International travel

[wonderdogs]

I am considering a BIG trip for Thanksgiving 2008. It's an exciting opportunity to go to Germany with my mom and brother. Should I be concerned that the time difference and the stress of traveling will be a detrement to my epilepsy?

As you know, I was just diagnosed on 12/6/07 so I apologize if this is a silly question. I am lust a little nervous that something might happen while traveling so far from home.

[skillefer]

I've traveled overseas, and my best advice is to just keep to a schedule and make sure you get enough sleep. No beergardens at 4 AM.

[RobinN]

You will be with family, which in my mind is a big plus. Unless they are stressful to be around.

[wonderdogs]

You will be with family, which in my mind is a big plus. Unless they are stressful to be around.

This was my thought. There are like 24 people going on this trip and my brother and a friend are heading it up. I told my mom if she went I woud go too because I know she and I would probably pace ourselves the same way and if the hikes or anything else seemed like it was too much that we could stay back together.

[RobinN]

Just a suggestion Kendra... because it is something that tends to work for me.
Why not focus on all the good things that will happen. All the positives that a trip like this will bring your way, and not so much what could go wrong. Put the energy into researching the areas that you will visit. Germany is a wonderful place to visit.

[Trinity]

I've done plenty of international travel as a child with my parents and the time difference didn't really pose a problem with my epilepsy. So long as you are getting enough rest then you should be okay. It may take you a couple of days to get adjusted to the new timezone but otherwise all should be okay. I have also heard that it may help to space your medication out over the course of a day at first due to the timezone differences. Otherwise you would be possibly having quite a large gap between doses if you took your morning dose on your home time and evening dose on German time. Depending on whether time will change forward or back it may also mean that you have your meds too close together and if you are having full doses too close together it may make your drowsy or worse.
I would suggest just speaking with your neurologist about the best way to minimise the chance of a seizure and just try to enjoy your holiday. Germany is a lovely place to visit and there is no reason that having Epilepsy should prevent you from having fun.

[Bernard]

Drink plenty of water on the airplane. Cabin air is notoriously dry and can dehydrate you easily. You can always get up and go to the steward's station to ask for a glass of water. I do this frequently when I travel overseas. Their schedule for dispensing drinks isn't frequent enough for me.

Sleeping on an airplane can be tough if you are not used to it. Eye masks, ear plugs and/or horseshoe shaped pillows can all help you in this regard.