Traveling with Autoimmune: Must-Know Hacks

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Fantastic. Wow, you'd be great. Problem is they cooked them
in the oven with the same gluten based pizza crusts
and people can have reactions. It's just just the crumbs
of the gluten based pizza crust that gets on colibower
pizza crust. But be aware of that cross contamination and
know that glute and friendly is not the same as

(00:26):
gluten free.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Cue music.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Places and everybody places. We're starting in three two.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Welcome to the Autoimmune Hour, where we look at the
rise of autoimmune disorders. I've brought together top experts that
range from doctors, specialist, nutritionist, researchers, and even those recovering
from autoimmune to bring you the latest, most up to
date information about autoimmunity and how to live your life uninterrupted.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thank you for joining us here on the Autoimmune Hour
with Sharon Sane. Always seek sound, legal, medical, and or
professional advice regarding any problems, conditions, and any of the
recommendations you see here or read here on the auto
Immune Hour, Understanding Autoimmune and Life Interrupted Radio. Join the
auto Immune Hours Courage Club. Sign up now at Understanding
autoimmune dot com. Now back to your host, Sharon Sailor.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Welcome everyone to the auto Immune Hour. I'm Sharonsailor from
sharonslor dot com and it's my honor and pleasure to
be with you here and of course understanding autoimmune dot
com is where you can find over four hundred and
eighty in counting episodes of the show, and I'm so
thankful to be able to still be doing the show
after a decade. I'm doing it today as a solo,

(01:44):
no guest to interview. Today. We're just going to chat
about travel and adventure and live your life regardless of
your diagnosis. Because I'm out traveling. By the time you
see this, I'll be safe and sound at home. I
just thought I have a few minutes here that I
would quickly record some of the things that came to

(02:06):
mind that when I travel. Before I'll say the virus.
I used to travel quite a lot, and then of
course we all had a great big hiatus there in
the middle, and I'm back out traveling again, off and on,
not as much as I was before, but still loving it.
And there's a lot of things I've learned about traveling.

(02:28):
If you have an autoimmune condition or a chronic illness
or disease and I just want to first say you're
not your diagnosis, and not to limit your life based
on your diagnosis. I like to say survivor to Thriver
is where we're all at now. However you to define
Thriver is up to you and to me, it's been incremental.

(02:48):
I'd get Okay, this is better than that. Oh I'm great,
I'm a Thriver. Here, what's the next step? What's the
next baby? Stuff I can take to become even better,
to increase my capacity to overcome certain things that are happening,
whether it was a changes to my diet, better sleep hygiene,
I'll say better sleep. People often misunderstand the word sleep hygiene,

(03:11):
but learning how to sleep better, stress reduction, understanding my
autonomic nervous system, all sorts of things, and that has
allowed me to continue the life that I want to lead,
having adventures around the world, and that's really important to me.
And if it's important to you. Maybe you don't want
around the world. You just want to be able to

(03:32):
go up to the mountains or down to the coast,
something like that. Here's some travel tips for you to consider.
Some of what I'll be talking about is airlines and flights,
but I think it applies to almost any kind of travel. Actually,
most of my adventures tend to involve an airline, so
a little bit of history there. So my first tip,

(03:54):
my first thought is really plan ahead. Now I am
planning more since my diagnosis than I ever did before.
Certainly not just throw on a backpack and a way
you go. Okay. The first thing to do is talk
to your doctor, make sure it's okay, then explain what
you're going to do and what your plans are, and
if they have any tips or tricks or help to

(04:15):
getting you into tiptop shape before that travel date. And
then while you're at the doctor's get a letter from
the doctor that states specifics about your diagnosis and your
care routine, because if Heaven forbid, something happens abroad and
you need someone to better understand your condition. This doesn't

(04:36):
have to be your home medical file, but just certain
things about you that are unique to you, maybe some allergies,
or if you have specific conditions like maybe balance issues
and somebody might think it's something else, you can just
have your doctor describe some of the uniquenesses about you

(04:57):
and then also ask. Sometimes the descriptions won't allow you
to get larger bottles or smaller bottles. I like to
get a little small bottle because I can always have
that in reserve. So I always take extra of any
prescription medications or supplements I have, or a large bottle.
Sometimes if you're going to be gone a long time,
you won't be able to get that prescription as easily,

