Travelling with Diabetes Insulin

Have you looked at Frio wallets? Amazon has a multitude of medication coolers and cooling wallets. Your Diabetes educator may have a specific recommendation.

The wallets are a good idea for flights.

For hotels, look for ones with mini-refrigerators in the room. (Some will say they don't exist in Europe, but they do.) Qutie often these are not the RS recommended hotels but larger chains.

If you are going to a place where you are having trouble finding a hotel with a frig, ask them if they can supply one for your medication. Many actually do have a few but they don't advertise it.

Frio wallets work great for travel days, and also in your hotel room unless your med must be refrigerated.

Talk to your pharmacist about storage requirements. In use insulin pens dont need refrigeration, likely same if you have insulin in vial and draw up in syringe.

Retired health care professional so I know about this.

Thanks for useful info. My pens (will need to take 2 extra as each last 21 days) will need refrigeration until in use. Thus I will leave with 1 in use and 2 extra. Will visit the diabetes org in my city for the containers. My diabetic nurse was a bit vague! Will also check if its more practical to get a script in Europe.

@ Jennie

Perhaps you could expand a little.

Where are you planning to go?

If USA, an abundance of extreme caution is recommended.

To the best of my knowledge, in Europe, only the Uk has a special arrangement with NZ.

With which airline do you think you will be flying with?

Have had experience flying from Brussels to Melbourne while carrying and administering liquid Morphine for my wife.

Also, you may find that your medical questions could be addressed to one of the contacts at www.safetravel.gov.nz

Regards Ron

Thanks, Ron,
Flying AirNZ/Singapore Air to Frankfurt. travelling in Germany, Poland and Hungary. Stopover in Singapore on the way home. Just casting my info net atm, so all ideas are very useful. And as a recent insulin user it makes me anxious! I went to Europe last year but wasn't on insulin then. Thanks again.

To ensure a fridge in the room I would look at aparthotels, which come with a kitchenette. Adina is a chain in Germany, google them.

Lavandula

And in case nothing else works - I need reusable ice packs that are stored by the hotel (colder than those little compartments inside mini fridges). They're ALWAYS nice about it, take my ice packs in a zip locked bag I've well-labeled, and when I ask for it each evening, someone goes to find it. One hotel even gave me a checked luggage tag, which helped them locate it quickly.

@ Jennie

My oldest son has a diabetes condition. I thought he took tablets but just have found out he uses pen injections. I am not particularly good with needles, so my wife had my son discreetly hid his injecting and paraphernalia from me. A good decision.

Last year he was o/s from beginning of April until end of June, work and holidays with the family.
The following may be of interest but is not to be viewed as any recommendation. My professions are finance and law, his is IT. Not medical.

He tells me he uses a cooler from this company https://4allfamily.com/ We am not recommending this brand, just an example of what is available in our part of the world. The instructional blurb recommends taking the cooler as part of carryon.

However, he took other advice and wrapped it in his clothes as checked luggage. Argues that the clothes provided additional insulation for the longer distances. Worked for him. Was not a carryon or space issue as he fly’s business class on long-haul.
I would follow the instructions from my GP in concert with those from what ever method you both decide on and the airline, if needed.

He travels a bit. Last year he flew from Melbourne to Columbo with SriLankan Airlines then with Brussels Airlines to Paris to meet up with my wife and me. Then Eurostar to London for work while I caught up with a few barrister mates and a judge. Cotswold for 4 days to catch up with family friends from Australia. Flew to Rome to meet up with the rest of our family for a 6-week drive around Italy. He then continued onto New York and Seattle for work and finally to Japan.

Has been to Bali in the last month. But not through Singapore with insulin pens.

If you would like to send me a PM, I may be able to flesh out more details for you. My professional indemnity insurance may allow me to comment more specifically. Like the names of the insulin drugs, type of pens etc. I am reluctant to publish here.

Regards Ron

@ Jennie

I asked about countries you were planning to visit as Australia has RHCA’s with Finland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Ireland Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia, UK, and NZ. I erroneously assumed that NZ would also. I was wrong. NZ has RHCA with only UK and Australia. That question is moot.

No experience with medical people in the countries you mentioned. Would quiz my GP and Dept of Foreign Affairs for advice on these matters, particularly as you have expressed some anxiety over this issue. Also, about help with obtaining prescriptions in Europe. Other than UK highly unlikely to be able to have a NZ prescription dispensed in the countries you nominated. A question for your GP.

There is currently an account of a lady having difficulties arranging a medical examination in Turrin which may be disturbing to you. The following experience may be of interest. In 2018 my wife took a tumble down outside stairs at our villa near Montevarchi, known to family and friends as the Tuscan Villa incident.

My daughters, DIL took her to the hospital in Montevarchi. Maybe our National Health care card helped, she was taken for an x-ray and a scan in a newly installed Siemens MRI Scanner and had a quick diagnosis of cracked ribs. Embarrassed and wanting to appear stoic, she declined a prescription for a paracetamol and codeine tablets. She had paracetamol in our first aid kit. Cost picked up under RHCA.

Next day moved on to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland where she was obviously in considerable pain. Fortuitously there was doctors’ surgery close to our BNB chalet. A wonderful lady Dr checked her out and proscribed Morphine for the pain. Dispensed to me two vials of oral liquid morphine and gave instructions on administering. Also, a prescription that could be dispensed within the Schengen, should she need more, as we were continuing our travels through France to Belgium. I think I also received a document/certificate for the morphine as we were travelling between countries in the Schengen. Known as the High in the Alps incident.

We flew home with Thai, I let them know what had happened. I was particularly concerned about transit in Bangkok as I would have residual morphine on my clothing. The airport staff and cabin crew were most helpful. Maybe because we were in business class, I do not really know.

Singapore is a top airline that I have always had enjoyable flights with. Business class. It seems to me that it would be prudent to contact their office in Auckland and ask about airline protocol, if any, for your chosen transport devices.

Easy for me to say as I have spent most of my working life dealing with people at executive and government level and know how to get around.

Hearsay can be useful but notoriously unreliable and unlikely to be ever held to account.

Regards Ron

Thanks again full helpful hints and info. I found an informative man at a support service here in Wellington( didn't realise there was one! ) and I think I'm sorted. Nga mihi Nui!

Bonzer result.

Tassie Devil, does anyone still say 'bonzer?' Lol! Since they stopped broadcasting Skippy?!

You may also need a diabetic nurse who is less "vague"