Took a 2 1/2 hour trip this weekend and flared!

[Lenee IC Friend Find all posts View Profile Close Lenee]

We went away for the weekend and traveled about 2 1/2 hours away. I used my tens unit and felt pretty good Friday evening. Boom, Saturday I felt it coming on and felt pretty ucky by Saturday evening. I don't usually have trouble with night time runs, 1 time a night is a flare for me but I was up 3 times. I made the mistake of eating potato salad Friday night too so I don't know if that alone made the big issue or the trip. Then of course I had to make the 2 1/2 hour trip back home Sunday and I was in real pain the whole trip. The tens unit only took the edge off and I have been popping Percocet ever since. I am really disappointed, we are suppose to travel for our 25th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks and I am scared the trip is what set me off this time. How can you really enjoy your anniversary if you're in pain? Any thoughts on what I shouldv'e done or remedies? We were planning a 6 hour trip split in two days but since I did so bad on just 2 1/2 I don't know what to do

Thanks for any input,
Lenee

[icnmgrjill ICN Founder Find all posts View Profile Close icnmgrjill]

Great question....

#1 - If you're travelling by car, make sure it's a car with a very SMOOTH suspension. This is not the time to be driving in a car that bounces with each bump. I drive a Buick Rendezvous that's a dream. Works great for IC.

#2 - Much travelling discomfort is actually pelvic floor spasms which occur due to bouncing, stress, etc. etc. So, sometimes using a muscle relaxant for the duration of the trip works (as long as you aren't driving). I, for example, use very small doses of flexeril whenever I'm travelling.

#3 - To make the trip more comfortable, you might also want to use a tiny bit of pain medication (again if you're not driving, etc).

#4 - I wear heating pads constantly.... the bodiheat pads that you stick to your underwear and wear all day.

Just a few tips.. but I'm sure there will be more from this great group of people.

Jill O.

[waterflow ICN Member Find all posts View Profile Close waterflow]

Did you leave your tens on 24/7? When I take mine off for any length of time it takes a day or two before the pain level will get back down to what the tens will help keep it at. When I travel I too need to take some form of pain meds. Maybe laying down for the car ride would help also. I have found my van rides much more better then any other cars I have been in. No bouncing when going over pot holes or bumps. Hope you have a nice trip.

[Berkshire Road ICN Member Find all posts View Profile Close Berkshire Road]

I do everything Jill suggested (except the med doses are regular, not tiny); plus, even though my car has good suspension, I sit on the IC cushion, put a small cylinder-shape cushion behind the small of my bask, and a pillow (bed pillow) behind me; lean the seat back enough so my head won't roll forward, put a cushion under my feet, and pretty much sleep the whole way. I wake up disoriented but usually not really stiff or in pain.

This system has opened up the world to me. Before I thought of it, I couldn't ride more than twenty minutes or so. Of course, it's not very companionable for my husband, but he understands that if he wants my companionship when we arrive, this is the price.

[Lenee IC Friend Find all posts View Profile Close Lenee]

Thanks for all the tips ladies. I really believe it was pelvic floor related because it went into my hip and back really bad. I am still feeling bad and still taking percocet, I go to my PT this Thursday so hopefully she will be able to work out those muscles. I have had a hard time getting my pc dr to prescribe muscle relaxants, which ones have worked for you guys? so I can be specific this time and tell him what happen on my trip. I really don't want to give up on the anniversary trip so I am going to take all your suggestions and see how I do. Thanks Again!!!

[Berkshire Road ICN Member Find all posts View Profile Close Berkshire Road]

Valium is a good muscle relaxant, and I hear a lot of good things about flexaril. Right now I take Klonapin, which isn't really a muscle relaxant but has that effect. A muscle relaxant makes my pain meds SO much more effective, especially in situations like a car ride, where movement is constrained. This is working so well, that I'm seriously contemplating a plane trip to LA (about 5 hours) the next time my husband goes out there for his work. This would probably be in early June. I'm still not sure, but I know I want to go, so we're just working out "what-if" scenarios and planning carefully.