faraway holiday

[olga]

Dear all,

I was diagnosed with Diabetes 2 about three weeks ago. I am well looked after by the doctor, was prescribed medications which I dutifully take, did the retinopathy eye screening, booked a visit to dietitian, and on the whole I feel pretty much all right - at least I am not thirsty at all, and I do not spend all my time in the loo, even do not get up at night, although the tests are not good - yesterday before breakfast the sugar level was 11.4.

Pretty long ago, well before the diagnosis, I planned an independent trip to India, from 6-21 February. Everything has been booked, and now I am in doubts - long-haul flight, change of climate, change of food, tiredness.. I consulted with my doctor, and he said (I think, very reasonably) that it is better to go to India being diagnosed and having all medications with me, than go there not knowing about diabetes.

What would be your advice, please?

 

[Caterham]

Personally, I would go.

You are at a very early stage after diagnosis.You don't mention if you have adjusted your diet to reduce the amount of carbs you are eating, but as you have a meter then you are already taking an active part in managing your condition. This management will happen over the next years and decades, so the trip next month should not be a major issue, especially if you don't eat lots of rice every day!

I travel a lot (abroad for 6 weeks a year), and now I have a handle on what I can eat, I don;t even take my test kit with me. In fact, I got a HbAC1 of 5.99 straight after a month in the States, which is a carb heavy environment!

The next stage for me would be, by testing, discover the amount of carbs your body can deal with to remain under the 8.5 recommended after 2 hours (Although a lot of people on here advocate 7.8 as the limit). Once you have this information, you can begin to bring your readings consistently down.

In summary, life is for living, even with diabetes.

 

[valgeje]

One thing I would definitely advise is to notify the airline that you are diabetic. I did this on a long haul flight and my meals were far superior to the 'ordinary' meals, plenty of fresh fruit rather than gungy puddings. In fact my husband said that next time he's ordering the 'diabetic' meal!

 

[sallylondon]

I think your doctor is right. I also think that Caterham is right about enjoying life. I travel all of the time and do not find it a problem but I do have to adjust my diet. In India you will have to be very careful about the carb heavy meals. In your case, as you are newly diagnosed I would take a tester kit with me just to check occasionally. Also, make sure you take medication in hand luggage and take extra with you.

However, and it is a big however, I would check with your travel insurance company and see what they say. It is vital that they know about your diagnosis and that you have coverage in place before you leave and this may mean they change your policy or, heaven forbid, cancel it. Please do not go to India without travel insurance!

Have a wonderful trip - you will love it there if you accept the beauty as well as the problems.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I travel abroad a lot with no problem but as Sallylondon says make sure your travel insurance company know you are a diabetic on tablets. There won't be any problem although possibly a small increase in premium. I find travel across time zones increases my blood sugar possibly due to the liver getting confused with the body clock and dumping glucose. Watch out for too many carbs in India! BTW also note that if the NHS dietician suggests eating carbs with every meal smile politely and ignore it unless you want to make your diabetes worse. The key is to keep your carbs down to a level that your meter says is OK and keep them high fibre and low-GI