Traveling Overseas: Can You Travel With Idiopathic Hypersomnia?

I traveled overseas for the first time in my life! I was super nervous with everything going on in the world to travel but it went smoothly. Being in a new country was amazing and super fun. My mom, my husband, and I went on a trip to India for my husband's brother's wedding.

Managing the 16-Hour flight and jetlag with idiopathic hypersomnia

The plane ride was 16 hours long! I surprisingly was able to sleep most of the way.

Although, during the times I was awake it made me wish I brought more things to do besides my switch and my phone games.

The plane ride back was better because we had a stop in Doha and the second plane's TVs were working so I got to watch a few movies.

Also, jetlag is so real and I was absolutely slammed the first real day we had in India.

I was exhausted and my body had trouble adjusting to the different time zones.

India is 10 hours ahead of Chicago so when it was morning in Chicago it was night in India and vice versa. I didn't think that jetlag would be so hard on my body but it made me miss a few of the sightseeing we had planned so I could rest.

Navigating wedding festivities and the heat with IH

The wedding was gorgeous! I loved every second of meeting the family and basking in the festivities.

I only hated how hot it was! India is so hot compared to Chicago, it was almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day we were there. I can't remember a day when it's been 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago.

Sightseeing in India: How IH impacted early mornings

Besides the heat we also got to explore more of India. We went to New Delhi, Agra, Amer, and Jaipur.

One of the highlights from touring was seeing the Taj Mahal. We went to see it at 5 a.m. when the sun rose which was gorgeous!

Although, I was definitely still asleep so I wasn't down to do all the photos which I feel I might regret later. We also visited a few bookstores in the area, they were my favorite stops of the trip.

One of them was the Oxford bookstore in Kolkata that has been open for 100 years! It was so homely and lovely to visit.

Authentic flavors and the importance of hydration with IH

The food we ate was also amazing! I found myself eating until I was full every day of the trip. It's so much different having Indian food in India compared to having it in Chicago.

We had so many cups of chai. It made me wish I could make it a similar way at home.

When they say don't drink the tap water, don't drink the tap water. At the start, I did good by not drinking tap water, not brushing my teeth with tap water, and stuck to bottled water most of the trip.

Until we got fast food and my soda was mostly ice. I thought I would be ok since it was a few cubes.

More than likely I should have avoided drinks with ice as well because they are most likely filling the ice machines with tap water. I ended up getting traveler's diarrhea the last 3 days of the trip.

Thankfully my husband went to the pharmacy for me to get medication to help me.

Reflections on my first trip abroad with idiopathic hypersomnia (IH)

Besides the traveler's diarrhea, I do want to go back to India and explore more of the country.

For a first trip out of the country it was well worth it and it makes me excited to see more of the world!