Good to know… I’ve only used my Frio once, and didn’t like it precisely because it made everything wet. Me, my pump, the chair…
FRIO pack is about the only suggestion you need… this thing is friggn awesome. i just bought one last week whenever i take the boat out fishing here in fla i used to put it in and out of me ice chest, annoying but doable then i finally broke down and remembered to look at the website… i ended up getting the biggest one they have because i figured i can throw my strips and i have a difference in pens and vials if i go camp for a week or so.(as if i ever get a day off)
I just came back from a week of camping as a leader (not backpacking, and I had access to a freezer which let me switch out ice packs for my insulin).
The only real bad low I had was just after the hike–I didn’t feel low, but I tested and was in the 30s. After eating all my medicinal candy, I was back into the 80s, but I stayed around camp and missed the pool that day.
Out in the heat, some of his hypo symptoms may be masked–for example, I get the sweats, feel a bit dehydrated, and my eyes get bright spots as I’m going down, but all of those things could have been explained by the conditions (bright, hot, humid). So he should be checking his blood sugar regularly even if he doesn’t think he needs to.
Capin- I have seen the results of insulin being out in the heat for too long. It completely denatures and ends up kind of like a gel which never went back to a liquid. Although I agree that the heat issue is probably overblown and I have had instances where I have done something with insulin that would be considered bad practice in the heat and haven’t really had a big issue besides what seems to be slightly less potent insulin heat will indeed completely ruin insulin if left in sustained high temp situations.
How does ice ruin the insulin? Certainly if you let the insulin freeze (e.g. put it in the freezer) that would be a problem but ice in a cooler type situation will not cause insulin to freeze.
Glad I am no longer on MDI and never found that my insulin had turned into a molases viscosity or decreased in potency. I had “poor” refrigeration habits for years so that my insulin would be near me and readibly available for use. Maybe I got lucky?
Does he use syringes, pen, pump?
I’m pretty basic (syringes) but I like to pre-load them when I go somewhere hot (read “the beach”). The insulin vial itself stays in the fridge.
Insulin doesn’t instantly go bad at temperatures of like 90 or 100, it’ll last weeks at that sort of temperature, but never ever leave it in direct sun or in a hot car without some sort of cooling/insulation.
Have fun with camping. I went camping with my son in cub scouts last fall and believe it or not it was the first time I’d ever been camping. (It just wasn’t something my family did whenI was a kid). It was the fall in a forest with lots of shade so temperature was never a concern.
Tim.
On the Philmont topic–make sure he is old enough and strong enough for the trip. My son (not diabetic) went at 13 and at 16–first trip was not good, second one was a lifetime highlight for him. The strength thing is important. They struggled so much the first time getting from site to site that they missed most of the activities because they arrived too late. bherrick is correct, and it will take more training to be successful than you think!
Hope all goes well!
I have had those same habits (and actually STILL have many of them) as well. The “gel” insulin came from someone leaving a vial in their car for months. Obviously this kind of abuse of insulin is not common and the reason I mentioned it is simply because I have seen insulin that indeed did not renature. That kind of “cooking” will screw just about anything up 
Thanks for the heads up about the hypos possibly looking like something else. My son is really good about testing, but I’ll remind him to be extra vigilant about it. He’s used to testing before athletic activities, so I’ll remind him that hiking with a pack is a strenuous athletic event.
Unfortunately, that’s not really practical. Of course, in an emergency, he could get back, but day to day, it wouldn’t make sense. It will be about a 2 hour hike up, so going up and back daily would take up a huge chunk of his and his troop’s day. I’m hoping the Frio and shade keep everything cool enough, and, we will leave back-ups of everything at base camp just in case.
Daytime temperatures are supposed to be near 100 at the base camp, but we’re hoping it’s at least a little cooler at the higher elevations. Between the Frio pouch and trying to keep his insulin in the shade (should be easy enough with his Lantus, maybe a little harder with the Humalog), hopefully, it will be okay. Better to learn some lessons this year when he’s hiking in then staying put rather than when he’s at Philmont next year and constantly on the move.
I’m glad you enjoyed camping - it’s such a great family experience.
Thanks. My son will be 14 for Philmont and he’s a pretty experienced hiker - nothing like Philmont, but definitely a lot more time on the trail than the other boys going on the trek. We’ve done a number of 12-15 mile hikes at high elevations but none since his diagnosis and only carrying day packs. Fortunately, my husband is the adult leader for the trek (and an eagle scout), so he’ll be planning lots of training hikes and our son attending all of them will be non-negotiable.
I know all too well from personal experience how miserable it is to be out on a backpacking trip if you aren’t physically prepared for it. If you have any ideas about what the boys can do to help be up to the task, please let me know.
I hope the boys will be well-prepared and have an amazing experience. I wish I could join them!
So, if his insulin degraded, he would be able to tell by looking at it? If it looks normal, it should be okay? To my knowledge, we haven’t had any insulin go bad, so I assumed we’d only know there was a problem if he started going inexplicably high. Not so?
Thanks for your input. The members of Tudiabetes have taught me so much!
The case of the “gel” insulin was after a month or so of sitting in a car. I was pointing out that it will indeed, at some point, denature to the point the insulin is undoubtably bad. Yes really the only way to know for sure is seeing those highs. I suspec he will be so active it would more than likely just prevent a bunch of lows if it did happen. When it happened to me my blood sugars hovered in the 200-300 range- nothing critical but not ideal either.
I was either 15 or 16 when I did Philmont (and 16 when I became eagle scout). If he’s putting in the time, he will have a great time. I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Plus, he’s a boy, so he’s built for doing things like Philmont. Just be sure to be familiarize yourself temporary basals, and make sure that his basals are written down before he goes. They’re going to change on the trek, and it’s good to know what to switch them back to when he returns home.
Also–have a system in place for night time. Everything is hanging in trees at night because of bears, and it’s really a terrible idea to keep glucose tablets close by. Bears will mess you up. So assign a buddy that can help get the bear bag down to get glucose tabs or whatever should he get low at night. And make sure they’re easily accessible in the bear bag; it stinks to go digging through a bear bag at 3AM with a low blood sugar.
And there’s no reason you can’t go! My mom was in my crew.
I skipped many comments so apologies if someone else has said this:
As long as the insulin is out of direct sun (the frio pouch sounds like a good idea) it should be fine. Keep in mind that we pump wearers keep 100 units (or more) of insulin next to our bodies at nearly 100 degrees for several days with no ill effects to the insulin. Insulin doesn’t have to be cold to keep for up to a month.
Good luck to your son and I hope he has a blast!
That’s a really good point - thanks for chiming in.
I bought a Frio insulin cooler wallet and received free shipping by using COOLER from diabetes health supplies.com.
http://www.diabeteshealthsupplies.com/categories/Insulin-Coolers/