May 31, 2003
Insulin Pumps, Traveling
Question from Acaville, California, USA:
My son uses a pump which works well for him, but we plan to spend a week in Hawaii soon and considering how much time he will want to spend in the water we are concerned that he will be off the pump most of the day as it is not waterproof. We are considering switching to Lantus with Humalog for the vacation, and his doctor has advised that if the pump should fail to use 65% of the basal rate currently provided by the pump as the Lantus dose and to use Humalog as the pump boluses when corrections are needed or to cover carbs.
Our doctor is out of town for six weeks, and we are not able to ask his advice about switching, or to confirm the doses, or to make sure this is even a good idea at all. The pump works so well it may be foolish to change what is working.
Answer:
We would usually recommend not making such a major insulin change for vacation but rather use the insulin pump overnight and at breakfast, then cover meals and snacks with injections of Humalog with the pump disconnected during the day until supper.
It would be best to discuss this with your son’s diabetes team. If the doctor is not available, speak with whoever is covering, or one of the diabetes educators.
SB
