long haul travel

[DancingM]

I am travelling to Hongkong on a 12 hour flight soon. Any tips for the journey please? Also I shall be taking my Hydroxicarbamide tablets with me, will this cause any problems at customs?

[Grandma111]

I recently took a 16 hour flight and my doctor gave me a Xarelto 10mg table to take one hour before. I also bought compression socks so that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting up all the time for a few hours (to sleep).

[DancingM in reply to Grandma111]

Thankyou for replying. I’ve got compression socks and I knew I had to walk around regularly but you’ve put my mind at rest about having a few ours sleep. I’ll ask about Xarelto.

[kiwitraveller]

Hi I do the long haul from NZ to the UK annually. These are my musts

- good quality flight socks

- drink lots of water

- take Hydroxy as usual and aspirin

- always get an aisle seat so I can move around more - walk the aisles and do lots of stretches by the loo.

- half glass of red is my maximum alcohol

I am 72 and have been doing this for years. - was diagnosed in 2018.

Check with your haem as I have no other medical conditions and you may be different.

Mine said what I was doing was fine but to be careful- life is too short I am going to do what I want to do and not let this control my life but be sensible.

My platelets hover between 600-800.

Enjoy the trip.

[DancingM in reply to kiwitraveller]

Thanks for replying. You’ve confirmed what my consultant told me. I’m 70 and my platelets hover round 400-500.

[ainslie in reply to kiwitraveller]

Great advice from kiwi traveller, the only things I would add is make sure tou are well hydrated the day before,during and day after travel, you can google how much water to drink on a long haul, probably best to avoid alcohol or too much coffee day before and during travel and easy on alcohol day after.

[kiwitraveller in reply to ainslie]

On Hydroxy we are supposed to drink 2litres a day - I have never been able to drink more - it is a lot

[ainslie in reply to kiwitraveller]

2 Litres is quite a lot , my Urologist said no need to drink more than 2.3 litres, I am 74kg male so likely depends on size, too much water lowers sodium etc, so too much is too much. But flying dehydrates more so maybe we need more water when flying long haul, google has info on how much to drink on long hauls per hour etc. Interesting I didnt know water was a issue with Hydroxy, Pegasys yes

[AirconBob]

Good advice above... Keep moving about etc..

I have never had a problem taking prescription meds through customs, but keep them in the original packing with your name on and a copy of the prescription if possible.

Enjoy the journey and have a safe trip.

[DancingM in reply to AirconBob]

Thanks I’ll do that.

[Arthandiwe]

Hey, customs have no problem with you taking your meds, they just recommend you keep them in your hand luggage. I also keep the Hydroxy in it’s prescription bottle/packaging. Enjoy your flight! 😊

[DancingM in reply to Arthandiwe]

Thanks

[Stargaye]

I have just returned from a trip to UK and back from Melbourne Australia.. .. so that’s 23hrs flying in total x2. I have ET JAK2 platelets we’re around 600. On Hydrea and aspirin.

I was only diagnosed 5 weeks before my travels so was feeling very anxious… followed all the advice from my haematologist and all the tips and wonderful support from everyone here. My haematologist said it was ok to have 1 drink if you do . Kept hydrated as well as I could.. moved and wore compression socks.

Had a great trip.. have felt the best I’ve felt in 3 years.. my energy levels were great and now home again just battling the good old jet lag. Looking forward to checking my platelets next week and review with Haem.

[DancingM in reply to Stargaye]

Thanks