Day 18-

So as kind of a continuation of yesterday, I am going to talk about flight travel today and Transport Security Administration, because, TSA deserves it’s own day. So if you were to have T1D and were going to fly one might think that all the needles and insulin would cause some issues right? Actually, no, TSA and all the security measures actually are pretty easy and straight forward with insulin, syringes, glucose meters, test strips, extra CGM sensors, we can even bring our own unopened juice boxes or gels through security and it is all good. I just have to tell them I have T1D, make sure my insulin has the prescription label, and what bag it is all in. Remember, we have to carry it on with us due to the potential of lost bags, also cargo hold temperature, and we just plain need it with us all of the time. Where the issue comes in, and it is a HUGE issue is the medical devices. Somewhere in their training, and I am so sure it is the longest training in the universe, they were completely misguided about insulin pumps, CGMS when it comes to whole body scanners. So it is very very VERY important to know that both insulin pumps and the transmitters on the CGM CANNOT be exposed to strong magnetic fields, i.e. x-ray and whole body scanners (a form of x-ray). It will actually kill both pumps and the CGM transmitter.. like not work at all immediately. All of the pump companies and CGM companies have issued formal letters saying exactly this. So when I fly I have to opt out of the whole body scanner. Sounds simple right? Nope! Since I am a female I have to wait for a female agent to come pat me down and search me, if I have checked luggage that usually gets searched too, and they have to have me touch my pump and swab me to make sure my pump is not a bomb. Ok, so I understand this is all for security and appreciate them and how hard their jobs are. It is when they ask me why I am opting out that they like to argue, and argue, and argue with me that my pump can go through the machine. Oh, and I mean argue. I have finally gotten to the point where I try not to tell them I have an insulin pump, I just tell them I have a medical devices implanted in me that cannot go through the scanner. Just a FYI pacemakers can’t either, so this isn’t such a foreign concept. I have even tried showing them letter from my pump and CGM companies but that completely doesn’t matter at all. It is all so frustrating and idiotic sometimes I wonder if it is all not for real and just a joke. Please know I don’t mind being searched or being tested for bombs, which is what has to happen when I opt out, but I would love for once to just be able to do that and move on. I will give you some examples of the fun. I was in Huston visiting a friend and doing and a metal demo for her class and was travelling home. I told them I had to opt out, which then we argued about being able to go through the scanner (a lot of times I just tell them if my pump fails they are liable for the $7000 for a new one and that usually works), and I had to wait for a female agent. They proceeded to put me in this 5’ long x 3’ wide x 7’ tall Plexiglas “holding” box in the middle of all the security lines. It was actually pretty funny because the box has holes in a circle in the side to talk through but they looked like breathing holes. The box did not have a top so it was open to the room. So people were swarmed all around this box in TSA security lines and I was standing there barefoot, with pig tails, and a tie-dye t-shirt. One passenger passed me and made a joke about me being a bad person and the TSA agent told him he wasn’t allowed to talk to me. I had to wait about 10 minutes that time, which is actually not that long, and the female agent was very nice, and I went on my way. A lot of times they see my medical alert tattoo while searching me and say “oh”, like seeing my tattoo makes it more legit?!? Recently I flew for a quick trip, less than 24-hour trip to Boston to be screened for a human clinical trial for a new T1D therapy. Don’t worry I will talk about that on a later day. I was leaving from GR, and if you have flown recently you know they have been redoing all their security so it was a mess. I told them I opted out and had plenty of time before my flight. I waited 10 minutes for a female agent, 15 minutes for a female agent, 20 minutes for a female agent, all the while I am just standing off to the side while other passengers are going through the scanner that has a female agent manning it and she is talking to me intermittently. I finally told one of the agents I was going to miss my flight, he proceeded to not do anything and tell me they were doing the best they could. Then another agent came close to me and I told him the same thing and that I had been waiting 25 minutes. He was quiet and then announced that people with medical devices could follow him through the metal detector. Then the female agent said, “Why didn’t you say anything?” as she was searching me and she commented how calm I was. I told her I was screaming on the inside, and really folks if I had screamed and made a scene I would have been detained. As I got to the gate they closed the doors behind me. Yes there are other flights, but this trip was very tight and if I missed it I may have missed the opportunity to be in the trial. Not to mention I am a human being. I understand this is not the agents’ fault and that their training is just wrong. I am not sure how to make it better, except I now get there 3 times as early. I do know that I am not alone in this and have other T1D friends that had similar issues and went through the scanner, trusting the TSA’s knowledge and have their devices fail. It is just all screwed up. So if you want to have a fun adventure, come fly with me… I promise a full demonstration of TSA’s security measures.