, and there's a bit of lifestyle content thrown in when the mood takes me. I'm aiming to have visited 40 different countries before I turn 40, so I have 7 years left. Coronavirus has slightly changed my plans for 2020 but so far I'm 17 countries into the challenge and as long as September and October remain safe to travel I'm adding Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Serbia and a couple of others to the list before this year ends. I love working with brands on sponsored/collaborative content and if you're a travel or food related company, or just someone you think I'll love, please do get in touch.

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I absolutely haven't taken Instagram or the blog a I absolutely haven't taken Instagram or the blog all that seriously in 2020 and barely posted on either. That's fine, obviously, but I miss both, so for 2021 I want to be back to daily Instagram posts, finding people to follow that bring me joy, learning the best hashtags to use and trying to make a bit of progress on here. Hoping I'll get a fair bit of travel in in the second half of the year to help with this too. Happy New Year, Instagram!
Walking quickly out of 2020... This year has been Walking quickly out of 2020...

This year has been a bloody weird one hasn't it. Not just with the Pandemic, although obviously that's been a big part of it, but dealing with the hangover from a breakup, trying to make my new house a home, maintaining friendships when I can't see anyone and I'm not good on Zoom, and A LOT of overtime at work. Work has been going really well though and I'm excited to see what 2021 brings me there. I do know that I miss properly using Instagram, and writing on Inside Laura's Head, and I'm currently writing my 2021 goals post as we speak. What are you looking forward to in 2021?
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I've spent today working overtime and listening to I've spent today working overtime and listening to a new audiobook, 'The Year Of Living Danishly' by @mshelenrussell. Ive finished it in a day, loved it and want to go back to Copenhagen now as well as exploring more of Denmark. But for now, I will stay at home, be sensible, and add Denmark to my plan for if things work out for next year. 📷: @fordtography
I'm missing travel, adventure, and sitting watchin I'm missing travel, adventure, and sitting watching the world go by drinking hot chocolate outside pretty houses
I've been home from my trip for 48 hours now and I I've been home from my trip for 48 hours now and I've got that never been away feeling, as well as over 300 photos to edit and at least 6 blog posts to write. I wasnt sure how I'd feel about Vienna and I only had a day there but it turns out it's a city I'll definitely return to, as there's so much more I want to see now. Have you been? 📷: @loras.clicks.photography
My last stop in Vienna (maybe, depending on how I My last stop in Vienna (maybe, depending on how I feel in the morning!) was St Stephens Cathedral where I tried Chimney Cake (yum) and Schnitzel (meh) before heading back to my apartment and collapsing onto the sofa. Tomorrow I have an hour ish to the train, 4 hours on the train, a 2 hour flight then an hours drive home, after maybe 30 mins to get to my car. I suspect Monday is going to be a flare and a half 😑
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