The Endo Intro

Posted on by

3

I tend to “reward” myself with two things: new nail polish or fancy drinks from Starbucks. With my skinny chai tea latte in hand, I prepared myself for what was about to happen: the endo appointment *cue dramatic music*.

I’m going to be honest, I was going into this appointment with a slightly sour mood. You see, I had been informed via a piece of paper in the mail that my appointment date, time, and DOCTOR had been changed. When I called to inquire, they told me that my current doctor wasn’t seeing patients right now. I felt like I had been dumped. I’ve been seeing this doctor 4 times a year for about 5 years. She’s the one that worked with me to get my best A1c in years at my last appointment. But now she left without a letter of explanation or even a goodbye! Did our time together mean nothing to you, Dr. H?! I thought we had a connection, I thought you were there for me…

So while I was sure this new doctor who I have never met before would be fine, I was still a little bitter. I also knew that my A1c would not be as good as last time. I had been running high during the night, for a few weeks when I had an infection, and had slipped up on some of the bad habits I’ve been working to change. I just didn’t know how much higher it would be.

So I sat in the exam room waiting to meet this new doctor and hear my A1c, while catching up on other Dblogs (might as well do something enjoyable while I wait). When she walked in, she was all smiles. We introduced ourselves and she told me my A1c was 7.0. Eh not the amazingness I’m hoping for, but I’m okay with it for now. Recap: started in November at 8.0, then 7.2, then 6.7 (!!!), and now back up to 7.0. Since there hasn’t really been much of a pattern to my highs and lows, the doctor didn’t really make any adjustments. I know what I need to work on and so that’s what I’ll do. She ordered some blood work and I was on my way. I did learn something interesting though. The doctor wanted to do a blood test for celiacs disease. I know that diabetics are at a much higher risk for celiacs, but I thought that you’d only test someone if they were having stomach pains. She told me that most people are asymptomatic and don’t even know they have it. I’ll know in a few days if I can cross this autoimmune disease off my list.

While not much of an enlightening appointment, I’m glad it’s over. A year ago, I would have been thrilled with the results, but now I’ve set my sights higher. My goal for next appointment is to get back into the 6’s: 6.7 or lower. Also to find a new doctor that’s closer to where I live. Since I’m basically starting over with a doctor anyways, I rather have one that isn’t a 40 minute drive away. And preferably one that “gets me” and actually makes adjustments. I think it’s about time.

Runner’s High, Blood Sugar’s Low

Posted on by

3

I’m not a runner.
I mean I can run, but it is just not my preferred form of exercise. I much rather do circuits, play tennis, go for a bike ride, use the elliptical or even just go for a walk. But I’ve secretly always envied runners, how easy and effortless they make it look and the sense of freedom that comes along with running. I’ve always wanted that “runner’s high”, that feeling of euphoria but also tranquility that one gets from running.
Running for me has always been a challenge. My face turns beet red, my shins start to hurt, and even though I know I’m in pretty good shape from the other exercise I do, I still look like I’m struggling with every step. It’s not a pretty sight.
This past weekend though, I decided that I wanted, well maybe needed, to go for a run. It was a beautiful evening, absolutely perfect weather. I just couldn’t stand the idea of working out inside when it was so beautiful outside. Besides that, I had a lot on my mind and just wanted to do something that would either help me clear it or help me work through it. Running laps around a nearby park seemed like the perfect activity. 
I loaded up my car and headed to the recreational park. There were plenty of people there: families at the playground, people playing tennis, and other walkers and runners. I started to get nervous. I don’t like to run in public, usually I just run on the treadmill in my basement. 
I had checked my blood sugar before I started. It was 89, knowing this was too low to start exercising, I had eaten a pack of fruit snacks. I pulled out everything that I would need to have with me on my run: 2 packets of fruit snacks in case I dropped low, my CGM, my car keys, and my phone. My pants (like the majority of women’s athletic apparel) did not have pockets. Anticipating this, I brought a runner’s pack, essentially a fanny pack, that clipped around my waist. I stuffed everything inside and clipped it around me. Again I started to feel slightly self-conscious, I wished that I didn’t need to carry all of those supplies with me. 
I started toward the path, turning up my music. I began walking and gradually picked up the pace to a steady jog. However, the runners pack wouldn’t rest on my hips and instead kept bouncing up, becoming more distracting and uncomfortable. I alternated between trying to reposition it so it would stay and trying to keep my ear buds from falling out of my ears. I could feel my face turning red already. I jogged passed a group of older men sitting on lawn chairs, facing the path. They’re probably thinking how ridiculous I look right now. I kept my head down and jogged past without looking at their faces. I hope they aren’t watching me. Pretty soon I approached a woman walking. She must have heard me coming because she moved over to let me by. At the pace that I was jogging, it took some time for me to actually pass her. She must think I’m so slow. I eventually passed her, still fussing with the pack around my waist. 
I was finishing my first lap. My shins hurt, I was starting to get a cramp, and I was still feeling out of sorts. My running app alerted me that I had completed my first mile. I knew I couldn’t stop. I hadn’t come this far to quit now. 

