40 Comments
When traveling, does changing time zones impact your blood glucose levels? Share your tips for traveling across time zones with T1D in the comments!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
© 2023 T1D Exchange. All Rights Reserved.
I don’t travel much, even within my time zone. Traveling to east coast from west coast time zone of US, or back, is easier by car or train, than by plane. I did that in my twenties and thirties but not often. A T1D friend of mine here in US Pacific Time flew to visit relatives in India. He was on insulin injections like me. He reported “no problems” going or coming back despite obviously great time differences. While traveling he consumed nutrition bars as needed from his stockpile. No refrigeration needed, cheap, healthy, great variety. I’m sure he checked his blood glucose meter frequently.
It think timing your doses regardless of the local time should be efficient. This pump relieved stress on a 14-15 hour work day by maintaining tree BASAL (saw that called the “background dose?”) even of not near home. Counting carbs do the rest.
Sometimes but it is not the fact that you are changing time zones. You are frequently eating food in restaurants and your anxiety levels are high.
I use a tandem pump and dexcom cgm. I make whatever adjustments I need to account for the new time zone.
When traveling in an automobile and changing a single time zone, no. However, when moving from coast-to-coast in a single day, or flying to Europe, yes. The effect in the latter cases seems to be due entirely to shifting meal and sleeping/activity times.
If my destination is 5 or more hours different I adjust the time on my Dexcom and Omnipod
Agree with many of the other comments. It’s mostly the change in activity. Need to do extra blood glucose checking and if you can’t fingerstick might have to do adjustments using CGM readings.
Doesn’t affect my levels, but changing the clock on my older OmniPod model is a pain. It stops giving you the insulin on board info for a few hours due to clock change. If I’m just traveling a couple time zones away, I generally leave it alone, but if I’m doing a bigger jump, I suck it up and do change the time so that my basal levels will be accurate to time of day in new location. I found doing it mid-afternoon is the least stressful since I’m often chasing down sugars in the mornings.
I will adjust the time on my Tandem pump and Dexcom and a one hour adjustment is no big deal. But when I went from Indiana to Hawaii for ten days it was a different matter. The four hour difference never straightened out and I remained high most of the time I was there. Even after changing the time on my Omnipod.
within the US, not so much. when I travel internationally, I keep T1D on “Houston time” (my home). so if I’m 6 hours ahead of home, I’ll take my Tresiba at noon local time to keep it at 6 am Houston time. also will let my BS run higher (150-ish) since I never really know what I’ll be doing.
Depends on the distance. Not noticeable for a single time zone, but travel to the other coast (3 zones) yes, and overseas (UK, Europe) absolutely.
Before I retired I traveled all over the US and often to Europe, South America and Asia. If I hadn’t had my pump I’m sure I would have never survived. The pump removed me from any reliance on time zones as I would have a normal basal rate that constantly maintained my sugars when I wasn’t eating, and I would give myself a bolus whenever I did eat. My CGM was a late arrival, just in the last three years of my traveling, but it further enhanced my ability to maintain proper control regardless of where I happened to be.
When going across more than two time zones, I just reset the clock on my t:slim X2 and (although I may be tired for a day) everything else settles pretty quickly. When shifting one or two time zones (for travel or for daylight saving time shifts), everything is off for about a week.
I didn’t have CGM when I was traveling extensively by air. But now I only travel by car or motorhome so only cross one time zone at a time and don’t notice any impacts.
I just continue my insulins using the home time zone until I have a day or two to spend adjusting to the new time zone, not when traveling. Easier that way.
Flying across time zones involves a lot of hurry up and wait, plus interminable sitting. Airport food defines the fact that you’re not home, and tiny pretzels aren’t a meal. I carry nuts. I gradually adjust my Tresiba. I try to mimic meals and foods I would normally eat. Traveling isn’t a license to go off the wagon. Highs and lows can be more difficult to control. On a cruise, it’s a three block walk to the dining room, and often a long wait for food t arrive. That lovely basket of carbs — rolls — isn’t a great option.
When traveling to a time zone that is 10+ hours difference, I notice that I tend to go low. It may also be attributed to the amount of energy, excitement, and activity that occurs when traveling as well.
What changes is the length of the day. East to West, I have four meals and West to East, I have two. But I deal with it by keepig my glucometer set at the departure point and following that. One overnight gets me back to routine.
