Diabetes and timezones change

[nikobasi]

Hello, I want to travel abroad for some months. I am injecting my long-acting insulin(24 hour lantus) at a specific time(23:30 Greek timezone). If I travel to a country which has two hours difference from my country timezone should i inject my insulin at my country's timezone(23:30 Greek timezone which is 21:30 in let's say UK ) or should i inject 23:30 UK timezone(01:30 Greek timezone) and make adjustments to insulin?
Also, should I take all my insulins with me if it's a three-month trip? Should they be used for a month or they can be used for more one month if kept on the fridge?

 

[urbanracer]

Personally I would change to local timezones but go with whatever is easiest for you to manage in your given situation.

Once your insulin starts to lose its chill factor, then the clock is ticking. You cannot put it back in a fridge and hope that it will still last until the use by date. Re-chilling 'may' help to slow down the degradation but I wouldn't rely on it.

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @nikobasi, A friend of mine who used to travel a lot would wear two watches. One watch was left on 'home' time,. the other adjusted as the time zones changed. For basal insulin he would keep to home time so that there was little chance of confusion, missing, delaying or overlapping doses. He would eat when meals were presented on the aircraft with use of his bolus (short-acting insulin. If he was staying somewhere for a week or more he might work the basal/long-acting (e.g. Lantus) around to a more convenient time, by easing the dose time backwards, say 2 hours per day so that there was slight overlap of the doses but no gaps (assuming Lantus is lasting 24 hours) Then he would set 'Home' time as that of the current place and continue on travelling. Once home he would work the Lantus dose back to the usual time.
I hope that helps and that you do are accosted as a travelling watch salesman !!