To hope to be allowed to fly with mild gestational diabetes?

[littlecabbage]

Following another recent thread on here, I am now panicking that I will test positive for gestational diabetes at my oral glucose tolerance test tomorrow, and then not be allowed to fly in 2 weeks time.

I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and feeling really fit and well. I developed GD really late on during my last pregnancy (only picked up due to high glucose in urine dipstick tests) but it was totally under control wth diet and I never needed any kind of medication/insulin.

I have been tested earlier in this pregnancy and was fine, but now have been booked in for the OGTT due to two high glucose results again (both possibly explained away by having had my morning Shreddies recently, but having had a positive OGTT before, I am worried).

My question is, has anyone been allowed to fly with GD after 28 weeks? Did your midwife/doctor write you a note to show the airline, and if so, what did it say? And how often are you actually asked to show the letter when checking in/boarding the plane?

I feel it is unfair if I cannot fly, as having mild GD would not make me a risk on the aeroplane - I would not be taking anything such as insulin that would risk me having a hypoglycaemic episode. A quick Google seems to show really mixed results as to whether flying after 28 weeks with GD is allowed or not, so I would appreciate hearing personal experiences.

Btw, please don’t judge - the reason for flying so late in pregnancy is due to where half term falls - we wanted to avoid a holiday during school term time, and I have always been lucky in feeling well throughout pregnancy, and giving birth pretty much on my due date (touch wood and all that!). It is only a 2 hour flight.

Thanks.

I think the real question is does your medical insurance cover, EVERYTHING if ANYTHING should happen.

By that, do you mean my travel insurance?

My DD's friend was told not to fly. She was struggling to get Insurance anyway, her present Insurance covered her for the cancellation, but not to fly with the new medical diagnosis. I knew another Woman who was fit-to-fly, so it's an individual decision.

It's a simple, Fit-to-Fly note. Whether you are asked depends on how pregnant you look, IME. However, now security is tightened up, you may be asked routinely. People smuggle drugs in false bumps.

Kittykatmacbill

"Most travel insurance plans specifically exclude pregnancy as a covered reason to cancel. After all, many women travel during their pregnancies and experience no problems. Trip cancellation and trip interruption due to complications of normal pregnancy are covered however (medical treatment is too)."

^This is what I have generally read about travel insurance and pregnancy. I haven't read my entire policy yet (probably will have to tomorrow ), but I got what looked like a fairly comprehensive one, and took it out well before any high glucose readings.

Birdsgottafly

Thanks for sharing that. Yes, I suspected it is a bit down to luck. If I have GD, I guess I'll have to ask my midwife if she is still happy to write a letter, and what the wording will be. And if she feels she must mention the GD as being a complication, I will have to consider cancellation of holiday vs wearing baggy clothes and hoping they assume I'm less than 28 weeks?

I did. Doctor signed me fit to fly up to 36 weeks. I also went on an overnight ferry at 32 weeks, but that was the latest I could do that.

Coolaschmoola

Just to confirm, was that with having GD? If so, did the doctor mention it in your letter?

I’m a midwife, in all honesty if you were confirmed as being gestational diabetic I personally wouldn’t sign a fitness to fly letter.

It’s not just about the risk of a hypoglycaemic episode and it’s not just about the flight but that would push you into the high risk category, im sure you remember from last time the risks to baby from gestational diabetes.

If problems were to occur on holiday, e.g high blood sugars, and they need to induce you then the baby wouldn’t be insured and you would face a very large bill particularly if neonatal care was needed as the baby is premature.

If you are diagnosed again just because it was mild last time doesn’t mean it would be this time, you could not need insulin the first time and need it the second. It also increases your risk of other conditions such as pre-eclampsia.

Hopefully you will test negative and none of this is an issue x

Yes it was.

My situation was slightly different in that I wasn't going on holiday, I was travelling back to the UK from Germany to give birth at 'home' because my DH was in Afghanistan.

My consultant was happy to sign my fit to travel.

CatchingBabies

Thank you. Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for posting.

You don't have "mild" gestational diabetes.

You either have GD or not.

I know sorry, fingers crossed you are negative! If not speak to your midwife / consultant. They may be willing to depending on your results and how your blood sugars are looking.

Sorry, just to clarify.... I am not sure if insurance companies will differentiate between medicated / unmedicated GD.

Crunchymum

I don't think it is the travel insurance conpany that is the issue - I think it is whether or not the airline will let us fly. I think if we have to cancel, the insurance will cover us, as it is a medical condition.

It is more a case of whether the airline think there is a risk of having to divert a plane mid-flight, which I would think is extremely unlikely during a 2 hour flight, if I can show that my blood glucose is well controlled with careful diet alone? If I am diagnosed with GD tomorrow, I may have 2w of BG results to show by the time we hope to fly.

