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Time Zone Adjustments on a Pump

ElyDave

ElyDave

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,087
Location
Ely, Cambs
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I've had my pump start dates confirmed now in October, only thing is I need to travel to Trinidad the week after I start - Start Tuesday, travel Sunday.

The clinic have categorically refused to let me go on insulin from week 1 to give me another week's learning time so I'll have about 5 days to get used to using insulin before travel.

The thing I'm concerned about most is not the heat adjustment but the time zone adjustment. Anyone got any tips for adjusting by minus 5 hours?

Ta
 
Get the pump by all means but start using it with insulin when you come back from zTrinidad as then it will give you the time you will need to get used to using a pump and adjusting basal rates etc.
 
that's not really an option.

7th October - saline start
13th Oct - insulin start
19th Oct fly to Trinidad

The timetable is not in my control - it's determined by the hospital. In any case, I then have a trip to Tunisia in early November, how long should I delay this?
 
Have you spoken to the hospital to voice your concerns with them? They might come up with a solution or compromise to help.
 
Yes, I've already asked them about going straight onto insulin, but had a categorical no in response.

The problem is that I travel frequently with work and with their pump clinics being a Tuesday that's pretty disruptive as I need to attend two consecutive Tuesday's. The other dates they offered were equally difficult.
 
Get the pump with saline, start insulin on the 13th. On the 17th go back to mdi again and then when you get back from abroad, stsrt the pump. Pumps in the early days of using one can be hard work mentally esp with getting the basal correct and the bolus. Loads of bg testing and some nights when you wont sleep that well because yr bg levels might be high due to whatever?......could be incorrect basal dose or incorrect bolus. I think you would probably be better to wait until you are in the UK for a few weeks as then if you need some help you can contact the dsn or pump company but of course its up to you...
 
Hi Dave, I am not sure I understand exactly your question but I'll try to give you an answer. I went to California & Mexico last February & march, which is 8 hours difference. My concern was when to change time in my pump: 1) the day before travelling,2) gradually or 3) once in the California. Unfortunately my consultant at the hospital didn't have an answer. My GP opinion was that the brain takes 1 day to adapt to 4 hours time zone difference. Eventually I decided to change time in my pump only once in California as soon as I landed. So 10pm in my pump became 2pm. I didn't have any problem so I think it is what I'm gonna do again next time. Hope it helps and sorry in case I'm not answering to your question. Stefano
 
IIRC, I had my saline trial using a loaner pump from the clinic a few weeks before starting on insulin. I was then on vacation for a couple of weeks, and when I came back I started on my brand new "out of the box" pump using insulin. If you haven't already, perhaps it is worth asking the hospital to do your saline trial earlier on a loaner pump (their current timeframes might be because they are looking to do the trial on your actual new pump)?

The other option you might want to discuss with the clinic is going onto insulin between appointments (e.g. start on saline Tuesday, start on insulin Friday). I can't see why you would need to go back to the clinic to start on insulin - the training should be the same; they would just need to give you the insulin vial as well as the saline vial.

Failing that, it does sound like starting on the pump and then going back to MDI for your first trip might be a good option. When you start on the pump, you tend to want to minimise variables while you get your basal rate sorted out, and travelling to another time zone can be a big variable.

If you do go ahead with travelling on the pump straight away, I'd recommend doing a basal test or two before you travel. Also, you might want to check that the clinic will give you enough supplies for your trip - I tend to take extras when I travel, and if you are new to pumping you might find you need more while you're getting used to e.g. set changes. It may be prudent to take both pump and MDI supplies with you, so you have those as a backup in the (very unlikely :)) event you have issues and need to go back to MDI.

On adjusting time zone on your pump, I've tended to switch to destination time zone (and meal timings) as soon as I get on the plane in the UK for trips of more than a day or two.
 
ElyDave said:
I've had my pump start dates confirmed now in October, only thing is I need to travel to Trinidad the week after I start - Start Tuesday, travel Sunday.

The clinic have categorically refused to let me go on insulin from week 1 to give me another week's learning time so I'll have about 5 days to get used to using insulin before travel.

The thing I'm concerned about most is not the heat adjustment but the time zone adjustment. Anyone got any tips for adjusting by minus 5 hours?

Ta
Click to expand...

I am currently in Boston, MA and altered my pump time when I arrived. They are 5 hours behing uk. I didnt have any problems with this adjustment and my BG's were normal. Ive also travelled between Australia and uk and I altered my pump in the same way...on landing in the country...again, no major changes to BG's with the time difference. My DSN at the time advised me on changing my pump time when landing at destination country and it works well for me. Hope you get on with it ok.
 
ealingr said:
IIRC, I had my saline trial using a loaner pump from the clinic a few weeks before starting on insulin. I was then on vacation for a couple of weeks, and when I came back I started on my brand new "out of the box" pump using insulin. If you haven't already, perhaps it is worth asking the hospital to do your saline trial earlier on a loaner pump (their current timeframes might be because they are looking to do the trial on your actual new pump)?

