I'm Going Backpacking round the world and Need advice!

[poppalicious]

Hello, I'm going travelling to Thialand, Australia, New Zealand and America. I'm Type 1 diabetic and would really like to know if there is anyone who has gone travelling before and has any recommondations for a good travel insurance and how much I'm looking on spending? Please help.

 

[elainechi]

this isn.t very helpful but i read an article on a man type 1 who went round the world.....try goggling it maybe....otherwise you need to find some cards to say thst you are diabetic in various languages..and twice as much insulin and supplies...never carry all stuff together....cant think much else as mo....good luck i wish i had the courage...and im not diabetic xx

 

[eggplant]

I got my travel insurance from Columbus Travel. They charged about 28% extra for being diabetic. For other advice, suggest you look at these search results for 'travel' + 'diabetes':

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=di...7SKPB_en&redir_esc=&ei=ZLfhULbqMYid0QXxq4GAAg

Imagine Thailand might be tougher than the other places. You will definitely need health insurance for the States. NZ and Australia might have some reciprocal arrangements with the UK, not sure.

You need to think about how long you are going away for, how much medication/strips/insulin/lancets, etc. you need for that period, then multiply it by half and add extra on in case of loss or damage in transit. Need to think about how you'll keep things cool (you can get special envelope things to keep insulin pens cool) and how you'll dispose of lancets/strips (small sandwich boxes work well for that). You can either take it all with you (take a prescription with name of your doctor and surgery on it and/or letter/card indicating you are insulin-dependent - I believe there's such a thing as an insulin passport you can get). Another option might be to have items posted to you for pick up - but not sure on rules for sending medication through post - and you'd have to allow additional time for it to arrive. As previous poster said, if you do carry everything with you, don't carry it all in one bag in case of loss/damage. And better not put insulin in hold baggage as it might freeze there.

Another piece of advice is to obtain the generic (standard) name for your medication as it may use a different name overseas.

Research and plan and discuss with your doctor/diabetic nurse - get what help you can. Enjoy your trip.