I passed those same men, and the walker again. Then I saw an older gentleman approaching from the opposite direction. He was walking, his arms swinging rapidly. He looked determined. We exchanged smiles. But in that moment, I realized it wasn’t just smiles that we exchanged. It was a recognition that we were both out on this beautiful summer evening, exercising to the very best of our abilities. For him it meant walking, for me, jogging at the steady pace I was going. We didn’t need to be marathon runners to enjoy the benefits of the exercise we were doing. All that mattered is that we were outside, doing the best that we could and enjoying our time. I realized that’s what everyone was doing at the park that evening. The men sitting together in their folding chairs were enjoying each other’s company, the families at the playground were enjoying quality time with their children, and the other walkers were enjoying their evening strolls. They weren’t paying attention to me, no more than I was paying attention to them. It didn’t matter to them that I was wearing a runners pack, or that I may not have had perfect running form. And even if they did notice, who cares?! The realization freed me from my own insecurities and I instead focused on putting one foot in front of the other and finishing what I came there to do. 
Lap 3 and lap 4 were much more enjoyable and after 30 minutes, I slowed to a walk to finish up my workout. Though my shins were aching, I was proud of myself for pushing through, physically and mentally. Next time I’ll go a little longer and further, but for that night, I was happy with my progress. I got back into my car, checking my CGM. 80, not too bad. As I pulled into my driveway, I started to feel the symptoms of a low. Sure enough, I tested my finger and saw the 52 flash on the screen. 
Well,  I guess the runner’s high came with a subsequent low. But I know that even a low won’t stop me the next time I decide to go for a run.

Medical Alert

Posted on by

10

“Is that a medical alert on your wrist?”

The question caught me off guard. I was at the counter at the bank and reached to grab my receipt. The teller was looking at my wrist.

You’d think this would be a common question. I’ve been wearing a medical alert for years now, but this was first time in quite some time that someone had noticed and asked about it.

“Oh, yea it is. It’s a piece of metal that you can fold around any watch band.”

“That’s so cool! Where’d you get it?”


I told her that I got it awhile ago online, and thanked her. I left wondering if perhaps she was diabetic too.

These days I wear my medical alert every day. Despite having a pump, which to me would be a sure sign that I’m diabetic, I know that it’s still important to wear an alert in case of an emergency situation. But while it’s important to alert an EMT, I don’t always want to alert every single person I come in contact with. A medical alert bracelet is an identifier. It says something about you: you  have a serious medical condition. While my alert does say diabetic, you may not see that at first glance. Instead, a person who sees it just knows that I have some kind of medical condition serious enough to need to wear an alert. There’s nothing wrong with wearing some kind of identifier. I do it all the time. Sometimes I wear a Jewish star, other times I wear a Michigan sweatshirt, or a Detroit Tigers t-shirt. These all tell you something about me: my religion, where I went to school, where I’m from. But those are identifiers that I choose to wear, that I want to show others. I don’t necessarily view my medical alert bracelet the same way, to me wearing it isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity.

I’ve gone through a few different medical alerts over the years, and went a few years without one. It’s been kind of like Goldilocks, trying different styles and options until one was just right.

I was allergic to my first medical alert bracelet. Ironic, right? My parents got it for me after I was diagnosed. My mom picked out a delicate sterling silver bracelet with the medical alert plate that was engraved with type 1 diabetes on one side and my name on the other. But after starting to wear it,  I began to develop a rash on my wrist where it was. Whether the bracelet actually gave me a rash or I just started scratching where it was, creating the rash, I’m not sure. But from that point on, I refused to wear it. After that one, I switched to a blue neoprene bracelet and wore that one until it started to fray. There were a few different bracelets after that, but those didn’t last too long either. And there was a brief time when I didn’t want to wear one at all.

