where to get diabetic supplies going backpacking around the world

T

trguy

Guest
hey all..
i am planning to go travelling next year for 7 months. i plan to spend 2 months in asia and 5 months in australia and nz. i am a type 1 diabetic and am just wondering about getting diabetic supplies abroad. You can only get 3 months supply at the one time here so i am going to need to get supplies in oz im thinkin. is there any diabetics out there that have gone travelling around the world? Is it relatively easy to get insulin and supplies in australia if you are not from there? any help is greatly appreciated. thanks.
 
No, I dont think that GP's would be in a postition to advise about this issue although I suppose it is a good idea for anyone contemplating backpacking around the world to speak to their GP in any case.

You could also contact your diabetic care team.

Have you tried googling for "type 1 diabetes backpacking"? I got plenty of hits including this blog Backpacking with Diabetes .
 
Freddie said:
Because your GP only has a general understanding of diabetes.
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Your GP is only one member of your Diabetic Care Team and also your GP would not neccessarily have any knowledge about the availiabiliy of diabetic supplies (glucometers, test strips, insulins) in exotic foreign locations.

So in summary you should talk to your GP, Pharmacist, Diabetic Nurse Specialist and Endrocronoligist as well as diabetes ireland.
 
ClubMan said:
Really? Whyever not?
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The query here is in relation to the supply of the medicinal supplies, not in the actual treatment of the condition.

It'd certainly be no harm to chat to a GP about such a trip, but the Diabetes Care team is certainly the best point of contact on the actual supply when in Oz (or anywhere outside of Ireland). The LTI (long term illness) scheme we use possibly won't cover you (I've never looked into this so it might be possible to avail of free supplies in foreign countries) so any supplies might have to be paid for from your own pocket (and insulin certainly isn't cheap!).

The comment about "you can only get a 3 month supply at any one time here"? I've never come across this before. Any one pharmacy might have issues with giving out too large a supply to one customer (another diabetic might be left short as a result), but I've never heard of any restriction like this. Each prescription is usually for a period of around 6 months (I always just assumed this was timed to fit in with the next diabetic check up), but on that prescription there is no limit on how many times it can be filled (or at least none that I am aware of). In a worst case, I'm sure the doctor could detail multiple filling of a one off prescription to allow for travelling (you may have to call to a few different pharmacies to avoid clearing one out, or else contact them in advance to warn of a higher than normal request).

Having said all that, 7 months travelling is a long time to hold onto supplies. The link above on travelling states a 2 month shelf life for insulin out of a fridge and far longer in one, but I'm not sure if I'd be confident with 6 month old supplies which have been travelling through hot countries. This is a scenario your Diabetic team will have come across before, so I'm sure they'll have no problems helping you to the best solution.

As a T1 IDD I'd be interested to hear any advice they do give. I've never gone travelling for more than a month so it's a problem I've never looked into.
 
thanks for all the replies. im actually meeting with the diabetic nurse next week but just wanted to see if there was anyone out there that had done this before. she said on the phone that the Australian Government has signed a reciprocal health care agreement with the Government of the Republic of Ireland so there should be no hassle in getting supplies once i register when i get there. ill reply again after i meet her next week with the information for anyone else.
 
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