Traveling with Supplements

As promised, I'm going to write a couple of blog posts regarding traveling tips for those with conditions like costochondritis that require special dietary needs and/or pain management needs. This post is solely dedicated to traveling with supplements.

I'm a bit nervous about my upcoming travels. Things that increase my pain are sitting for extended periods, impact to the ribs and aerobic impact, and stress. I'm still ruling out certain foods and other factors as triggers.

To get to Iceland we are taking a red-eye flight that is about 5 hours and then driving by car for 6 hours to our first destination. During our first three days we are exploring, hiking, horseback riding and whale watching. We have a trip planned to the Blue Lagoon after this to help me recover!

My rhemotologist suggested I take my prescribed NSAID, diclofenac, twice a day during the whole trip to reduce inflammation and pain from the get go. While I'm someone who resorts to medicine as a last resort, I have dealt with costo for long enough now (10+ months) to know that staying on top of the pain and inflammation before it gets too bad is crucial. So because the first leg of our trip involves lots of sitting and being bounced around I will heed this advice.

Meanwhile, I have packed all my necessary nutrition and supplement products to keep me as healthy and pain free as possible.

Below are the products I am taking with me for myself and my family for a 10 day trip. All of the items have links if you would like to purchase. Hope this helps anyone who is considering traveling.

Shaklee Performance 

Shaklee Performance is a sports hydration drink that has more electrolytes that the leading brands. It has a unique blend that helps maintain blood-glucose levels while providing instant and sustained energy. And of course it contains no artificial flavors, sweeteners or added preservatives. 

My kids love the flavor and it will help to keep us all hydrated while we are exploring Iceland. 

In order to save room in our suitcase I measured the serving size we usually use into little ziplock bags and then placed all those baggies into a freezer bag. So when we are getting ready in the morning we will just toss a serving into our water bottles with some energizing tea from Shaklee and be on our way!

To get yours please click on this link. 

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Water Bottles

While this is not a supplement, I added it here as it is essential for me to have water as part of my nutrition. I drink at least 6-8 glasses of water a day not because that is "what we should be doing" but because my body requires it. I get dehydrated easily and don't feel good if I'm not drinking enough water. 

Lugging big water bottles around though would have been difficult. So I found and purchased this 4 pack of BPA free, collapsible water bottles at a great price (was $24.77 when I ordered) that I can toss in our carry-on luggage and fill as needed. They come with color-coded clips so we can attach them to our backpacks or belt loops when exploring.

To get yours, click here. 

Shaklee Energizing Tea

These are my favorite teas. They are a blend of green, white and red teas that provide a natural energy boost without a "caffeine high." They contain taurine to help alertness and energy levels while aiding in muscle development and weight loss. 

They taste delicious and come in two flavors: Green Matcha and and Pomegranate. We love mixing them with Shaklee Performance in our water bottles to create a "natural red bull drink." 

To pack them, I simply tossed 20 (to get 2 servings a day during our trip) into a sandwich-size plastic bag. 

To get yours, click here!

Shaklee Energy Chews

To round out the energy supplements I am bringing, I tossed a whole bag of Shaklee Energy Chews into the suitcase!

These are amazing! They taste like candy and just two chews wakes me up more than a whole cup of coffee. They are made of natural green tea extract, L-tyrosine, L-theanine, B vitamins and vitamin D and of course contain no artificial flavors, sweeteners or preservatives!

To get yours, click here!

Shaklee Life Energizing Shake

Since going gluten free and dairy free two things have happened: 1) I have to plan my meals carefully so that I'm not hungry with no healthy food choices available and 2) my daily calcium intake has dropped.

Shaklee Life Energizing Shakes has taken care of both of those problems. The two-scoop serving contains 35% of daily calcium needs (as well as 16g of protein!) without including the calcium from the coconut almond milk I mix it with! One shake is all I need to fuel my day.

Plus it a convenient meal or snack replacement throughout the day. I can take it with me and blend or shake it with my non-dairy milk and some fruit or almond butter and I am full and don't need to worry about eating out somewhere and not having dairy-free options.

For packing, I just placed the serving size I normally use in little baggies and tossed those in a freezer-size plastic bag. I'm so excited that I can take this with me and not take up too much room in my suitcase.

To get yours, click here.

Natural Vitality Natural Calm Magnesium 

In addition to taking Shaklee's Chewable CalMag Plus daily, I also take Natural Vitality's Magnesium powdered drink every 2-3 days for an extra boost. It is vegan, organic, all natural, non-GMO and gluten free.

This is a highly absorbable blend of magnesium that helps me sleep, decreases my restless leg syndrome, reduces stress levels and helps my tummy. To drink I just scoop a serving size into water, mix and drink. It taste's like bubbly lemonade.

To pack, I also just scooped the serving size into plastic bags and tossed them in a bigger bag.

To get yours, click here.

