I will be visiting a friend in New Zealand in February. Any suggestions about travel? (21 hours to get there)
I know I should look into the pump lending program. Has anyone used it?
I believe the pumps can't go through the Xray machine, but a metal detector is OK.
Well in the instance of travel it is good to see what your doctor has to say about basal's and stuff. That can be interesting. If nothing else plan on testing more often.
I never used the pump lending program, you can call Animas about it and see what they suggest. There are many areas where even if the don't allow for pump lending they can get a pump to you within a day or so.
If nothing else always have backup supplies including both long and short acting insulin.
I have never x-rayed my pump. Sometimes it will set off the metal detector, sometimes it won't One thing to note, make sure you remove the metal clip for the pump. My first travel trip I forgot it and set off the detector.
My Ping hasn't set off a metal detector, but has set off the full-body scanning machine. It never hurts to mention to the TSA representative that you're wearing an insulin pump - that way they aren't surprised when they see it.
Brian is right with his "test often" advice - I find that when I fly, the excitement/anxiety makes me plummet. A temp basal rate of -80% or so will keep me in range while I'm travelling. But everyone is different!
Best of luck and have fun! :)
Kim
Just allow an extra 30 minutes for tsa security check. I've tried going through metal detector with and without the belt clip and it still goes off. The time consuming part is waiting for an available tsa agent to do a "pat down". Good luck!!
Just as a side note with the metal detector thing. Apparently it depends on the sensitivity of the scanner. Or so I was told, which makes no sense. The guy at Newark Airport, where I tend to trigger told me, their machine had the lowest sensitivity settings around. Which makes me wonder if Newark is to sensitive or the rest of the world is not sensitive enough.
Kim,
Did you have any problems with your pump after going through the full-body scanning? Animas told me not to go through it - that they consider it like an x-ray and can cause damage to the pump.
Tracey
Hi there, I travelled to Italy with a loaner pump last month with no major problems. That being said, security kept wanting to put the pumps (mine & the loaner) through the xray & I had to repeatedly say NO. It really depends on the airport & the security persons...Some airports will pat you down, some will REALLY pat you down & others will also send you & your pump for further inspection. Just give yourself some extra time at the airport (it never took longer than an extra 30min).
Animas was GREAT setting me up with the pump. Sent it within a couple days & I returned it free of charge. Wonderful customer service!