Traveling and T1D
Graham Daugherty • April 19, 2019
By Corinne Watne
Traveling as a type 1 diabetic is always an adventure!
Hi. My name is Corinne and I am 12 years old. I have had T1D for three years. Although I have only gone to a couple places so far, I love everything to do with traveling. I love airplanes. I love staying in hotels. I love hotel breakfasts. I love rental cars.
I was afraid once I was diagnosed with T1D, I wouldn’t be able to travel like before. But that’s not true. I can still travel and have fun just like I always have! The only thing I don’t like is when I have to deal with T1D issues while on vacation. We all know T1D does not take a break, so taking good care of myself is important.
Recently, my mom and I went out to California for a girl’s weekend away. We packed one suitcase full of clothes and another bag full of my diabetic supplies. We packed double the pump supplies, extra insulin, syringes (in case my pump fails), blood sugar testing strips, ketone tester and strips, alcohol pads, CGM supplies, and a whole bag of emergency snacks and juice!
Since we don’t ever know if our plane will be delayed, or if we might get stranded away from our baggage, we always bring the supplies on the plane with us.
Unfortunately, it makes for a big deal when going through security. TSA needs to swab everything, including my hands. I can’t go through the metal detector because of my insulin pump, so they do a “pat down” and test my hands afterwards. It’s always embarrassing, but you become used to it as a person with type 1 diabetes. It’s just how things are.
When we arrived at the hotel, I was so excited. I absolutely love hotel breakfasts! This hotel had a make-your-own waffle maker, cereal, muffins, oatmeal, eggs, sausage, yogurt, and fresh orange juice. You name it! The only thing the hotel didn’t have was sugar-free syrup and I always choose sugar-free syrup because it’s less carbs and yummy.
The next day we began our two-day mini vacation! We got to see my brother pitch in his first college baseball game and we got to visit with all our friends and family who lived nearby. I was thankful we brought extra CGM supplies too. My Dexcom alerted me that my session was up and I needed a new sensor. Although I hate it, I’ve learned to not complain. Changing my sites is just the norm as a T1D, no matter where I am.
Like I said, my diabetes doesn’t take vacations. With the change in altitude (going from 7,000 ft to sea level) my blood sugars were all wacky and it was best I had a fresh sensor anyway. The last thing I wanted to do was be exhausted or sick due to highs or lows. I actually wanted to not think much about diabetes while on my mini-vacation. I went to the beach twice and had so much fun in California! It was the best!
When it was time to go back home, we had no idea it was going to test our skills and patience! Before checking in, we refreshed our diabetes low snack bag and prepared as always for the TSA routine. However, this time things were different. The worker didn’t seem very attentive and accidentally put all my diabetes supplies through the x-ray instead of swabbing it by hand. They also patted down my mom instead of me (even though she went through the metal detector). It was strange. Our plane was late, and it was starting to storm outside. It seemed like one thing after another was happening. Little did I know the best was yet to come!
People told us later that flying out of the John Wayne airport, the plane must ascend quickly to obey the city noise rules. It was crazy fast, but fun. However, who would have guessed the ascend would also cause a major low! The takeoff was so steep, so fast, my pump tubing bubbled and cause a push of insulin! Pumps do that sometimes I hear, but since I haven’t had any issues in the past. I didn’t think to disconnect.
Anyway, soon my CGM alarm shouted with double arrows down at 70! I tested my blood as usual to confirm things. I then ate some fruit snacks (which is usually enough carbs to fix my lows), but my finger pokes still showed my blood sugar being in the 50s. For 2 hours I had no food restrictions. I drank regular soda, ate a couple packs of fruit snacks, crackers, and had all my glucose tabs! I even turned off my pump for most of the time. I could not get my blood sugar to stay above 80! My Mom figures the quick ascend from takeoff pushed close to 5 units of insulin into my body!
I was so scared! My alarms were so loud! The airline staff was polite and offered us all sorts of yummy choices after we explained a little about type 1 diabetes. Thankfully, everything worked out and I was fine (however, it took me all night to get back to normal and feel like myself). I never did go super high from all the stuff I ate, but my stomach didn’t feel well.
Traveling as a type 1 diabetic is always an adventure. You just never know how your body is going to react to things. Things can be crazy, or things might not change a bit. Whatever it may be, I encourage everyone to do it. Don’t let this disease steal your joy and keep you home. I didn’t and I won’t even after my crazy adventure. I figure it keeps things interesting and adventurous. Go out and explore the world… just don’t forget your diabetes bag ♥
