A Guide to Flying with Type 1 Diabetes by Connected In Motion from The Log Book.
Planning your next trip? Traveling with diabetes always requires some extra preparation, and air travel in particular poses some unique circumstances. We’ve put together some tips for flying with diabetes so you can have as smooth of a trip as possible and focus on the fun of going to a new place.
Expect the unexpected: In the early stages of your planning, it’s helpful to consider what healthcare resources will be available to you at your destination. Even if you plan to bring all of your supplies, diabetes has a way of throwing curveballs at the most inconvenient times. Are there pharmacies and clinics close to where you will be staying? If you have health insurance, will it cover anything you may need? If not, you may want to look into travel insurance, particularly ones that have policies for those with pre-existing conditions like T1D.
What to pack: Another way to prepare for the unexpected is by packing significantly more supplies than you think you will need. Many recommend bringing 2x as much – you just never know! Also, don’t forget about the supplies that you don’t typically use on a regular basis. Things like glucagon, ketone strips, backup BG meters, and insulin syringes/pens (even if you are on a CGM or pump) are important safety measures in a new environment.
How to pack: Diabetes supplies are best packed in carry-on luggage rather than checked luggage. This is for a few reasons – the first being that it’s good to keep all your supplies accessible throughout your flight in case you need them. Also, checked baggage goes through some more extreme temperature/pressure changes that might affect insulin. And lastly, you unfortunately never know when your checked bags might get lost by an airline so it’s safest to just keep all of your important diabetes items on you. NOTE: You are allowed to bring any and all of your diabetes supplies on an airplane. This includes liquid forms of sugar like juice, even in quantities that exceed the typical volume limits!
Getting Through Security: The process of actually going through airport security can be stressful, especially for people with diabetes. I find it helpful to let the TSA agent know that I have type 1 diabetes and wear an insulin pump and CGM right away so they know what to expect. It can be kind of uncomfortable shouting that to the agent in a crowded line though, and there are TSA Disability Notification Cards made to communicate this kind of information to TSA agents discreetly and quickly.
On the plane: Phew! You’ve prepared for your trip, packed your bags, made it through security, and you’re finally on your flight. Now what? From experiencing stress at the airport, being excited to reach your destination, sitting for long periods in your seat, and flying through different time zones, there are a lot of different factors that can affect your blood sugar while flying. There is also some evidence that altitude changes can affect insulin delivery in pumps. For all these reasons, it is important to monitor your BG extra closely while on an airplane.
Read more: A Guide to Flying with Type 1 Diabetes
Effect of Mini-Dose Ready-to-Use Liquid Glucagon on Preventing Exercise-Associated Hypoglycemia in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes was published in DiabetesJournals.org/Care, 23 January 2023.
A study was conducted with 48 participants, to determine the effect of mini-dose, ready-to-use glucagon on the incidence of exercise-associated hypoglycemia (EAH) in adults with type 1 diabetes. The study was funded by Xeris Pharmaceuticals, makers of Gvoke products. 
Conclusions: Mini-dose glucagon with or without 50% reduction in CSII basal delivery rate may help to decrease EAH incidence in adults with type 1 diabetes.
Read more:
Your diabetes may vary — and so does your insulin! with Renza Scibilia for #DeDoc° Diabetes, 26 Januray 2023.
This is a wonderful video hosted by Renza Scibilia, Head of Advocacy at #DeDoc°, featuring diabetes advocates from the Diabetes Online Community, including Dr. Katarina Braune, David Burren, and . *Please note: The beginning of the live stream was affected by connectivity issues which is reflected in the audio quality. The audio returns to normal quality at the 08:57 mark.*
The matrix effect: The surprising science of how cheese impacts your heart health by Dr. Emma Davies for ScienceFocus.com, 7 January 2023.
Cheese is packed with healthy protein and calcium but is also high in saturated fat and salt. According to the British Heart Foundation, a 30g portion of Cheddar can contain more salt than a packet of crisps. High levels of saturated fat generally drive up cholesterol and increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, there is growing evidence that cheese has a ‘matrix effect’ that protects us somewhat from the adverse effects of saturated fat.
Most cheeses are prepared using an enzyme called chymosin to coagulate milk. Some fresh cheeses, like cottage cheese, are made using acid. Others, such as paneer, use a combination of heat and acid. How the cheese has been made will affect how your body digests it.
A Canadian study in 2017 on 43 healthy volunteers showed that fat from cream cheese was more rapidly digested and absorbed than from Cheddar. The researchers suggested that the small fat droplets in the cream cheese may be more accessible to the body’s fat-digesting enzymes.
In 2018, a separate study run by a team at University College Dublin found that consuming cheese gave rise to significantly lower cholesterol levels than when its components were eaten separately as butter, protein and calcium. So let the matrix effect be your excuse to indulge.
Read more: The surprising science of how cheese impacts your heart health
Prevalence of obesity increasing among US adults with diabetes by Michael Monostra for Healio.com/endocrinology, 9 February.
The proportion of adults with diabetes and obesity in the U.S. increased from 1999 to 2020, though more adults achieved blood pressure and lipid control during that period, according to a study published in Obesity. In an analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the prevalence of obesity class I, class II and class III has all increased among U.S. adults with diabetes since 1999. Additionally, fewer adults with diabetes achieved glycemic control with an HbA1c of less than 7% in 2015-2020 compared with 2007-2010. Data did not distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
“This is a call to action,” Gang Hu, MD, PhD, associate professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Donna H. Ryan, MD, professor emerita at Pennington Biomedical Research Center said. “We need to be weight-centric in our management of persons with diabetes because we can never achieve optimal risk factor control, prevention of complications, and improved quality of life if we don’t address weight management.”
Read more: Prevalence of obesity increasing among US adults with diabetes
Just for a giggle: Thief Steals Nearly 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs in Britain by Daniel Victor for NYTimes.com, 15 February 2023.
A man in Britain admitted to stealing nearly 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs, in what the local police described as an “eggs-travagent” theft.
The caper involved breaking into an industrial unit in Telford, outside Birmingham, on Saturday and making off with about $37,000 worth of the eggs, the police in West Mercia said in a statement on Twitter that was riddled with jokes about Easter. “West Mercia Police has helped save Easter for Creme Egg fans,” the police said.
Officials said the theft was premeditated — one that involved chocolate eggs that are more typically treated as an impulse buy at the grocery store. The prosecutor, Owen Beale, told Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court that Mr. Joby Pool, 32, had used a stolen truck cab to tow away a trailer full of the treats. The police soon spotted him on the road, and he gave himself up. “This is clearly an organized criminal matter,” he said in court. “You don’t just happen to learn about a trailer with that kind of value being available.”
I thought the thief was a giant very fast moving bunny.
I think the mini dosing of glucagon is really no different than what most of us do when we are near normal and are ready to go on a walk or bicycle ride. At least I will use glucose powder if think I might go low. I find little difference between taking a glucose injection vs taking 15g of glucose powder.
Informative blog..!