Travel Tips: A recent reminder from Asia

After my recent travels to Thailand and Hong Kong (and recent misadventure - see my last post), I
was reminded of the little important things when it comes to travelling better with diabetes. And maybe that over the years I've become a little too relaxed at times! Having a travel buddy is a very welcome asset when it comes to traveling with diabetes but it is still important to be independent, self sufficient and aware of your surroundings.


Here's the biggest points from my recent trip:

So much to catch up on!

Working two roles, an Asian Holiday (then an Asian flu) and a lost password = weeks away from blogging!

Oh, plus then spending the last week trying to actually get back on track with everything...

We went to a Thai cooking school while in Bangkok. So good!

But here I am finally, Hi! Thank you to everyone who emailed and commented over the last few weeks, I am slowly getting back to everyone, so please don’t think I’ve forgotten you. Some interesting things happened during that time though which I thought I’d share with you. (Maybe too many for one post though!) One of which was a meeting with our regional Medtronic rep about pumping, largely in thanks to a MM FB friend (Thanks Peter). That was rather exciting. The rep was really nice and helpful and I've booked in with the diabetes centre with the view of going onto the pump in December or January. Will keep you posted on that one though because we all know I just can’t seem to decide!!!

I was also approached by a pharmaceuticals company and asked if I would like to trial some of their newest products which have been developed with Diabetics in mind. Now I've seen quite a few forums and discussion about pharmaceutical products developed for diabetics, from the diabetic point of view... and it seemed to be a surprisingly debated topic – so I’m going to dedicate a whole post to the products on here soon.

Smoothies available at our hotel.
 For some reason the name put me off...

After an exhausting few weeks filling two roles at work (stepping up into my manager’s position while still doing my own, which also meant going from 4 days a week to 6), Fiancé and I jetted off to Thailand and Hong Kong for a way more hectic ‘holiday’ than we’d planned. I was exhausted, have a I mentioned that yet? haha, and for some reason felt wonky the whole first week, and my blood sugars we’re swinging round like Tarzan. By the second week I thought I had everything under control and then BAMM I had a panic attack at a Thailand train station in the sweltering heat, in one of the only places I think I've ever been in Bangkok where they didn't sell ANY western type drink WHATSOEVER. There are Pepsi signs and paraphernalia literally plastered all over Bangkok, but not there! So here we were on the side of Bangkok we’d never been remotely near before, ages from our hotel with no phone and a limited supply of jellybeans, trying to guess at what the labels said (I speak no Thai and also had a serious case of blurred vision and thinking). All the while leading up I’d felt fine, so my confusion at so suddenly feeling low AND then the usual signs of a panic attack coming on probably just made things worse. I’m still confused, My BG was only 4.8...but maybe my meter was hot (although it was wrapped up in my bag), and maybe I was really dehydrated...  I was prepared for a normal low or two but not that weird weird panic attack/low I was having. 

We ended up grabbing something that resembled a form of ‘cola’ and figured if there was too much sugar in it I could dose for it, as opposed to fainting or passing out, then we finally got on a train, where thank goodness there was a vacant seat and I sat like a zombie till we got to the hotel. It still baffles me though, as I'm fairly used to hot climates, I've been to Bangkok before, and I'd been having a perfectly normal, happy day... maybe I was getting that flu by then...

A way more exciting adventure that happened on holiday though was that my beautiful Thai friend, her mother (who speaks no English) and I went wedding dress shopping! Before I go any further, I need to mention that Type 1 diabetes is not very common in Thailand, not like it is in Australia, America, the UK and so on, it is seen as a ‘western disease’. So I started to tell the wedding dress designers that in my dream dress I would like:

1.      Pockets

2.      Easy access to my stomach

3.      The ability to go to the bathroom unassisted (I think most will know what I mean by this, Bridesmaids can often find themselves with the unfortunate job of holding piles of tule, organza and ruffles as the bride tries to sit down... and I imagine diabetics may find they need to do this more often??)

4.      Not to get over heated (on account of what it seems to do to my blood sugar)

5.      Oh and to be able to walk, breath, eat and sit properly...

Then I saw it, them looking back at me like ‘here comes the bridezilla’. Or maybe I was paranoid. Either way I whipped out my blood meter and accessories to emphasise my point. They just looked blankly and said ‘that’s what bridesmaids are for’... and then I could feel my control issue thoughts popping into my head. I've never not been the one to be fully in control of all my diabetes gear!

I tried on a dress though and fell in love. There are no pockets and it’s quite possibly going to be a nightmare going to the bathroom. But it’s beautiful, made me feel like a real bride and well I guess, you only do this once. I actually felt jittery trying it on. There is no other reason to wear a dress like this except for your wedding day, and I say that in a good way. I can walk just fine and breathe relatively well in it too, so that’s a bonus!

I think I’m going to need a garter though... and not for any old tossing tradition. No, its cos I’m pretty sure I’ll be packing diabetes there. Super sexy I know.