Tummy Troubles and Air Travel

 Tummy Troubles and Air Travel

 

A life of travel feels exciting, with many of us dreaming of taking to the skies for a new adventure. When you need to consider the behaviour of your digestive system, it might not always be straightforward to hop on a plane to escape life for a while. 

 

     As a celiac with Crohn's disease, I have discovered some golden nuggets which may make travel easier. Unfortunately, this can so often feel like a challenging time. One of the obvious difficulties I have faced in the past is bowel incontinence. 

En route to ‘air side’ at Gatwick airport, I was travelling with my daughter to Montenegro to review the gluten-free food at a new hotel in Ulcinj. She frequently comes along as an assistant for work reasons and to help me if my health is problematic. Generally, I know my triggers, and can frequently limit symptoms, but this is never a perfect rule. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be completely unpredictable when symptoms occur and no matter what you do, there will be times when you feel unwell or become incontinent. 

On this day, I hadn’t eaten and limited my fluids to mint tea. I had my fingers crossed.    

       Jasmine and I sat close to the toilets as the airport got busier. We watched people walk past us, fast enough to create a draught, with stress magnetising their eyebrows together. Excitement made my heart beat a little faster. I was excited to sit and write on a plane, with no distractions from my iPhone.  I had just dialled the number to switch off my voicemail when I felt a familiar pain in the lower part of my tummy. I glanced to my right and must have given Jasmine a look that told her all she needed to know.

     “Ok? Mum?” She asked at the same time as reaching down to pick up the bags which were at our feet. I already had my hands full, and my feet planted firmly on the ground as my legs took the weight of my body. The pain wasn’t quite at its peak as I walked to the toilet as fast as I could without running. I didn’t make it.

 

From behind the locked door, I heard, “Mum?” with slight tension in Jasmine’s voice.

“I’ll text you.” 

‘Please go to Boots, get pads, Imodium instants*, baby wipes and water.’

Panic then ran through my mind. Should I cancel the flight? How would I be able to fly? 

 

An hour later, I was kitted out. And hopeful. 

One foot inside the plane and I spoke to one of the staff, asking if I was able to use the toilet if needed. He informed me, without judgement or being quizzed, that I was able to use the facilities until take-off, and then again after the seatbelt light was switched off. I had an aisle seat, so that was useful. I have always booked an aisle seat since. And I also book special assistance, through a simple phone call to the tour operator. Frequently, the airport staff (especially abroad) think you automatically need a wheelchair. Sometimes, that can be useful if fatigue is a symptom, but often you might prefer to walk if you can. Now, the airports are giving out sunflower lanyards for you to flash to the staff, who will generally offer you a wheelchair. Sadly, there is a way to go for communicating the needs of people with IBD in the travel industry, but special assistance is available (and useful) if you find standing in a queue difficult. You will be able to board first and get off the plane last. This ensures less time in queues, and more time closer to a toilet. It isn’t perfect, but it does go some way to help you enjoy the freedom of travel. 

     If you need to take medication with you, check the details of the storage needs of it, and if you will need to take permission letters from your healthcare provider. At the other end, you might need a fridge. If it isn’t obvious to find out if the room has a fridge, try a google search, or phone the hotel directly. 

If you need extra hand luggage allowances, due to your health, the same phone call you make to book special assistance will also allow you to ask questions about extra hand luggage allowances. Most airlines will organise this for free. You will also be able to book seats with a member of your party for free, under special assistance booking. Don’t forget to be very clear on dietary requirements. They can organise this, but you will need to plan in advance. I had a mishap en route to Mexico several years ago and nothing gluten-free was available. I had phoned the airline, but I had no confirmation and somewhere, the message had got lost. 

I was a little hungry, and enjoyed my all-inclusive buffet upon arrival, right before booking a meeting with the executive chef to discuss my food needs. 

 

 

 

*Medications mentioned here are not recommended without you speaking to your healthcare provider. 

