I've had T1 for a little over 5 years and been pumping for just as long. In about a year I will hopefully be embarking upon a year long study abroad in France, with the intention of more long term travel after I graduate college. For those of you with long term travel experience, what was the most difficult thing to overcome or deal with? I have worries of getting pump supplies and such, especially after I am no longer under my parents insurance.
don't know the answer to this, but just bringing it back in case someone sees it who can help
I have been worried about the same thing. I used to be on the pump, but am now on needles. I fear going on the pump because it may not be as easy to travel. If anyone has experienced this please share! thanks
Never done that but going to.
Just plan ahead of time, speak with your doctors (they should know how to handle bureaucracy and maybe someone of your target destination). Also, reach diabetic association of the country you are going to.
You just need to understand how to get your meds and what you need to handle your D as well as you are doing right now at home.
Step by step. Remember, to diabetic people impossible is nothing!
I lived in Ghana for 3.5 months for a school field study, so while it was not long term travel, it was more than a couple of weeks. I do have a few suggestions/experiences to share:
1. Find out what is available in your destination country. What supplies are available, what doctors are in the area, and how to get supplies and see a doctor if you need to. I recommend contacting a diabetes association in the country you are headed to, just like someone else suggested.
2. I actually went off the pump for the time I was travelling. I did this for a couple of reasons, which may or may not be relevant to where you are going. I knew that if something happened to the supplies I brought with me (lost or stolen or broken or insulin went bad), I would be able to get only specific kinds of insulin and needles in Ghana, so I just decided to switch back to shots before I went over there. It was also easy for me to pack lots of supplies for multiple daily injections than it would have been for pump supplies.
3. Definitely check with your school/insurance program about how you will get medication and be insured in France, as this might have a lot of sway over what kind of insulin therapy you'll want to use while you're there. If they don't cover or pay for a lot, it might be cheaper just to go on shots while you're there. But it totally depends on how you're insured while you're in the country. Some programs will have you be covered by your school's student insurance, some will have you be covered by the destination country's medical system (I think France has universal health care, right?--I'm not sure if it applies to foriegn travellers or foreign students though,so you'll want to check on that).
4. It doesn't hurt to start hoarding supplied now, while you're still on your parents' insurance. I know a lot of times when I was receiving pump supplies when I was on my parent's insurance, they always sent me way more every month than I ended up using, so you might as well start holding on to those extras now if that is your case as well.
Good luck! Have fun, and definitely don't let the hassles that come with having diabetes keep you from going. It will be SO worth the annoyance of figuring all the logistics out!
I went to Europe and Israel for a month, and I brought about 2 months worth of supplies with me- insulin, pumps, lancets, etc. The hardest parts were convincing the insurance company to send so much at once and transporting everything on the super long flight. You just have to fight the insurance company, they will eventually cave.
Hey Erin, how did you manage to send insulin in safe condition? I mean temperatures, damages and stuff that can happen during a postal transportation.
Hi Rick,
Sorry if I wasn't clear. I brought all the insulin I needed with me that I would need for the 3 months I was there. I kept it cool on my flight with ice packs and once I was in the country I had access to a refrigerator that I kept it in. We did lose power a LOT and at one point my insulin actually got put in a freezer on accident, and at one point a bottle I was using got exposed to extremely high temperatures while I was travelling in Burkina Faso, but I was just lucky and it all still worked! (It was kind of a miracle). But, I made sure that I knew where I could purchase insulin in-country in case I wasn't lucky and my insulin went bad. If my insulin had gone bad, I would've been able to buy Regular and NPH or Lente insulin at a few of the hospitals in the region I was in. It would not have been ideal, but it would have allowed me to stay and still treat my diabetes. Hope that answers your questions!
Yep, tks!
As regards insulin getting ruined by bad temps I believe sometimes we are too concerned.
I've never had insulin not working for that reason and there were a few times in which I'm pretty sure temps were not adequate to store insulin.
However, that's not a reason to risk it if there's the possibility to keep it cool.