Travelling South East Asia with Type 1 Diabetes - pump user

[Ellaraps01]

I think extracting insulin from 3ml cartridges is dangerous and wouldn't be a choice for me, especially when backpacking in a foreign country. Thanks for all the suggestions but it looks like I will have to use pens

 

[lauramwatt]

Hello everyone,

I am travelling to SE Asia for 3 months backpacking in Jan 2025. I use a Medtrum pump with Novo Nordisk Novorapid Insulin, but this insulin is not available in 10ml vials for pump use out there.

The Thai regulations state that I can only take 30 days worth of insulin with me into the country which is far less than I need for my trip.

I am looking for information about accessing insulin for pump use in SE Asia or anyone's experience of taking insulin into Thailand/SE Asia.

Any help would be appreciated as I'm struggling to work out what best to do!

Thanks,
Ella 🙂

Hi Ella,

Wow firstly your trip sounds incredible! I'm so jealous- I hope you have an amazing time 🙂

I'm not sure exactly about Thailand, but I lived in South Korea for 5 years and had to switch to using pens as they didn't have the pump equipment I needed It may be worth taking some extra pens with you just in case.

In the case of the Thai regulations, I wonder if that's something that they can waver with a doctor's note? It might be worth ringing the Thai embassy to see if they can offer any solutions, or if they can at least direct you to the right number to call 🙂

I'm sure you've done a tonne of research already- but I came across this blog post when looking into this and it's full of a lot of useful info about navigating thailand with Diabetes: https://www.t1dwanderer.com/guides/thailand-diabetes-travel-advice/

Also (again I'm sure you're aware of this and have probably already done it) but making sure you have travel insurance for this trip would be best. It's likely to not be that cheap, but it's much better than the alternative of having to shell out full price for a trip to hospital if something does happen (touch wood not!).

Also I'm not sure if your backpacking will exclusively be around Thailand or across a few countries- but let me know if you're travelling to SK! I'd love to share some sightseeing spots 🙂 x