Some girls pack five different lip glosses for a weekend getaway.
I pack enough medication to make my carry-on look like a traveling pharmacy.
Welcome to traveling with epilepsy. ✈️
Does it make traveling more complicated? Absolutely.
Does it mean I’m staying home?
Not a fucking chance.
Yeah, I might pack a little extra clothing in case I develop an extra personality while I’m gone, but I mean, who doesn’t?
Vacation is where you’re supposed to go all out. You never know who you’re going to meet, what you’re going to do, or where the day might take you.
I’ve been traveling with epilepsy for a while now, so I have my routine pretty much down.
The biggest pain in the ass? Time zones.
My medication is on a 12-hour schedule based on Vegas time, and keeping track of that while crossing time zones—especially during flights—can get confusing. My husband is a godsend when it comes to helping me stay on schedule.
Other than that, I’ve got my system:
AM/PM pill boxes, like the old person I apparently am.
Little baggies so I can carry what I need for the day instead of lugging an entire pill box around on an adventure.
And, of course, enough medication to make my makeup bag feel neglected.
Before any vacation, everyone does their research. What do we want to see? Where do we want to eat? What kind of trouble can we get into?
I do that too. I just have a few extra things to think about.
My triggers can be unpredictable, so I focus on the ones I know I need to watch out for, like drinking and lack of sleep, along with avoiding strobe lights.
But I don’t plan an entire vacation around the possibility of having a seizure.
The one thing I make a real effort to protect is my sleep schedule, because lack of sleep is a known trigger for me. I want to experience the trip, not spend the whole damn thing recovering from it.
So I plan what I need to plan, pack what I need to pack, and then go enjoy myself.
My carry-on might have more medication than makeup, but it’s still coming with me somewhere fabulous.
Let’s fucking go. ✈️
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