I have successfully navigated my first trip since being diagnosed with Adrenal Insufficiency. It was a short flight and a short trip. It was surprisingly challenging, at least the process of getting back and forth.
We had a flight Saturday morning. It's about 30 minutes from here to the airport. Then there was the walk from the car to check-in. And the standing in the security line. And the walk to the gate. I realized while we were waiting for the flight that I had burned through my first dose of cortisol in 2-1/2 hours whereas I'm usually good dosing every four hours. So. I took my second dose early and made the decision that I would continue dosing in my usual stepped-down fashion throughout the day, which would mean a bit extra by the end of the day.
Nothing particularly stressful happened, it just takes so much energy to get from home to the plane. Way more than I ever realized in my pre-illness days.
It was a short flight, and we were soon at our destination, and driving away in our rental car. My husband did a lot of driving that day and I did a lot of enjoying the scenery. I did pretty well but was very tired by early afternoon. We could check into the hotel by then so we headed there. The downside of the lovely hotel we stayed at was that it is huge which meant a lot of walking was sometimes required. Well, a lot by my current standards anyway.
We had a short afternoon rest, then had to leave again for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Since my energy picks up in the evening (probably because less cortisol is required in the evening), I really enjoyed dinner and felt pretty good. By the time we got back to our room, though, I was once again really tired and ready to read in bed.
Day two we enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the hotel, took a drive, then walked through a few open houses. That was fun but really tiring, so we cancelled a few other things that were on our list and went back to the room to rest. Dinner the second night was at the hotel, which involved a bit of walking, but not too much.
Sunset was gorgeous.
Day three was my favorite because I got to see a dear friend who had just arrived on island. They recently retired from the Air Force and have moved back home to stay. We had a lovely day together, checking out some of the art displayed at the hotel, eating, and chatting. It did involve some walking, which is both good and tiring. I really want to build back some stamina, but feel like I need to be a bit cautious to avoid overdoing, and I don't want to have to bump my medication dosage all the time to compensate for my sorry state of muscle weakness. By the time we were ready to move on, I was getting pretty droopy again. A nice rest at their condo followed by a delicious dinner revived me enough to get back to the airport and on the plane.
Waiting for the flight was tiring, even though we weren't there that early. The plane was a few minutes late, and there were no seats available in the waiting area, so. I had to stand. I was very glad we had pre-boarding, and can totally understand why ambulatory people with health issues often need to use a wheelchair at the airport. I needed a little bump in medication by the time I got on the plane.
Today I'm feeling the post-exertion fatigue, but I expected that. I'm glad I had this little mini-trip to test the waters. I have a long flight scheduled for February. I'm hoping to be feeling a bit better by then. Sometimes it takes many months to really get back on your feet after diagnosis, but I'm hoping for the shorter end of that. But if I'm still in major need of rest and recovery, I'm at least a little aware of the energy requirement needed to survive the trip, hopefully with only a bit of residual fatigue and slight adjustments to medication.
In all it was a very successful trip. I'm beginning to adjust somewhat to the fact that I have to monitor how I feel so closely. I think that has been the biggest adjustment for me to make in learning how to deal with adrenal insufficiency. I am aware that my health status can change suddenly and I need to be prepared to deal with it appropriately. At the same time, I did pretty well and I'm learning to read my symptoms and need for extra rest and/or medications a little better every day.
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