Travelling with Insulin

[Mikerp]

Has anybody travelled to Australia with Insulin? I will be going in Dec 22 and will need to take 25 pens with me. I believe that if you keep insulin out of the fridge for more than 6 hours you cannot put it back in. Also, Frio told me that you cannot transfer pens from their bags into a fridge. How did anyone else manage? The only solution I can think of is to keep them in an air-conditioned room. I am a type 2 with insulin. Humulin M3

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Has anybody travelled to Australia with Insulin? I will be going in Dec 22 and will need to take 25 pens with me. I believe that if you keep insulin out of the fridge for more than 6 hours you cannot put it back in. Also, Frio told me that you cannot transfer pens from their bags into a fridge. How did anyone else manage? The only solution I can think of is to keep them in an air-conditioned room. I am a type 2 with insulin.Humulin M3

Phone or email your insulin providers and ask them. I can tell you how I manage, but I can't guarantee this is medically correct.
However Australia is not exactly the wild west - there must be a sensible way to get insulin resupplied there, even if you are planning on renting a van and spending 3 months driving across the continent!

 

[Mikerp]

Out of interest, how did you manage?

 

[helli]

I have taken insulin out of the fridge for more than 6 hours and put it back with no problems.
For example, I only take insulin cartridges out of the fridge as a back up to my pump when travelling. I very very rarely use them and return the cartridges to the fridge when I get home.
I try to keep track of total time out of the fridge and throw them out when this reaches about a month.
But have reverted to MDI using a cartridge which has been in and out of the fridge for a total of a few weeks and never had any issues.

You mentioned that you are taking 25 pens. I would strongly recommend changing to reusable pens as 25 cartridges and 4 pens (one for basal, one for bolus and a spare for each) will take up much less luggage space than 25 pens, the reusable pens are more robust and they cause less rubbish.

 

[Mikerp]

Thanks for that, I think it is something I need to talk about with my diabetic nurse.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Out of interest, how did you manage?

I only went to Wales! But mid summer and no fridge or air con in the budget accommodation. I used jiffy bags, double wrapped to keep everything insulated, all iin a case in the wardrobe; low cost and effective enough.

Frio are inevitably going to give you a response that suits their commercial gain and protects them from any liability!

With your 6 months lead time I'd ask the Australian embassy for the 'chapter and verse' rules on insulin, prescriptions and pharmacies. Or identify a big chemists chain in Aus and email them. There could be differences in different States; there were many years ago for all sorts of things and I think States treasure their differences.

 

[Mikerp]

You apparently have to get medicare which after you have gone to a centre to apply, then you get a card posted to you where you are staying,

 

[Proud to be erratic]

You mentioned that you are taking 25 pens. I would strongly recommend changing to reusable pens as 25 cartridges and 4 pens (one for basal, one for bolus and a spare for each) will take up much less luggage space than 25 pens, the reusable pens are more robust and they cause less rubbish.

Particularly agree about reusable pens, changed both bolus and basal during this year and wouldn't willingly go back to disposable pens. Reusable pens and cartridges have the further advantage of the end cap giving a record of the size of your last dose and a simple record of how long ago. Total win-win.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

You apparently have to get medicare which after you have gone to a centre to apply, then you get a card posted to you where you are staying,

OK, seems a bit of a faff; would expect this to be possible from the Internet.
As a simple precaution still check if Medicare rules are different from State to State - unless you are sure you will only be in one State.

 

[Mikerp]

I must be using Bolus insulin as I take it before my breakfast and evening meal.

 

[Robin]

I must be using Bolus insulin as I take it before my breakfast and evening meal.

You mentioned Humulin M3 in your initial post. That’s a mixed insulin, the mix being a long acting (Basal) and a short acting (Bolus) but designed to give you good coverage throughout the day and night, with a slight peak to cover your breakfast and evening meal.

 

[Bloden]

I’ve got a couple of flasks that I’ve been using for the past 14 years whenever I travel. I just pop the pens straight from the fridge into the flasks, then stick them in a fridge when I get to my destination. I also like the fact that the pens won’t get squashed by anything, cos the flasks are pretty tough. For travelling in hot countries in our car we’ve got an esky that plugs into the car lighter. Not really an option on a plane LOL!

Have a great trip!

 

[m1dnc]

I have been to Oz several times and regularly travel long haul to the tropics for up to six months at a time. My routine is to pack my insulin vials (plus spares and pens to cover accidents) in a cool bag with a couple of small freezer blocks. I leave it 'til the last minute to take them out the fridge before I depart, and transfer them to a fridge on arrival at my destination. If I'm travelling between different places I do the same routine (fridge - cool bag - fridge) on each leg. The only time I've had a problem in over twenty years, is when I left my supplies in a hotel fridge on an overnight stop when driving from New York to Toronto. By the time I realised my mistake I was on the wrong side of the border. It wasn't a big problem as insulin can be bought OTC in Canada.

You can get cool bags and freezer blocks of whatever size you want from Amazon. It's important to ensure that the packed insulin vials/pens are not in direct contact with the freezer blocks, as you don't want to risk freezing the insulin.

Oh, and BTW, I've never had a problem with airport security carrying my insulin this way.

 

[Mikerp]

The problem I have is that we will be leaving home the day before the flight to stay at a hotel in Heathrow then a 17-hour flight. That's 46 hours between fridges

 

[helli]

The problem I have is that we will be leaving home the day before the flight to stay at a hotel in Heathrow then a 17-hour flight. That's 46 hours between fridges

I frequently take my pen cartridges out of the fridge for between a couple of days and a week as a back up in case my pump fails when away from home. I rarely use them so put them back in the fridge when I return. I repeat this multiple times until they have totalled about a month out of the fridge if you add up each each trip.
I have used cartridges that have done this and experienced no problems.
I have both NovoRapid and Lantus cartridges. I also have vials of Fiasp for my pump which spend a couple of weeks out of the fridge on longer trips and then put back in when I get home.

 

[SB2015]

I do the same as @Robin and carry spare pens and insulin in a flask. I put that in a fridge at my destination. If there is no fridge I just date the insulin for when it should be discarded.
I did on one occasion carefully move the pens in their flask from fridge to fridge, only to find when I got home that my pens had no insulin in!!! Glad I had no pump failure on that trip.

 

[m1dnc]

The problem I have is that we will be leaving home the day before the flight to stay at a hotel in Heathrow then a 17-hour flight. That's 46 hours between fridges

You can ask for a fridge in your room. Most hotels will accommodate this as they are used to guests asking for a fridge for a plethora of reasons.

If not, use the mini-bar. Although not as cold as a normal fridge, it's better than nothing.

There are so many things that could possibly go wrong on a long trip if you stop and think about it, but I've learned to stop fretting and enjoy the ride. Even if s**t happens, you'll find a work-around.

Enjoy Oz, it's a great place to be.

 

[JJay]

It should be fine. I've previously told the tale on here of the 2 packs of cartridges collected by my OH for me and stuffed in his coat pocket, which then languished above the hall radiator for 3 weeks before I noticed their absence. Nothing wrong with them at all!