One for the diabetics

I originally set up this blog so that I could give advice to any diabetics thinking about going travelling. When doing my own research online I found there was a real lack of information out there. I now know why.  Certainly for me, there have been no real issues surrounding my diabetes in the 8 weeks I have been away and the 3 countries I have visited so far.  There are a few things to note though.

Before leaving: 

The NHS are stingy *beeeps and will only give you a prescription for 3 months worth of your supplies. My original thoughts had been tho take about two years worth for the year that I was planning to be away, and to split them between my own rucksack, my day bag and also put some in my sisters bag. This way if any bags got lost or stolen I would still have a supply.  With the NHS only offering 3 months, and not even my specialist being able to help with this, this was obviously not going to be an option. I had read somewhere that you would have more difficulty finding tampons in Asia than you would getting insulin but without knowing the cost or realistically how easy this would be I still wanted to bring as much with me as possible. I know this is a bit unethical but what I did was stock pile over the year or more before I left. I just handed in my repeat prescription more often that I normally would and managed to save up about 8 months worth. My repeat is for at least a 2 month supply and because my GP is lazy he just gave me two copies rather than make out a new one for 3 months worth. So I managed to get myself 12 months worth of insulin for my trip. 

I didn't manage to stock pile quite so many needles, I took about 6months supply with me and I'll need to just use the needles twice. I know that isn't ideal but personally I think that's easier than trying to find needles in Asia and south America.  

Obviously, make sure your blood testing machine has plenty battery. Maybe get a new one to have as a spare.  This is what I did. 

Make sure your GP or specialist gives you a letter which says that you need to carry your insulin with you on the flight (insulin can't be stored underneath) and that you need to carry carbohydrates with you also. They should give you a few copies of this. I haven't been asked in my life to produce this letter but it's safer to have it than not I think.  

While away:

Keeping your insulin cold can be done by using Frio (or similar) bags. These just need to be ran under cold water every two days to reactivate the gel. Note that 12 months supply of Lanus and Novorapid along with 4 large frio bags weighs about 5kg or more. So take this into account when packing your bag.  Also, everything takes up a lot of room so you might not be able to take as much clothes with you as you'd like :( or you could take a stupidly big bag like me and then realise its completely impractical 7 weeks in, throw out half your clothes and get a ruck sack. 

As mentioned in my previous blog, you need a certificate to say that you are safe to dive, if you want to dive that is.  The place I did it with said I could have taken one from home. Your GP or specialist should be able to supply this. But if not, I was able to get one very quickly in Thailand on the day I did the dive and it only cost about £4.

We have been drinking mostly water while away but any time I've been out for drinks, Diet mixers have cost more.  It's the same in shops in India and Thailand. Diet drinks are marginally more expensive. I haven't seen any diet drinks on offer in Myanmar but I'm sure you can get them in the larger cities if need be.

I am thinking about going to pharmacies in different countries just to see how easy it would be to buy insulin and needles and the costs etc. so, I will update with that as and when.