December-18-2019 | Mari Wagner Davis, RN
Last Summer my husband and I traveled to Italy to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Not only was it special because it was our 25th anniversary, but special because we had survived 2 years after my seizures and diagnosis with autoimmune encephalitis. My husband has learned a variety of tricks to help me feel more comfortable in any environment. Traveling overseas, was something we hadn’t done since I got sick.
I found the following tips helpful and wanted to share them:
- If you haven’t traveled at all since you were diagnosed, consider doing a weekend stay close to home, to help identify any issues like finding the room, remembering which floor you are on) ahead of time.
2. Bring your insurance cards with you, physician’s phone number and important medical records(I had mine copied to a computer disc).
3. Make sure you have reservations and confirm them, keep a folder where you can write down confirmation numbers.
4. Provide your family members with your itinerary, including phone numbers.
5. Identify how to get medical help in countries where you do not speak the language.
6. Consider using a travel agent that specializes in planning trips for people with disabilities.
7. Plan on addressing jet lag before you leave. Try to adjust your sleep schedule a couple of hours to the time zone you will be in.
8. Adjust scheduling your medication schedule as close as you can to the time zone you are traveling to a week or so before you leave.
9. While flying try not to sleep too much especially if you will be arriving in the evening.
10. Set your watch to local time so you do not get confused.
11. Drink plenty of fluids.
12. Daylight can reset your internal clock, be aware that you may need to nap to adjust to the different time zone.
13, One trick I have found helpful in hotel rooms is to leave the bathroom light on, so I can find it in the middle of the night.
14. Finally, be flexible and have a sense of humor!
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