Yesterday morning, I arrived in Germany after being away from home for 4.5 years. The flight wasn't too terrible, though I experienced some anxiety initially. It was a mix of excitement to go home and see my family, and fear that my ankles would give out while getting onto the plane and not being able to hear properly due to my auditory processing disorder. I assume it's an irrational fear, because I manage my ankle instability on a daily basis, so I don't know why getting onto an airplane worries me more. I did notice that worrying or being anxious increases the instability, probably because proprioception plays a big role in regards to stability and our mind can interfere with the proprioceptive aspect of our body.
I actually love airplanes and flying. Years ago, I was a traveling flight paramedic escorting patients on commercial airplanes and smaller fixed wings, so I'm not afraid of planes at all.
The time change has left me feeling really tired, and it will probably take a couple of days to get used to it.
Already, I've discovered some amazing things I had forgotten about and some things that have changed over the years.
The food is one thing I really missed. My stomach certainly wasn't too happy about the sudden increase in food and the change to adding way more carbs and grains than usual. But I have to say, it's not as bad as I expected. My ankles don't really hurt, which is great! If I had eaten the same amount of rolls and bread in the USA, I wouldn't be able to walk. I don't know what the difference is, as I buy organic flour or bread and I just get joint pains from it, while I'm fine eating the stuff here in Germany. It might not be the grains - maybe it's something else that I haven't figured out yet.
My knee does hurt a bit, but not terribly to the point of wanting to take medicine. It's just enough to bother me and keep me awake for now.
I did struggle with some MastCell issues causing hypersensitivity, random weird smells I imagined, water retention, etc. I'm not surprised with the lack of sleep, stress of travel on the body, and so on. But I took my H1/H2 blockers and some of my other as-needed meds, and I'm starting to get this under control.
Today, we're going to an indoor pool with a sauna and relaxation area - it will be perfect to recover from the travel stress.
I'm looking forward to continuing to share my Zebra Travels with you all!
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