(05:18):
So judge how much medication you'll need, and always take
some extra. A little tip about medication and supplements, always
take them in the original bottle. That way, whenever anybody
wants to check your luggage, there's no question about what
is this weird looking capsule or this weird looking pill, Right,
it's in the original bottle, you've got the prescription number,

(05:40):
or it's in the supplement bottle. So that's just a
quick way to avoid any misunderstandings or mishaps there. And
for extras, you never know, some could get ruined who knows,
So you fall in the pool who knows, and so
have plenty and have extras with you so you don't
have to worry about finding it. Ad Also, any over

(06:02):
the counter medications that you like, a lot of them
are available worldwide, but oftentimes in different names, and you're
like I don't see what I'm looking for. So if
you have over the counter products that you require, go
ahead and take some of those with you as well.
And plus I also have a little first aid kit.
I find that really important to take, and nowadays it

(06:25):
contains a mask, it contains hand sanitizer, it actually contains
gloves as well as tissues. Let's see what else does
it have in it. I should have brought it here
with me right now. But just consider our first daid
bag doesn't have to be fancy, doesn't have to be
a lot, whatever it is that you feel you might need,
because that saves time and trying to find something abroad.

(06:49):
Like I said, oftentimes in foreign countries the names are
different than what we know them by, and so it's
always important to have what you need and think ahead
like an outlaw about if you have it, you probably
won't need it, and that's the best way to plan.
I think one time I took a trip to Europe
and this particular country, I don't know why I didn't know.

(07:11):
I guess I didn't think about it. In hindsight, I
probably knew, I just didn't think about it. But this
particular country had a lot of stairs, a lot of
steps and a lot of cobblestone, and that took extra
effort for me to do. I was prepared for the walking,
but not prepared for all of those stairs. So that's

(07:34):
another part of plan I had. With your doctor's help
or your fitness expert or your physical therapist's help, work
out a routine that will keep you being able to
go at the level that you want to go on
your adventure. You can start months beforehand, and hey, a
little bit of extra help that way never hurts to
build up your strength. And so to keep those kinds

(07:56):
of things in mind, like where am I going and
what are some of the topography that I need to
pay attention to. I had a friend that went to
the This is such an amazing trip. I haven't done it.
I'm not sure I would, but I loved hearing about
their trip went to the Himalayas, and it was quite
a trick and they actually trained for two years, but

(08:20):
they did do it, and they were so happy that
they were able to train for two years to make
it a successful adventure for them. One of the things
about planning had also is research healthcare facilities. It's really
helpful to know who and what is available to you
and what you might need to take, and just understanding
not every place you go will have the healthcare types

(08:41):
of facilities you're used to, but know where they are
and how you can get access to them. Also, check
with any insurance companies, whether it's your healthcare insurance or
your travel insurance, how it works with healthcare issues, because
it might be a pre existing condition for some things.
So it's really important to talk to experts and insurance

(09:04):
and travel insurance and your medical insurance to see if
your medical insurance is transportable with you on a trip,
especially abroad. A lot of things to consider before you go.
I know, but even if you don't have a diagnosis,
a lot of these are good things to do anyway.
Another tip when we travel I like to say is

(09:24):
manage your physical comfort. I don't know about you, but
the plain seats I've been on lately are incredibly hard.
I don't know what they've done with the padding, even
with my own extra personal padding, shall I say? The
seats are incredibly hard. So whether it's a little blow

(09:45):
up cushion that you want to take or I oftentimes
just travel with a towel, which is nice and I
just fold that up and sit on the towel, So
it's due a purpose. I have a towel for my travels.
If I don't have one, I can take to the
beach whatever it is I'm doing, as well as I
can use it as a seat cushion. Plan I had
for your physical comfort also, whether you like the neck

(10:07):
pillows or there's so many types of things that just
make you more comfortable. I travel with a great, big,
embarrassing My family and friends call it my airplane pathrope.
It's not. It's actually a real sweater, but it's big