Choices of sessions one to one coaching £249.00 GBP follow up session £199.00 GBP set of 4 sessions £950.00 GBP Questions via email only £85.00 GBP
Email to book: lusherlifenutrition@gmail.com

The health benefits of food journalling.

 Auld Lang Syne echoes into the distance and promises of new beginnings peep through like crocuses. 

“This year will be my year.”

“Things are going to be different.”

Blessed with wellness or not, the new year is when many of us put new pressures on ourselves to improve things. 

 

Focus and intention are good things, it’s true. But added stress can play nasty games with the human body. So what is the best way to ensure new habits are good, and leave the accompanying negativity knocking on the closed door from 2022?

 

Take control. 

Empowerment is a sure way to have you feeling more confident, and it secretly encourages you to believe you can make life better. Writing things down always makes you feel better, we know this. 

If you journal, the stream-of-consciousness thinking seems to feel ‘shared’ on the page as if you have told an imaginary friend your innermost thoughts; with the confidence of knowing their lips are sealed. 

If you write a ‘to-do’ list, you can see what you have achieved with every tick, and see what you still need to do.

If you track your eating, you have a list in front of you which gives you a sense of knowing if you are snacking out of control or if you are hitting your intentions.

How about trying to put some of these things together?

 

There are many free apps on the market to keep a track of food and exercise, but we need more than that if we have health conditions to consider. We know our bodies better than most people, and we know that we have certain triggers. The unpredictability of bowel habits can seem nonsensical at times, which leads to frustration. Occasionally, you may be able to pinpoint some triggers, lowering the frequency of the elusive reasons for symptoms. It can be easy to feel a low vibe motivationally when discussing bowel symptoms from IBD or IBS because there are times when you just won’t know the answer why. It seems unfair.

This is where journaling can help you release some feelings onto paper and potentially encourage you to write about aspects of life which you might not otherwise address.

 

To help consider food triggers, food diaries will be the best place to start. Yet, the same food may have a different effect if you eat it while feeling stressed, to eating it while you are calmer. Do you ever fancy eating differently, simply because the weather outside is changing?

Summer may bring a flavoursome salad while winter is all about slurping steaming soups. 

Your body sometimes does things to give you subliminal feelings, which can go unnoticed. 

 

The best way of making yourself aware, is to keep that food journal but add in some bonus material for your bowel.

 

Write what you have eaten.

Add water consumption.

Draw up a scale to record your feelings or mood.

Have you undertaken any movement or exercise?

How are your stress levels?

Record how many hours you have slept.

Is meditation your thing? Pop that in the list too. 

Are you trying new supplements? 

Ladies can add their menstrual cycles.

Describe your bowel movements (pain, loose, constipation, bleeding, mucus)

Complete a couple of paragraphs of thoughts and feelings. 

 

Gaining some control over your life can begin with focusing on what your body is telling you. Life can be very busy, and we feel we are being rolled along on a conveyor belt. Taking a little time each day to record how you feel, paying attention to changes and if they affect how your body feels, and reflecting on any patterns which form, can help you feel more empowered with your symptoms. 

 

New years resolutions? Or new practice resolutions? Let’s take the pressure off ourselves and enjoy getting a little creative with our journals. 

 

My tip: Personally, I prefer to use a blank notebook and draw out what I want inside. That might be little squares to fill a number in on my happiness scale or a bullet list of what my mental health was like on a given day. When I create journal writing, I free-flow my thoughts. We will dig deeper into this in another post. 

For me, the art of spending a little time creatively can mean a difference in my mood, which gives me more power to experience a better feeling day. 

 

Need some help with your health goals? Find out more here.

Choices of sessions one to one coaching £249.00 GBP follow up session £199.00 GBP set of 4 sessions £950.00 GBP Questions via email only £85.00 GBP
Email to book: lusherlifenutrition@gmail.com