I’ve been on the OmniPod for about 3 months now and getting ready for a vacation on the Colorado River, Parker-AZ. The weather is usually 110-118 and we are outside in the heat, in the river try to keep cool or on the sea doos during most of the day. Would like any advice on how to keep the insulin in my pod cool/good from the heat for several days? Does anyone know if it is ok to still wear my cgm (dexcom seven) in the heat?
Best advice would probably be:
- Wear a light coloured top or rash vest over the pod to reduce direct heating from the sun
- Don’t sunbathe with it on
- Take a dip in the water every now and then to cool off, like you already do
Beyond that I’m not sure there’s much else you can do, just enjoy your vacation!
We just got back from Florida, and my daughter’s numbers were awful the entire week. Insulet says if it’s on your body, the insulin should be fine, but I think it just got too hot. She was even way more active than normal – at home (NY) we’d probably have lowered her basal 20 or 30 percent for the extra activity. Instead, we ended up adding 35 percent to her basal and bolusing way more for food than we normally do just to get some numbers in the high 100s. It was very frustrating. On the other hand, my brother (who lives in Denver) says that when he travels to some place warmer than what he’s used to, he can’t keep his blood sugar up, and has to eat constantly. Also, you may have to deal with the altitude difference – if it’s much higher than where you normally live, you’ll probably be lower than normal initially because your body has to work harder to deliver the same amount of oxygen to your brain and tissues.My daughter enjoyed getting to have a giant serving of ice cream with no bs spike the first day we were in Colorado. 
Be sure you drink more than normal. A lot of people get dehydrated in the altitude. If you need to keep the insulin that isn’t “on” you cool, I’d recommend a frio. And, for your PDM, I’d recommend a drypak – I’ve heard they work wonders in waterparks. Have fun!!
Thanks, we are now home and I did get a frio for my insulin that worked great. I was so concerned about keeping everything cool the 1st day we arrive at the river, as we were not able to check into our hotel til after 5pm that I didn’t have my pdm in a drypak or ziplock and yes you probably guessed it, it submerged in the ice chest after everyone was taking out water bottles and the ice melting. What a way to start off the vacation. We noticed it once we got checked in to the hotel and unpacking before dinner. Of course it would not work, tried changing batteries, finally called 800 # which they were very nice and sent out a new one however would not get to me until the day we left…so I had them delivered to my house. Good thing is that I had put a new pod on with extra insulin the day before we left so my basal was programed and was working out for most the the vacation (just had about 6 hrs with no basal). Well you can say I learned a big lesson! For anyone on the Omnipod, remember, remember to always take an extra meter!!! I didn’t, so I had to purchase another meter to be able to make corrections and bolus. I wear a Dexcom CGM, but as we all know it can sometimes be off. Which it was a few times. I have now researched and just ordered a spibelt along with the waterproof bag for future water trips. 