(10:28):
and bulky and has what I call a monk's hood,
a really big hood. And what I love about it is,
I don't know about you, but flying can get cold,
especially if you're a window seat person, you can get cold.
So I love this. It comes down MIDI length, which
is about my kath length, and it's big, and the
sleeves are quite long when they're unfolded, so I have

(10:49):
built in hand protectors. And if I just want to
be left alone on a long flight, you know what,
I'll tell the flight attendant ahead a time, because they're required,
believe it or not, Most of them say they're required.
Whether they are, who knows, but they say they're required
to wake you when it's meal time so you don't
get upset that you missed a meal. So I always

(11:09):
tell the flight attendant, Hey, I'm good, I'm not gonna
have your meal. Let me sleep through this, and I
put my flying code on. It's actually better, Like I said,
my family's actually sometimes just I don't know her. But
it's okay because it's about my physical comfort and getting
to my destination in a happy mood and the happy body,

(11:33):
happy mind, all of that good kind of stuff. Okay,
And I throw that monk sea over my head and
it comes down to here and I just snooze out
and I stay nice and warm and toasted the whole time.
And by the way, it's so big and bulky, it
also can work as a seat cushion. Plan ahead for
your own physical comfort. Now, I made a bunch of notes,

(11:54):
so I'm just going to refer to my notes because
I've been, like I said, i've been traveling, and so
whenever something came to mind, I made a note about it.
So we talked about Carrie extra medication and the documentation
of your medication if it's some sort of what do
they call that, not classified medicine, but prescriptions and things
like that that might need documentation that you are you

(12:15):
and it is your medication, So make sure you have
that with you. I think that's it for the pre
planning types of things. Take a note with you that
has your emergency contact. And also if you have or
get one of those first aid bracelets is always helpful,
especially if you have allergies that are quite severe or

(12:35):
some other medical condition that's quite severe. Consider it one
of the first aid bracelets that they have. And I've
seen some nowadays that look like deal race, so just
consider one of those as well. I think the important
thing to consider is plan on the first twenty four
hours of your trip being at a much slower pace.
Just let it go once you get to your destination

(12:57):
and plan on another twenty four hours. Just recover, especially
if you're traveling multiple time zones. You want to allow
your body time to recover before you start on this
grand adventure, because I know from first hand experience that
if you start out gung ho, here we go doing
absolutely everything. At least for me, I ran out of

(13:18):
gas and I got so fatigued towards the end of
a trip not too long ago that it really became
difficult for me to enjoy the last couple of days
because I've been going one hundred and twenty five percent
from the beginning. Allow yourself some time to recover from
the fight the trip however you got there, and just

(13:39):
give yourself that space and grace to really be able
to have the best trip possible in be able to
take out the endurance part of it. So allow for
the time zone changes and allow yourself plenty of time
to sleep and recover. Stay hydrated. I know lots of
travel modalities are incredibly dehydrating, So stay hydrated and perhaps

(14:02):
talk to your position about whether electrolytes are depending on
the heat you're going into, if something like electrolytes resalts
would be good for you, certainly not good for everyone.
I recommend it for everyone, but ask where you're going.
That kind of thing is important to know about. So
staying hydrated is important from the get go. Sometimes it's
really hard when we travel to catch up on our hydration,

(14:25):
and so if we keep it at an optimum level
from the beginning, it's always helpful. I'm just going to
check my notes here. Oh yeah. Listen to your body.
That's really important to me. Don't overlook it, don't talk
yourself out of it. If your body's feeling something, honor
that give it what it needs, whether it's a couple

(14:47):
of hours off or sitting in a park enjoying bird song,
whatever it is. So listen to your body and be
grateful that it's talking to you and letting you know, Hey,
I want to do this adventure too, but I'm needing
just some breath work or some meditation, some mindfulness work,
something like that. Another thing to consider is, depending on

(15:11):
your condition, you might need some sort of mobility aid.
Now I do travel with a cane. I like it.
It's wonderful. But a little quick story about traveling with
a cane. I currently use one of those fold up
medical ones. And the reason I do is for the
longest time, I didn't really want a cane, so I

