I do attend a lot of conferences and do a lot of traveling so I was thinking about the checklist that I go through and how it has helped me with all of my traveling that I do. Here is my top 5 things to do to prepare for a conference, Diabetes style.
1. Make a List
The first thing is to just grab a pen and paper and just start writing down every single thing that comes to your mind that you may need in the next few days or weeks. Just look around the room and write it down. Picture Steve Carrell’s character in “Anchorman” when he starts naming everything in the room that he loves. “I love lamp”. Everything that you see, write it down. It’s a brainstorming session. You can then go back later and make a decision on what things you actually need and which you won’t need at all. Don’t organize, don’t worry about duplicates. Obviously, you need your socks and undies, but I always start my list by sitting in front of my “diabetes cabinet” and just tart writing everything down.
2. Scrub the List
The next step is to scrub the list and go through the things that you actually need and get rid of the things that you don’t need. Once again, I start with the diabetes stuff, “all I need is my pump and my wallet”. That is my motto when I travel. If you are only traveling for one day, you probably don’t 5 pairs of pants and shorts. But you will require 4-5 infusion sets, reservoirs and about 2 vials of insulin. Pack wisely because of the high costs of traveling with luggage now, so don’t put too much stuff in the suitcase.
3. Carry On Your Supplies
I take my laptop bag with me along with a second drawstring bag. It makes it easier when Amanda is with me because, she can carry the second bag in her big ole’ carry-on bag. However, most of the time I fly alone. I make sure that I have enough supplies to last me double the time of the trip, so the quantity of supplies will vary. So the bag consists of infusion sets, reservoirs, inserters, IV prep, insulin, 2 meters, strips, lancets, IV dressings and any other little things I may use to manage my diabetes. I usually get my bag pulled off to the side for a quick search about 75% of the time, I am used to it by now. It is well worth the additional 5 minutes instead of it being in my checked luggage and having it lost in transit and being without supplies for a week.
4. Prepare for Emergencies Before You Get There
Contact the hotel, conference center and company putting on the conference before hand to find out information on what kind of food or juices that they may be having. I always contact the hotel before hand and let them know that I need a fridge in my room so I can put my orange juice in there. Also, ask if the hotel has a deli or snack area to go pick up some juice if you run out.
Next, speak with the actual conference center where the event will be. Find out where any snack bars or vending machines are in case you need to get up for some juice. If you are the type of person that is afraid to tell people about your diabetes, then this isn’t for you. Simply tell them beforehand that you are diabetic and explain what you may need and they should be able to make accommodations or tell you where these things are. Finally, most conferences have already planned out what they are planning serving for lunch or dinner so send a quick e-mail to the staff putting the event on and they may be able to give you some sort of idea of what is going to be served. This is great to know, so you know if you need to fill up another reservoir before you go into the session or bring an extra insulin pen with you. It also helps with knowing approximately how many carbs are in what you. (Unless you have an IPhone, there is an app for that. Rumor has it, there’s an app that runs your whole life).
5. Test, Test, Test, Test
Just like anything else that you are doing in life, it is absolutely important for you to test your sugar constantly. I tend to test myself in between sessions so that way I can prepare for a low at that time. I hate to miss information at a conference, because I paid for the damn thing I want to be there the whole time. If I have a low in the middle then there goes some information that I am going to miss. Also, don’t be scared to pull out your meter in front of people. It actually is a good networking tool. It sparks conversations for me and then that is just another person that I was able to meet at the conference. In a way, it is an ice-breaker for me.
I hope this was helpful for all of you. I am sure that you all have your own method of planning for attending a conference, so I would like to hear some of your other ideas and planning methods.
Have a great day ya’ll.
Great breakdown. Also it’s good to have a note from your doctor stating you are diabetic and that you need this equipment and these supplies.
Also: try to test at least twice as often as usual. This is worth repeating a second time. Plan to test at least twice as often as usual. It is very easy to go low when you are walking the exhibit floors or if your sessions are in multiple wings of a venue, or multiple floors. It is also easy to go high from stress, dehydration, and the ubiquitous bagels and Danish pastries.
Other things you may want to investigate: local regulations for disposing of sharps and medical wastes. In some areas, carrying some of the one-use disposable safe-disposal units is sufficient; in other places you may need to bag everything up in a biohazard bag and drive it to the appropriate hospital. Also, it doesn’t hurt to ask if there are public sharps disposal facilities at the airport, the conference center, and/or the hotel. (While these are not universal, they can be useful.)
Nice post, particularly for those of us that travel a lot and attend conferences. I approach conferences a bit differently since I am often a speaker or panelist. In addition to those above, here are some additional things I like to do:
(1) Have a current prescription for insulin and test strips on file with a national chain drugstore. I like Walgreens as they are in all 50 states (7,500 stores). While I usually get my prescriptions at a local pharmacy, it certainly is nice to know that if need be I can run to a Walgreens and get more insulin or test strips if necessary.
(2) Be sure you have an extra battery for your pump and meter. I carry mine with my meter.
(3) Always carry a syringe, even if you are on a pump. I carry mine with my meter, tucked away in a pocket. In an emergency you can access the insulin from your reservoir if something happens to your pump. A real life example: I was at a conference about three hours away from home and inclement weather caused me to have to stay in a hotel rather than return home as originally planned. The air was so dry that the static electricity in the room was incredible, sparks every time I moved the sheets, myself, etc. Then I noticed that my pump was dead, completely. After much button mashing and calls to Minimed, I learned that the static had fried the pump. I was under warranty so they were sending out a replacement, but I had to deal with the medical issue at that time. My solution–access the insulin using a syringe and bolus every hour what my basal rate (approximately) should have been. It worked well enough for me to get home. Always bring a syringe; you can reuse it many times when needed!
(4) Check your blood sugar 20 minutes BEFORE you have to speak or give a presentation. I tend to keep mine at 150 or so when speaking, and will take a glucose tab or two to raise it up to that if necessary. If it needs to be lowered, I usually give my self less than what the meter calls for. The last thing I want during a speech is to go low; stay a bit high.
(5) For longer speeches and panels (more than 2 hours) or when you are concerned you might go low for some reason, a glass of water with 1/2 a cup of regular pop (I prefer sprite or 7 up) is something to keep within reach. It is essentially a “glucose drip” that you can self-regulate if you feel worried. Much better than a whole can because you can easily overdose, but that much soda realistically won’t raise you that much if you sip it (as you would during a speech).