 Essential supplements

Some of the supplements in the picture below are ones I take daily and some are as needed. I am under the care of a doctor, a rheumatologist, and a nutritionist and my blood is tested regularly. I am going to list the supplements I take with links but please talk to your medical professional before starting supplements other than a multi-vitamin. 

Daily supplements:

• Shaklee Vita D-3
• Shaklee Vita-Lea
• Shaklee Chewable CalMag Plus
• Shaklee Iron plus C complex
• Shaklee Advanced Joint Health Complex
• Shaklee Optiflora pre- and pro-biotic complex
• Jarrow Formulas B12

As needed supplements:

• Shaklee Nutriferon
• Shaklee Vitalized Immunity
• Shaklee Stomach Soothing Complex
• Shaklee Stress Relief Complex
• Shaklee Pain Relief Complex
• Source Naturals Melatonin 1mg

To pack I was able to put everything I needed into my vitamin organizer and toss in the Vitalizer, prebiotic and Stomach soother into a freezer-size bag. In a snap I have everything I need to optimize my health. 

And for the finale....all of the supplements I described in this blog fit into one, yes one, freezer sized plastic bag. I can easily take this bag out, put it in our kitchens at our Air BnB rental homes, find what I need, and easily pack it back up again.

And I am ready for Iceland!! Can't wait to share more with you all!



Comment below or message me with questions or comments. Be on the look out for the next blog post.

*Note: As you can see most of my supplements are from Shaklee. The reason being is that I trust the safety and quality of Shaklee products. The company has been in business for over 60 years and the founder, Dr. Shaklee, invented the first ever multivitamin in 1915! Shaklee does not allow fillers in their supplements, tests for 250+ contaminants, conducts over 100,000 quality tests per year, and will not sell anything that does not meet their strict requirements. Shaklee has over 70 patents on their products and are backed by over 120 published scientific papers and presentations. In addition, Shaklee was the first company in the world to be certified climate neutral and many Olympic althetes take Shaklee supplements. For more info about Shaklee's company and safety click here.

*Disclaimer: I am a Shaklee distributor.

Recipe: Easy Savory Veggie Soup

Ingredients: 

2 T. Extra-virgin olive oil

Whole container (14.5 oz) of Trader Joe's Mirepoix (or one cup chopped each: carrots, celery, onion) 

1/2 cup chopped zucchini (optional) 

1 container (32 oz) Trader Joe's Low Sodium Vegetable Broth 

2 cubes Dorot frozen garlic cubes (found at Trader Joe's)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried paprika

1 tsp non-salt seasoning or low-sodium Adobo

1 cup gluten free penne or elbow pasta 

1-2 tsp. capers (to taste) 

Instructions: 

1. Warm stock pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. 

2. Add all the vegetables (except capers) and stir over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables soften. 

3. Add olive oil, garlic cubes, spices and pasta and heat over high heat for 5 minutes stirring often. 

4. Turn heat down to low-medium and continue to stir occasionally for 15-20 more minutes (until pasta is al dente). 

5. Serve in bowls and add capers to taste. 

Serves 4. 

Costo and the benefits of exercise

Diagnosis
I was diagnosed with costochondritis in October of 2015, but had symptoms on and off for long before this. Up until July of 2015 I was working out regularly. Around August or September is when life got too hectic and working out and eating right were the first things I dropped from my list of priorities. Combine this with two stressful, sedentary jobs and it was the perfect storm for costo to fully rear it's ugly head.

After being diagnosed (which consists of the doctor asking specific questions and pushing hard on and around my ribs) I had my first costo flare - meaning the symptoms increased sharply as did the pain. For the next few weeks and months I had to learn about what costo was and how it affected my body, about what I could do and couldn't do, and about how much I could handle. I was in a proverbial "survival mode" while trying to manage this, work, home and kids. Exercise seemed impossible and out of the question at this time. Luckily this changed over time.

What if Feels Like
I often get asked what costo feels like. It's so difficult to explain because the symptoms can vary day to day and the pain can move not only day to day but throughout one day. For me, most of my pain is on the right side of my body and only sometimes on the left. But when it moves to the left I get heart palpitations; shortness of breath; anxiety; and pain throughout the left ribs, sternum and down the left arm. Yes, it sounds (and feels) like a mild heart attack.

Costo also feels like you have a leather belt being wrapped around your torso and it is being pulled as tightly as possible around your body. Not fun. On better days I just have swollen, sore ribs that feel like I have been punched. Yes those are my better days! The heart attack feeling and the belt feeling are, for me, the worst physical part of costo.

Photo credit: Jami Lynn of http://www.jamiswords.com/

In addition I have on "flare days" general lethargy, malaise, and a feverish feeling with no fever. I also have shoulder, wrist, lower back, and knee pain. I sometimes also have headaches, "brain fog", emotional sensitivity, insomnia, restless legs, sensitive skin, and have felt off balance at times. To this day opening doors hurts (heavy doors at stores and restaurants are nearly impossible), bending down to pick something up or tie my shoe brings on a wave of pain, holding anything against my torso (even crossing my arms) feels like I'm bruising myself, and wearing a bra with a wire and carrying a purse are not allowed.