(15:32):
traveled with a walking stick, which is different than hiking poles.
This looks more like a cane really, but it's considered
a hiking stick a walking stick because it's not those
great big walking poles. And what was fascinating to me
is it was confiscated one time, I wouldn't say confiscated.
I had to go back and check it, and that
was really weird because my bag has had already been checked,

(15:54):
so I had to check this cane, this walking stick
through as a piece of baggage. So you need to understand,
it's like, okay, was that really worth it? The reason
why this was so fascinating to me they took off
the tip on the end. Honestly, I didn't know the
tip came off. They took off the tip at the end.
And apparently on these hiking walking sticks there is a

(16:17):
tiny little screw and a tiny really tiny that I
guess projects out if you're on rough land or something.
I don't know. I don't use it for that. You
guys might screaming at me, but cheering to us for this.
I get it. I just don't know. I didn't know
it was there. And apparently that's considered a weapon. Just
telling you flat out, if you do want to use

(16:39):
a mobility aid like a cane, make sure that it's
a medically approved cane and not any sort of walking
stick or hiking stick. That's just my story there. And
if it's a big item like a wheelchair or sometimes
the oxygen generators and things like that. Contact the way
you're going, whether it's a cruise ship or an airlines, whatever,

(17:03):
and speak to them regarding their best way to travel
with it. They'll have all sorts of ways and rules
and regulations and tips and tricks to travel with mobility aids.
Be sure and check with your airlines so they have
it on record that you're coming with a mobility aid.
You don't have to do with a cane, but something large
like a wheelchair or oxygen generators, things like that. You'll

(17:25):
contact the method of transportation and have them tell you
how best to travel with it. What's another tip to
think about is the kinds of little extra things you're
going to wish you had not on your best days,
but I will say, on your most fatigued days or
your most busy days during your trip, what other things
would you like? So like a fold up hat, sunglasses,

(17:46):
all those sorts of things. And I say take your
favorite sunscreen too, because I've been abroad and I have
found sunscreens there. But oftentimes I don't read the language,
I don't know exactly what's in the ingredients. And one
time I got hives. So just fair warning. Take your
own sunscreens and things that you're used to. Okay, Now,

(18:08):
sometimes you have to pack those in your big checked bag,
and that's okay. If you lost your sunscreen, not the
worst thing, right, Okay, So let's see what are some
other tips. You guys know that I don't do a
lot of these sort of without and somebody to chat with,
without an interview here, but I just really wanted to

(18:29):
share these travel tips with you, and so I took notes.
A favorite one of mine is stress management. I don't
know about you, but from the minute I get up
and get ready to go on the day of the travel,
maybe the day or two before, my stress level skyrockets,
and I really have to work to manage it so
I don't get fatigued even before I walk out the door,

(18:51):
and so I always have things in place that I
like to do, checklists. I have friends and family that
help me, either it's get to the airport or actually
even park and helped me walk my luggage in to
the airport. Little tip about luggage. If you can travel light,

(19:11):
it doesn't have to be just with a carry on
or a backpack or something that's up to you. I
check my bags every so often too. It just depends
on how long you're going to be gone and everything.
But I'm not one that has multiple bags, because what
happened to me one time is I had multiple bags
and when I got to my location, I didn't have
anybody to help me with all those bags, and I

(19:32):
really got extremely fatigued. And I know it sounds like
what I was, but from the baggage claim out to
where the taxis were, which was way away, I'm struggling
with extra bags and they're heavy, and I'm sweating and
it's hot, and by the time I sat down in
that taxi, I was just like, oh, forget this. One
of the things you might want to do is travel

(19:53):
with your own food. I like traveling with my own food,
not only in my checked luggage, but when I carry
it onto the plane. I do have dietary restrictions, and
I have found that it's very difficult for a lot
of different places to do a dietary restriction, so I
carry my own food. A couple thoughts about that is

(20:14):
oftentimes you'll see gluten friendly. Gluten friendly is not the
same as gluten free. Just a little note if it
isn't a big deal for you. Gluten friendly is good,
but if you are needing to be gluten free, understand
the gluten friendly is not gluten free. Case in point
was pizza. I found a place that had cauliflower crusts, right,

(20:34):
I thought, oh goodie, oh wonderful. I can eat a
pizza and lo and behold, they cook it in the
same oven as they cook the flower, the gluten the
traditional pizza, and what happens is just even a minor
amount of cross contamination can really affect some people. So
I know the gluten friendly is not the same as
gluten free. When we travel, and a lot of people

(20:56):
don't understand allergies, so if you have a significant allergy,
it's important to really advocate for yourself if you have
an allergy. And of course if you have allergies, always
travel with EpiPens. They're very hard to get in certain locations,
So always travel with your epipins if you have allergies
and you know that's a necessity. Don't leave home without her.

