Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘traveling with diabetes’

Aug 14

Diabetes on the North Coast Trail

Everyone involved with Connected in Motion impresses me; their sense of adventure coupled with their ability to jam diabetes into those adventures is something I draw inspiration from.  (Come on … go look at their social media feeds and tell me you don’t want to be part of something that explores this kind of landscape.)  Their community is centered around empowering people with diabetes to explore, take responsibility, and get outside.

This week, 13 members of the Type 1 community are coming together to take on an epic adventure – completing the North Coast Trail – a 60km trek on the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.  They’ll travel by air, van, boat, and foot. On the trail they expect river crossings, beach trekking, miles of mud to their knees, ladders, and rope rappels (all while carrying 70L packs), bringing diabetes along on one of the most challenging backpacking treks.

Even though I’m not in a position to join an adventure team this year (adventures in parenting taking precedence at the moment), I am really excited to follow along with the crew as they travel this week.  I’ve been watching the social media feeds with interest, like this one, with careful packing all planned out:

“Since 2008, I’ve used my background in anthropology and journalism to promote the idea that peer support and experiential education play vital roles in sustainable health systems and I’m honored to have this opportunity to help tell this CIM Adventure story,” said Blair Ryan, official photog of the 2017 adventure team. (Those are the contents of her pack in that photo up there.)

I think about what I bring to leave the house, just for a few hours, with diabetes.  My purse always has glucose tabs, an insulin pen, snacks, a back up infusion set, and my glucose meter.  This is simply to walk out of the house.  Keeping those supplies close makes me feel safe.  Packing a backpack with necessary life supplies and wandering off into the woods taps into some of my biggest diabetes-related fears (namely not being adequately prepared for trouble), making me admire the Connected in Motion adventure team even more.  

They aren’t afraid of being caught off guard.  In fact, they plan on it and plan for it.

“We’ll be thinking about where the best place for each of us to put our pump and CGM sites are before hitting the trail. We’ll avoid places where our packs will consistently rub (certain areas on our stomachs), or places that might get snagged when loading up a heavy pack (certain areas on the arms),” said Jen Hanson.

Join the Support Crew and Cheering Squad Facebook group to send the adventure team your encouragement, and to see where they are in their journey.  You can also follow along with the adventure team on Instagram, twitter, Facebook, and through the Connected in Motion website.

Safe travels to all our fellow PWD!  <3

You might also like:

Guest Post: See You in the Slipstream! The One About Balancing Diabetes Hope vs. Fear: The Video Edition.

May 11

2 Comments

“Don’t you all know each other?”

A few weeks ago, we were in Venice and I almost walked right into the canal because I saw a lady with an insulin pump on her waist and a CGM sensor on her arm, speaking Italian to the shopkeeper and casually wearing her pancreas on her hip.

The flurried rush of emotions – excitement, understanding, the urge to shout “one of us!” – flooded me.  I grabbed my husband’s arm and said, “Hey DID YOU SEE HER PUMP?!” and he was all, “No, where?” and I pointed my finger while trying to make it look like I was itching my nose.

And my daughter said, “Yeah mom, I saw her!  And her pump! Do you know her? Don’t you all know each other?”

(You know, I wish we did.)

And even though we don’t all know one another yet, we can contribute to the growth and collective power of our diabetes community by participating in Diabetes Blog Week.  Sign-up details are on Karen’s blog – this is the 8th year! – and topics will be provided throughout the week.  And if you’re not into running a blog, you’re welcome to guest post here on some of the topics, if you’d like.  (Email me!  kerri (at) sixuntilme  (dot) com. )  Also, you can shape-shift the topics to fit into 140 characters on Twitter, or through Instagram, or other social sharing platforms.  Don’t let the “blog” in blog week keep you from sharing your story.  All voices are welcomed!

You might also like:

A Look at Diabetes Blog Week, With Karen! Diabetes Blog Week: Message Monday. Diabetes Blog Week (Late): Mantra Me.

Jun 28

6 Comments

Traveling with Diabetes.

Over on the Tandem website, there’s a new bit about traveling with diabetes (that I helped craft up), and that went live this morning.  You can read more here:

But it made me think about my travel experiences this past weekend (I was in Seattle for the ConnecT1D retreat – more on that in a few days, as I’m waiting for some input from the group out there), where diabetes was not at the top of my concern list, and yet I still spent some quality time with the TSA agents.

Most of the time, the issues at TSA screening points are minimal.  There are moments when discussions get a little combative or feel intrusive, but I’m not the most comfortable flyer, so it’s kind of par for the whole travel course.  (As in, everything makes me twitch.)  This past weekend, I was pulled at the Seattle airport for extra screening because my bag tested positive for explosives.

