Hello!
First, find a good endocrinologist that can monitor him. I KNOW this is so much easier said than done as beleive me, I had to see tons of them. I have no adrenals so my situation can get critical fast.

When you travel, make sure that you plan ahead and get several scripts of solu-cortef or solu-medrol, preferably in the accuvial with needles so that you can give him emergency shots. If you do not know how to give shots, learn. Your pcp can teach you but know in advance of having to do it under stress. Get a script for anti-nausea meds as well - zofran and/or phenergan, again, as much as you can. Carry a lot of extra cortef with you. Better to have what you do not need. Stay well hydrated and try not to get too tired (but really, taking it easy until adjust to time and environment is going to be critical). Dosing up ahead of time seems like a good idea in theory but only do that the day you leave - not weeks ahead as cortef has a short half life. Also, taking too much has symptoms too and if you take more than you need and do not use it, it can make you sick and tired as well so try to guage how you are and take as you need so as not to interfere with sleep.

Does he have a medic alert bracelet? Will anyone in the group be able to assist him if he has to go to the hospital?

We do have a great endocrinologist and if it weren’t for her my hubby would have been dead. That being said he is her only Addison’s patient. He did consult with two other endo’s and was not happy with their patient care. I have yet to find one that has ever even seen an Addison’s patient. Getting a written prescription for solu-cortef or solu-medrol will not be viable in China as we have been told and our doctor has written us a couple of scripts that we tried to get filled with the accuvial needles and we were told that was no longer available. I have had to inject him once several years ago but we have not been able to get the medication refilled here since. I will have to ask the doctor and our pharmacist again to see if it is available again here. It will be hard for him not to get exhausted and over excited after a 17 hour flight to China we only have a half a days rest before we get our daughter and then we are in China for 17 days before we can return home.

We will be traveling with a group of about 10 and an interpreter, but I had a friend that got ill in China and had to go to the hospital and it was an absolute nightmare, and she didn’t have a rare disease!

As for a medic alert bracelet….He did have one and we found it absolutely useless! When he crashed in Nevada and the EMS came to pick him up I showed him the medic alert and he could have cared less, then when we got to the hospital and showed the ER doctor we got about the same response. I was on the phone to his endo doc at 3am and she had to call and explain to the emergency room doctor what addison’s was and how to treat it. I actually had a screaming match with this doctor as he wanted to do everything else except simply give him 100mg of cortisone, in which when he finally did my husband was fine minutes later. That was our first experience with the medic alert. Then we also showed an emergency room doctor his medic alert bracelet when he had to be rushed in after an auto accident and again got the same response. I find it easier to explain it myself and his employees are aware of his addison’s and know what to do also

[QUOTE=rumpled;3325350]Hello!
First, find a good endocrinologist that can monitor him. I KNOW this is so much easier said than done as beleive me, I had to see tons of them. I have no adrenals so my situation can get critical fast.

When you travel, make sure that you plan ahead and get several scripts of solu-cortef or solu-medrol, preferably in the accuvial with needles so that you can give him emergency shots. If you do not know how to give shots, learn. Your pcp can teach you but know in advance of having to do it under stress. Get a script for anti-nausea meds as well - zofran and/or phenergan, again, as much as you can. Carry a lot of extra cortef with you. Better to have what you do not need. Stay well hydrated and try not to get too tired (but really, taking it easy until adjust to time and environment is going to be critical). Dosing up ahead of time seems like a good idea in theory but only do that the day you leave - not weeks ahead as cortef has a short half life. Also, taking too much has symptoms too and if you take more than you need and do not use it, it can make you sick and tired as well so try to guage how you are and take as you need so as not to interfere with sleep.

Does he have a medic alert bracelet? Will anyone in the group be able to assist him if he has to go to the hospital?