(21:19):
Another thing about traveling on airlines and bringing my own
food on the airlines, as I learned early on to
know that not to travel with real smelly food. So
I'm thinking about things like broccoli, cauliflower, let's see hard
boiled eggs, curries, certain foods that have really strong odors

(21:40):
when you're at sea level or at your altitude wherever
you live. Just is for whatever reason, I don't know
the science. Maybe if you know the science, you can
put it in the comments. When you get at altitude,
whatever that is, the smell of the food is amplified,
and that's all you need to be doing is upsetting
people for rose around you with the intense smell of

(22:04):
the food that you brought on boards. It's a pretty
crazy phenomenon. I was even surprised at hard boiled eggs.
I like to travel with those because they're a quick
and easy protein that I can eat and you put
the ice pack with it and it stays safe and
secure for a relatively short flight. And the problem with
them is, boy do they off gas at altitude. So

(22:29):
that's just a little reminder about your foods. And one
of the things about foods also consider, as if we've
been talking about concierge, is to check with them or
maybe even use a search engine to find specific restaurants
or places you can buy your specialty foods that you need,
and so always be aware of how much you're packing

(22:49):
and travel as light as possible. And then also if
you can. I know it's an extra expense, but oftentimes
I choose to forego their expenses and make sure I
have hired a driver at my location. You can find
a driver's chauffeurs whatever you want to call them, depends
on the location what they're called. You can call your

(23:11):
hotel or where you're staying, or if you're going to
a cruise, call a cruiseling. Do they know of drivers
that they recommend in the area. Plenty of ways to
find a driver, but I love the drivers that actually
come into baggage claim help you get your bags out,
and usually they're the ones with the little signs with
your name on it. That's always called too. But anyway,

(23:32):
get yourself a driver. You'll be really happy you did.
And the nice thing for the majority of trips I've taken,
regardless of where I've been, the drivers speak English enough
that we can have quite a conversation, and I find
about all sorts of interesting places to go and fun
things to do that maybe weren't in the travel book,
and some of the ones i'm thinking about going. Perhaps

(23:53):
they're going. Maybe it was good ten years ago, but
I don't recommend it now. I'm like, what do you recommend?
So that's another travel tip I do. I know it's
an extra expense, but it's one of those things I
really choose to do. I find it helpful. Quick little
story about that. After I decided about hiring a driver,
I was so thankful I did. I was headed to

(24:14):
Beijing and the flight was delayed. It turned out to
be a fourteen hour flight, absolutely exhaustive. When I landed
in Beijing and it was one forty five am me
there was really no I didn't see any taxis or
anything like that available, And I was so thankful I
had learned my lesson about hiring a driver, because although

(24:36):
they did not wait for me, actually they had called
in and realized my flight had been delayed, they showed
up on time, even though it was the middle of
the night, and they got me to my location. So
I was so thankful that I had learned that lesson
and off your trips previously. It was so worth it.
I can't imagine trying to find my way to the
hotel at one forty five in the morning anywhere, let

(24:59):
alone aging where I don't speak the language. Oh my goodness,
the crazy stories we have on our adventures. Right. Another
thing is if you have any local contacts, or sometimes
depending on how prepared you want to be, finding out
the location or a phone number of your local embassy,
or even if there is an embassy in the cities

(25:21):
you're going to and where they're located. And you can
always find out a lot of information from a concierge
in your hotels or sometimes if you're staying at hostels,
depending on what you're doing, they often will be happy
to provide you with all sorts of local things that
you need to know, including medical facilities. As one thought is,