The other option you might want to discuss with the clinic is going onto insulin between appointments (e.g. start on saline Tuesday, start on insulin Friday). I can't see why you would need to go back to the clinic to start on insulin - the training should be the same; they would just need to give you the insulin vial as well as the saline vial.

Failing that, it does sound like starting on the pump and then going back to MDI for your first trip might be a good option. When you start on the pump, you tend to want to minimise variables while you get your basal rate sorted out, and travelling to another time zone can be a big variable.

If you do go ahead with travelling on the pump straight away, I'd recommend doing a basal test or two before you travel. Also, you might want to check that the clinic will give you enough supplies for your trip - I tend to take extras when I travel, and if you are new to pumping you might find you need more while you're getting used to e.g. set changes. It may be prudent to take both pump and MDI supplies with you, so you have those as a backup in the (very unlikely :)) event you have issues and need to go back to MDI.

On adjusting time zone on your pump, I've tended to switch to destination time zone (and meal timings) as soon as I get on the plane in the UK for trips of more than a day or two.
Click to expand...

That's a good compromise of going onto the insulin after a few days, but I'm not sure Addenbrookes will allow that by the tone of the e-mails I had with the DSN last week. I may give her a call next week and talk rather than e-mail. The loan pump is not an option as I'm going onto the Cellnovo which is in short supply -struggling to get one for other patients in September - so I can't think they'll have a spare.

The real crux of the problem is that I'm always travelling and September to March is my busiest time of the year, so the idea of staying on MDI until I'm at home for long enough is never going to happen, but I appreciate the sugggestion of MDI as a backup as well.

As an example my travel schedule from w/c 18th August week by week is
- Aberdeen and Shetland
- France
- Aberdeen
- Hull
- Don't know yet, probably Aberdeen
- Algeria
- Algeria
- Home for Pump
- Home for Pump
- Trinidad
- Oxford
- Reading
- Edinburgh
- Tunisia
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeen

Makes it fun trying to plan any appointments and I had to cancel two jobs to get those two pump weeks in. I guess I could go back to MDI for Trinidad, but I'll have to deal with travel at some point.
 
iHs said:
Am a bit puzzled........what pump are you getting if not the Cellnovo?
Click to expand...

I am getting the Cellnovo.

They are currently in short supply, due to higher than expected demand. I've spoken to the people at Cellnovo themselves and they tell me thay have extra production coming online ready for October. That means that supplies will be OK for all those starting October onwards, but it'll be near impossible to get a loaner before that.
 
Cellnovo from what Ive seen at pump display events, is lovely looking and from the research that I took part in a few years ago, csrtridge filling is an absolute doddle.....no worry at all and no air bubble problems. Not sure if strong sunlight will make looking at the lcd screen difficult but I hope this has been addressed.

I look forward to reading yr posts when you start
 
Good thread as I will be travelling to the states in November which is the furthest time zone difference with the pump for me. If it helps. We go to SYMI, Greece twice a year and they are 2 hours ahead and I change the time on my pump the following day and it all works out somehow. Interesting to hear what others do. Stefano - I'm not sure if I've understood your reply. Did you just change the pump time once by 4 hours and did that mean that your pump was always 4 hours out in relation to the actual time in the states? Thanks
 
ElyDave said:
I've had my pump start dates confirmed now in October, only thing is I need to travel to Trinidad the week after I start - Start Tuesday, travel Sunday.

The clinic have categorically refused to let me go on insulin from week 1 to give me another week's learning time so I'll have about 5 days to get used to using insulin before travel.

The thing I'm concerned about most is not the heat adjustment but the time zone adjustment. Anyone got any tips for adjusting by minus 5 hours?

Ta
Click to expand...

Does this help?

http://www.diabetes24-7.com/2010/03/30/diabetes-and-time-zones-how-to-adjust/
 
Riri said:
Good thread as I will be travelling to the states in November which is the furthest time zone difference with the pump for me. If it helps. We go to SYMI, Greece twice a year and they are 2 hours ahead and I change the time on my pump the following day and it all works out somehow. Interesting to hear what others do. Stefano - I'm not sure if I've understood your reply. Did you just change the pump time once by 4 hours and did that mean that your pump was always 4 hours out in relation to the actual time in the states? Thanks
Click to expand...
Hi Riri, i decided to change 8 hours in one shot, as soon as I landed, instead than 4 hours the first day and other 4 hours the second day ( the time difference was 8 hours). It worked well for me that way. My Gp suggestion was to try 4 hours the first day and other four the next. My diabetes consultant had no suggestion as he said that it depends on how quickly your brain adapts itself to the new time zone and this is too difficult to predict.
 
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