How To Prepare For Shopping At Costco As A Spoonie With Fibromyalgia
Costco. It is, quite possibly, one of the worst places to visit for a person with Central Sensitivity Syndrome (including Fibromyalgia, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Allodynia, etc). The Costco in Richmond, BC is a mecca for stress-filled shoppers pushing massive shopping carts or flatbeds and thus it is the definition of a chaotic, congested environment rich with sensory-overload.
For an individual whose hypersensitized central nervous system is easily overwhelmed by the processing of environmental input such as sights, sounds, and smells, Costco is one place to avoid as much as possible. Since my Big Crash in 2014, these debilitating chronic illnesses have significantly restricted my ability to go shopping, especially in malls or large box stores which necessitate a lot of walking. I rarely go into a Costco nowadays, especially with relocating to Port Alberni where there is no Costco (sidenote: I do not have a vehicle and driving the one hour distance to the nearest Costco would have serious negative health consequences). However, yesterday was an exception.
I'm currently in Vancouver for a mix of reasons that I combined into one trip: receiving my next lidocaine infusion treatment at the Interventional Pain Clinic at St. Paul's Hospital, celebrating ten years together with my husband (our love story began during the 2010 Winter Olympics), spending time with family, and celebrating my nephew's third birthday. While here, I wanted to take advantage of restocking on some household staples that are more cost-effective when purchased at Costco and, in Vancouver, my mom (who has a Costco membership) is able to drive me.
My experience today was overwhelming and pain-inducing. Thankfully, there was one motorized shopping cart parked outside the entrance and I elected to use it after conducting a body scan that told me I needed the assistance. I truly struggle with using assistive devices in public, especially wheelchairs and motorized/electric shopping carts that put me on a lower plane of existence and operation than people who are standing and walking regularly. The array of looks I receive as a young, healthy-looking individual using a wheelchair that range from questioning to confused to judgemental to skeptical to pitying still take an emotional and psychological toll.
In Costco, particularly, with its high concentration of shoppers, navigating through the chaotic congestion with bodies all around me adds to the sensory overwhelm. I'm a tall woman at nearly 5'9" so for most of my life, I've been blessed with and grown accustomed to having a certain amount of clearance and clear air space above many people. To be waist-height definitely requires an adjustment.
Throughout the whole shopping trip, it was necessary for me to suddenly stop the motorized shopping cart to avoid crashing into people or carts that were hurriedly crossing my path, resulting in a whiplash-esque movement that exacerbated the pain in my neck, shoulders, and back. Avoiding crashes, trying to cross over aisles through the melee of shopping carts that wouldn't pause to let me through, getting caught in two-way traffic jams in the aisles and needing to reverse or swerve the motorized shopping cart out of the way was a stressful experience that kept my body in a perpetual state of tension.
By the time we left and once I was sitting in the quiet of the car, my head felt like it had been subjected to a pressure cooker, my body was weak and cold from its depletion of energy, and the pain was noticeably more intense and all-encompassing. Invariably, (because learning to survive this life of chronic illness with CSS has conditioned me to conduct this process in a way that's now second nature and almost subconscious) my mind immediately began to review the experience and analyze what I could have done differently to lessen negative effects to my body. Because it had been so long since I'd gone shopping, especially to Costco, I hadn't been as prepared as I could have been.
Sidenote: I'll be very honest - sometimes, despite knowing that I'll regret this decision because my body will suffer the consequences, I just can't be bothered to deal with the hassle of everything that I'd technically need to bring to meet the criteria of doing all that's possible to mitigate symptoms. It's an exhausting exercise on its own to map out everything I could possibly need and haul it around with me.
My motivation for writing this blog post is to share the result of this analysis so that:
- (a) in the future I can refer back to this post and remind myself of what I can do to better prepare for a Costco shopping trip
- (b) you can use it to help in your preparations for going shopping just in case you're dealing with a similar situation as me. If I can help you navigate this life of Central Sensitivity Syndrome (or some similar complex chronic and invisible illness) better than I did by sharing the lessons I learned the hard way, then that gives purpose to this experience.
- Call ahead to inquire about the availability of a motorized shopping cart and request that they reserve it for me (letting them know I'd be arriving in about 10 minutes). I don't know if this is possible but I would certainly give it a try and advocate strongly for it next time because in hindsight, heading to Costco and hoping that there would be one available was quite a gamble. If there hadn't been one, I would've had to walk around the entire store, risking a severe crash. Who knows exactly what symptoms would've been triggered but having to shop without the assistance of the motorized shopping cart carrying me around would've guaranteed a state of greater debilitation. Because I didn't know if there would be one available, I wore my slip-on sneakers with orthotics that are the most comfortable for walking in but weren't appropriate to wear in today's bitingly cold and wet weather. Guaranteeing the use of a motorized shopping cart would've meant that I could wear thick socks and boots that would've saved my feet from getting cold (and thus from feeling painful).
- Bring a seat cushion (like this coccyx cushion) and a backrest cushion (I don't have this but I linked it just to illustrate) to add padding to the motorized shopping cart's seat. I found that the cart's backrest was too far back for me to lean against for support because it then required straining my arm to reach the handle to navigate the cart. This resulted in greater fatigue from straining and more pain, discomfort, and experiencing the whiplash effects of sudden starting and stopping to a greater degree.
- Wear sunglasses and earplugs to reduce light/sound sensitivity and associated symptoms that are triggered from hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli. Apply Saje's Peppermint Halo essential oil blend to my back and neck so that while shopping, the cooling sensation from the peppermint oil is helping to distract from and manage the escalating pain signals.
- Likewise, if I/you feel it necessary, dose with pain medication that works for you so that by the time you're shopping, it will have taken effect and can help keep you in a more relaxed, reduced-pain state.
- Bring headphones in case I feel like I need to pause and listen to a short, guided meditation using the Insight Timer app on my phone that I know helps calm my system or helps me re-center/re-ground myself when I'm in a triggered, stressed state from having to process an overwhelming amount of environmental stimuli.
- Bring warm layering pieces, my bamboo fleece BKCO beanie, and gloves to keep me warm if needed (when my energy is being drained, my body temperature tends to drop and my extremities especially become painfully, freezing cold).
- Have a thick throw or blanket in the car to wrap myself in when I return (especially if it's a very cold, rainy day like today was) to the car. I was uncomfortably cold and shivering from depletion so I really wished I'd had a blanket to help stabilize me.
- Bring liquids and snacks just in case, like me, you feel like it would be beneficial to inject some energy into your body during or after the shopping trip. I regretted leaving my water bottle containing warm water at home.
- Lastly, though this didn't apply to me today because I had my mom to help me, if you are shopping alone, I would recommend requesting that a Costco employee accompanies you to your vehicle to help you load up your car. If you're drained and symptomatic from your shopping trip, the best call you can make is to now do whatever is necessary to minimize further energy expenditure and the incurring of additional symptoms. Loading the car is no easy feat when you're in rough shape so as much as it sucks, ask for help!
With love & light,
Your spoonie friend, Christina