Can I get emergency supplies abroad if my luggage goes AWOL? I’m not sure I can fit a months worth of cannulas and supplies of (many) pills for various non diabetic medical reasons, insulin, spare pump, sharps box etc in my hand luggage! Does anyone have advice please? 
in addition to a regular piece of hand luggage, it is the law that you are allowed one other carry on full of medical equipment. i have travelled to and from europe with an extra hand luggage/carry on ítem with all my junk in it as dont want to have it lost floating around in argentina somewhere.
theres lots of info and links here: http://www.diabetes.org/assets/pdfs/know-your-rights/public-accommodations/fact-sheet-tsa.pdf
I second what pancreaswanted says and recommend that you carry on all your supplies. Almost all airlines provide an exception to carry on limits for medically necessary supplies, you could wheel on a whole extra 22" extra rollerboard for your supplies if needed. I would never pack needed supplies in my checked luggage and certainly not insulin. Checked luggage could experience extremes in temperature and as you note, it could be lost.
Thanks everyone. I didn’t know that I could have an extra bag for my meds. That would make me feel a lot more secure.
I carry a small gym/sports bag on the plane, it will hold three months worth of pump supply's, insulin, syringes spare meter and extra pump, no problem. I have asked my son to Fed-x me, pills, infusion sets, a phone, many diffrent items. You can ship almost anything over night without a problem including your own drugs...
I agree with everyone's thoughts. I have a Medtronic pump and they have toll free European phone number, which I always take with me. I never, never, ever let my medical supplies out of my hands.
Also, depending on where you are traveling, the pharmacies are very different than in the U.S. and many things you need a scrip for here can be purchased OTC. Pump supplies cannot, obviously. Additionally, the one year I had to but a BG meter, our insurance reimbursed us for the cost when we submitted the charge.
And...take the supplies out of their boxes. You can mush them down in a plastic ziplock, back, fill your shoes with some, I end up being able to take 2x as much just by getting rid of the boxes. I toss in the Rx label just in case as well
I've managed to shove enough stuff, D-related and otherwise into a single carried-on backpack for a 3 week trip through Europe, and while I understand compact-packing isn't for everyone, here's a couple things I've learned over the years that helped me get to such a point where I could actually carry it all in one bag under my seat:
Take everything out of its original box, and double-up the number of strips in each container
A sharps container can just be an empty water bottle you find when you get there
All flat things (wipes of various kinds, tapes) and small things (lancets) can easily go in ziplock bags and be shoved just about anywhere without taking up any space
Most everything (except maybe the spare pump) isn't in need of any kind of padding or extra protection, so be minimal on your packing containers (if you use them). Clearly, insulin is a different story and I at least keep mine in my small personal bag while flying, and if I can shove a bottle in someone else's bag I do that too.
I'm certain you can find insulin abroad, but I wouldn't count on the rest of it being easy... In a pinch you could get a new meter to work with the foreign strips, and I bet most pump companies can mail you emergency supplies if need be, but I wouldn't use that as the Plan A version of how to fix a problem given the day or two it would take to actually get them delivered.
FWIW, I have NEVER made it to another country with my checked luggage arriving on time (which is why I eventually stopped checking luggage), and I wouldn't in 100 years recommend putting any of your life-sustaining items in a checked bag. EVER. Even on domestic flights. EVER.
A longer term project is to find a case that has the right dividers, pockets, etc for YOUR stuff, YOUR way. I've gone through a couple (generally different toiletry/cosmetic or electronics bags) before finding some that worked best, but having a bag that was organized the way I wanted it was the last piece in my "how to pack everything really really small and make sure I didn't forget anything" routine. Again, even if really small isn't your goal, the ability to look in my bag and see that all the pockets and dividers are full lets me know without digging that I have everything, and in the midst of traveling (or still just packing) I love the reassurance I get from the "perfect" bag.
Thanks. Really useful . Buy the way is there such a thing as the ‘perfect’ bag?