This resulted in having everything screened with an extra level of scrutiny, including but not limited to the TSA agent unfolding all of my dirty laundry (actual dirty laundry, not metaphorical) and inspecting it.  Made me feel weird that I folded all of my dirty clothes before packing them and also grateful that I didn’t accidentally bring something dodgy on my trip (waves giant exploding sex toy).  My bag kept flagging as an issue, to the point where they spent 20 extra minutes examining everything in it, from my laptop to my phone to the hair brush at the bottom of my backpack.  They even took a good look at my baby, who was kicking wildly at the inconvenience and making his presence visibly known.

“It might be your curling iron,” the TSA lady said, putting it in a bin and sending it through the x-ray screening for the second time.

“Maybe,” I said, wishing they’d give me my shoes back so I wasn’t toes’ing all over the highly trafficked airport floor.

“Your baby seems amused, though,” she said, watching my stomach undulate underneath my shirt.

“Yeah, he would prefer I visit the bathroom soon,” I said, while my son bounced around on my bladder.  “But he’s definitely amused.”

40 minutes later, the agents concluded that I was not a threat and that my items all cleared.  The agents barely looked at my pump and my CGM was a blip on their radar.  I was sent on my merry way, realizing after a few waddling steps that diabetes played a role of ZERO in my TSA hold-up.  Which was a weirdly nice change of pace from the “Excuse me, miss – is that a pancreas in your pocket?”

You might also like:

If I Knew Then: Traveling with Diabetes. Flight Anxiety and Diabetes. SOP for TSA and PWD.

Mar 25

8 Comments

Stress!!!! and Diabetes.

Do your blood sugars respond to food?  Of course.  How about to insulin?  And exercise?  A big “hell yes” to those, too.  Food, insulin, and exercise have tangible influence on my blood sugar levels.  But one influencer that I don’t often take into account is stress … which is a ridiculous variable for me to ignore because stress can make my blood sugars leap over tall basal rates in a single bound.

Oh look – a video!

How does stress change the mapping of your blood sugars?

You might also like:

Time is of the Essence. Flight Anxiety and Diabetes. Despite Insulin …

Sep 22

10 Comments

Not Guten for My Gut.

Skipping gluten was once classified as a preference, but the last few weeks have shown me – beyond a shadow of a doubt – that gluten is not “guten” for my gut.  It feels good, figuring out what was causing so much chaos, and I feel more human, and much healthier.

So all that “oooh, so healthy!!” stuff aside, going gluten-free while traveling is a pain in the ass.

Choosing gluten-free options isn’t unfamiliar territory for me, as we did skipped gluten entirely for Birdy for the first 15 months of her life.  I’m accustomed to carefully reading food labels while shopping, and I’m no stranger to reshaping recipes to fit nutritional needs.  But on the road, it’s hard to tell what foods contain what.

Last week, my family and I were in Vienna, Austria and it was my first experience with “needing” to be gluten-free and being away from home at the same time.  At home, I can read labels.  In Vienna, I couldn’t even read the menu unless it had English subtitles.  The language barrier, plus the dessert constants, made this trip a challenge.

“Let’s stop at that cafe and get strudel!”

“How about some chocolate cake?”

“The schnitzel looks delicious!!”

Everything in Vienna looked delicious, and covered in a layer of gluten.

Being gluten-free is a double-edged sword, but one “for good,” as my daughter would say, because rethinking carb consumption is (sigh) good for my blood sugars.  Avoiding the cream-filled desserts and opting for coffee instead gave me some really steady post-prandial blood sugars.  Not piling on the carbs made for awesome Dexcom graphs, but it was frustrating to have yet another food rule in place.

“I’m pissed off because it’s not a matter of choice.  I like choosing healthier foods, but I really don’t like being forced to because of all this gluten crap,” I said to Chris over yet another boiled-chicken-over-greens lunch.

“I know,” he said, diving compassionately headfirst into a plate of schnitzel.

And sometimes things just got all screwy.  Like on the plane ride home to Boston, where I avoided the roll of bread and opted for the chicken-and-rice meal choice, only to find out from the flight attendant that the sauce on the chicken contained flour (the presence of which was confirmed by my belly about 45 minutes later).  Or when I ate a bag of plane pretzels, forgetting that I needed to care about gluten.  My brain isn’t rewired yet and I need to constantly remind myself (see also:  grabbing a bite of Birdy’s breakfast cereal, only to remember that it contains gluten, and then spitting it into the garbage).

Because it’s not all in my head.  Removing the fog and bloating from my body’s repertoire is such a relief, and I have no desire to go back to the way I’ve been feeling over the last year.  The few times I made the mistake of eating something with gluten in it, I regretted it.  The return of bloating, headaches, abdominal discomfort, and exhaustion were a reminder that my body does not respond well to gluten.  Even if the tests for celiac and gluten sensitivity came back negative, there are clear and present markers that I feel better going gluten-free.

This is an adjustment, but in time, I’ll have a plan.  I’ll have this figured out.  My health is worth the investment.  Besides, Riesling is gluten-free, so I’ll be just fine.

You might also like:

Gluten-Free Chicken Noodle Soup. Gluten-Free Pizza Crust for the Epically Lazy. Belly Ache.
« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers