25 Comments
For insulin pump users: When traveling to a time zone that is at least 2 hours different than your home time zone, do you change the time on your pump? (For example, traveling from Eastern Time to Mountain Time, or traveling from Pacific Time to Central Time)
You must be logged in to post a comment.
It depends on how long I will be in the alternate time zone. If more than three days, yes, I change the time. If not, then no. If I do not change the time, I try to eat as close to my normal schedule as possible.
I change the time just before boarding the plane
Tslim x2 control iq also alerts that there is a discrepancy on time between phone and pump.
I change it even for a 1 hour time zone change.
Like most “things diabetes” I don’t have a simple yes or no response.
If I’m planning to be in a different time-zone for a period of time and adopt my schedule to that zone, then YES.
I tend to travel more North and South, within the same time zone. The last time I took a long trip out of the time zone was 20+ years ago. I was gone for one week. Yes, I changed the time on my pump during that trip.
Two hours or more is a “yes” from me. But for a long time, particularly when changing time zones, I’ve pondered the reasons why these devices don’t use network time like all my other smart devices. Partly it’s b/c, as a rule pumps aren’t natively open to the network, just BT to CGM transmitter. Maybe a good thing security-wise, though since Tandem introduced network connectivity for updates that’s starting to change. But speaking of Tandem, the latest version actually has bi-directionality with the smartphone app, t:connect, even to the extent of initiating boluses from the phone, plus interactions with the Dexcom app from the pump side such as calibrations and initiating new sensor sessions. So synching time would seem a no brainer. But does it? I recently had to manually update the time on my X2 when I noticed it had lost a few minutes relative to my iPhone, so apparently the answer is no, but I haven’t been able to find any hard information yet.
As I think about it, though, I believe I can see why not. I’d love to land in CA and find my pump and my iPhone both already know what local time it is, but would I necessarily want my profiles to start acting on the new time zone when my body still needs another 24-48 hours to reset, depending on how far I’ve traveled? Hm.. Maybe I”ve answered my own question….
Sometimes. The answer is no unless it will be a long time, as in months, not days.
This is required if people use different basal, ISF/CF, or ICR rates based on time of day. Alternately, they need to be wary of changing meal times and potential highs and lows.
I put “Sometimes” (or when I remember).
I’ve noticed that it takes several days for my “dawn effect” to adapt to a new time zone so I wait for that to happen before I change the time on my pump. Otherwise, I’d have trouble with lows if my increased early morning basal rate kicked in before I needed it. For a period of time when I was traveling between the east and west coasts every couple of weeks, my need for more insulin in the early morning disappeared completely. I think I broke my biological clock for a while.
I was still on MDI the last time I traveled to that different of a time zone. I did keep my watch set the same as home so that my long acting timing wouldn’t be screwed up. I adjusted by the end of my visit and did the same method going home. I spent less than 1 day in a 1 hour different time zone on a pump and did not change anything.
I want my settings to match with my schedule at the new location. I’m currently in a time zone 9 hours from back home. Blood sugar is still bumpy for the first day and then it smooths out.
I did not in the past but do so now because I get a notice on my phone that tells me there is a discrepancy in my pump and t:connect app. It would drive me crazy if I didn’t!
If I am only two hours away or for a short time – then no. For longer trips and more time zones away then yes (my pump has about 9 different time zones for settings). Since I only eat when I am both hungry and at target (80), I don’t have a set schedule for eating, and time of day wherever I am doesn’t matter.
Yes, but honestly, only because the phone app alerts me that my phone and pump are showing different times.
It depends on how long the trip is
It depends on how long the trip is. Jet lag also plays a role, so the body works on the old time zone for a while, hence it’s fine to use old settings for a couple of days.
I change pump settings when I arrive at my destination.
I should have answered Yes. But I do not change the time en route because I want to know what my pump/body thinks the time is versus the local time in order to better figure insulin doses.
I change it, but gradually. And since I tend to get up later when visiting, I do not change by the total time change amount. When I am in Kansas, I get up at 6:30 am. When I am in Cambridge, England, I get up at 7:30. So I only need to change it by five hours, not the full 6-hour time difference.
Sometimes, all depends on how long and the purpose of the trip. My last trip beyond the borders of Wisconsin was in 2019 on a Medalist study visit to Joslin in Boston. Since precise time was essentially important, I changed the time when I arrived at Logan airport.
Depends on how long I’ll be in that time zone.
I will be traveling out of my time zone next year in spring . I will have to get advice from my endo on how to handle the different time zones
I always do. As far as when, it depends on different factors.