Travel with Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis
#1

Dear Friends: I have had a couple of bad attacks over the last two weeks and my concern is that we are leaving on Saturday for a week’s vacation in Mexico.

I’m concerned about getting sick and not knowing where to turn. My fast acting morphine has helped with the first two attacks (I also use 75 mcg Fentanyl patches), but last night the morphine didn’t work very fast.

I ended up taking some old vicadin that I had and after an hour or two the pain finally subsided. Any advice for traveling with CP?

The all inclusive resort is going to make money off of me - no alcohol, no food! Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I hate to feel like this, but my anxiety over getting sicker makes me feel like this will be my last big vacation.

I hate that feeling, but I feel like I’ll either get too sick or lose my job and not be able to afford to travel. Any suggestions to help deal with these feelings would be much appreciated. Some days I don’t even recognize myself anymore.

I went to buy a bathing suit and all my regular sizes were way too big. They had to take something off the display to find something small enough. I look like a walking skeleton with droopy skin in it. Won’t that be attractive on the beach? LOL Oh well, enough of my whining. I am blessed to be able to go on this trip. Sorry for the pity party.

Thanks for listening (reading) this. Some days ya just gotta vent!

Take care and pain free day wishes to all of you!

Ellen

#2

Dear, dear Ellen:

I’m sorry to hear that your pain just doesn’t seem to want to let go and that you are so depressed!
I feel your pain as I’m sure many others do also! I know that when I was going through a very trying
time with this nasty disease that I felt the very same as you do now and to be honest, the stress nearly did me in, i.e. kinda one of those self-fulfilling prophecies, you know the ones that just make you sicker than you probably would have been had you not been “sick” with worry!

Anyway, the only advice I can give is to take as much pain meds. as you can (without making you sicker)
and to try to just “force out” any thoughts in regard to feeling bad or scared, etc. However, if you find that you aren’t able to do this, then I would cancel and stay at home because no doubt that you don’t want to get sick-sick in Mexico!

Just an f.y.i: We had just closed on our home in Taos, NM just 3 weeks prior to my AP becoming chronic
and I honestly was scared to death to EVER go back, for fear of getting sick there and needing hospitalization. (Taos is also rather primitive with New Mexico in general having a very poor health care system). But guess what, somehow I was able to rise above this fear (through my faith & help from
God) and I am having at least some days of relief that I NEVER thought that I would have again AND YOU JUST MIGHT TOO.

So, in closing, I think you can be okay and go and although you aren’t very likely to be doing any strenuous sightseeing, I’ll just bet you can at least sit back and enjoy the scenery & lest us not forget, luxuriate in Mexico’s WARM & WONDERFUL WEATHER!

Hang in there Ellen & take care! I hope you know that you can e-mail or call me ANYTIME!

Warmest regards,
Cristie

p.s. As I write this, my husband is in Fort Wayne, visiting our office off of Dupont Rd. not very far from
you. I wish that I could have come but we bought a new office building here and are in the
final stretch of getting ready to move in. Hope the weather there is better than it is here!!!

#4

Ellen, Call your GI and ask him to look up any doctors in the area of Mexico that you will be in that can be of help in case of an emergency.

I asked my doctor about traveling to foreign countries and he said that he has a list of doctors all over the world and could advise me whether or not to go to a particular country. And give me the name of a doctor in different countries.

He also said to avoid 3rd world countires. The good thing about Mexico is that you can get home fast on a plane if you need to (compared to other parts of the world).

His advice is “don’t let this stop you from traveling”.

Have a great time and get lots of rest, sleep, sun and water. So what if you can’t wear a thong!!! : ) Go for it girl!!!

Vonnie

#5

Thanks, Vonnie. You have some great ideas. I’ll call my doctor before I leave and I’m determined not to let CP keep me from traveling. Thanks for reading my whiny post. I was rather down yesterday, but today is a new day and I’m thankful for all of you who are out there supporting each other. It helps to know I’m not alone. Take care! Ellen