Managing type 2 diabetes is a daily responsibility. It is essential to take steps to keep blood sugar levels under control. Alysse Dalessandro, an advocate for type 2 diabetes, is an experienced traveler. She shares her insights on managing diabetes while traveling. With over eight years of experience as a diabetes advocate and content creator, Dalessandro has learned how to manage travel and type 2 diabetes effectively.
- Consider using a continuous glucose monitor
Before her first cruise, Dalessandro followed a schedule provided by her doctor to check her blood glucose levels. She had to carry her test strips, blood glucose meter, needles, and a sharps container to each meal as she tracked her numbers on a paper schedule. Despite having more information than before her diagnosis, she found this method of monitoring her blood glucose levels to be inefficient. Dalessandro realized that she needed something more effective.
In the past four years, she has been using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which has significantly improved her experience of traveling with diabetes. Her CGM tracks blood glucose levels using a sensor attached to her arm, which sends the readings to an app on her phone via Bluetooth. Using a CGM eliminates the guesswork when traveling with diabetes. She can monitor her numbers at any time, even while asleep, instead of obtaining limited snapshots of her numbers a few times throughout the day with finger sticks. Dalessandro uses this information to identify trends.
- Pack extras
Dalessandro advises always purchasing travel insurance and packing extra supplies to manage diabetes while traveling. She got her first continuous glucose monitor (CGM) in 2020 and decided to go on a road trip to Yellowstone National Park a few months later during the Covid-19 pandemic. She left with a fresh CGM that should have lasted the next 14 days. However, she accidentally caught her CGM on her seatbelt, and it fell off when she pulled into a parking spot in Wyoming, over 1,200 miles from home. This mishap led to her spending the next few hours on the phone trying to get her prescription transferred to the only pharmacy in the state with her CGM in stock, adding hours to an already lengthy day of driving.
If your budget or insurance allows it, ensure you have medications and devices beyond the length of your trip. Better safe than sorry.
- Maintain your medication schedule
If you have traveled between the United States and countries on the other side of the globe, you already know what it feels like to switch your nights and days. On one recent trip, Dalessandro left the United States on Friday morning and arrived in a foreign country on Monday morning. By the time she arrived, she was unaware of the day or time. She didn’t want to take less or more than her daily and nightly medications during the cross-continent flight, so she set alarms for the length of time between what would be her “dinner” and “breakfast” medications instead of basing it on the time at home or the time at my destination. She also brings protein-dense snacks that don’t require refrigeration so that she can remain on schedule if in-flight meals don’t coincide with the times to take medications with food.
- Drink water
Remember to drink enough water, especially when traveling to areas where clean water is not readily available. In hotter climates or at higher elevations, it’s important to drink even more water. This is especially crucial for people with diabetes, as they can become dehydrated more quickly. Some individuals with diabetes may have difficulty cooling their bodies, leading to more severe side effects in locations closer to the equator, such as South America.
- Be mindful of what you’re eating
Traveling makes meal planning more challenging. While spontaneous travel meals can be fun, they may not always be suitable for individuals with diabetes. Planning your next meal can also be difficult, especially when traveling with a group or guide. Despite being an experienced traveler, Dalessandro still struggles with meal timing.
To summarize
It is important to acknowledge that while traveling, there may be moments when you feel uncertain or scared. A valuable practice is to become more attuned to your body’s signals, which can help create a sense of assurance. It’s crucial to advocate for yourself and take the initiative to educate yourself on managing diabetes while traveling.
