Holidays, insulin and Libre

[CivicFreak]

So we've just booked our first holiday abroad in nearly 3 years, and it will be my first holiday abroad since being diagnosed as type 1.

I can't lie, I am a little apprehensive about it as it will bring with it a lot of new challenges, but I absolutely will not let it overshadow the experience as this holiday has been a very long time coming (provided the flight doesn't get cancelled!), however I do have some questions.

First, I know that I will need to take around double the amount of insulin, needles etc to cover the 2 weeks away, and that I need to carry this in my hand luggage, so that's no problem. But how to keep it cool on the flight? I'm not so bothered about the pen that I will be using at the time, but if I'm taking a couple of additional pens that won't be getting used immediately, how can I keep them cool? I do have a bag that is designed for all of my diabetic stuff, and it has a compartment with a freezable gel pack, will this be enough?

Further, how does the Libre cope with beaches? I can imagine that the sun tan lotion and sea/sand won't do it a lot of good, and will certainly increase the risk of it falling off. I do use a 3D printed band for showering and sleeping, so perhaps I will ned to use this a lot more on holiday to protect it? Alternatively, I have toyed with the idea of just going Libre-less for the 2 weeks and just rely on finger pricking. Obviously I would discuss this with my DSN before I travel, just so they aren't alarmed if they don't receive any Libre data for 2 weeks.

How have others managed? Hopefully I'm not overthinking, and I'm certainly trying to ensure that it causes as little disruption to my holiday as possible.

 

[helli]

But how to keep it cool on the flight? I'm not so bothered about the pen that I will be using at the time, but if I'm taking a couple of additional pens that won't be getting used immediately, how can I keep them cool? I do have a bag that is designed for all of my diabetic stuff, and it has a compartment with a freezable gel pack, will this be enough?

The usual solution is Frio wallets although unless you are going somewhere very hot, your pens will be fine in the middle of your hand luggage.

Further, how does the Libre cope with beaches? I can imagine that the sun tan lotion and sea/sand won't do it a lot of good, and will certainly increase the risk of it falling off. I do use a 3D printed band for showering and sleeping, so perhaps I will ned to use this a lot more on holiday to protect it? Alternatively, I have toyed with the idea of just going Libre-less for the 2 weeks and just rely on finger pricking.

Being a red-head, I am not a beach babe so never spent long on the beach with a CGM.
I would be very reluctant to go without my CGM during a holiday when I am not following my usual regime.

I have travelled many time with diabetes and it has always been fine even when I have travelled to some unusual places.
There is nothing to worry about at airports and no need to tell anyone you have diabetes unless they explicitly ask.

There was a recent thread about holidays with the usual tips on it: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/first-holiday-abroad-since-t1-diagnosis….100630/

 

[CivicFreak]

The usual solution is Frio wallets although unless you are going somewhere very hot, your pens will be fine in the middle of your hand luggage.

Being a red-head, I am not a beach babe so never spent long on the beach with a CGM.
I would be very reluctant to go without my CGM during a holiday when I am not following my usual regime.

I have travelled many time with diabetes and it has always been fine even when I have travelled to some unusual places.
There is nothing to worry about at airports and no need to tell anyone you have diabetes unless they explicitly ask.

There was a recent thread about holidays with the usual tips on it: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/first-holiday-abroad-since-t1-diagnosis….100630/

Thank you 🙂

We're going to Cyprus, so it is going to be fairly hot. Mind you the hotel we're staying in is around 25 minutes from the airport, and the hotel room does have a fridge so i'll be throwing it in there as soon as we get to the hotel. To be safe I will look at getting some Frio pouches.

With regard to Libre, I am not entirely keen on the idea of removing it for 2 weeks but I would rather that, than risk losing it. In honesty, like yourself, I'm not much of a beach-goer but my girlfriend does enjoy a good spell on the beach, and I think almost certainly the combination of sea, sand and sun tan lotion is likely to kill it at some point. Perhaps I won't remove it, but if it does end up falling off I won't put a new one on until I get home.

One thing I'm not concerned about is the airport itself. Before I was re-diagnosed with type 1, I was assumed to be type 2 and was on metformin so I used to have to carry my blood meter and tablets in my hand luggage and was never challenged. I will get a letter from my DSN though, just in case.

Thanks again for the advice 🙂