Hi
@Kirstyannecraig,
Welcome and a big hello from downunder!
You have received lots of helpful advice and contact references already.
Perhaps what i can best do is define some things for you, add some detail and decipher things like acronyms!
Aussie Medicare does not routinely cover dental expenses ( only those on quite low incomes) but if your visa allows reciprocal arrangements then hospital visits and related tests would be covered.
Any visit to GPs and specialists outside hospitals would cost you, although with Medicare provisions if they apply to you a certain rebate could be claimed back. Similarly you would have to pay for xrays and such ordered by GP or private specialists even if you attend a hospital's imaging dept to have the test done.
Some pathology services also charge.
You will need to carefully check the details of any private health insurance you take out. Most have a waiting time after taking out insurance before pre-existing medical conditions like TID and epilepsy would be covered. And given the cost of ambulances services i fully endorse the idea of obtaining ambukance insurance to cover your entire length of stay. Ambulance cover would apply whether you had pre-existing conditions or not ( thankfully but like most insurance, you hope to not ever need the service)!
Not sure if you plan to use an international driver's license but it would be advisable to check with transport dept of say, the state of Victoria, since Melbourne is your entry point, about your health conditions and fitness to drive provisions. Driving legislation varies a bit from State to State or Territory.
NDSS stands for National Diabetes Supply Scheme and is to help subsidise those requiring test strips, syringes/ needles and pump consumables such as for your Medtronic. A doctor needs to sign a form for you to apply to NDSS. This is to stop people from falsely registering to they can obtain cheaper supplies for their diabetic dig etc !!
I would expect any warranty on your Medtronic pump to be honoured in Australia and it might be worthwhile just letting Medtronic UK know where you are headed and for how long so that any need to confer with Medtronic Oz is easily done.
NDSS supplies can be purchased from most pharmacies.
Climate has been mentioned: i live in Adeliade in South Oz, to the west of Victoria but in Melbourne the summers, say, Nov to March can reach to 40 degrees plus, and in winter, June - October there can be frosts. And Queensland is quite humid and hot in summer as
@Tipetoo can attest to, and inland Oz is even hotter in summer and can be freezing in winter. And there can be long distances between towns and services in some parts of the country.
Dehydration in summertime and sunburn are real risks. Always carry water with you. There is a popular SunSmart campaign here: Slip on a shirt, Slop on some sunscreen, Slap on a Hat, Slide on some sunglasses( sunnies), seek Shelter/shade and i add Sip some water. There are places that sell sun protection gear here, for a price,
If you look at the info with your insulin you can see that your Novorapid is supposed to be kept in the fridge at about 4 to 8 degrees C in order to last until its expiry date and can be effective/potent when kept out of the fridge for up to 30 days provided it has not been frozen or been exposed to greater than 30 degrees C.
Similarly your emergency long-acting insulin will need refrigeration as above, need to be kept within an optimal temperature range once out of the fridge but may last longer than the short acting insulin. Levemir for example is quoted as lasting 42 days.
So on your travels if you can leave a refrigerated supply of your insulin with a relaible person to which you can return to 'resupply' yourself that may help preserve your insulin supply. Otherwise you would be having to obtain new insulin periodically and discarding some of it.
So with travelling you will need to insulate your insulin. Some people have used Frio bags or similar for travel and if you use the question box right upper on Forum page you can find out about those and lots of our info such as about 'airport security' and carrying a letter from your specialist to ensure your pump is not removed and not put through the luggage scanner which may damage it and definitely void any pump warranty. Also ' Frio', 'time zones' 'travel kit, emergency kit' etc.
Finally please arrange for some medical ID bracelet, if you have not already, so that if you are unfortunate to be sent to hospital then staff there can obtain important info about your health conditions, allergies etc particularly if you happen to be unconscious or otherwise too unwell to speak.
I hope I have not dampened your enthusiasm for travel. But as is said: Hope for the best, plan for the worse.
Please keep asking questions as they arise and someone ( or more) will have answers or at least a direction to point you in.
If you need some lessons in understanding the Aussie language that can be done too.
Goudonya mate !!! True blue!
