A Diabetic Travel Packing List for Southeast Asia with a Gotcha – that’s two months

Last Updated on July 31, 2018 by PowersToTravel

The days are counting down to our epic sixty-three day I am Retired! trip around Southeast Asia.

We will be visiting Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, the beaches of Thailand, and finally, a stopover on the way home in Doha, Qatar.

With less than a month to go before the big day, you would think I would be busy packing.  Not so! That’s because the bags have been packed and ready for almost a month already. We have a spare bedroom, and in the weeks before a trip it becomes the packing room, and with a trip of this magnitude I have been thinking and planning and packing for a long time.

Sixty-five days! Pack light is the message I get from all the on-line travel blogs. I guess they haven’t met me, and I know they aren’t diabetics.

I wanted to share with you my diabetic packing experience, as well as my experience for this last month as I went weekly to the pharmacy to stock up on supplies. Each week the packing list grows.  I now feel as if I am carrying the entire store in my suitcase.

Here goes…

The usual diabetic gear for a usual 2 week trip within 8-12 hr travel distance:

[table id=2 /]

**I use Reglan (Metoclopramide), an old-fashioned Rx medication often prescribed for morning sickness which does a great job of stopping the vomiting. I have been informed that it can negatively affect the Atovaquone we will be taking to prevent Malaria. Since I usually only take one or two and I’m better, the doc approved it.

There are unexpected complications, which are not apparent in that simple list.  I had planned to bring my insulin in a couple of usual over-the-counter insulin refrigeration containers.  However, in talking with the pharmacist, she pointed out that we would be gone for two months, that insulin only has a lifetime of 28 days once it has been taken out of the refrigerator, and that we had a 36 hour transit time to Bangkok.  Click here for the full detailed story.

The usual medical supplies for anyone, not just a diabetic.

[table id=3 /]

Because we are going to a tropical location:

[table id=4 /]

Don’t forget I have a husband to pack for as well! That means double the Atovaquone, double the Azithromycin, etc.  Wonderfully not double the diabetic equipment.

And lastly, not because it adds value to Diabetic Packing woes, but because it just adds insult to injury:

All the other medical needs:

[table id=5 /]

Now that I have my packing list, how do I pack it all in such a way as to “always keep your medical supplies in your carry-on.” Oh my! And they won’t allow me a Mac truck!

In addition, on one of our flights, the one from Thailand to Myanmar, we will be flying on a small airplane which even further limits the size of the carry-on.

Have no fear, I have a detailed plan

Step 1:  We have purchased:

• A new official-size carry-on roller suitcase. Our existing carry-ons were all a bit larger than the official size, and have always been accepted by the airplanes. However in Asia, the land of the discount airlines? We know that we would be stopped, and I can’t afford to let my supplies out of sight.
• A Walmart backpack which weighs absolutely nothing, but has straps
• A Walmart duffel bag which also weighs absolutely nothing, but is larger and has straps. It will start the trip in the hold luggage

Step 2: In this new carry-on suitcase I have packed:

1. The infamous cardboard freezer box
2. A diabetic kit of miscellaneous stuff
3. A kit of normal medications
4. Several plastic bags of Rx medications, vitamins
5. The Walmart backpack which fits my pump supplies and CGM supplies. It will be able to shrink instantly as time goes by and can be shaped as necessary to cram into the suitcase.
6. Oh, and two cameras, underwear and PJs in case our big bags get lost en-route.

The refrigerants

go into the mail-order box

which goes into the carry-on

Reservoirs, Infusion Sets and CGMs

get crammed into the carry-on

and yes it all fits

Spare Cooler, filled with refrigerant packs, placed in the hold luggage

Spare cooler for later, placed empty in the hold luggage

Step 3: Now, this wonderful carry-on will not be allowed in that one flight to Myanmar. So, I will cram the Walmart backpack, and all the other medical supplies into the Walmart duffel, and gently carry it on-board, while shipping the roller carry-on in the belly of the plane. The Walmart duffel is not suitable for using as the carry-on throughout the trip as it has absolutely no structure; it will be up to me to gently protect my CGM sensors etc on that one Myanmar plane ride.

Step 4: I have weighed every component of my medical plan – the suitcases, the vitamins, the kits, the lemon-aid, everything.

Step 5: I have developed and documented a plan for suitcase object placement, accounting for protection of medical supplies, as well as weight consumption (as I consume the lemon-aid, glucose tablet, vitamins, etc). I have studied the luggage weight and size requirements for the eight flights we will be taking (Boston to Doha, Doha to Bangkok, Chiang Mai to Mandalay, Yangon to Ho Chi Minh City, Seam Reap to Luang Prabang, Vientiane to Surat Thani, Phuket to Doha, Doha to Boston. I have no choice but to put the granola bars and lemon-aid in my hold luggage.

Step 6: Enjoy!  I hope it goes according to plan! I don’t want to have to choose between newly purchased Asian lacquerware and my insulin!