Always high abroad

[Lisa Newman]

Hello, my husband was diagnosed with Type 1 almost 4 years ago. He has managed amazingly well following the initial hospitalisation and diagnosis. His levels are generally good and he pretty much is in tune with his body and his insulin needs.
The issue is that each time we have been abroad, his levels are consistently high after the first few days. Yes, he is having a few more beers than normal, but also swims everyday and manages to not dig into the regular snacks the rest of us indulge in on holiday. At first he was told it was probably the end of the honeymoon period and he ends up increasing his levomir. Generally when we get home everything is back to normal, although his levomir intake remains slightly elevated.
Does anyone else experience this? Do you have any advice?
Thanks.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Lisa, welcome to the forum 🙂 I can't speak for myself, not having been abroad since diagnosis. However, a sudden change in diet, climate, activity levels etc. can all upset the balance you might have achieved in your everyday life. What sort of places do you tend to go to on holiday? Is there a possibility of the insulin becoming compromised, by getting too warm/cold? Does he carb count? Has he ever done a course, like DAFNE? I'm sure some of our experienced travellers will be along to share their experiences 🙂

 

[Robin]

I find I always run a bit higher on holiday, in my case it's a combination of not being able to Bolus for a meal my usual 30 mins in advance, ( in case the food doesn't turn up when expected) and being conservative with correction doses. I also tend to drink more caffeinated coffee on hol, and that causes spikes in my blood sugar as well.
I've now got a freestyle Libre, which I can't afford to use all the time, but I find it invaluable for holidays. I've just come back from one, and it was so much easier just to be able to swipe the sensor whenever I wanted, and to spot a downward trend, eg when walking round the sights, and head off a hypo before it happened.

 

[m1dnc]

I do travel quite a bit (I was overseas 36/52 weeks last year, admittedly a record for me) and I'm sorry to say that it takes quite a bit of hard work to keep everything on an even keel. Time changes, unfamiliar foods, climate effects, stress etc. etc. all contribute to make life very unpredictable. For example, I generally find that in tropical climates my insulin needs drop quite a bit, but not always. I think (but I can't be certain) that one tends to eat less when it's hot and maybe do that little bit more exercise, or maybe the body has to work harder to keep cool. Who knows?

I have found that you need to test often (especially when flying) and be prepared for making corrections and basal rate changes. Having the pump is a boon, and the Libre is a life saver. It can be done though. I got home last month after five months away and my HbA1C was 6.7%, slightly up from 6.5% before I left.

 

[Copepod]

Welcome to the forum, Lisa/
So much is different on holiday compared with normal working weeks and weekends. Changes in eather (extremes of temperature reduce insulin requirements), food, drink, activity (including er, bedroom recreation), stress (airports, flights, ferries etc may increase need for insulin) etc can all affect things. I assume your husband is also using a bolus / short acting insulin, in addition to Levemir? Also, important to keep insulin out of direct sunlight, away from hot radiators, engines, hot car interiors etc - in shade and deep inside bag, preferably not dark coloured.