6 Things I Learned While Traveling With Hashimoto’s

Happy Belated, Belated New Years! 

Over the holidays I went on a 2 week trip to Mexico and it was ahh-mazing!  

It was a jam-packed trip, I traveled throughout Mexico and visited over 9 locations! Along the way I learned a handful of things about traveling well with Hashimoto’s and hope that this will help you with your next trip!

But First, Where I visited:

The first leg of the trip was taken with my church family for missions work in Nuevo Laredo, (NL), Mexico.  We partnered with a ministry called “Regalos De Amor” translated “Gifts of Love” and reached out to the local community to pass out gifts to underprivileged children.  It was such a joy to see their little faces receiving gifts but most importantly, the gospel of Christ was given at each outreach.  

From NL I traveled into Mexico to visit my family for the holidays.  I had planned for 5 stops, but ended up doing way more! 

Disclaimer: I’m only going to share some pics as I’m having major technical difficulties uploading. 

Stop 2: San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi

Stop 3: Sierra San Pedro, San Luis Potosi

Stop 4: Xilitla, San Luis Potosi

Stop 5: Axtla de Terrazas, San Luis Potosi

Stop 6: Tamazunchale, San Luis Potosi (and visited 4 small communities same day)

Stop 7: Huitzitzilingo, Hidalgo

Stop 8: Pachuca, Hidalgo

Stop 9: Huasca De Ocampo, Hidalgo

And finally… Stop 10: Mexico City, Mexico State

As you can see, it was a whirlwind, to say the least.  I was packing up and heading on to the next location every 2 days or so…

I learned a handful of lessons about traveling well with Hashimoto’s because of not doing them well!  Let me just say my body is paying for it right now, so please learn from my mistakes.  

Without further ado, Here are the 6 things I learned about traveling with Hashi’s.

It’s important to keep your normal devotional time

Keep your normal devotional time with the Lord. I’m speaking to those of you who are Christians, this is by far the most important tip I have for you when traveling. 

Also, this is assuming that you already do this back at home.  For me, I do this first thing in the morning after making myself some coffee.  

For those of you readers who are not a Christian, a devotional time is a time set apart to read the Bible, pray and journal. It is how we as Christian’s grow closer to God and understand what His will is for our lives. I pray for you, dear reader, that you would come to the knowledge of God one day 🙂

Having that quiet time with God is so essential and will do wonders for your attitude and strength (both physical and mental).  I shared a room with my daughter and stayed at different family members houses. Although this was wonderful, it made it really hard to get alone with God.  I would still do my “quiet time” but it just wasn’t the same as doing it in solitude.  

This tip goes hand in hand with lesson # 2 below, which is to not share a room! 

Don’t share a room!

I know this sounds hermit-ish (I’m aware this isn’t a real word) but hear me out!  As mentioned above, it is hard to get solitude to recharge and connect with the Lord when you are constantly with someone else in the same room. 

It also makes it difficult to keep your normal sleep schedule when you have a roomie. Granted you kinda have to share a room with your children 🙂 But this tip applies to you if you are traveling with adults.  

Your roomies may not be on your sleep schedule. Although it is fun to have a mini slumber party, sharing a room on an extended trip is not good for the soul long run.  (Or is it just me that thinks this way? Do share below!)

So if your budget allows, I would recommend paying that extra moola to get you some alone time.  

It’s important to keep your normal sleep schedule

Proper sleep helps us keep our bodily functions in order and most importantly our adrenal glands. Many with Hashimoto’s also suffer from adrenal fatigue and lack of sleep directly affects the adrenals. And the adrenals directly affect your thyroid function, it’s a vicious cycle if both systems are off and not performing at optimal. 

Unfortunately, I did not keep my normal sleep schedule. Some of it was out of my control, for example the first leg of my trip was the missions portion. Four people to a hotel room, we rose early and ended late each day (I’m talking 5 am till midnight!). This set the tone for the rest of my trip and I found myself living off less and less sleep as each day passed. 

I pushed my body to its limit and crumbled almost immediately upon arriving back home. I feel my adrenals took a hit.  Since I’ve been back I feel less able to cope with everyday life. Everything seems like a heavy task, I’m wired and tired at night and my anxiety is back, I’ve even had some panic attacks!

