Holiday with pump

[lisacp]

Evening,
I am due to go on holiday to Florida in August.
We are going to be going to the parks.
I use the insight pump and I am concerned due to the fact that it is not waterproof.
We will be spending a couple of days in the water parks where it would be impossible for me to wear the pump for the whole day. A few of the rides can also leave you extremely wet.
Would you recommend using the pump or going back to injections for the duration of the holiday?
Thanks

 

[Annie86]

Hi Lisa.

I've not been to theme parks for two consecutive days but I have been for the majority of a day. Is it possible that you try to arrange the water rides for a set time in the day where you could disconnect and then reconnect between rides?
Dependent on style of pump can you get a waterproof surround? If you shop around different people on eBay and Amazon provide various casings and socks.
Is it possible to wrap the pump in a waterproof film whilst on the rides to protect or will you be submerged?
If you are thinking of injections I would suggest you speak to your gp. Dependent on how long you have used the pump, you may find it difficult to readjust safely to injections (personally I would find this hard).
Let us know what you decide or if you manage to find an appropriate casing for your pump.

Have a fab holiday whatever the choice
Xxx

 

[paulliljeros]

I would confirm with your DN, but you can safely remove your pump for up to 1 hr at a time without much thought (for me, the missed basal during this time would be counteracted with the additional exercise in the park), and if you want to disconnect longer, just take a bolus boost of the missed time each time you reconnect. Its a pain, but if I were going to be in that situation, I would aim to reconnect every 2 hrs, and knowing that I am on 0.975 U/hr, just take a bolus of 0.975 x 2 and then disconnect and carry on. Perhaps its a bit of an inconvenience, but you get to be pump free for the time you're in the water, you'll keep your BG relatively in check and you don't need to worry about it getting knocked or lost etc.

 

[iHs]

Evening,
I am due to go on holiday to Florida in August.
We are going to be going to the parks.
I use the insight pump and I am concerned due to the fact that it is not waterproof.
We will be spending a couple of days in the water parks where it would be impossible for me to wear the pump for the whole day. A few of the rides can also leave you extremely wet.
Would you recommend using the pump or going back to injections for the duration of the holiday?
Thanks

Make sure first with Accu chek that if the Insight develops a fault, they will be able to get a replacement out to you fairly quickly. Also, make sure that your insurance policy will cover the pump being used outside the UK and that theft will be included.

 

[Medusa41]

Hi @lisacp - have you insured the pump? I did mine with insurance4 insulin pumps as they are specialist & can a replacement to you quickly. Hope you have a fantastic time!

Have fun! ️

 

[amackey]

HI @lisacp

I was there last year with my kids and had a great time.
In some ways it was worse for me because I wear an Omnipod so it cant be taken off for an hour or so, also it seemed the two disney waterparks were my kids favourite venues so avoiding getting wet wasnt an option. I just followed what @Annie86 has suggested here and used tegaderm to try to protect the pod. Fortunately it is a bit more waterproof but still. In the 2 weeks I did lose one but always had a backup with me and we were staying close so could always return to get more.

I used to have a Roche Combo in the past and in your position I would do as @paulliljeros suggests. Remove the pump and cap it and test frequently and adjust based on bolus missed. At any one time you probably wont be in the water for that long. If you use skin tac or something I doubt you will have a problem with adhesion and everything dries very quickly in Florida. Always take spare infusion sets with you. You wont get that wet on the rides in other parks so just take something that you can cover it with.

I think going to MDI would be far more difficult and harder on your control.

If I'm not mistaken most pump manufacturers will supply you with a holiday pump. Yposmed certainly do for the PDA portion of the Omnipod. With it they send you an unopened spare. You return it unopened and it costs you nothing and you had peace of mind or if you need it you open it and they charge you. I would not want to rely on anybody shipping a replacement so it is a great way of protecting yourself.

I have some great memories and the pump was no hinderance, in fact it was a great ice breaker where some fellow American pump users wanted to ask my experience.

Have a wonderful holiday!!!!

 

[Chas C]

The Insight has some water proof capabilities, from memory it can be submerged for a hour at 1m depth.

I fell into the sea with mine on and it took me 5 mins to get out, I had no issues and I also wear mine in the shower everyday.

Getting wet on rides should not be an issue for you.

The bigger concern I would have is the type of ride and if there are any strong magnetic fields around that could affect the pump.