-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
I did travel while sick with lyme before I was properly diagnosed. A couple trips were with friends for pleasure. A couple trips involved volunteer type work for medical missions.
Randibear, since you are going on a cruise, your living conditions will be typical for Americans. The water served will be safe to drink. Food will be good. You really should not worry.
On your excursions you will want to be careful, eat food that has been cooked well, drink water from water bottles only (make sure that they are sealed well before opening), pace yourself to enjoy the activities.
You should be fine as long as you don't try to push yourself too hard. If your tired, take a break. Same thing you'd do here at home.
And yes, I'd bring the chlorox wipes, and all your meds in their prescription bottles.
Pepto bismol, ibuprofen, benadryl, Bonine or Dramamine (for motion sickness), sunscreen, bug spray are all good things to remember. And if you forget something i'm sure that you will probably be able to buy it on the ship.
Have fun and take lots of pictures!
PS: If you want to adopt a really nice nurse to come with you and keep you company, I'm available!
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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I took a cruise back when I was well, and I was frustrated because of the passivity of the experience, and the lack of choices in food and accomodations. (You couldn't just get off and pick a different hotel or restaurant.)
I'd probably love it as a restful vacation, now that I have Lyme.
No driving, no packing and unpacking and changing hotels every day, no searching for restaurants, no wrestling with maps and bus schedules. No asking for directions in a foreign language. Well, you might do that, depending on where you go ashore. But far fewer decisions to make than traveling on your own.
Put on lots of sunscreen every morning, and lie around in a deck chair with a good book, or go to your cabin and take a nap.
Looking at the water was very calming.
I have been seasick on a small boat, but the cruise ship rocked very slowly and gently and never bothered me. If you need motion sickness meds, take it before the effects start, and it will work much better. Pack some, just in case.
There were also inside lounges with comfy chairs and big windows, to get out of the sun, and lots of entertainment shows every evening, where you could just sit there and enjoy. Sometimes the speakers were very loud.
Of course if you wanted to, you could swim in a pool, play more active games like ping pong (until the wind blew the ball into the ocean) and shuffleboard, dance, drink, or gamble. If not, just ignore the things that don't interest you.
And they have ATMs on board (with a high fee) and lots of ways to convince you to spend more money than you already spent on the ticket. But you can enjoy it just fine without doing that.
Look up your ship to see what all they have.
What they will not have is the movie Titanic, haha.
The one concern I had on the cruise was mobility/accessibility.
It was a long way to walk from one end of the ship to another, and there was an elevator, but I often ended up taking the stairs because the elevator was small and got filled up. Sometimes we had to stand in the hallway and wait to be let in for dinner or a show.
On the other hand, lots of elderly people with walkers, wheelchairs, balance issues or arthritis go on cruises, so I'm sure it is possible to manage, if you have joint or mobility issues.
I traveled to a foreign country for a couple of weeks before I knew I had Lyme. It was a very active trip involving constant siteseeing every day.
Every historic site we visited involved lots and lots of walking, standing and stairs. I couldn't understand why I was so wimpy that I kept getting in so much pain every day.
One time I got off the subway and saw that the escalator wasn't working, and started to cry at the prospect of dragging myself up that huge staircase. (But I made it up it eventually.)
Then after riding in the car for an hour or two every evening, I would get out and be extremely stiff, and ache everywhere.
I just thought the walking was really doing me in, much worse than I expected.
I would wake up the next morning and feel much better, until I climbed a few more sets of stairs.
When I got home from the trip, I spent two whole days in bed, and blamed it on jet lag. I later eventually figured out that most of that was Lyme pain.
So try not to overdo it, and be cautious about signing up for shore excursions, if you're expected to walk quickly to keep up with a tour group. But lots of elderly people go on those, too.
If you walk around on shore by yourself, not on a tour, be sure you allow plenty of time to get back to the ship before it leaves, especially if you have to wait for a boat instead of walking straight on from the dock.
I remember running frantically back one time, afraid we would miss it. If you miss the boat, they will leave you there. You don't need the stress or the exertion.
There were a lot of buffets, and you could get food from one place or another any time of day or night. Tell the cruise line ahead of time if you have special diet needs, and they will accommodate them, particularly for the dinners they serve to your table.
Traveling on a cruise ship to a major tourist destination, you should be able to be comfortable and get things you might need.
If you go to a place where tourists rarely go, then quality and choice of food and water, physical accessibility, and availability of meds and emergency health care can be unpredictable.
Bon voyage! Sounds like fun to me.
-------------------- Don't forget to laugh! And when you're going through hell, keep going!
Bitten 5/25/2009 in Perry County, Indiana. Diagnosed by LLMD 12/2/2009. Posts: 756 | From Inside the tunnel | Registered: Jan 2010
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
oh mike booked a mini suite which is i guess a large balcony room with king bed and even a tub.
somebody told me to buy a sea sick bracelet. said they are absolutely the best.
it's upper level where the suites are, lido or aloha deck i think. he signed us up for open dining at 6 cause i can't eat late.
well, dang, i get so po'd at 'em and then he does this.
maybe he just doesn't know what to do with me and my lyme.
even booked a hotel the day before the cruise and the day after in case i got tired.
hmmm, wonder what he did?
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- GINGER CAPSULES are far superior to the tea to reduce nausea. Take in advance and never mix a dose - take several times throughout the day. Did I remember to say: never miss a dose? That's really important.
ENTERIC COATED PEPPERMINT pills might also help keep your G.I. tract happy all the way through.
. . . randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study in 110 outpatients (66 men/44 women; 18-70 years of age) with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Patients took one capsule (Colpermin or placebo) three to four times daily, 15-30 min before meals, for 1 month. Fifty-two patients on Colpermin and 49 on placebo completed the study.
Forty-one patients on Colpermin (79%) experienced an alleviation of the severity of abdominal pain (29 were pain-free); 43 (83%) had less abdominal distension, 43 (83%) had reduced stool frequency, 38 (73%) had fewer borborygmi, and 41 (79%) less flatulence. . . .
. . . .
PMID: 9430014 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] -
[ 02-18-2010, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
Maybe this is his way of trying to help you feel better. A relaxing vacation might be a good distraction. And a nice way to lift your spirits.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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