Diabetes related Preparations for Walking the Camino

I didn't have any big issues as a diabetic walking the Camino. Exercise is good for a diabetic, and walking the Camino is a ton of exercise. Exercise makes my body produce some of its own insulin, so I did more testing of my blood sugar than usual, and less injecting of insulin than I do at home. If I could walk 20 km per day, like we did on the Camino, I practically would not have diabetes. My other health considerations were that I had a stroke a year earlier, had a bulged disk, and mild arthritis. I did not take any meds for the stroke except for baby aspirin, and my back is basically in quiessence as long  as I don't do anything stupid, so the insulin issues were my only concern. FYI, all this stuff is normal stuff for many 68 year olds. Getting old is not for sissies. I suffered the stroke in 2017, a month after retiring, as explained in my piece in Backpacker magazine. For the diabetes I inject two different type of insulin, one slow acting and one fast acting. I also take an oral med, Metformin.  I squirreled away enough supplies for the 6 week hike, but how to carry them?  The 2 injector pens I was using could be at room temperature, but the 10 other pens had to be refrigerated. At home I used one injector pen of each type of insulin per week. 

I made a portable cooler for the 10 pens I had to carry. It had a thermometer which read the temperature of the inside of the cooler, and closed by a velcro closure. The material it was made of was Reflectix, available from Home Depot, held together by packing tape and velcro. Reflectix a sheet of air bubble plastic with a reflecting skin on inside and outside. It weighs    oz, and holds the 2 boxes of pens and the 2 freezer gel packs which would be frozen each night when possible. The pens were put in a refrigerator each night when possible.