(25:42):
your doctor could provide you with medical facilities, but they
may not know people in other countries where urgent care
is or what urgent care is called, let alone where
it is. So check in with the hotels or these
other places where you might be staying and find out
where are the medical facilities that you can use just
in case of emergency. I know it sounds like a

(26:04):
lot of pre planning, but to me, it's important to know.
While we're on the topic of talking to something like
the concierge, etc. Always check in about their accessibility. I
have been in places in Europe where accessibility wasn't a priority,
and while I'm thankful I don't need it, I do
notice it. One place I went, the elevator was so

(26:29):
small it was myself in one bag and that was it.
I don't know how anybody in some sort of mobility
device would have used it, And so it's really important
to check wherever you're staying. Do not assume that other places,
including in the States, your own local places where you're staying.
I've had to go to the beach before and realize that, gosh,

(26:51):
there's a limited number of accessibility rooms available, let alone
having a lot of access to things. So it's important
to ask those kinds of questions before you book a stay.
And maybe your hotel does, but you might want to check.
I've been planning on going to this museum or that museum,
are they accessible as well? Because a lot of times,

(27:12):
as I said, on many of my travels, accessibility for
the disabled is not a high priority unfortunately. And I
was mentioning about my drivers and how I love that
they speak English. So it's also important to consider the
language barriers that you might have. I suggest wherever you're going,
learning a few basic words, Hello, where's the bathroom water please,

(27:35):
some of those types of things, where's my hotel? The
name of your hotel? Being able to say some very
simple things. And I have found that when I try
to use the local language most often people are extremely
friendly and they try to reciprocate the friendliness and use.
Maybe it's their English is as good as my use

(27:57):
of their language. And nowadays with our phones there are
many translation apps. I found them useful with that little
astider conveyat by it because sometimes when I use my
translation app, I structure my sentences for English, and that
doesn't mean every other language is structured that same way.

(28:19):
So like noun verb type of thing, Maybe that's not
how it is. Sometimes I've talked into the translation app
that I use the way I would say it, and
yet it translates, and you hand the translation device to
someone else in their native tongue and they read it
and they give you the strange look of they don't
get it until you see them sounding out each word,

(28:41):
and then they realize that the words or the nouns
or the verbs or what had verbs and adjectives have
been misplaced, and it's so much fun because they have
this moment of ah, I get what we're trying to
talk about now, right, Download a translation app beforehand. Yes
there are translations by the big brand name technology company,

(29:01):
but that requires internet access, and so make sure you
download a translation app that doesn't require internet access or
is at least moderately available over the data phone lines,
because you don't want to get stuck without being able
to use your translation app. And so that's a really
good idea to use. If you have some friends in

(29:23):
other countries and just ask them, hey, I'm coming your way.
I have lots of friends abroad, and many times I say, hey,
I'm coming your way. Who do you suggest, what do
you suggest? Where do you suggest? And oftentimes I end
up having a lunch or a dinner with friends around
the world. It's just so wonderful and so exciting. So
take advantage of any local contacts you have. And it's

(29:44):
easier today than ever to know people around the world.
So surprising to me. So once you're there, it's important
to get adequate sleep and make sure that you're comfortable.
And not all places have ac I like to carry
a little portable trump retrol fan. It's not always helpful
sometimes to put on your nightstand and help you out

(30:04):
that way, it's really important. One of the things that
I find useful, and another thing I find useful is
extra plastic bags. There don't have to be big ones.
They can be the kind the produce come in, or
they can be like the sealable kind. But you'll always
be surprised, is it. Sometimes you need those sorts of things.
I've been so far out in the middle of nowhere

(30:26):
that occasionally I've been asked to put my shoes in
plastic bags just to keep other things out of them
in the middle of the night. So it's important to
just have those little things don't take up a lot
of space. But that's just a little tip off my
top of my head, one of my little rabbit hole trips.
We need to take a quick commercial break, and when
we come back, we'll talk some more about some of

(30:47):
the things I've learned traveling over all of these years,
and the things that I see different between traveling when
you have a diagnosis of something long term chronic and
when you don't. So we'll be right.

