I’ve written about travelling with Fibromyalgia, and some of the things I do differently, before on Inside Laura’s Head. During my May 2022 trip (originally planned as Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Helsinki, Budapest, Bratislava and Zagreb) it became clear that, actually, my broken body can’t handle being on the go for more than about a week, and more than four cities in one trip is just too much. I ended up changing my plans and after my flight to Budapest I got the bus straight to Bratislava, stayed at an airport hotel for the night and then flew home the next morning. I even splurged on the bus booking and spent an extra £10 for the very front seat with a panoramic view and the empty seat next to me, so I could fully relax. I actually slept for a lot of that journey as it turns out, so if you’re booking a coach I’d highly recommend paying the extra for both seats to yourself if you can.
The thing with Fibromyalgia, for me anyway, is that I can have a serious of fairly okay days. I’m always limited by my pain levels, I’m always tired, but if I can manage to work a full day and then have a friend over in the evening, I can nearly forget I’m disabled. Which means that when a bad day hits, either because of a flare up or a series of days where I’ve done too much (like walking 20 thousand steps a day in four different cities, and an overnight bus) I can’t do much, if anything. This doesn’t work that well when I’m away for too long because the longer I’m away, the more likely I am to have a flare up, and I’m so bad at actually resting. Being on a trip for me means cramming in as much as I possibly can because chances are I won’t be in that city again, and that just doesn’t work well with Fibromyalgia.
On my most recent trip to Bratislava and Budapest when J came to meet me, I did rest a lot, because he was around and we wanted to spend time relaxing together in our apartment. I had no pain flares and a couple of fatigue flares on that trip and both were dealt with quickly because he helped, but as I’m normally travelling solo that’s not usually the case.
Deciding to cut the trip short in May was a really difficult decision. I knew I was struggling, I knew it was going to get worse but I really, really wanted to see the cities I had left on my list and I felt like going home early meant I’d failed. I still do, if I’m really honest, but between then and writing this post in November I’ve given myself permission to listen to my body and rest a bit more. I’ve also realised I need to plan trips better to involve rest periods. Hopefully going forward I’ll do a lot better, but cancelling or amending a trip when I need to isn’t a bad thing anyway.
Have you ever needed to cancel a trip part way through, for health reasons or otherwise?
I’m sorry to hear you had to cut the trip short. I’m sure many other people are in the same situation as you, and this post will really help them to not feel alone. Thank you for sharing x
You are very brave and strong for choosing to do what is best for you. I hope you can eventually tick those cities off your list again someday!
Regards,
Lena
I’m sorry to hear you had to cut your trip short but it’s so important to listen to your body and do what’s right for you x
Hi just came across your site. I’m sorry you had to end your trip early. I can relate when it comes on to Fibromyalgia along with other related issues due to the fact that I’m mostly confined at home. And yes I always mostly have to cancel trips because of health reasons. but the determination to never give up is what gives strength. I like that even though you are still able to enjoy what you love. I hope you feel better soon.
Thanks for sharing, sorry to hear that you had to cut your trip short, I have been lucky that I have not had to cut mine short yet to, so hopefully I will never have to do that 🙂