September 12, 2003
Traveling
Question from US military family stationed in Portugal:
My husband has a chance to go to Mexico City to live and work next summer for two years and wants to take me (type 2 diabetes) and our eight year old son with him. I have my blood sugar under control, and my last hemoglobin A1c was 8.1%. I am taking pills and am not on insulin at this time. I found a lot of info about the effects of altitude on type 1 but nothing on type 2. As I will be living there for a period of two years and not just going for a short vacation, I wondered if it would have any effect. Due to the high altitude of Mexico City and the pollution, is there any reason I should not be able to go with them?
Answer:
It is unlikely that the altitude would have any major effect on your blood sugars. If this were the case, we would have poor control of people in higher elevations of this country and that is not the case.
JTL
[Editor’s comment: Just make sure your glucose meter works in high altitudes — some don’t!
SS]