 I learned this lesson the HARD way.  Nevertheless it’s a lesson you can learn on my account, please heed this if you plan to travel soon.  Get you some good sleep! You can thank me later 🙂   

Pack your own snacks and some meal options

I did this to an extent. The snacks were life savers on days when I was stuck on a bus all day with no AIP friendly options. What I would have done differently was pack more snacks despite the inconvenience. 

I only packed enough snacks to eat during the missions trip.  I did not account for the rest of my trip to well. However, I did have some leftover snacks that were lifesavers on some of my travel days.  But mostly I was fasting on days when I was stuck on a long bus ride. 

Before I went on this trip, I had experimented with some reintros… Corn, beans, cheese, nuts… I do have to admit, I was hasty bringing them back in and have found out that I don’t feel as great as I did on strict AIP. 

Because I didn’t haul enough food with me, I eventually had to succumb to eating corn, beans, cheese, spicy foods on a regular in Mexico because that is literally about 80% of the typical diet. 

The solution? 

What I would do differently in the future is to pack more proteins, think sardines, beef jerky, tuna packets etc. Also fasting when viable food options aren’t available on flights/bus rides.  

Staying in bigger cities where there are more options available is another good strategy I learned and If you plan to travel to remote areas from there, make sure to stock up while in the city.    

Fruits and veggies are abundantly available in all parts of Mexico, so sticking to eating as much of these and subbing protein with your stash is also a good option.  

The caveat to all the above is Mexican hospitality.  Pretty much whoever you visit will want to lavish you with delicious homemade food and take offense if you do not eat what was prepared.  This can be tricky to navigate, I would exercise discretion and perhaps eat some of the things that have less of a negative impact on your health.  

Be flexible

Like the apostle Paul said, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”

This man went through terrible hardships while traveling.  He suffered multiple ships wrecks, hunger, beatings etc…

Ok, so traveling for pleasure is not the same as traveling to spread the gospel as Paul did. But we can still learn some lessons from his example.  

When traveling we are not in our natural element and can choose to see this as an opportunity to be content in being abased and in abounding, everywhere in all things.  

For example, when I stayed in my dad’s small hometown the lights went out one night for 3 hours.  It was rainy and cold. No central heat, the house is made from cement so it was really cold! I was not a happy camper although I lived through these conditions when I lived there for 2 years as a child.  

Also, my dad’s house is not completed and he doesn’t have a water heater.  So on another cold rainy night I had to take a bucket bath and manually warm up some water.  I didn’t get the hot steamy shower I’m used to back at home. I didn’t leave the shower feeling squeaky clean and refreshed. Instead I was cold, and felt grimy from the different water quality.  

This tip is only given in retrospect because I did not, I repeat did not pass this lesson.  I was whiney internally and externally. 

Looking back I could have redeemed the time wisely by praying or reciting memorized scriptures when the lights went out and I could have been thankful for the warm water.  

These inconveniences were good reminders to cherish the comforts back home and only spotlighted my inflexibility as an adult.  If I’m to travel the world as I plan to do God willing, I will need to stay open minded and flexible in all circumstances. 

Take it slow

I knew my itinerary was going to be exhausting before I left the states.  However, I had no idea how this would end up impacting my health.  

For this reason, I highly recommend that if you plan to travel soon, take it slow! Stay longer in each location if possible and savor that city/town.  

In my case, the pace ended up being too aggressive for my hashimoto’s ridden body. However, the Lord was my strength while traveling, I didn’t really feel the fatigue until after I got back home. 

As I mentioned earlier, I have not been the same since I’ve been back (a month plus now). I think it’s safe to say that I am having a thyroid/adrenal flareup.  

So if you plan to travel to a bunch of places in a short amount of time, I would really think it over.  And if you must go at a fast pace, make sure you work in parameters to rest well and eat as closely to your normal diet as possible. Having a flexible mindset will help you cope with what comes your way better and working in that quiet/devotional time with God will do a world of wonder for your spirit.  

Lastly, if you are able to travel, what a privilege and a gift from God! 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  James 1:17