I got a prescription from my doctor to carry ‘supplies’ to the Dominican…
I didn’t need it ‘cuz my wife was frantically saying ‘diabetico’ to the airport
gaurds when they started eying my needles!

Up against the wall, por favor!

PM

Have a good trip.

Jeff Gui
g…@sequoia.com

I did once, but I’ve never had any problems so I don’t bother anymore.
When my Novopen I showed up, they were curious, but I explained what
it was and they looked uninterested.
—
Bruce                   Institute of Advanced Scientific Computation
br…@liverpool.ac.uk   University of Liverpool

Now, my most embarrasing moment where if anyone tells,
I’ll deny everything:)…  A couple of years ago flying
firstclass on British Airways from Gatwick back to Dallas,
I left my syringe in the airplane lav!  We were almost to
the runway and when one of the stews found the thing, we
turned around and went back all the way to the gate.
Security boarded the plane.  No announcements were made
that I recall.  The stew, I think, remembered me in there
and security and her approached me quitely.  It didn’t
take very long to straighten out the situation, but I
was humbled very quickly!

Sam_Man…@mcimail.com

I’ve never had a problem either.  The airport inspection dudes
are probably just bored by us after a while.  About 1/200
people are Type I’s (roughly), and many more Type II’s.  And
how many THOUSANDS of people travel through busy airports each
day?  There aren’t many of us, but they see us all the time.

Before going to Australia about 2 years ago, I called the
consulate to ask if I needed a prescription to get insulin if
my supply were to get lost or damaged.  The lady informed me
(rather snootily) that "Australia is a civilized country" and
I would have no difficulties if the need arose.  Well, gee, just
thought I’d ask.  

So, carrying a three month supply of syringes, and a couple of
liter bottles of a mysterious white liquid, the customs dudes
just let me pass right through.

Kelly Miller
mil…@aries.scs.uiuc.edu
Australia IS a civilized country, by the way.  And the white
liquids were the samples I was bringing with me.  Harmless,
really, though maybe a slight bit acidic for airline travel
(they were only pH 0.7!).  :^)

>In article <3jlscn$…@nntp1.u.washington.edu>
>           et…@u.washington.edu "Jan Ettel" writes:

>Unfortunately, not everyone has seen it as levity, as was intended,
>and I’ve been obliged to apologise for it.

>–
>—————————————————–
>Ian Preece                 i…@dktower.demon.co.uk

>IT Project Specialist      Ideas for hire.
>—————————————————–

Hi Ian

Please don’t apologize for having a sense of humor.  Too many people
don’t seem to know how to look at life thru the lighter side.  They take
everything to the extreme and read things into something said that not
only isn’t accurate, but not even there.

This is one poster who loves a deep, serious discussion, but also would
not know how to live life with no humor in it.

Tari

….beginning of embassy visit story deleted….>

>eventually tipped it all back on the heap and left me to sort it out…
>with one exception… my blood-sampling "Stabber".  

….wonderful Big Men with Big Guns stuff snipped….

>Presumably, the theory was that I might have vaulted over the bullet-proof
>glass barriers and sampled somebody to death with it…  (despite the fact
>that I could probably do more harm with a sharp pencil…and there’s no
>chance of me vaulting over *anything*, let alone a bandit screen!)

Thanks for the wonderful story Ian! I am personally taking this one not
as Yet Another Lesson Learned, but as a great story over which I am still
giggling. The picture of you sampling people to death is priceless! Thank
you for the gift. Sometimes a little levity helps me more than one
more lesson to tuck away in order avoid a future possible problem (not
that I’m at all against avoiding future possible problems – I’m just
totally in favor of an occasional good laugh). In fact, the more the
better as far as I’m concerned, so please keep ‘em coming!

Jan
et…@u.washington.edu

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

(Ian Preece) writes:
> I recently had to visit an embassy building, here in the UK.

> [....]

> I use a "Penlet", the one that comes with the meter, and they got *really*
> excited about the fact that it had a little spring-loaded spike inside.
> There was *no*way* they were going to let it in the building, and heavy,
> mean-looking gentlemen with Large Guns appeared, sealed it in a plastic bag
> with an Official Label on it and carried it, at arm’s length, to a big,
> armoured, blast-proof box and locked it inside.

> [....]

> Presumably, the theory was that I might have vaulted over the bullet-proof
> glass barriers and sampled somebody to death with it…

Though it is, perhaps, unlikely, there is the "spreading HIV infection"
scenario to consider.  Suppose a random loony, who happened to be infected
with HIV, stuck himself with his "Penlet" (smeared his blood all over the
sharp bits, even, to increase the "dosage"), and then stuck you with it….
would you feel comfortable about that?  Such things do happen…. and with
embassy buildings so often used as political targets, you can’t really
fault them for their concern about security.

Do you carry a note from your doctor, stating that you’re diabetic, and so
need to eat regularly, carry these supplies with you at all times, and so
on?  It may seem silly or unnecessary, but it’s a good idea.  Arguing with
embassy staff (or whoever) may get you good stories to tell…. you may be
right, ethically-morally-and-politically correct, and absolutely justified
in being outraged…. but for completing whatever business you came to do,
without impacting your health by being forced to surrender food/supplies
that you need, the simple efficiency of a doctor’s note is often the best
way to go.

> …. (despite the fact that I could probably do more harm with a sharp
> pencil…and there’s no chance of me vaulting over *anything*, let alone
> a bandit screen!)

Was *everyone* else in the building behind bullet-proof barriers?  Or just
the embassy employees?  Odd though it may seem, they were probably concerned
about other visitors, as well as their own staff.  :-)

=============================================================================
Barbara Petersen
b…@velvet.com
peter…@netcom.com

>> Now:  does anyone else get a letter from endocrinologist before travelling in a
>> foreign country, just in case you have to "demonstrate a need" for syringes?  I
>> suspect my dr. thinks I worry too much.

About seventeen years ago, when I moved to the midwest for grad school (I grew
up on the west coast), I travelled through Canada where gas was, at that time,
much cheaper.  I had no problems going across the border into Canada, but spent
an hour or so while the border inspectors checked my insulin on the way back
in.  At that time, they suggested it would be to my benefit if I had had a
letter.  I haven’t travelled outside the U.S. since, except to fly to
conferences.  I’ve carried the letter, but never had to use it (yet).

Orville R. Butler