Travel w meds: dosing

Karin

Hi,

I am a frequent traveler and I often even travel across time zones. When I dosed insulin this was very complicated since my long acting insulin really needed 24 hrs between doses and the meal time insulin was used right before eating. It took me a day or so to adjust and it often posed issues. W my transplant meds I try to adjust my schedule as well so I keep my tac levels stable. This means I should dose every 12 hrs and I often do a two day transition moving the dosing a few hrs each day to allow for this cadence yet letting me sleep!

how do you do it?

AliEm14

I always keep a watch in my original time zone and go based on that. I did it when I had meds every 2 hours pre transplant and I do it now with transplant meds.

I find it a lot easier to stay on one time zone versus doing all the calculations and switching over. I’ve also mastered the art of doing the middle of the night wake up take meds and go back to sleep because I had to do it for so long pre transplant that I’d rather do that than the math to adjust 😅

Dom

@BabyJ25 This is gearing up to be the perfect thread for you ahead of your trip! Feel free to post your question here ☺️

BabyJ25

Thank you all.

I want to agree sticking to one time zone will be better I think - hoping it doesn’t fall middle of the night and maintaining the 12 hrs gap between doses.

BW

piannaccone

It may sound crazy but several weeks before my yearly trips to Europe I slowly shift my schedule to comport with the new time zones and then slowly shift back just before and after I return. I don't sleep well oversees and waking up in the middle of the night to take meds was quite difficult.

Karin

Hi! I think you can do it without needing to wake up / sticking to one! Move half the total change the first day and the rest the following.. if it is six hrs it normally work well and with less, it really works well!

onlylivingboyinny

I follow the same technique Alisha mentioned — having a wristwatch in my local time zone when traveling. People probably look at my watch face and wonder what I’m doing HAHA I also just set new iPhone alarms for the corresponding (and temporary) time zone change. I know it’s not necessary to take most meds at the exact same time but I try my best to for my own peace of mind and for stable med levels. When we have to adjust our clocks twice a year, I follow Karin’s plan of slowly changing the time up or down in tiny increments over the course of a few days.