Packing list

I have lots of favorites. Favorite books. Favorite songs. Favorite films. But I also have lots of favorite people, and Jeff Mather is one of them! I first met Jeff and his wife Lisa at Simonpalooza. (Well, actually, I met Jeff on Twitter, then I met him in real life.) It was his humor and sarcasm that first made me think, “Hey. I could be friends with this guy for sure.” A couple of years and a long bike ride later, he’s one of my favorite people. Today (and tomorrow) are my travel days, so enjoy this wonderful guest post from Mr. Mather. And be sure to check out Jeff’s amazing blog. 

When Victoria asked me to write a little something for while she’s on her trip, it only seemed natural to write about trip planning. You don’t simply take a trip like she’s taking without doing some serious preparation. There are supplies to be bought, vacation overrides from insurance companies to obtain, prescriptions to fill, insulin to keep cool, spare pumps to borrow, etc.

I can neatly sum up my philosophy on traveling with diabetes: I don’t know what I’m going to need, so I might as well bring everything… and lots of it. I guess that’s not just my motto when traveling, since I bring a whole bag of extra supplies with me to the office, where I also have a spare meter, a couple of pump reservoirs, and an infusion set. And I don’t like to let any of my supplies get low, so I tend to refill as soon as I can. “No hurricane or blizzard is going to catch me out,” I say as I get my life-sustaining drugs days before the first storm clouds roll in. (Of course, I don’t know where the flashlights are, but that’s what my pump’s backlight is for, right? Right?)

Why be so paranoid? In two words: experience and peace-of-mind. (It’s a hyphenated word, people.) {editor’s note: << Another reason to love Jeff.} I’ve been on a trip to another continent where my pump died, and I had to use a spare one. On another trip, I was staring in desperation at the last (extra) infusion set I brought with me. Somehow the other ones had all failed, and I had to make that last one work, but at least I had it. I’ve had to drive home from work more than once when I needed to change the insulin in my pump, but the little vial was in my fridge instead of with me. After forgetting my meter at home for the hundredth time, I finally went to CVS and bought one to leave in my desk drawer… and (not surprisingly) I’ve used it.

What do I bring with me on trips?

Well, in one little case that I carry with me everywhere, I have my meter, test strips, insulin, a lancet or two, and an old-school syringe. You know… the usual “don’t leave home without it” stuff.

In another somewhat bigger (but not too big) bag is everything I take with me to the office: a couple of infusion sets and reservoirs, a CGM sensor or two, inserters for the sensors and infusion sets, a couple of batteries for my pump and meter, a few syringes, a couple of lancets, a spare pump, some Tegaderm to cover a sensor, a tube of glucose tablets, a OneTouch Mini meter, all of my current pump settings, each of my prescriptions, and a quarter. Yes, a quarter! I’ve actually had to scramble to find something to use to open my pump’s battery compartment when I didn’t have any change. (Okay, actually it’s a 20 cent piece from Australia, but it’s the same shape as a quarter, is shinier, and reminds me of when my pump died in the outback.) {editor’s note: AND SIMON!}

Finally, there are a bunch of gallon-sized zip-lock bags of “consumables” I throw in my carry-on luggage. Because of my aforementioned mishaps, I tend to bring too much. Do I really need a reservoir and infusion set for every other day of the trip? Probably not. Will I use 15 test strips every day? Seems unlikely. Will I go through 50% more insulin every day on the trip? Uh, I hope not. Do I bring all that stuff anyway? Yes. Does it take up a lot of space? Not really. Do I feel better for it? Absolutely! And, as it gets used up, I have more room souvenirs!

So, given all that I’ve said about preparation, how did I end up running out of sensors and needing to wait almost two weeks for a re-up? Beats me.