March 7, 2010

I have never been a big fan of traveling.  Don’t get me wrong, I do love visiting new places.  It is the actual act of traveling itself I have a problem with; getting from point A to point B.  Sometimes, I wish I could just twitch my noise like Samantha on Bewitched and zap myself to where I want to go.

Recently, I went on a business trip by myself to Florida (note to self: schedule next trip to Florida when it is actually warm and you can enjoy it).  This was the first time I have gone anywhere, except my parents’ house, since my diagnosis.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get through security with all of my diabetes paraphernalia.  I guess millions of people travel everyday with insulin and syringes.  I actually got more attention from airport security the last time I traveled because my blow dryer looked suspicious when it passed through the x-ray machine and my bag was searched.  Go figure. 

During this trip, I also made a very valuable discovery.  Motion sickness and low blood sugar have similar symptoms.  I must have tested myself 10 times before I realized this.  I kept thinking I was nauseous because I was low.  Come to find out, I was just sick because of the bumpy airplane ride.  This is good information to know. 

The other revelation I had is how much easier it would have been to eat at the airport if I had an insulin pump.  It was a pain to have to: (1) figure out what I was going to eat; (2) estimate the carbs; (3) lug all of my oversized luggage into the small bathroom stall; (4) give myself an injection; (5) walk the ½ mile back to where I wanted to eat; (6) purchase my food (hopefully before the insulin kicks in); and (7) finally eat the food. 

Overall, I had a good and fairly uneventful trip.  However, it was one of the many times that I was reminded that even though Diabetes does not always fit perfectly into my life, it is doable.  It has yet to slow me down and I sincerely hope it never will.