But the issue still stands, the airline probably isn't going to inspect your blood sugar levels and decide to let you fly? They will just see your diagnosis?

Hopefully it won't come to it, but maybe a MW or GP letter to confirm you are diet controlled will help (not sure how you'd get the relevant paperwork in your time frame though)

I went from diagnosis to metformin to insulin in 2.5 weeks my GD team were very overzealous in my opinion but it can spiral quickly!!

Yes, I guess what I was hoping is that the medical letter can state that it is well controlled by diet alone (assuming that is true, obviously).

Appreciate the good wishes for testing negative tomorrow, but I just fear that having had it before, it's unlikely to be negative this time. None of this occurred to me when we booked the holiday, and I wouldn't have realised it could affect perceived "fitness to fly" anyway.

Will update tomorrow with results!

I wouldn't even consider flying at 32 weeks, but that's me.

I flew with GD at 26 weeks long haul and I wish I hadn’t. It was for work and is my own fault rwally because I should have asked to be excused from travel duties earlier than I was. I had a fit to fly note which I never had to show.

I'm a bit worried now as I'm due to fly at 29 weeks in July and have the GTT at 28 weeks the week before we go. Had GD in my last pregnancy and have been told it's 50/50 whether I get it this time.
If I cancel now I'll lose my deposit (£600) but get the rest back. Not sure what to do!

I was Diet controlled both times and had no problem getting a fit to fly at 29 weeks. But I made sure I checked everything with the insurer first.

I was also on the milder end - whilst I agree with crunchy that you either have it or you don't, just as you are either pregnant or you aren't, I do think some people have it worse than others. Eg technically I passed my gtt, but because it was 0.1 under the limit we agreed that I did have it. Later readings confirmed it, if I tried to get away with a piece of fruit or pizza, as my pregnancy progressed, but i stayed Diet controlled both times quite easily. Whereas my friend ploughed hers with a reading of 13.0, and was on insulin almost immediately, no matter what she ate.

ConfusionIsNothingNew

It's stressful, isn't it? I'm currently sat during the 2hr wait, having drunk my sugary drink. I guess for you, speak to your midwife and ask if she would issue a letter even if you have GD? Do you have travel insurance yet? If not, I guess get it now, before you are diagnosed with GD, otherwise it is a pre-existing condition.

WeWere0nABreak

That is good to know. I agree, the degree to which your GD is well managed definitely affects how likely you are to have issues on the plane or whilst away.

You are so focussed on the plane, but as people have tried to explain, it's not just about the flight. GD has real medical risks - and if you become ill while abroad, your insurance is highly unlikely to cover you (most insurance won't cover pregnancy at 32 weeks at all, but am assuming you have a specialist one like mama2be?). Imagine if you are unwell, unable to fly home and then need to pay for labour plus NICU care? It's about the travel insurance as much as the fitness to fly note.

Update: had the test yesterday and they said they would call either yesterday or today if I do have GD, but not call if I don’t. No call received so far but I won’t consider myself “off the hook” unless I get to 6pm tonight without one.

Namechange128

I think your information regarding travel insurance for pregnant women is a little out of date. Uncomplicated pregnancy is no longer considered a “medical condition”, it is considered discriminatory to charge more for a pregnant traveller (indeed, you are not required to declare it), and most standard insurance policies will cover you for any complications as a result of pregnancy, up to “term”.

They often will not pay out for costs incurred due to a “normal” labour/birth, but we are going to a country where I am confident the standard of care is as high as ours, and our EHIC cards will cover our costs to the same level that a citizen of that country would be covered.

I have just taken out a standard travel insurance policy with John Lewis, who confirmed that any medical issues as a result of pregnancy WILL be covered for the whole term, and if the baby did arrive whilst on holiday, we could just ring them up and they will immediately add the baby to our policy so that all medical care required by the baby will be covered also.

I appreciate your point about GD having extra risks, but I do not feel that the access to medical care where we are going would be inferior to the UK. If I had GD but it was easily diet-controlled as last time, I would feel confident to travel. If I needed insulin or other meds, then yes, I would reconsider the trip, but I expect the airline may not allow me to fly in that instance anyway.

I would ask for the readings anyway, OP. As you know, it's not really a black and white answer; it's a sliding scale with an arbitrary cut off. If you pass but are v near the cut off, as you get nearer 35/36 weeks, you might not pass. Get the data and you can adjust your diet (nothing dramatic, just cutting out things like fruit juice for a few weeks).

Hope you smashed it!

Thanks WeWere0nABreak!

Still no phone call, so I'm hopeful.....

Yes, getting the actual figures is a good idea. I'm sure they will send them to my midwife, so I'll ask her at my appt next week.