Why exercise?
I have a fitness tracker that I continued to wear throughout the early months after my costo diagnosis. It quickly became my enemy as it reminded me to get up and move around both at work and at home. At work all I wanted to do was go home and at home all I wanted to do was lie down. Yes, I could have shut off the hourly reminders to get up and stretch and walk but I didn't want to throw in the towel 100%.

Anyone that knows about physical fitness, health conditions, or physiology knows that movement, any gentle movement, is better than no movement at all. I knew this too, but couldn't get myself to consistently move. I had days where I would consciously make an effort to walk more at work or at home. I had days I would try some gentle yoga. But it all hurt and I couldn't torture myself more than I was already being tortured.

Finally I met an amazing physical therapist (a special thanks to my hubby for finding her) who specialized in the spine and was very familiar with costo. Throughout having costo I keep hoping for "the miracle solution" that will finally heal me from this condition. I need to let that thought go. Because while my physical therapist didn't heal me from costo she did help put me on the path to getting physically active again.

Easy walk on the beach aka my happy place

Baby steps
Our first sessions were very slow and steady, just seeing what my body could handle. Laying facedown on her table was my first challenge! Laying on my ribs was a no go for a bit. She manipulated my ribs with her hands, trying to get some gentle movement back into my torso. I had muscle imbalances and could only rotate my torso so many degrees on my right side. We worked to get that back in balance. I added gentle chest stretches (still my arch nemesis) and eventually I was able to lift my arms a few reps and started strengthening my shoulders and side body.

The prescribed exercises from the physical therapist spawned a new outlook on exercise for me. I began to learn when I could push through the pain and when to not. I learned how to safely exercise and when I needed to rest. I had to learn that change and growth comes at a much slower pace than ever before in my life but that if I am patient with myself and my body I will make progress. I had to remember not to overdo anything so as to not have a major setback or more pain. I have learned to love the gym again.

When I started "Operation Me!" at the end of June (see this post for more info) incorporating physical fitness was one of my primary objectives. I started walking, both at the gym and outdoors, in order to build up my endurance (at that time I had none!) in preparation for traveling in August. At first walking added some pain to my lower ribs, not unbearable, but it would take me a day or two before I could walk again. My first walks were 20-30 minutes at a slow, comfortable but steady pace. Even though the cartilage of the ribs doesn't have any blood flow, I think that movement and cardio help heal the area somehow.

Day 1 of Operation Me included yoga

Moving on up
Eventually I added the elliptical machine to my day and quickly realized that the machine itself felt good, but that using my arms on the arm poles was what caused pain. At first I could only do about 15-20 minutes of the elliptical but with slow and steady progress I can now do 45 minutes. I still cannot use the arm poles.

The biggest excitement for me is that I can now do arm/shoulder/chest exercises for 15 minutes after cardio! I have a real gym routine! I also do leg exercises on alternating days. I will share the arm exercises I do, but not as a prescription for others. Each of our bodies is different and will react different to exercise so please don't start any new exercise without being overseen by a medical professional.

When I started arm exercises I couldn't use any weight and I could only do 2 sets of 5 reps. Now I can use 5 pounds of hand weights and can do 3 sets of 8-10 reps! I do the following exercises: bicep curls, hammerhead curls, overhead tricep extensions, tricep dips, overhead shoulder press, lateral deltoid raises, one arm dumbell rows, and one arm tricep kickbacks. I sometimes add in 3-5 wall pushups, but this still gives me pain. I still occasionally try yoga, which is my first love, but the pain in my ribs moves and is unpredictable so I only do yoga when I'm feeling really good.

For more about the above exercises please google them, but again do not try these without being under supervision of a medical professional. I have found that they help me to build up arm, shoulder, chest and back strength but they can cause pain so please be careful.

Here are two pictures from my fitness tracker app that show some of my walking progress. On average now I walk about 6,000-7,000 steps a day. Walking around various cities catching Pokemon for the Pokemon Go app has helped keep my steps up :-)

June 16 step victory 4,994 steps

July 28 step victory 12,498 steps! 

One of my favorite things to do is go the gym to watch Jeopardy or HGTV while working out. The time flies and my mood improves immensely after.

Two somewhat unexpected benefits of working have been moderately improved sleep and a much improved resting heart rate. I started slowing incorporating exercise before I started Operation Me but after just 7 days of consistent exercise my resting heart rate improved and continues to do so! This alone is motivational! 

Questions? Comments?
Do you have costochondritis or another chronic pain condition? How are you doing with physical fitness - what are the challenges? Do you find anything particularly helpful? Comment below!