Speaker 4 (30:58):
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Speaker 2 (31:13):
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Speaker 5 (32:17):
If I could be you could be me just one hour,
If we could find a way to get inside each
other's mine. Welcome all and my shoes. Walcome all in
my shoes, well before you abuse griticides and accues. Welcome

(32:44):
all and my shoes.

Speaker 1 (32:49):
Welcome back, everyone to the Autoimmune Hour. I'm Sharon Seeler,
as I said before, and we've been talking about travel
tips and hacks and what I've learned on trips while
I have my diagnosis. I just went on thinking about
the time that I actually had my shoes tied up
in these little plastic bags to keep them safe overnight. Amazing,

(33:12):
we're back to space and grace. Give yourself time to
really unwind, breathe through it. Sometimes things will happen. There's
all sorts of mishaps, miscommunications, timing. Sometimes somebody will be late,
sometimes they'll be early, and who knows what happens. But
just being able to go with the flow. And I
always tell myself, oh, it's another adventure. It's just another adventure.

(33:36):
Let's see where this one goes. Sometimes even ad just
a deep breath and an exhale, allowed, exhale. I don't
drop your shoulders. You'll feel better. I don't know about you,
but when I get stressed, my shoulders come up around
my ears. So drop your shoulders and let it go
if you want. I'm all for seeking out professional tour guides,

(33:59):
and sometimes you don't have to go with professional tour guides.
If you had access for any reason to universities or
local groups like that, maybe they have people who are
willing to take you off the beaten path and show
you what it's really like to be in their hometown
or their country. I've done that. I've hired university students

(34:20):
to take me places. Do your due diligence, though, right,
do your due diligence. That's where local contacts and hotel
conciers and things like that are really helpful. They don't
always helps to have somebody who's got the local inside
skinny on the place. It's always fun. I've alluded to
earlier about this idea of getting fatigued on your trip,

(34:42):
that's really important to remember. It's all about energy conservation,
so we don't get too fatigued. If we get too fatigued,
the next day or two days could be totally shot
because we can't get out of bed. So energy conservation
is really important. You don't want to ruin your whole
trip by sharing your body to do more than it
could do right in that moment. Another thought comes to

(35:06):
mind is stay connected with your loved ones at home.
They really want to know that you're doing well and
that you're okay. So stay connected with your loved ones
at home, even if it's just a quick little text
like doing good. They like to know. Peces everybody's mind
and talking about that doing good and the fatigue and
everything is set realistic goals. If you've even pre diagnosis,

(35:31):
if you've never walked two miles on in a day
or at one time, don't assume you're going to be
able to do it now. Okay, Oftentimes people set the
most unrealistic goals. And I find I like the kind
of travel where I can go at my own pace. Yes,
tours are fun and they're nice, and I've done them before,
but for me, right now where I am in my life,

(35:53):
I like to go with the ones I can go
at my own pace. And so I go to a
location and I stay in that location for a length
of time, whether it's a two weeks or even longer,
just to be able to scope out the real world here,
what's it really like to be here? Who lives here?
What kind of people are here? And I have found
that people around the world have so much in common

(36:14):
that I really like to get to know them all.
So that's a fun part of it is so pace
yourself and understand and give yourself that space and grace
We've been talking about so far today, and finally I
wanted to talk about proper mindset, positive mindset, and keeping
that throughout your entire trip. One of the things that

(36:36):
I do every day, whether it's on a trip or
I'm at home, is I practice gratitude in the morning.
I know there were mornings there at the beginning of
my diagnosis, I didn't know I was going to wake up.
I honestly didn't know I was going to wake up.
And every morning when I wake up and my eyes
pop open, I give gratitude for waking up. I think
my body for making it through the night, giving me

(36:56):
a nice night's rest, and being able to set the
frame for the day. Coming from that place of gratitude
and happiness and being at peace with myself where I'm
at right now and that survivor to Thriver's story, we
talk about where we start with our diagnosis and we
go from that survivor mode. Yes, we all go through

(37:18):
that survivor mode to where we can maintain the body
at a certain level. And then each step you take
is on the thriver mode, being thankful for each one
of those steps. As I think look back over my
diagnosis to now, I am way past where the doctor
said I would be. Remember I mentioned those ugly statistics

