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PMR and travel?

Posted , 11 users are following.

mphooey
mphooey

I am contemplating a trip down the Amazon next June. Since I have PMR and have had it for some time, is there anything I should watch out for, besides the expected stiffness lurching around the boat? I will be getting shots ahead of time. Any reactions?

How about high altitudes? Cuzco  Peru is on the itinerary too. Any wisdom out there?

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • EileenH
    EileenH mphooey

    Posted

    Beware - you are assuming you can have all the requisite shots but when you are on pred you are not supposed to have live vaccines so I'd check up on that before committing to anything.

    I have friends who "did" the Amazon and Peru last year. Their description of their trip was definitely something I wouldn't commit to with PMR! It sounded wonderful but extremely hard work - including the climatic conditions. Many people with PMR/on pred have sweats anyway and often discover when they go on a holiday that they no longer tolerate high temperatures, particularly in combination with high humidity. 

    Machu Picchu is at 2,400m/8000ft,  Cuzco is at 3,399m/11,000ft - altitude sickness becomes a problem above 9000ft. The primary problem in PMR is probably poor blood supply to muscles - and so poor oxygen supply which is what contributes to the muscle pain on exertion. If you then combine it with high altitude I would think that could only exaccerbate the problem.

    Most of these trips are strenuous - only you know how much your PMR affects you, but you have complained about muscle pain at normal altitudes from gym visits. Are you confident you can go on a trek along with others and keep up all day for an extended period under those conditions?

    • noninoni
      noninoni EileenH

      Posted

      Hi Eilene, I live inbetween Canada (Toronto) and Chicago and have a spare bedroom sort of out in the country, so if you are driving between the two, you can stop here for the night!  I live outside Ann Arbor.  Let me know.
    • EileenH
      EileenH noninoni

      Posted

      How kind noninoni - however, the plan is to do a tour starting in Calgary, down to Vancouver and a cruise up the coast. We have been to meetings in Toronto and Ottawa in the past so have been to a lot of the east coast - now it is the west's turn. Don't know if the tour will be done before the meeting or after - but we'll fly from Chicago to Calgary or Vancouver to Chicago. I've been hoping for a west Canadian meeting for years - and two come along at once! If the first was a week later and the second a week earlier we could have a had a WONDERFUL time!
  • gillian_25383
    gillian_25383 mphooey

    Posted

    Only the obvious,if you are on steroids be wary of infections and of course carry your blue steroid treatment card incas (God forbid)you need treatment for anything as they have to know if you are on steroids plus up to a year after coming off them
    • LayneTX
      LayneTX mphooey

      Posted

      I'm in US. I asked pharmacy about blue card and they didn't know what I was talking about.  I've actually put a note on my key chain to say I'm on Prednisone incase I ever have a car wreck and am unconscience. 

      I thought of having Road id make me a wrist band, I have one for identification back when I was a runner and cyclist. One can put medical info on it. Only cost $20. 

  • rrobinson75
    rrobinson75 mphooey

    Posted

    I have an opportunity to go to Hong Kong in April and wonder if that is advisable with having PMR and taking steroids. Any thoughts?
    • EileenH
      EileenH rrobinson75

      Posted

      I have travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia on one trip and Japan on another with PMR, and to the US, South Korea and China (all separate trips) with PMR while taking pred. I will be travelling to conferences in Canada in May and Chicago and Canada in July. I have never had any problems.

      I try not to arrange to do anything I can't get out of on the first day after arrival - and sleep all my body tells me it needs. I make sure the day of travel is as easy as possible - if I have to travel to the airport I try to go the day before. If there are connections I make sure there is plenty of time and if there might be a long walk in that transfer where I might have to hurry I would ask for assistance, especially if it involves dealing with luggage. 

      I consider the itinerary of any tour involved carefully - last summer I did a 13 day tour in China and while I was a bit concerned there was a lot on each day I went assuming I could duck out of parts of trips. As it happened I couldn't, you left the hotel in the morning and got back late afternoon, but I managed fine, only refusing to climb the Red Pagoda on the Yangtze (I was far from the only one to do so as it was chucking it down with rain and the steps are sloping down and were very wet and slippery) and the Bell Tower in Beijing - it was about 36C and sunny! I also didn't walk as far as some did when we had any free time at a site.  I was tired but never that black pit of fatigue we know so well! 

      Providing you look at an activity and think: "Could/would I think I could do that at home?" and answer it honestly you should be OK. As I said in the post above - if it is something a high altitude or extreme climatic conditions then do think hard. And anywhere where you need vaccinations check those out first. Live vaccines are taboo with pred. Usually you can elect to travel without all the shots - the problem may arise on the way home as some countries won't let you BACK IN without the shots if you have visited a country where something like, for example, Yellow Fever is endemic.

      Go - I just wouldn't plan a walk up to Victoria Peak if it is hot! It should be quite temperate though:

      "Weather in Hong Kong in April is mainly sunny with relatively low humidity, making the month one of the best to visit the city. The average temperature for April in Hong Kong is a warming, but not suffocating 22C (72).

      April's humidity levels remain bearable, although at the end of the month you can expect them to start hitting the high numbers, when it becomes hard to enjoy being outdoors in the city.

      April is probably the month that best combines pleasant temperatures with equally pleasant humidity.

      Unfortunately, it's not all good news, April also brings rain, with precipitation reaching 137mm (5-6 in). Luckily this is spread over an average of just eight days, meaning most days will be raincoat free."

      I'd come with you like a shot - my niece is there and I'd love to visit her!

    • rrobinson75
      rrobinson75 EileenH

      Posted

      Thanks so much for your input. It is very helpful and encouraging! Did you get shots before going?
    • EileenH
      EileenH rrobinson75

      Posted

      Don't think so. Don't think any were required as we weren't going "up the jungle" anywhere. We didn't need any for China last summer.
  • Kdemers
    Kdemers mphooey

    Posted

    My experience came from a visit to Chaco Canyon in New Mexico.  We were in the middle of nowhere and suddenly my eyes and cluster headache were too much to bear--along with jaw and shouler pain. My husband cut the trip short and we called dr. who upped Prednisone to 40 mg.  --worried about vision probably--.  My thoughts on the situation was that I was too much in the sun which before had made my symptoms worse.  So take extra Prednisone and wear a hat and use sunscreen. My sister has Lupus and always takes sun precautions. Get a Solumbra (sp?) shirt and hat --cover neck.  Don't stress.  Walk slowly  --listen to body. Rest more that you would....

    How is that for  nonprofessional  advice?

  • RD_Swede
    RD_Swede mphooey

    Posted

    When travelling, I always carry a set of medicines in my checked-in baggage and a dosette for one week´s medicine supply in my hand bag. Also a copy of the list of medicines. Although it is in Swedish, the latin names tell everything necessary and many medicines have the same name. I once had a colleague who lost his baggage on the way to Lyon. On a Sunday evening he had to go to a doctor and then to the chemist. We were kucky to have a French host who helped and since then I always carry a double supply.
  • tricia11872
    tricia11872 mphooey

    Posted

    I went to Cuzco several years but before I had PMR. I did feel slightly nauseous and wore those sickness wrist bands most of the time until I got use to it and went on to Machu Pichu. We caught the train right to the end but it is still fairly exhausting. My daughter worked there and her guide showed us around. One of the best places I have been to but only you know how you feel. Would hate to advise. Breathing can be a problem at high altitudes.

     

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