Type 1 Diabetes and Traveling the World

[CarlyWanderlust]

Hi everyone,

I am a type 1 diabetic and backpacked around the world for most of last year.

Before I left on my crazy adventure I went searching for information on getting supplies on the road, taking pen needles, strips and other supplies, or posting stuff overseas.

Unfortunately my search resulted in almost no helpful info. So as I have been keeping a video blog of my travels over the past year, I decided to do one specifically on backpacking the world as a diabetic. Hopefully this will help some other travelers out there looking for similar information that I wasn't able to find.

http://thewanderlustdays.com/type-1-diabetes-and-traveling-the-world/

Thanks,
Carly

 

[JaneC]

Hi Carly, I'm about to go to South America more or less back packing for a few months. I'm on a pump and will take back up MDI stuff but did you do anything at altitude and if so, how did you get on? Very interested to hear that your insulin remained fine after several months out of the fridge, one less thing to worry about.

 

[CarlyWanderlust]

Hi,

I'm actually headed to South America myself and will be backpacking for about a year - I will be there in June.

Altitude is definitely something I will be addressing as I too have been looking for information and have only been able to find medical journal style articles that say insulin is not affected. But I haven't really found anyone who has done it to provide me actual info. Having been through Switzerland and the Swiss Alps I didn't have any altitude issues, however I was only there for a few days.

This trip I will again not be storing insulin the in the fridge and don't anticipate any problems.

Good luck, I would love to know where and how you are making your way through SA

 

[dan12321]

Cheers for sharing carly, always wanted to backpack but have been reluctant being a type 1, uplifting knowing it can be done and that it hasnt held you back

 

[ewelina]

Thanks Carly for sharing your experience. I spent last summer backpacking in Asia. A bit of planning but can be done, even with t1

 

[CarlyWanderlust]

Happy I could help you guys.

My next issue is going to be if I decide not to go home, keep traveling and run out of supplies. I haven't had to acquire more supplies whilst overseas yet so that will be interesting to tackle

 

[JaneC]

Hi Carly,
I'm going to Lima, Bolivia and then Brazil for a couple of months with G travel so not real rough tough trekking but will be doing a 3 day to Paccu Picchu and up in the heights of La Paz. Like you I've skied with no altitude problems and ran a small distance at the top of the Grand Canyon but this will be much higher and for longer so it'll be guess work as it's always been I reckon. It's still different from the days of initial diagnosis 30 years ago when I was told to take daily exercise such as a 20 minute walk whether I wanted to or not and that was as much help as I was given for any sport! I'll take spares, a Libre and lots of jelly sweets and hope for the best.

 

[Auckland Canary]

Happy I could help you guys.

My next issue is going to be if I decide not to go home, keep traveling and run out of supplies. I haven't had to acquire more supplies whilst overseas yet so that will be interesting to tackle

I have tried to get insulin posted from the Uk overseas but apparently that is not allowed. I think the only way would be to buy it but depending where you are it could prove problematic and very expensive. Maybe the best approach is to come back for a couple of weeks and sort something out here before returning but obviously that would have it's own set of difficulties.

 

[Mrsass]

Great post Carly xx

 

[CarlyWanderlust]

Hi Carly,
I'm going to Lima, Bolivia and then Brazil for a couple of months with G travel so not real rough tough trekking but will be doing a 3 day to Paccu Picchu and up in the heights of La Paz. Like you I've skied with no altitude problems and ran a small distance at the top of the Grand Canyon but this will be much higher and for longer so it'll be guess work as it's always been I reckon. It's still different from the days of initial diagnosis 30 years ago when I was told to take daily exercise such as a 20 minute walk whether I wanted to or not and that was as much help as I was given for any sport! I'll take spares, a Libre and lots of jelly sweets and hope for the best.

Jane, I am starting in Colombia to learn Spanish for a week and will then head to Galapagos Islands on Geckos Adventures tour, then a few weeks later a Tucan Tour down through Ecuador and Peru into Lima, and then I'm on my own. I'm planning on travel down through Argentina and moving towards Brazil where I should be around Christmas.

I did a G Adventures tour through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos last year and loved it so I'm sure yours will be awesome. G Adventures are the only tour company that I have been with where I needed to have my diabetic doctor sign off on a medical form saying I was able to do the tour. This surprised me at first but once we were in extremely remote locations I understood their need to ensure all passengers are medically capable.

I have tried to get insulin posted from the Uk overseas but apparently that is not allowed. I think the only way would be to buy it but depending where you are it could prove problematic and very expensive. Maybe the best approach is to come back for a couple of weeks and sort something out here before returning but obviously that would have it's own set of difficulties.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do if and when I need more insulin. I am hoping that I can have pen needles and strips sent to me from my Mum in Australia, but obtaining insulin will be interesting. I always carry with me originals of my scripts, as well as having a digital copy of everything just in case I need it. I wrote a post on that recently http://thewanderlustdays.com/5-essential-tips-for-diabetic-rtw-travel/

I will keep posting on the challenges and solutions as they arise

 

[JaneC]

Jane, I am starting in Colombia to learn Spanish for a week and will then head to Galapagos Islands on Geckos Adventures tour, then a few weeks later a Tucan Tour down through Ecuador and Peru into Lima, and then I'm on my own. I'm planning on travel down through Argentina and moving towards Brazil where I should be around Christmas.

