Travelling with insulin

Hi, im hoping someone can give me some advice, i am moving to Australia for a year to study and stopping in Dubai for a short holiday on the way! I have to take a considerable amount (6 months worth) of insulin with me as it will be expensive for me to get insulin in Australia! Does anyone have any advice as to how i transport such a large amount of insulin or have any experience with taking insulin on long haul flights?
Thanks

Hi there,

I did travel to austrailia a few years back but only for 6weeks not a full year but like you say alot cheaper to take insulin over than buy it... For the insulins that i was'nt usin i would wrap a dish towel around a cool pack and sit this next to my insulin until i was on the plane then mentioned to the air steward who would kindly store the insulin in a fridge for me..

Hope this helps it worked for me traveling to austrailia then brazil...

dafne-dude said:
Hi there,

I did travel to austrailia a few years back but only for 6weeks not a full year but like you say alot cheaper to take insulin over than buy it... For the insulins that i was'nt usin i would wrap a dish towel around a cool pack and sit this next to my insulin until i was on the plane then mentioned to the air steward who would kindly store the insulin in a fridge for me..

Hope this helps it worked for me traveling to austrailia then brazil...

sjohno said:


I'm not sure if this site will help but try http://www.friouk.com they may have some travelling equipment that may help you, good luck.

i did notify the airline i was diabetic when i booked but that was just to request an alternative menu, you may need something from your GP stating you are diabetic and will be carrying needles on you ect..(but to be honest no-one checked this when boarding) also tell the airline you have diabetes when booking and they will request an alternative menu, (all your meals are served first and the food is alot better).. I flew with emirates when travelling to australia and they were very helpful and understanding about keeping the insulins in the fridge..

hope that makes sense to you,,

I regularly travel with a frio pack. Do you plan to have it with you in the cabin? The pack is great and you can get into an airport without immersing it in water before you have to declare whether or not you have a gel. It has not been a problem but all you need is one over zealous official! Take loads of paperwork to cover you.

I am not sure I would recommend a "diabetic meal". I have found that you are better off just dealing with the meal you get...real food!

I do not notify the airline of my diabetic status.

Helen

I've only been abroad for 2 weeks at most so all I've done is the typical of carrying the declaration of diabetes from my care team and various medication in my hand luggage.

I avoid the diabetic meal myself because of the typical "diabetic foods" rubbish... meal with a feel of where I am going I'd much rather have on that note (aka, often Japanese! Yummy!).

I hope you have a smashing time living in Australia whatever you end up doing about insulin, GXK949!

Is there any way of finding out the carbohydrate content of airline meals? I recently flew back from holiday and over-estimated the amount of carbs in the meal. Consequently, I had a hypo as we were coming in to land. I should have asked the cabin crew, I suppose - but would they have known?

No, No, No, they would not know! I flew with a adolescent who had notified the airline that she was allergic to egg. Sure enough the meal arrived (special dietary meal) and two of the items had egg! One even had it written on the packaging that came with it.

The diabetic meals I have ordered tend to be "difficult" to estimate carbs on...you know the ubiquitous set dessert, water instead of juice and generally low on carbs. I also find flying tends to elevate my BG so I do alot of testing and a fair few "corrections" especially over time zones. I also know someone who had been on a pump for years and whenever she flies she puts herself back onto MDIs as sleep patterns, insulin requirements, meals etc tend to be haphazard. Back on the pump when routine returns.

Flying for me is constant monitoring etc... I also carry muesli bars (took 27 to China). When in doubt a bar is a meal!

Helen

Thanks for that, Helen. I think the conclusion is 'don't trust airline food'. Next time I fly, I will take some sandwiches and fruit - something I know and trust. The trouble was that it was a 'package' holiday, and the package included flight meals, so we were reluctant to turn down something we'd already paid for. I'll know better next time.