This was a while ago that I traveled from Hong Kong to Guam on the way back to US. Did not realize it was the same day and the meal times were all changed. Then I used a Medtronic pump with Enlite and really had to check BG every few hours. All the problems were just meal time changes and needed boluses.
Yes. I have to eat earlier or later depending on what zone I’m in. My body still wants food at the same time.
Not sure. Have relied on glucose readings & covering carbs.
My long acting insulin needs go down for some odd reason
This is a really great question. I recently traveled to Michigan from California and stayed from July 22nd, 2021 – July 30th, 2021. I could tell a huge difference in my sugar levels (blood glucose).
While I’m not a trained, licensed medical professional and only a Subject Matter Expert, the best thing for me was to adjust my insulin pumps time setting. This helped me out tremendously.
If you’re passing through time zones, it may not make a huge difference, but it most certainly will if you’ll be staying in a different time zone for an extending period of time.
Peace, Love, and Happiness!!!
I have what they used term as Brittle. So traveling or not makes little difference in my control. I never did a great deal of traveling and now retired for a number of years. Traveling is out of the equation
There are many variables when traveling so it’s hard to know what is actually affecting you BG levels.
I change to the arrival time zone on departure. I always seem to go low on airplanes. So I have an airplane basal profile on my Tandem pump. CGM has made the transition MUCH easier.
For me it is a yes/no answer – In general, the time change does little, as I am able to adjust the time on the insulin pump, and all continues as is. On the other hand, I find the pressure in the plane often causes more insulin to be released than registered – In the past, particularly on longer flights, I sometimes struggled with severe lows. Now, when I travel, with a CGM and making adjustments to my insulin output, the problem of experiencing severe lows are mostly eliminated).
When traveling, my “internal clock” does not adjust instantly. I am hungry, wanting a meal when no one else is eating. This is challenging. I live in the central time zone in the United States. Traveling to eastern time is not so difficult. Eastern starts workday at 9, lunch at 1, supper at 7-8. Central start at 8, lunch at noon, supper 6-7. My internal clock doesn’t need to adjust going one time zone to the east.
I notice low BG when I travel by air more than five time zones. If shorter distance or by other means, nothing is noticed.
My pump delivers almost half as much basal while I sleep than while I am awake. It worked best for me to use a lower basal rate when we travel east or west. This was before Control-IQ, which I assume will help once travel starts once more.
Hard to know if it is the time zone change or multiple other factors, but my BS always skyrockets. I am an admitted (and lifelong) very bad traveler. I get motion sick at the drop of a hat (make sure I travel with my own “barf bag” just in case) and I’m also on Dramamine for the travel.
I love being in the new place, but the travel to get there can be difficult!!
No. Travelling diet changes my bg
It depends on how many time zones. In the US only, no problem except possibly Hawaii. More than that, definitely
It depends on how many hours the time difference is. One hour doesn’t make much difference but it is harder with international travel with a five or six hour time difference.
Usually mid-flight I adjust the time in my pump so my basal rates are adjusted ahead of time to my destination time zone. I also increase my basal rate about 10% (or pick a profile on my pump with vassal rates that are a bit more aggressive for the period of time I’m at higher altitude in the plane.
I change the time on pump when I land at the destination airport, and back with home airport. Otherwise the timed settings- change basal or CR, and sleep mode in CIQ, will be incorrectly timed. If 1 hr, likely not needed
Because of my Tandem tslim x2 pump, I can and do change the time of day if I will be staying more than 1 day in the different time zone.
If I travel more than 2 hours difference, I change it. Also if I’m staying longer than 48 hours in time zone change, then I change it. My body gets used to the change in eating and activity, so the change is needed.
I marked No. I adjust my time/date on the pump so the basal profile matches my current location’s time zone. My body could care less about time zones, so I stay on my default basal pattern until I arrive. Depending on the number and direction of time zones crossed, I may have to skip or add a meal to adjust to the time difference.
We have changed time zones twice in the last month and a half. The first time was 16 hours, which was a nightmare with the pump! Our daughter kept crashing. The second time was only 3 hours and it was a little better but I still waited to change the time on the pump, so the settings don’t make her crash at night. Just be very careful for lows.
I have only used the extended boles if we were invited to a wedding or some other affair