Packing for a 2 1/2 week trip in variable conditions: First and last 3 days camping in my van, cold weather in high desert, enroute to warm Sonoran desert for 10 days recreation and sun. I decided to squirrel away the D supplies in three parcels:
Ultimate spares that I hope to not need, hidden in the van, (cold nights in the forecast, will be in the foot of my sleeping bag at night),
day to day spares (basically everything I need to access during the trip) packed with my normal warm weather luggage for the hotel and
other spares (spare vial + syringes, contour next meter, some carb snacks) in a little backpack with some gloves, hat etc. I guess the purpose of that is a go bag for the high desert drive and camping, something I can grab if the van breaks down or ??
Anyway, here is the packing list for Bag #1, the spare supplies I hope to not need. What did I forget?
I can’t say you forgot anything, especially since we don’t have lists 2 and 3 yet.
Here are my comments.
5 pods but 1 G6 sensor seems unbalanced. A sensor can fall off and that would be a nuisance, but maybe you have a good supply in the other lists.
Tape or glue?
Tresiba + Lantus, why both?
Additional carbs (glucose or candy) because a shortage is a danger.
Thanks for that! You are correct about the pods vs sensors imbalance. Not sure why I divvied them up that way but the “everyday” bag has 2 sensors and 10 pods for 16 days so it should work out OK.
If you get stuck in the desert, you have enough insulin to last months. Syringes, vials, Humalog, Tresiba, Lantus. All good there. That is really all you need from an insulin standpoint. The rest of the stuff like pods and Dexcoms - all of that is a luxury.
Except for glucose! That’s the one thing you might need more than anything else in an emergency.
I’d highly recommend multiplying that by a factor of 10.
If space is a concern, you can bring a cup of sugar in a watertight pack or in a couple of ziplock bags. 1 cup of sugar is about 200 grams of carbs, and it is not too big.
Yep you are right… I was a little too unclear with my initial post…the van is chock full of water, food, carbs, glucose gel, beer, coffee etc. I loaded up! The list was for the ultimate extras I hope to never open during the trip…the bag that will be hidden away in case I lose/use up/ get stolen all the rest of my D gear. Or if anything weird happens to prolong my trip.
The truth is the FuD site was in dire need of a new post so I figured I’d throw some random thoughts out there!
I agree with most of the other comments made. The one thing I note is that you mention the PDMs for both pump and Dexcom, but no back up means for them, i.e. the phone apps. I use my phone apps as primary (less stuff to carry) and the PDMs as backup. The list seems a little lite on pods and sensors, i.e. at 2.5 weeks, it seems just enough pods and depending on where your current CGM sensor is in its cycle, just enough if not short for your trip (unless you extend the sensor use). Of course you could revert to MDI if needed, but much less convenient once you’re used to pods. It comes down to personal choice and “in case” comfort factor. I definitely agree the list is light on glucose, but again a comfort factor based on how often you are used to going low and the risk involved. Personally, I’d just throw in a bottle of glucose tabs and keep a tube/container in my pocket for daily “in case” scenarios. I do kind of like your list of a reward! I’ve toyed with getting one of the sew on patches for my small back pack; I’s like to think it would have it would give pause to anyone that might try to steal it with the diabetic logo/warning on it.
The wife and I are off on two trips, one at the end of the month for 10 days and another in couple of months for a cruise to Australia/New Zealand/Tahiti/Hawaii for about 3+ weeks (a bucket list trip we’ve been talking about for 30 years!). I’ve been mentally working over how much to take with me for the latter. Like you, for longer trips I use a backpack with everything in it that I hand carry…I think it will be full and I may ask my Endo for hardcopy scripts for the essentials.
While it’s a shame we have to think of things like the above, but I hope you enjoy your trip! Have a good time with it!
I meant to add I appreciate your listing of glasses! I was spoiled with superb vision in my youth…20/5…so when it went to “normal” in my late 30’s I thought I had serious problem! My astigmatism requires glasses to read just about anything these days (phone apps, BG meters, etc.). Having glasses is paramount to “enjoying the view”!
Only thing I’d add that hasn’t been mentioned by others is a power brick to charge all your controllers/phones. I use Anker, but there are others. Very helpful especially if your phone battery doesn’t hold much of a charge anymore. Maybe you’ve got this covered in the other gear lists; if so, sorry to repeat the obvious.
These are some examples. Most are too big for travel but I have the Powercore (an older Slim model) and it’s great. Fits in a jacket pocket and holds enough juice to charge my phone twice.
I would add a power jump starter for the van, which can also charge devices. You can recharge these from a cigarette plug. They are invaluable. I would also add a small solar power charger; they can do a trickle charge on your van battery and house battery in an emergency. I have both of these for my camper van, which is a MB 4WD, and is an energy hog. Don’t forget hand warmers, good for warming up hands to use a BG meter.
I would get some of the energy runner gels for carbs. Easy to carry, and deliver the right amount of fast carbs.
Lastly, you might want to consider some containers for carbs that can be sealed against rodents invading your nice warm van!
A document stating your medical conditions, prescriptions, and doctor’s phone numbers. I have one in my wallet and on my phone.
Mike
Thanks @Mikey417 (and everybody else who provided good ideas)…I traversed Nevada from N to S on Hwy 93 with no issues other than a nasty traffic jam around LV. I decided not to boondock and paid for a hookup the first night because it was so cold, about 14 degrees. Second night, Walmart parking lot close to civilization. Made it to Phoenix airport just fine and picked up my wife who flew down. Now I’m in sunny Tucson using up those stockpiled D supplies.
My van (2012 Sprinter that I camperized myself 12 yrs ago) did fine. But I did not add a diesel heater for cold weather camping so it is really a 3 season van. My 12 yr old house batteries would not last one night running an electric space heater.
This is from a different trip. Usually, a cabinet with all the camping gear (stove, pots and pans, water jugs, chairs etc) sits under the bed on the right side and two bikes fork mounted to the floorboard sit on the left side. Up front is an inverter, small microwave, 12 volt fridge. Also a Thule awning over the side door and Thinsulate insulation in the walls and roof. Foam “bedrug” on the floor.
I went 100% modular with everything except the inverter and have used the van to move my kids from city to city, haul things around when I worked on the house. So no built in kitchen or bathroom. The van camping works best at state parks with shower houses.
