Traveling with pain

Here's a little bit of what I did to help me on my travels on a trip I recently took. You may not understand it unless you deal with daily chronic pain. If you deal with pain,  maybe some of this will be helpful to you. 

I went on a trip which was 2 hours ahead of California time. I was getting up earlier each day,  about 4 hours or more than usual.  Some days I felt like a zombie.  Yet there was a couple days I spent time resting. I spent some alone time, just resting, which I needed to keep going. We did  2 weeks of stuff in one week. So I basically had to pack 3 different times for traveling throughout one state.  And I tried to keep eating foods that kept my irritable bowl syndrome in check and didn't eat foods that would cause a fibromyalgia flare up.  My health was good there mostly and yet the humidity caused pain in the mornings. Thankfully hot massage showers took edge off and I kept biofreeze with me. I made sure I had a microwave and fridge in each hotel I stayed at.

I did take an egg crate cushion section that I cut enough to lay my body on, when I go to sleep.   Plus I brought my special pillow with me so that I could be comfortable in each bed.  My pain was so bad with first plane trip,  so on the way back I sat on the egg crate foam cushion which helped a lot.  I had originally packed it on the check-in luggage.  

Both ways I brought a tiny pillow with me on plane to help my back pain and posture. I didn't want any more new pain brought on by not sitting correctly on the plane. 

Plus I brought my regular mypillow with me in check-in luggage. I brought my ice and heat packs too. Each night I used my hot, moist pack that I could microwave to heat up and wrapped it around my shoulders and head. It all helped. I wish I could have traveled lighter but I knew what I needed to make the trip better for my body.  I have learned to do this and I even have a check list I keep in my computer so I know when I go out of town,  I don't forget my important medical stuff.