Holidays and jabbing - what did you do / plan to do?

[madeinthe80z]

Little poll because I’m currently deciding between the following options. What did you do and would you do it differently if you had the chance over again…

1. take the pen with you - same dose, same day, no changes
2. take the pen with you - take a lower dose on normal jab day
3. dont take the pen but alter days to take just before you go and as soon as you get back
4. dont take the pen and miss dose(s) start again on same dose when you return
5. dont take the pen and miss dose(s) start again on a lower dose when you return
6. another option I haven’t thought of!

Thanks for all your responses so far! I’m going for 12 days and I am torn between taking my dose just before and then straight away when I get home OR taking it with me but doing a lower dose as I’ve only just moved up to 5mg so suppression is higher and side effects (although mild and manageable) are more than I would like to deal with on a holiday we’ve waited and saved for!

@Bigearringsbigsmile, I used a Cruxer insulin vial cooler travel case. It has an ice-pack in it and kept everything cold for the journey. This does rely on staying somewhere that has a fridge-freezer, so that you can store the medication in the fridge and re-freeze the block for the journey home.

Personally I did 4 and never had any problems. I didn't want the faff of taking the pen away with me, I was only ever on max 5mg though.

I still found I had reasonable suppression for most of the holiday. I went away for 2 weeks all inclusive, took my last dose the Monday before we flew on the saturday and gained 3lbs. Which I dont think is much for a 2 week AI including water weight

Unfortunately I then got pregnant on said holiday so had to stop the MJ 😁

I just dosed as usual. Dead easy. That said, I didnt holiday immediately after starting or moving up a dose, not out of planning but it just didnt happen.

Option 1 for me. I’ve been on MJ since Oct 24. Have travelled loads with my pen in. FRIO wallet in hand luggage. It’s always worked out fine both on short and long haul trips.

Currently away, hit goal the day before I left and have just changed my days. Will mean a missed dose but I've completely overhauled my life and have not gone back to old habits.

I've been careful on holiday with quantities but have enjoyed eating different stuff and also having lost over 6 stone I've felt fabulous in smaller clothes and being able to be more active.

Same.
Why bother taking WLI which are an aid to weight loss and instilling good habits if you still treat holidays as a stuff your face free for all, which I knew was what I used to do pre weight loss.

4

Life’s too short to miss out on different foods when you’re away. MJ and obesity aren’t going anywhere so I’d have a week off enjoy a few treats and get back to it the day after you get home. I do the same at Xmas. Lost 7 stones over two years now. I make it work for me, not control me.

Who says people stuff their face and treat it as a free for all. I certainly don’t but it means I can have the occasional dessert or ice cream or have some dressing on my salad. It’s not necessarily about gorging oneself while not taking the jab.

So I think it depends on a) maintaining or b) still losing and b) what dose (eg if take break on higher dose need to drop down). I’ve been maintaining for close to a year and I’m not worried about either overeating or gaining a couple of kgs so it’s def option 3/4 (eg I’ll take a dose on the day I get back, but as it’s a 2 week holiday i’ll still have missed one). Same dose as I’m taking 2mg.

For me, it's to keep jabbing as normal. I don't need the "ooh holiday time to eat to excess" approach back in my life. It's how obesity crept up on me in the first place. There's always some good reason to indulge- I'm on holiday, it's Friday night after a long hard week, it's a birthday, I'm at a wedding, its Christmas, it's our anniversary, I got a promotion, etc etc etc- and then all the good reason days melted into one another and I just ate and drank what I wanted most of the time. The WLIs have helped so much with unlearning that constant "you deserve a treat" thing. I don't want to take a fortnight off living without the constant urge to consume something.

But all that said, if you will be happier having the holiday off and eating whatever you like then go for it, it's perfectly fine to have that approach too! It's not like a couple of weeks indulging on holiday will undo months of not doing so and I know a lot of people whose holidays are really centred around the dinners and who would feel so short changed if they couldn't enjoy those as they always have so I do understand why you'd consider it.

I didn’t take with last year when I was still in the losing weight stage. I just had the mindset that I wasn’t going to sabotage.

And I managed to maintain the good habits. I took the day before I went which was a day early. I lost 1kg in the 10 days I was away.

The first time I went away after I started on the medication was just after Christmas, I just took the pen with me as it was in the U.K.
The first time I went abroad I opted for number 3, wiggled my days back one day a week for a couple of weeks and then took it the day before I left. We were away for 10 days so I just took it as soon as I got home and carried on.
Almost 2 years in and 6 months at my new normal weight I’m much more relaxed, we tend to do 10 day holidays rather than 2 full weeks (it’s the sweet spot for both of us!) and I tend to just take it on my normal days, don’t travel with the pen and just pick it back up again when I get home.

Yeah for me it isn’t about gorging myself, it’s about being able to enjoy in moderation what is on offer without side effects.

Option 1, I don't see a problem taking the pen if I go more than 7-8 days. Did it last year and will do it this year.

I may do Option 3 if I am just going for a week, I would jab 1 day early and then 1 day late for the next one. Worked as well recently.

Exactly. I’m a super responder to MJ so even a small amount of high fat foods can cause stomach issues so when I’m on holiday it’s nice to have a little bit of something that I haven’t eaten for months like an ice cream or a bit of cheese or some aioli with bread. It’s not about going on a binge it’s about enjoying a small treat occasionally without being ill.

I took the jab whilst in Italy. I still enjoyed the food albeit small portions and still lost weight that week, mostly I think as we did a lot of walking.

My previous comment re stuffing oneself is there have been numerous other threads where people have wanted to 'indulge ' on AIs etc or openly said they've wanted to eat and drink with abandon!

Those of you who have travelled with your pen, does it get picked up at security? Have bought a case and have decided to take it. Just wondering what to expect at the airport.

Mine hasn't. I travelled with it in a tupperware and with a prescribers letter.

Never been picked up. Nor has my family member with T1 diabetes who travels everywhere with an insulin pen in a Frio case.

Brilliant thank you

I just kept it with the box and the pharmacy label, I checked with people at the security lane and they weren't bothered at all.

I kept the needles in my hold luggage though. I think I will just put needles into each case we have with us so if one goes missing it's not a disaster but I won't need to jab until I am 6 days into the holiday.

MJ has helped me change my entire diet for the long term. I don’t see a holiday as an opportunity for “treats” - eating that food isn’t something I do any more. I eat delicious food now and MJ doesn’t stop me doing it while I’m away. Yes, I eat less, but I eat what I want and I eat healthily. I’ve used MJ to help me change the entire way I eat so that I keep the weight off long term. So I don’t see a holiday as an opportunity to go back to what I did before.
I use a Breezy bag to keep my pen below 30C, and it doesn’t need an ice pack or a fridge to maintain that. I take it with me and inject as normal.

Lucky me - another holiday here. This time I took the jab one day early. Having the worst side effects while away (haven’t had side effects like this for over a year). I have changed my mind. It’s not worth the risk of ruining the holiday. Have a break.

I jabbed the day we left and didn't bring any more. I'm into my second week now so need to be careful I don't overdo it. My appetite hasn't increased yet but it's very hot here. I feel my tummy is a bit bigger though. If it's a 2 to 3lb gain I can live with it. Anything more I'll be upset. It's hard enough going back to life and responsibility without feeling I have to work extra hard and deprive myself to undo a holiday. I don't mind a slower loss, I just want to reverse holiday damage in two weeks or so not two months.