I have been on a little sabbatical from writing, so now it’s been almost a year since I took my first long trip after being diagnosed with MS. However, I still wanted to write this post even though I am quite far removed from it now because I think it’s important to discuss traveling with MS.
Last September, I went on a little over a two-week long vacation to Italy with my fiancée (we got engaged a couple weeks before we went to Italy actually!). It was a beyond amazing trip. I had never been to Italy before, and it was everything I imagined it would be and then some. We went to Milan, Verona, Florence, Rome, and Positano.
The longest trip I had been on since being diagnosed with MS prior to going to Italy was only 5 or so days, and even though I was so excited to go to Italy, I was worried about going away for so long. I was worried about how I was going to pack all of my medications and supplements and how much extra I should pack.
As a side note, after being diagnosed with MS, one of the immediate thoughts that crossed my mind was how was I going to be able to travel. What medications will I have to bring with me? How much of an ordeal will this be? How much more high maintenance will I become? I was concerned about all of it. However, it all ended up working out.
Everyone always says you shouldn’t put your medications in your checked back because what if, God forbid, your checked bag gets lost. Some even say you shouldn’t check your clothing items that you would die if they were to become lost. I, generally, live by this. The problem is I think I would die if any of my clothes didn’t make it. But what would kill me even more is if my medications and supplements didn’t.
Usually, I use a small Henri Bendel’s leather pill box with my initials on it that has three small containers inside of the box. It holds about 3 days’ worth of my supplements and medications. It’s perfect for a little weekend trip or just to bring with you when you go out to dinner. It’s small and fits in most handbags, and if it doesn’t fit, you can use one of the small containers inside the box on their own. It’s too bad Henri Bendel’s went out of business, because this pill box really is the best, and I wish you could all have gotten it. It’s really versatile. However, a 3-day box doesn’t cut it when you are on a two weeklong trip.
I had to come up with something else to bring all of my medications and supplements in. After some consideration and discussion with my fiancée and fam, I ended up packing my entire prescription of my Tecfidera (my MS medication) and then I packed 3 weeks’ worth of my supplements in a plastic baggie. Yes, I looked like Lisa Rinna in that one episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but there wasn’t enough space to put all of my supplement bottles in a carry on. I literally take NAC, Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Vitamin D3, Milk Thistle, Zinc, Copper, Magnesium, Turmeric, and a Probiotic daily. It’s simply just too many bottles. I remember when I first saw that episode of Real Housewives, and I was like, how does Rinna even know which pills are which to take, but trust me, after taking them for months on end, you literally know exactly what each pill looks like, so it’s really easy. I was also a tad worried that TSA or international airport security would take issue with the number of pills I had in my carry on, but no one said anything about it.
I wanted to bring extras of my supplements and entire full prescription of my Tecfidera, because if for some reason we ended up being delayed and couldn’t come home in time or I dropped a pill somewhere I wouldn’t be SOL. And, I have actually lost a Tecfidera pill before. I stupidly let the pill run loose in my Jacquemus bag once, and it must have fallen out somewhere, so it does actually happen where you can lose one.
Separately, I recently went to Santa Barbara from LA for the weekend with my fiancé to visit my fiancé’s Dad. Since it was only going to be a 2-day trip, I just brought my filled Henri Bendel’s pill box. However, we ended up staying a little bit longer. All of the riots and protests started the afternoon after we left for Santa Barbara, and when we were planning to go back, things were still chaotic in LA. So, we decided to stay a little longer, and I was getting stressed since I didn’t have enough pills to stay too many days after what he had initially planned for. Yes, I am only in LA, so it’s not a far drive to get them, but since we just drove to Santa Barbara and certainly had the room to bring all of my pill bottles, I really should’ve just packed the straight bottles. Going forward, that’s what I am going to do when we are traveling by car and there is space. It’s just not worth the stress.
But, all in all, when you are traveling by plane, I think it’s best to only bring the bottles that are truly essential and then just pack the rest of the supplements, etc. in a baggie with extras to spare since you have limited space in your carry on. However, if you do not have limited space, just bring the bottles, so you aren’t in a situation where you cannot get home and you don’t have your typical medications and supplements with you to get you by.
Always,
Taylor
