Need travel and prednisone advice

I can't help you with the prednisone part b/c I have never taken it but I would ask your doctor for a mild anti-anxiety med (like .25 of xanax). It is just enough to take the edge of, so you stop worrying about the bathroom until you actually need one, but doesn't make you too tired or loopy. I find liquid diets really helpful too so you might want to try that leading up to the trip. Maybe by some canned meal drinks like Mix One or Ensure and have that for breakfast (if anything). If you are going with a big group will the tour be just your school? If so if you are on a tour bus and have to go, ask them to stop at the nearest bathroom. It will be embarassing but you will feel better. Also, with a bunch of kids they have to go all the time too so no one will know if you are stopping for you or if you are stopping for them.

Try to stay in the moment and recognize the difference between wanting to know there is a bathroom and actually needing to use it. I am still not good at that but I know I need to get there too. Also, even though the school requires chaperones for the trip, I still think you could get out of an activity or two if need be. Everyone gets sick. If a kid gets sick you can be the chaperone that stays behind w/ that kid. If there is a particular event you know will be stressful, after you get there, let them know you are going to miss that part. So if you were in Boston for example you could travel the city with the kids but not ride the Duck Boat with them, but be at the pier when they get back. I bet that would be ok. Know your limits and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Finally, are you married? Could your spouse come w/ you or a sibling to be a substitute chaperone if you can't make all the events? Good luck!

Oh, and you might be flaring from the anticipatory anxiety. I have a big trip coming up this weekend (big b/c it is a cross country flight w/ 3 take offs and I am a super fearful flier). I find I am "going" more but I think a lot of it is just nerves.

Oh, and don't forget immodium!

I usually try to get away with taking only 20, and frankly it doesn't work very well. I would bite the bullet and go with 40 since this situation is causing you such anxiety.

I would also wear a panty liner pad, it gives me some peace of mind for some reason even though it probably wouldn't hold a major burst. Sorry, I can't tell if you are a woman or man...but then maybe it doesn't matter really! Immodium, start with one after your morning routine, then take a second if you feel you need to. Try not to take more than you need or that will make you uncomfortable, feeling like you have to go when you cannot.

If you need to stay back from one part of the tour because there won't be any bathrooms available, then just say you are not feeling well and they will figure out how to make it work with the kids, right? You got them there, then take care of yourself.

Lomitil, Bentyl, Immodium. I would pick one and use it. It's the ONLY thing that gives me peace on trips.

Well - Dicouraged - I'd love to be EN-couraging, but I have to say - a bathroom-less Bus full of kids...with even a mild flair-up - is potential for disaster. After 11 years and several prolonged flair-ups, mild to severe, I have to tell you - 1st I'd cancel out on that trip. They will live without you. If you feel so obligated, along with the suggestions of OTC drugs and uping the Pred (all good ideas...I think) but forget the panty-liner and step into a full-on DEPENDS. I'm a 49 year old married business owner (contractor) and I know that on long drives to job-sites or long trips in the car with my wife,if I'm in 'flair-up mode' I wear one. It was depressing at first - and if you saw a group of men in a 'line-up' - I'd be the least likely you'd pick for wearing an Adult diaper - but trust me. On several situations I would have been humiliated without one - it can be a mess - but much better than the alternative! Lastly - I fold a small garbage liner in my pocket - in case worse-comes-to-worse, I can step out of it and discard it in asecured trash bag.

One more thought; My wife found this at a National Kitchen & Bath Association trade show. Go to www.totousa.com The company is a Japanese manufacturer of toilets, bidets, sinks, and all bath accessories - do a search for their 'Travel Washlet'. A compact device that runs on one AA battery, you fill with water - and it is truly a bidet. It's soothing, practical, a bit bigger than a Blackberry, and excellent if you have a bathroom emergency.
I use mine all the time - and don't ever want to go back to 'wiping' 15 to 20 times a day during flair-ups.
Toto Travel Bidet is a life-saver.
Sincerely wish you the best of luck - whatever you decide.

I second Kops2da but wanted to clarify that the bus to and from her trip does have a bathroom. She is more concerned about the tours which I guess could be bathroomless bus.