Omnipod in Airport

Hello! Quick question - I am a new Omnipod user and am traveling (just an hour flight) next week. I was told the PDM and Omnipod can safely go through security, both the baggage screen and the personal screen. Can anyone confirm that? Or do people generally ask for a wand screening anyway? Thanks!

SJ

I flew USAir to Philly last month from SW Florida… I did take a letter from my ENdo just in case… Nothing was ever questioned, it didn’t ring any bells.
Had my extra pods, extra unsulin in my extra tote bag. I had no problems whatsoever. I didn’t check my luggage .
Have a good flight

PS…I am flying again in 3 weeks…
I DID make sure nothing was due to beep…

I’ve flown several times w/ the pod on (and a CGM). I tell the TSA folks I have an insulin pump on, and they’ll see it when I walk through the scan. I had one of the guys swab it and run it through a spectrometer (sniffer machine) to check and make sure it wasn’t a bomb I guess (that was the one and only time it was ever even questioned). Otherwise, I’ve had no issues. I also just send the PDM through the x-ray machine w/ my carry-on stuff. I would search this group for similar discussions. Enjoy your trip!

Esjay -

I (before I retired) was travelling 3 out of 5 workdays a week, and I never had an issue. Once, (only once) when I went through security, they did ask “what is that thing on your arm?” (after the x-ray)(which, also, by the way, has never caused an issue with the Pod or the PDM) I told them it was an insuling pump and had to show them further proof that I was a diabetic ( I showed them my insulin kit and syringes, which, surpisingly, they had NO problem with). IN any case, in short, NO, generally speaking, no problem.happy travelling!

I’ve flown several times with the pod, PDM and extra pods. I didn’t have any problems either. Everything went through the scanner, even the insulin (I forgot to put it in the quart-sized bag). I brought a letter from my endo, just in case, and I put the pod on my belly. It’s more visible on the arm, although nobody has ever asked any questions. I second what Dee says about making sure nothing is going to beep right before or during the flight. :slight_smile:
No problems at all so far.
One tip not directly related to your question but I think it’s worth mentioning. Make sure you ask your Dr. to send a prescription to a big pharmacy so they can “put it on hold”. This means that if anything happens to your insulin or your backup insulin pens, you can go to the pharmacy anywhere in the country and get what you need right away. This saved me when my insulin vials got crushed (my fault). Now I keep them in empty glucose tablet tubes. Very very hard to crush. That’s an extra travel tip for you!
:slight_smile:

Thanks so much! This was really helpful. Some of my friends on the Ping and other pumps have to do a hand check versus taking the pump through security, so just want to be sure that wasn’t an issue for the Omnipod. Thanks again!

We’ve gone through the airport screening at least 4 times since my daughter started on the OmniPod, and it’s never been an issue. I’d definitely recommend packing more pods than you think you need. Be sure to let the TSA folks know that you’re a diabetic, so they don’t flag your oddly-shaped items!

Yes…the advice from Serena and BWashington is right on…bring severalk more pods! I was once in Canada, Montreal to be exact, and had a Pod go bad on me. (the long death beep…no idea why). I know the Insulet number by heart so I called and asked what I should do…I had no extras. They actually took my hotel information, then contacted thier rep up there who came to my hotel and delivered a couple pods. (Kudos to Insulet). I wwore tgo myself that would never happen again, and so far so good. I also always tell the TSA folds at the security desk that there may be some “questionabl” suff in my bags, like extra pumps or insulin. Like bradford, once they did use the “spectrometer” and left me alone after that. Good to know no crazy diabetic bomber will ever take us out!

I’ve even flown out of the country. I put my PDM and Dexcom receiver in the tray with my keys and everything else that is in my pockets. Never had a problem. I keep all my other supplies in a backpack and send that thu the x-ray also. Not once was I questioned.

I flew from Seattle to New Delhi, India and on to Malaysia without a lick of trouble… They asked me about the batteries (because obviously it was a long trip and I was carrying a lot of pods…thats a lot of little batteries…) and when I explained it they let me on through…
the pods didn’t even set off a frisking wand!

Maia - I am curious about the time change. I assume you just adjusted the time on the PDM when you arrived at your destinations? I am heading to Tokyo from the east coast in a couple of weeks and it will be my first international flight since starting on a pump in March (OmniPod). The 13 hour time difference will flip my days around and it seems logical that this would be that simple. I am sure it seems obvious but I take nothing for granted.

I guess I am most curious about basel rates. When I flip the time I will be stacking my higher basal rates. Pretty small increments I suppose, but thought provoking none the less.

To BWashington… Thanks for the info on having my endo send a prescription. I never would’ve thought of that. :slight_smile:

Believe it or not, she said I was the first patient to ask for such a thing and she thought it was a great idea! :slight_smile:

TIme change is was easy for me, because my basal rate doesnt change throught the day, My endo actually made an appointment with me to talk about it but when I got there she realized that all I had to do was change the time when I reached each layover…
I can imagine that it would totally whack out what times your body would be trendign higher and lower, too, so I really am not sure, best to call your endo.
I do know that when I lost my PDM in Malaysia, I called my Endo in the US and they told me to just do Lantus every 12 hours and inject just like I used to, which was supprising because I used to do 1 every 24 hours…

Best of luck, and enjoy your trip to Tokyo, its definately one of my favorite cities!

Yes this is true. My daughter travelled last summer with her Omnipod and it DID NOT set off the alarm…

I have four basel rates throughout the day so it is going to interesting. I will check with my Endo, Thank you.

Thanks for all your help! I ended up going through security twice with no issues with the pods or PDM. Security didn’t hassle me either (or even notice, for that matter, despite me wearing a t-shirt during one of those times that bulged out a bit where I had the pod).

at one point on insulin-pumpers someone had mentioned getting their pharmacists to print an extra rx label and put it on a pill (orange) bottle to hold their open vial; then they have the rx as well