Travelling and unravelling?

This is the first week of travelling to the UK for our first trip here in three years. I am noticing some changes to how I feel and function since the previous trip. While relatively minor, they still need to be acknowledged and worked through as best I can. It has been nearly six years since my diagnosis and I feel that in the main, I have managed pretty well up to now.

But, there are things that I am noticing:

• I feel more sluggish than on previous trips, so far. I am unsure if that is the jetlag or the time difference meaning that I will take a few days for my body to adapt to the different timing of medications when trying to get in line with local time.
• Not sure if the ‘sluggishness’ mentioned above is a progression thing and perhaps permanent?
• When we first got to the airport in Singapore, I had not had any medications nor breakfast. I then noticed that I had a strange new symptom emerge. I can only describe it as internal tremors. There was no outward show of tremors as you would normally expect, but – it’s hard to describe – it felt like my whole body was quivering inside. Almost pins and needles like, but not quite. It was a very strange sensation, but I think I found some other people with a similar symptom online.
• I notice my memory seems to be getting worse. I can’t seem to retain information as well as I used to. Frequently, even though we are staying with my husband’s sister and her husband, so have been in the same space for the duration, I find myself searching for things many times a day.
• I find myself moving slower. Getting up to walk and taking those first steps, it seems more difficult to get myself in and out of the front passenger seat.
• I find myself trying to ensure that I am not in the way in somebody else’s home. I know I am happier to do everything when family visits, but visitors often seek to help. This is a nice thought, but I like to cook for people I love and happily potter in my kitchen. If staying in someone else’s home I can find it difficult to know whether to offer to help, or would I just be getting underfoot? I don’t like to think that I could be perceived as lazy, or expecting others to do everything for me.
• I genuinely find going up and down the stairs where we are staying is much more tiring than previously. I have been guilty of asking my husband to fetch me something from upstairs, if I am feeling tired from having just come back downstairs.

This week is all about acclimatizing and being kind to our bodies. We have started going for a few walks, but just gentle ones that we know I can handle. Hopefully, I will have increased energy soon when the meds even out and the sleep patterns are more normal.

Whatever happens, we are determined to enjoy this precious time with family and friends and some precious time just the two of us.

I will post further as we go along and will be interested to see if I recover quicker or more slowly than on our last trip three years ago.