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Travelling solo on a budget, with a chronic illness

Mental Health and Fibromyalgia, Travel

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

Female solo traveller trying to see the world, aiming for 40 countries before I turn 40 in December 2026. Currently 23/40 visited. NEXT: September-Utrecht, Maastricht, Luxembourg City, some German cities yet to be decided, Rotterdam, Amsterdam. October-Bratislava, Budapest, Ljublana, Zagreb. November-Paris, Brugues

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