Hello,
My son was diagnosed last April at the age of 13. He is on the omnipod and loves it. We will be flying this summer and was wondering if anyone has experience wearing pod while flying. We read an article recently that the change in air pressure will force extra insulin, and this makes perfect sense. Just wanted to see what anyone who has actually worn this and flown may have done. Thanks so much.
My son wears the Medtronic Paradigm and we flew last year. I wouldn’t go by anyone else’s experience. You need to look at the tsa website. It will answer all of your questions and concerns!!!
I don't know about flying with a pump my 14 year old is on injections. However I have a question for you how did you get your son to try a pump? Our son was diagnosed 2 years ago at 12 and he will NOT even look at a pump. He does all his own testing and injections so I don't interfere. How long was your son on injections? Thanks for sharing.
Betsy, my son was on injections for about 6 months. He hates needles, so when we asked to switch to a pump and the Dr. was ok with it, he didn't look back. He does all of his testing also. Each child is different and when your son doesn't like the shots anymore, he will let you know. Nathan, our son, was a little worried at first just because it was new. He is rolling along now. Let me know if you need anything else. I am more than happy to share our experiences.
Thanks for the question on flying. I read that article recently and we are traveling soon as well so wondering the same thing.
Reply to Betsy: My son is 12 and was diagnosed this past Sept. He was totally against a pump - I think it was the tubing that freaked him out. His Endo recomended the Omnipod due to sports and then my son did the omnipod demo (rep came to our house and put one on him with saline) and that sold him. We are now going on 2 weeks with Omnipod and he is loving it. He is changing his pods himself and doing wonderful with the PDM. You can also ask Omnipod to send you a demo kit.
My son has flown several times with his pod. No issues. We have him go through the metal detector, not the scanner, as the scanner is said to possibly cause an issue with the electronics in the pod. Absolutely no issues with indulin delivery while flying.
I know it doesn't directly answer your question with regard to highs/lows, but there is some good information about the extra TSA steps that you may encounter while wearing a pod:
You should check out the omnipod group's wall. Start from page 2 with Shawn MacKay's original question and then read backwards to the front page.
To answer your question more directly though, I do notice some erroneous highs/lows but without being able to pull a pod off and watch the insulin egress/ingress the way you can with a tubed pump, I'm not really sure as to how much of those issues are caused by the pressure differences. It's reasonable to assume that "some" may be due to that. I would recommend what Mel (I'm assuming that's the blog to which you are referring) mentioned with regard to testing often, carrying glucose, talking with your physician or healthcare team about the best strategy for you, etc., since podders cannot disconnect.
Thanks so much. I was wondering about lows after landing but we thought we could have him check a little more often while flying and eat a few more carbs if he was low instead of him not wearing the pod. He would not go for that.
Ok I will check that out also. Thanks so much for all of the advice and information. This website is a Godsend.
I’ve been wondering about flying with an Omnipod, too. My 13 yo son was on MDI for 7 years before switching to the pump last year. We, too, are flying this summer. What Daneenm says is reassuring!
We have flown several times (long flights) and never noticed any problem with insulin delivery. In fact, this is the first time I have heard that there was an issue due to pressure. Was the source reliable? Also, we never had any problems getting through security with the pods, the PDM or supplies. They see this all the time and are quite familiar with this stuff. You can fly with complete assurance that all will be OK. Just bring extra supplies in your carry on bag. Have a good trip!
Joey, the article was on the web page asweetlife.org. The title is "What you should know about flying with an insulin pump." The author wears the Asante Snap. It is an interesting article. Thanks for all the information. We flew before when he was on injections and the only problem we had was the juice boxes. They eventually let us go with them but they had to be wiped down. No big deal.
Betsy, our son did MDI for 5 years (dx at 20 months) and would not entertain a pump at all. We were in for a regular quarterly checkup with his endo and the CDE showed him a pod. He decided on the spot that the pod was for him and he has never looked back. Turns out his reaction was always to the tubing and the fact that other pumps are so visible. Once he saw the tubeless pod, he was sold. Honestly, I was surprised when he finally told me his reasons for not wanting a pump, since he would openly discuss T1D with anyone who would ask. In the end, since he was the one who has to wear it, we let it be his decision.
Yes we are letting him decide and thankfully the BC government has extended paying for one until 25...so he has lots of time to decide. Thanks so much for sharing.
We just flew with my son on a short domestic (US) flight with an omnipod. No problems. He did get a little low on one flight, but he had some juice and was fine. Just make sure you test on board. No problems going through security. It didn't set off the metal detector and the TSA agents did not show any extra interest in our equipment.
Hi...this isn't about flying, but rather, the Omnipod. My daughter, age 12, has been T1D for over two years, doing MDI. She has a Dexcom, which she loves, that she wears on her arm. We are contemplating an Omnipod, but I'm assuming she'd have to wear that on her other arm (not too fond of that idea because the skin on her arms will never get a break.) She's thin so I don't think she could wear it anywhere else. Anyone else have an Omnipod and a CGM on both their arms? Thanks, Marnie
My son has almost no fat anywhere on his body. We use his tush and the fronts of his thighs (toward the inside where the skin is a bit looser) most often. We will use his left arm occasionally, but he doesn't really like it on his arms, so the other sites are better in his opinion.