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Has anyone gone away for a while?

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by Pupper, Jan 21, 2019.

  1. Pupper

    Pupper Active Member

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    I've been thinking about going on a road trip. Luckily, I'm in California, so there's lots of coastal towns. Part of the desire is just wanting to get out of the house. Away from this town. Part of it is to distract from the disappointment/depression of 3 surgeries not working.

    In simple terms, I'm just tired of this house. Of seeing the same thing every day. And feeling the same thing every day.

    Have any of you just gone away for a while. I did back in my early 20's. I went away for a whole summer. Lived out of my car. It was actually kind of great.

    But I'm older now. No way I could do that. That takes a lot of youthful energy and carelessness.

    I have 2 gym memberships. Gyms that are all over CA. I figure I stay at hotels, and hit the gyms. I've no idea really. I just want to go away.

    I wonder if I'll be bored to death. And it will be a bad thing rather than a good thing. Maybe I should wait till summer, so I could at least go to the beaches too.

    Man, I just long for the days of not being dizzy. Remember those? How we took that for granted! hah
     
  2. Clare

    Clare Active Member

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    Well, you'd be wise to avoid Minnesota this time of year.

    It sucks that the surgeries haven't gotten you to a more steady state. In my experience there's a lot of grief with each loss in this disease, and it's not like we can join a grief support group and expect people to understand. Good thing we've got each other.

    As for getting out and about, in 2017 on the suggestion of my vestibular therapist, I bought some walking sticks at REI and used them (urban style was using just one) when I was unsteady. Passersby either saw me as disabled/blind or athletic and practicing for Nordic skiing competition. Last year I very much wanted to go on a 10-day trip to Mexico with my daughter (probably our last mom-da adventure as she had recently fallen into a committed relationship), but I had been having dizziness problems when seeing movement (curse the online auto-start videos) and in busy background environments, like grocery stores and the patterned carpet in airports. My VT suggested I prepare by watching relaxation videos of waves lapping the shore (there are many online). Whether or not that specifically helped, I didn't have a problem once I got there. I did have two days of dizzy downtime toward the end of the trip, but that was most likely due to the inability to control sodium intake. It wasn't fun, but I'm so glad to have gone on the trip for the other 8 days which were great.

    If you're worried about being bored, try to put yourself outside the norm. Stay in airbnbs instead of hotels. Each one will have some weirdnesses that you can remember and laugh about -- either at the time or later on. Choose a location close to local hot spots, and venture out if you're up to it. Set a challenge, like following the El Dorado and seeing how many missions you can step foot on in a week. Or head to Venice Beach and check out the scene. Avoid freeways and drive by as many big roadside sculptures and oddities as possible. Strike up conversations if you're not feeling too crappy to socialize. In the summer months, you can catch a different vegetable festival every weekend in the central valley.

    When I lived in the Bay area in the '80s, a friend and I would make doing our laundry a bi-weekly excursion. We usually chose a neighborhood we hadn't been to, but one time we went all the way to Angel's Camp in the foothills because Mark Twain had mentioned bullfrog jumping contests there. They still do them, and it's about like trying to get cats to perform. Whatever you do, keep pushing the limits to see how much adventuring you can do under the influence of meniere's. This disease is a thief that steals pleasure and replaces it with fear, but not a murderer, and we have to fight back.

    Carpe diem, Pupper.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Glenn

    Glenn Member

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    There certainly are ways us troopers can stay prepared, and keep moving during this battle. Whether on land or sea, I would keep a fold-up electric motor scooter or wheelchair, with a small portable generator, in my vehicle or lodging.
     
  4. Marta

    Marta Active Member

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    Good luck Pupper with your plans. I know where you are coming from that’s why I keep my fingers crossed for you even more.
     
  5. Pupper

    Pupper Active Member

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    Thanks for that great response Clare. Fun ideas.

    I know Airbnb has been big for a while now, but I've never considered it. So I guess travelers stay at someone else's house/condo/apt? That might be kinda weird. I realize the owners wouldn't be there, but still. I'll look into it.

    I'd no idea YouTube had vids of calming ocean waves. I'm definitely gonna check that out.

    I've thought about a "grief group" like you mentioned, but I think it'd just depress the hell out of me. I picture a guy talking about how his wife doesn't know his name or who he is anymore.

    Thanks for the kind words Marta.
     
  6. June-

    June- Well-Known Member

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    I am a snowbird. I go where it is flat and warm and i can get outside a lot. Never thought i would do that but at this age i like it a lot. But I am not dizzy so i cant say it helps with that. When my problem was more active, i found when i crossed the mississippi or went up 5000 ft, my ear problems got much better. I was never sure if it was weather patterns or lack of usual allergens. Good luck, you deserve a break.
     
  7. Fisherman42

    Fisherman42 Active Member

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    You should go. Follow your heart don’t let this thing keep you down and don’t ever give in. A change of venue may be just what you need. It will lift your spirits and may take your mind off your fight for a minute. A lot of what we focus on here is medical and biological we have to remember our spirts sometimes, we have to feed our inner spirit also lest we get lost in the battle. Good luck.
     
  8. beachkitty

    beachkitty New Member

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    GO! And take a journal to write your thoughts in as you go. You’ll enjoy re-living it later. Do the BnB’s With a homeowner—it’ll decrease the monotony of “home”.
     

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