Recently as I prepared for an airline trip with the kids. I realized how exhausting it was; and we hadn't even left the house. Pump supplies, waterproof bandages, insulin, lunches and snacks for the trip, etc. etc.: it seemed like the list kept growing not shrinking. Our flight departed at 10:30 a.m. so we didn't have to get up at oh- dark hundred. Our travel day went something like this:

Going through airport security with my son Nick, who's still on shots, was typical: We removed our shoes and placed them on the conveyer belt along with our suitcases and other carry-on items. He and I passed through the scanner without issue.

Our daughter Johanna is on a pump: an Animas IR1250. The first summer after she received her pump we called Animas and asked about passage through airport scanners: we were advised to bypass the scanner or not place the pump on the belt. This has been our protocol since then.

Johanna's security check went something like this:

TSA personnel escorted her (and her dad) around the scanner to a glass enclosure, where a female officer politely patted her down. While this occurred, others around her stared. It didn't matter what they thought, I could see the fright and embarrassment in Johanna's face.

The kids BG  yo-yoed all day. I couldn't keep up.

JoJo felt low before the flight, her BG 54 and it was only 10 a.m. I had packed a cooler full of every bar I could get my hands on. Plus lunch for later. The flight took off around 10:25 a.m. About 20 minutes into the flight we bolused her for the Bumble Bar.

During the flight Nick felt low...BG 49 so we gave him 15g of simple carbohydrates to bring up his number. A taxi took us from JFK to LGA. We retested him in the taxi and he proceeded to eat his lunch.

Once we arrived at the airport JoJo checked her BG, 111. She sat on a luggage cart eating her lunch while we checked in.

The kids finally settled down as we waited to board the second airplane. Once our flight was boarding I heard the words, "I feel low!" It was 3:25 p.m. and JoJo's BG was 71.

Nick chimed in soon after we took off, "I'm hungry and I'm testing!" BG was 108 at 4:30 p.m.

The kids were in and out of airport restrooms all day long. You'd think their BG's were really high. They each needed a break right before the flight, during the flight, once we landed in JFK, and upon arrival in LGA. 

We prepared for the unexpected as best as we could and even had a few contingences. We figured we'd roll with the rest. Everything worked out fine. We were exhausted and spent the first day or two in recovery.

Here's a resource about diabetes and travel from the American Diabetes Association:
Diabetes Travel Guide by Davida F. Kruger, MSN, APRN-BC, BC-ADM.

"This new edition takes the worry out of traveling for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Create a diabetes survival kit, find insurance to cover your medical expenses while you travel, prepare for security measures throughout the world, and plan for every on-the-road situation you can think of (and survive the ones you didn't expect)."