Mrs HJG
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 328
- Type of diabetes
- LADA
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi @Brookemurph last summer I flew 8 months after T1/LADA diagnosis and 2 month after starting Libre so I remember the anxiety! Although the seasoned pros are saying tell as few as possible (because yes, most don't give a monkey's), I'd go the other way due to the unreliability of flights, delays etc. I am not on insulin, so was and am very restricted on what I can eat, and having seen the easyJet food offerings, I wanted to make sure that in the event of a delay I wasn't left starving as the only options were basically bags of carbs!
According to the security officer at Gatwick, who was also wearing a Libre, the main scanners are no stronger than a car's parking sensor, and the full body scanner can be declined, I also declined to take off my sandals as I pulled the 'diabetic feet' card without argument; honestly if we have to live with this disease, use every perk you can, I say!
Also by contacting the airline I was given the option of airport assistance, getting a sunflower lanyard etc - the queues at the time we went in the end meant we didn't need to bother, but it may be an option if it makes things easier for you. We did pay the couple of extra £ each for speedy security just to cut the stress a bit.
Last tip, check on the transfer times when you get to your lovely holiday - ours should have been a max of 1.5hrs, and 3 hours after getting on the bus we got off - and everything was closed by then, and so I called the holiday company, after we were given a pick up time of 4.5hrs before our return flight, they said if we wanted to get a private taxi back, they would (and did) reimburse the fare. Having explained that I could not be trapped in a bus for 3 hours again, diabetes, food timings and I may have mentioned metformin side effects, they were more than happy to help and we had a lovely 30min journey back. If you tell TUI before you travel, they will have a record and I'd hope they'd be happy to help.
Above all, have a lovely time
According to the security officer at Gatwick, who was also wearing a Libre, the main scanners are no stronger than a car's parking sensor, and the full body scanner can be declined, I also declined to take off my sandals as I pulled the 'diabetic feet' card without argument; honestly if we have to live with this disease, use every perk you can, I say!
Also by contacting the airline I was given the option of airport assistance, getting a sunflower lanyard etc - the queues at the time we went in the end meant we didn't need to bother, but it may be an option if it makes things easier for you. We did pay the couple of extra £ each for speedy security just to cut the stress a bit.
Last tip, check on the transfer times when you get to your lovely holiday - ours should have been a max of 1.5hrs, and 3 hours after getting on the bus we got off - and everything was closed by then, and so I called the holiday company, after we were given a pick up time of 4.5hrs before our return flight, they said if we wanted to get a private taxi back, they would (and did) reimburse the fare. Having explained that I could not be trapped in a bus for 3 hours again, diabetes, food timings and I may have mentioned metformin side effects, they were more than happy to help and we had a lovely 30min journey back. If you tell TUI before you travel, they will have a record and I'd hope they'd be happy to help.
Above all, have a lovely time