summer travel and diabetes: plan for anything, but give yourself grace
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one important aspect of travelling if you have diabetes is always having your devices and medications with you so you can check and address changes in blood sugar as quickly as possible.
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the summer season is often a time for getaways, but when you live with diabetes, going on vacation can look a little different. not only do you have to worry about currency exchange, flight times and booking your favourite excursions—you have to add daily diabetes management into the mix so you can enjoy yourself while maintaining your health.
“diabetes doesn’t take a vacation,” said jennifer buccino, executive director of diabetes knowledge and connection with diabetes canada. “the clock doesn’t stop on diabetes, and so there are lots of things that people with diabetes have to think about to prepare for a successful vacation and successfully manage their condition while away.”
planning ahead for routine changes
vacation can mean many things: a relaxing and unwind-style beach getaway or an active foodie exploration in your favourite lively country. regardless of where you choose to go, acknowledging that certain things that play a role in diabetes management are going to be very different.
“things that people with diabetes have to factor in are eating and out and activity,” said buccino. “both of those things will impact day-to-day blood sugar management.”
maybe you’ll be eating out a lot more than you would at home because you’re staying at a lavish hotel that, while beautiful, doesn’t come with a fully stocked kitchen. or perhaps that relaxing beach getaway turns your average daily activity of 10,000 steps down to 5,000 because you’ll be spending a lot more time in a beach chair than you would during your busy day-to-day life.
on the flip side, maybe your activity levels will surpass what you typically do in a day at home because of hiking to sites you want to see or spending the day out exploring everything your destination has to offer. both of these things can impact blood sugars.
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it doesn’t matter what the change is that takes place on vacation. what matters is that you acknowledge that your body will register it and act accordingly.
be prepared for anything
when it comes to managing diabetes while on vacation, planning is the first step, but ensuring that you go above and a bit beyond the normal level of thinking ahead is vital. for example, buccino notes that planning your medications for a couple extra weeks in case something happens is a good way to ensure that you’ll be ready for the unexpected.
“take more [medication] than you’re actually going to need,” she said.
being prepared for an emergency isn’t just having more than you need when it comes to medications. it also involves thinking about blood sugar management and what needs you require if your levels get too high or too low.
“if you’re going to a sunny destination and it’s hot and you’ve got to think about being hydrated, you have to think even more critically about that when you have diabetes,” she said. “if your blood sugars are trending upwards and you’ve got high blood sugar, what happens is that you can actually be even more dehydrated than you would be in a hot climate. so, thinking about emergency responses, having extra medication, making sure you’re hydrated to manage that.”
hot, sunny climates can also lead to low blood sugars, especially if it involves more activity than you would normally do at home in cooler temperatures.
“having juice or glucose tablets or whatever the preferred source of glucose is for that person to prevent a more severe low blood sugar [is important for management],” said buccino.
logistics to pay attention to
aside from getting your checklist done at home, you’ll also want to ensure that you know where to pack your medication, any rules or laws that apply in the country you’re going to, and what documentation you need. for example, always pack your medications in your carry-on because “you never know when you’re going to see that luggage again,” said buccino.
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“you need to have access to your medication,” she said. she also advises against using travel bottles to bring your medications with you.
“the other thing that i’ve noticed in the last little while is people decanting their pills, especially. and i would actually advise against that. you don’t decant them into a smaller container. keep the actual prescription bottle.”
buccino notes that having the prescription bottle handy is another way to plan for anything because if you find yourself in a situation where you need more medication and have to visit a pharmacy, you’ll have better access.
carrying your medications with you also helps keep them at the right temperature so they work as intended and aren’t ruined or unusable by the time you get to your destination.
“insulin, glp-1s need to be in a climate-controlled environment,” she said. “i know lots of folks use an insulated lunch bag to carry some of their medications and keep them protected.”
the same principle applies to all forms of travel as well, whether it’s a road trip across the country or a flight to another continent.
it’s also a good idea to see your doctor beforehand to get any documentation that may be needed while you travel, just to avoid any issues when going through security checks. you can get a letter from your doctor that states your condition and the medications you need, just in case. while it doesn’t typically happen where people ask for the letter, it’s always better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
“it’s always a bit of insurance that you have it just in case,” said buccino.
having food on hand is another important aspect to ensure that your blood sugar stays balanced while travelling, because you may not have access to certain things that help you keep it stabilized while away from your normal routine.
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“a car trip, it could be long stretches of time before you stop. on a plane, maybe you don’t like the airplane food. maybe it’s not at a time that works for you. so, making sure that you’ve got a bit of an emergency pack of food so you can manage when you need to eat and what you need to eat and sort of bridge those gaps with the timing that happens with travelling.”
managing your condition while giving yourself a break
even though diabetes doesn’t take time off, you deserve to, and when it comes to getaways, it’s important that you’re able to manage your condition while also allowing yourself to enjoy the break from routine.
that involves giving yourself some grace and a bit of a break, within reason.
“it’s okay if your sugars are a little bit higher, a little bit lower, and catching up as you’re able to,” said buccino. “diabetes is relentless, as we say, and it is a day-to-day-, 27/7 job that sometimes you just have to give yourself a little bit of a, let’s not take this too seriously and not beat yourself up over the fact that things may or may not be going as well as they are when you’re at home.”
she continued, “as much as we’d love to say you can have a vacation from your diabetes, you can’t. but you can give yourself a little bit of leeway.”
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