RA and travelling

Recently I visited Italy, first time since diognosed in January this year. I wanted a relaxed time away from all the Dramas of the illness. 

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the break, the pain of walking small distances was horrible. 

I have also noticed that cutting down on fat, gluten and dairy helps me a lot. This was difficult to achieve during this time. I went to gluten free restaurants and asked them to skip cheese and dairy, but soon after I ate food that afternoon the stiffness came back for the fast time after the treatment. Later on I decided to live on salads for meals and sorbets for treat. I had to take painkillers at night and started my days with lot of stretches and yoga. Nighttime taking hot bath used to help. 

So overall it was a learning process to understand the changes in my body and how I need to deal with these. 

Next time I will travel with lots of energy bars, avoid restaurant foods as much as possible. 

I will also recommend to take light luggage, take short holidays than the long ones. Holidays in south East Asia or exotic places need to planned out with  good health insurance. Take your medications, stent sleeves and painkillers with you. 

Do not drink during holiday ( it was so painful for me not to sip the nice wines), do not smoke, take recreational drugs or go for latenights. Enough rest is necessary.