(37:38):
that they gave me. I am so thankful that my mind, body,
and spirit and all the outside help my community has
gotten me to this point where I can talk about
travel tips that I've learned to travel when your mobility
might be a question or whatever it is, You're not
your diagnosis, find your adventures out there, and a positive

(38:03):
mindset is about living your life the fullest, regardless of
how many days you have left on the calendar. Look,
one thing I've learned since by diagnosis is you never
know when you're going to get that diagnosis, and you
never know how many days left on that calendar. Before
my diagnosis, I had been a car accident and luckily
it wasn't a big deal, but it was a surprise

(38:24):
boom bam, it happened out of nowhere. You know what
that could have been the final time too. So come
from that spirit of gratitude and adventure and living the
life you've been given to its fullest, and helping others
along the pathway as well. That's what I love, meeting
people and seeing what do you have in common? What

(38:46):
are their needs? What are your needs? And is there
synergy between you? That's always awesome to know. And so
practicing this positive mindset is important not only for us
on an adventure, but for every day. And as I
always close out my shows with half a great week,

(39:06):
whatever your adventure, I truly mean that because I hope
you are finding adventures every day and every week and
setting some goals for some big adventures in your life.
I've said it before here a couple of times today,
and I really want to reiterate the point. You're not
your diagnosis. You're so much more than that. Yes, I

(39:29):
get it. You might have a few liabilities right now,
you might have a few limitations right now. I get it.
We all do. And you have your adventures any way
that you can. What brings you joy, what brings you happiness.
I know one of my favorite places to go in

(39:50):
it's an adventure, even though it doesn't require a passport
or a plane or anything, but my favorite place to
go is the ocean, and so when I'm an adventure day,
or even in an adventure couple hours, I find my
way down to our local ocean, and that is just
such an amazing reset to the whole body. And I

(40:12):
think travel does that too. It changes our perspective on
life in so many ways, and changing our perspectives having
an open mind is a great way to do it.
Sometimes I like to take the observer role. I don't
know about you, but sometimes I like to take the
observer role on my travels, and I think of myself

(40:34):
being over here and looking at the situation, including me
who's over there in my little view right Wow, what
would I have been like to live here whatever it is,
one hundred years ago, a thousand years ago, whatever it is,
or what is it like to live here right now?
And take that observer role and learn so much about
life and you'll soon realize that happiness and joy are

(40:57):
pretty much the same around the world. And that's what
I do, slog about it. So if you would, I'm
going to sign off early. By the time you guys
see this, I'll be home. And I'm really excited about
that too, because it's been a while since i've been home.
Family have been keeping the fort safe and sound for me,
which is awesome. I'm actually looking forward to spending some

(41:19):
summer times there, and so I'll sign off early and
have a great week, whatever your adventures. Join me next
week for another brand new episode, and if you would,
if you're watching this, please subscribe to whatever way you're
watching it, whether it's through the audio programs, please follow

(41:43):
the show, help the algorithms grow the show, get it
to a larger group. And if you're watching this in
video on YouTube, please subscribe to the YouTube channel. We've
been around a while, but I have to be honest,
I'm not a great video editor. Thank you for being
so patient with my video editing. I just love being
able to see people's faces and go, oh, that's what

(42:04):
they look like. I love that. So if you would,
please subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube, and help
us grow this channel understanding autoimmune and follow us on
social media. We are on Instagram and Facebook and understanding
autoimmune just like it is on YouTube. So I'd be

(42:24):
most grateful and happy if you'd become part of our
community by following and or subscribing. Thank you so much.
Share with me your favorite hacks, and maybe we'll do
another episode of all of your favorite hacks and our
learnings together on living our best life yet regardless of
our diagnosis. Love you all, thank you for being part

(42:45):
of the community, and if you're new here, welcome. We'll
love to see you here and appreciate all of you
going gratitude, see you soon.

Speaker 3 (42:56):
Enjoy The information provided on The Autoimmune Hour, Understanding Autoimmune
and Life Interrupted Radio, including the websites Understanding Autoimmune dot
com and Life Interrupted Radio dot Com plus social media
is for educational purposes only, which read, hear, and see
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(43:17):
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