Travel druring Tx?

[hopeful587]

I am starting tx on Feb 9, have had important trip/reunion with friend end of month.  Should I cancel now, or wait and see how severe the sx?  Would Dr. advise to stay away from large crows?

[jdwithhcv]

I travelled a lot during treatment.  The only place I had trouble was Denver.  I was severely anemic and between the anemia and the altitude I had some real problems with shortness of breath.  Other than that I had no problems.  Just take it easy if you decide to go.

[nygirl7]

If it's very important unless there are major issues that I am not aware of I would advise you just to postpone treatment by a month.  One month isn't going to make that big of a difference really - I was livid that my treatment got postponed because my doctor forgot to tell me to go to the opthamologist first and everyone said "don't worry you'll be on treatment soon enough and it won't matter" however I wanted to start RIGHT THEN!

Of course - they were right and it was absolutely no big deal. Ended up having to treat for 72 weeks and by that time it seemed like a lifetime.

Of course I don't know any complications or if you are a stage 4 or something but talk to the doc about just starting afterwards so you don't have to worry about it.  It can go either way and you could feel fine or you could be slammed by anemia and laying in bed by that point. Unfortunately, nobody can know cause we all are different.

[FlGuy]

If you strat treatment you cannot interrupt it.  You cannot 'take a week off' You might be better off delaying the start of treatment.  Crowds don't matter unless unless you come down with 'riba rage' and then it's that whole postal thing to think about.  Enjoy the trip, treatment will be waiting patiently.

[miked]

My work requires constant travel.

I treated twice (SVR the 2nd round) and both times traveled within the US and internationally.  When you don't feel well there's no place like home.  But because I own my small company, there was nobody to delegate the travel to.

It wasn't pleasant but manageable, but that was just me.  It varies from person to person.

As for air travel; I bought a diabetic travel pack which is nylon zippered ice pack about the size of a book.  It would hold an injection needle, INF, RBV supply and for my 2nd tx VX950 (which also requires refrigeration) along with my script for all.  At the airport I'd quietly ask a TSA person to side and explain I was taking a form of Chemo....no further questions.  They were very gracious about the whole thing.

I'd wait to see how you are feeling after your first couple of shots.

miked

[ClippedWings]

I had to travel several times during treatment including a cross country flight 3 days after my first injection.  I never had any real problems traveling, but like most will tell you everyone has a different experience on treatment.  As for traveling with the meds, I put the injectors in a small tupperware container with the cool pack that came with my Pegasys kit and it kept everything cool til I arrived.  Had no problem at all with the injectors and security at the airport, the TSA allows you to travel with them.  I would give this advice: try to stay positive and as best you can don't let the treatment rule your life.  There may be times that it is tough, but there are plenty of folks that have a relatively easy time of it.  I hope you will be in that group.  Good luck.

[CMcH]

How large are those crows? :)
I felt OK the first month just a little more fatigued but you will hear that many others are effected right away. I would consider it if you will be able to get away for a break/rest if needed. It is very difficult to make any plans for this weekend or a vacation on these meds but if its important it is usually doable. My NP just tells me to buy travel Ins. in case  you need to cancel. My tip is to watch out for the sun and as YuK said you need to keep the needle at the correct temp.

[IMstacie]

That's a tough one.  Some folks don't feel bad at all, I was feeling pretty bad for about 8 plus weeks.  Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones.  Plus, it may depend on what you will be doing.  Fatigue & weakness is a common sx.  Just remember to keep your meds at the correct temperature.