I did a G Adventures tour through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos last year and loved it so I'm sure yours will be awesome. G Adventures are the only tour company that I have been with where I needed to have my diabetic doctor sign off on a medical form saying I was able to do the tour. This surprised me at first but once we were in extremely remote locations I understood their need to ensure all passengers are medically capable.



I'm not sure what I'm going to do if and when I need more insulin. I am hoping that I can have pen needles and strips sent to me from my Mum in Australia, but obtaining insulin will be interesting. I always carry with me originals of my scripts, as well as having a digital copy of everything just in case I need it. I wrote a post on that recently http://thewanderlustdays.com/5-essential-tips-for-diabetic-rtw-travel/

I will keep posting on the challenges and solutions as they arise

That sounds to be a great trip, you must keep us posted on how you get on. Yes, like you I've had to get medical sign off for G Adventures, hoping Macchu Piccu ( not Paccu Picchu as I originally seem to have posted) will make this worthwhile. I would think that you'll always be able to buy over the counter insulin in most places you go to unless unbelievably remote, even if it's expensive but hoping this last resort won't happen for either of us.

 

[tim2000s]

Hi @CarlyWanderlust, I've experienced acquiring Insulin outside the NHS in other countries and it has always been straightforward.

All it has required is a doctor to write a prescription (preferably one who understood English). The biggest issue has always been the cost of the MD and having to pay for the supplies. The last time I did it, some 15 years ago, Human Actrapid penfills were pretty expensive.

 

[JRW]

Hi Carly, sounds like a great adventure. I think they are more lax in South America about giving out insulin. I left my entire stash in a hotel fridge in Manaus(Brazil) last year and still had 2 weeks of my trip left. My wife's cousin was able to get some for me, I thought it was just a local thing so asked, she said that as long as you pay for it they don't really care too much about giving it out. I know Brazil is may be different, but the general consensus from my wife's family was that's pretty much the same for cities in South America, the caution was that once out to further out places supply could be a problem.

 

[Juicyj]

Love your post Carly, before being diagnosed I lived in NZ and travelled a lot and being diagnosed made me fear the thought of traveling overseas for any prolonged period of time. So good on ya and keep posting would love to hear your travel adventures, very inspirational.

 

[CarlyWanderlust]

Thanks for the great comments everyone.

It's excellent to hear that many have easily acquired insulin in South America. I will be there for about a year and would love to try and continue backpacking permanently if possible, so there will definitely be some interesting stories that go up on the blog

 

[Minnie_19]

Hi Carly,
I'm going to Lima, Bolivia and then Brazil for a couple of months with G travel so not real rough tough trekking but will be doing a 3 day to Paccu Picchu and up in the heights of La Paz. Like you I've skied with no altitude problems and ran a small distance at the top of the Grand Canyon but this will be much higher and for longer so it'll be guess work as it's always been I reckon. It's still different from the days of initial diagnosis 30 years ago when I was told to take daily exercise such as a 20 minute walk whether I wanted to or not and that was as much help as I was given for any sport! I'll take spares, a Libre and lots of jelly sweets and hope for the best.

Hi Jane C,

Good luck with you trip, it sounds amazing. I have been looking into G travel too and have heard good things about them. I have previous spent a month in Peru with another organisation called world challenge. We also did Machu Picchu, Lares Trek and Putucusi trail. I did suffer with altitude sickness during the lares trek but it did not seem to affect my blood glucose levels or have any problems with storage of my insulin. At the time I was still injecting so I kept my insulin in trio wallets which were a life saver! It would be worth investigating in some if you haven't done so already. Good luck on your travels, I hope it goes well and i'm sure you'll have an amazing time!

 

[Minnie_19]

Hi Jane C,

Good luck with you trip, it sounds amazing. I have been looking into G travel too and have heard good things about them. I have previous spent a month in Peru with another organisation called world challenge. We also did Machu Picchu, Lares Trek and Putucusi trail. I did suffer with altitude sickness during the lares trek but it did not seem to affect my blood glucose levels or have any problems with storage of my insulin. At the time I was still injecting so I kept my insulin in trio wallets which were a life saver! It would be worth investigating in some if you haven't done so already. Good luck on your travels, I hope it goes well and i'm sure you'll have an amazing time!

that should have said frio wallets! stupid auto correct!

 

[ealingr]

This thread is really making me want to pack my bags and get travelling again!

On the issue of altitude, I've camped at ~4,000m (going higher during the days) and don't remember the altitude causing any major diabetes issues. The only challenge was that it took my body a bit of time to get used to the altitude and during acclimatisation I would sometimes find it a bit harder to notice hypo symptoms. As long as you're checking glucose levels regularly, I wouldn't have any concerns.

 

[CarlyWanderlust]

I've heard of Frio wallets but have never actually seen one. Are they just ice-pack type bags that you have to refrigerate the night before to keep insulin cold the next day?

 

[CarlyWanderlust]

This thread is really making me want to pack my bags and get travelling again!

On the issue of altitude, I've camped at ~4,000m (going higher during the days) and don't remember the altitude causing any major diabetes issues. The only challenge was that it took my body a bit of time to get used to the altitude and during acclimatisation I would sometimes find it a bit harder to notice hypo symptoms. As long as you're checking glucose levels regularly, I wouldn't have any concerns.

Do it. Everyone should travel as often as possible