I finally found one that worked for me, one that attached to my watch that I already wear every day, instead of being an added accessory. If you aren’t looking, you don’t see it, but it’s there in case of an emergency. While the red may have faded, it still reads “Diabetic Insulin Pump.”

That piece of metal has been on a few different watches over the years, but it’s always on me.  I forget that it’s even there. But while I might forget that I’m wearing a medical alert, it’s pretty hard to forget that I have diabetes.

Here’s the website where I got mine, they are called The MediBand and have a few different options you can choose from. It comes with a silver and gold band.
http://www.id-technology.com/

Potluck Problems and Personal Responsibility

Posted on by

3

This past week, my work had a potluck. I love potlucks, but I always struggle with what to bring. I attended another potluck the week before, this time with friends. For that potluck, I decided to bring red quinoa with roasted beets, raspberries, and pistachios. While I thought it was delicious, I still ended up going home with a ton of leftovers. So for the second potluck, I wanted to make something that I knew would be a hit. I decided to make Oreo mini cheesecakes. Basically you put a full Oreo in the bottom of a cupcake holder and pour the cheesecake mixture on top, bake it, then let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

When I brought my dessert to the potluck, everyone was really excited and the cheesecakes were going quickly. As we sat around the table, a coworker, about to take her first bite, turned to me and jokingly said, “So Reva, are you increasing our risk for diabetes with these?”

All eyes turned to me, “Um well, indirectly, yes,” I stammered out. There may have been some chuckles as everyone went back to eating the dessert, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this comment since. Not because I was offended at all, but because it really made me stop and think. I’ll start with the way the question itself was phrased. 

My coworker is incredibly smart, she also has her MPH, she knows about diabetes and she knows that I do too. Had she said to me, “Reva, are these going to give us diabetes?” or “Reva, are we going to have diabetes when we all finish these?” I would have easily said, No. That’s because although my dessert is well, a dessert and not healthy, eating it does not cause diabetes, definitely not type 1, but not type 2 either. But my coworker didn’t phrase it like that, she said, “is this going to increase our risk for diabetes?” For that answer, it depends on how you look at things and how much responsibility you as an individual want to take for the health of others.

Eating too many unhealthy desserts like my Oreo cheesecake can cause a person to gain weight. On the American Diabetes Association’s website, obesity and being overweight is listed as a risk factor and does increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes. So with that in mind, you could argue that a person eating my dessert is indirectly increasing their risk of type 2 diabetes. But that’s putting a lot of responsibility on me and not taking into account the decision and free will of the other person. Yes, I am increasing access to an unhealthy food option, but I am not forcing you to eat. It is still your choice if you are going to eat 1, 3, half of one, or none at all. More than that, I have no control over what you do when you get home. Maybe you went to the gym and burned off that cheesecake, maybe you stopped at McDonalds on the way home. So am I really increasing your risk after all?

I found myself contemplating my sense of responsibility when it comes to the health of others. I know I do feel a greater sense of personal responsibility just because of the fact that I am in the field of public health. Perhaps I should have brought a fruit salad like I was first considering to the potluck instead of a dessert. Or if I made the dessert, perhaps I should have used low fat and fat free ingredients or sugar substitutes. But on the other hand, I also want to be able to bring whatever I feel like to a potluck without feeling guilty even if I personally don’t always enjoy the fruit (or cheesecakes) of my labor.

What is our responsibility when it comes to the health of those around us, whether as diabetics, health care professionals, or just as a fellow human beings? It’s a good question, and one that I think everyone needs to figure out for themselves.

Oh and here’s the recipe because they really were delicious! 😉
 Martha Stewart Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes
What You Need:
 21 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 15 left whole, and 6 coarsely chopped
1 pound (16 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
Small pinch of salt
What You Need to Do:
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.
3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.
4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.
5. Enjoy!

Tethered by a Tube

Posted on by

12

Where’s your cell phone right now? Is it in your pocket? On the table/desk/night stand next to you? Is it in your purse/backpack/briefcase? Chances are if you are like me and my friends, your cell phone is within 5 feet of you most of the time. When someone says they don’t have their cell phone with them, it’s usually met with disbelief. Today, it sometimes feels like we are tethered to our phones, connected with an invisible string.

But what if you really were connected to your phone? You couldn’t put it down and just walk away. What if you didn’t have the option to leave it at home or in your bag and be without it for the day or even a few hours? After awhile, you probably would start to get annoyed. Carrying around an extra device constantly is an inconvenience. Where do you put it? What if you don’t have pockets? You can’t put it in a bag or purse since it’s connected to you. As slim as phones are today, it’s still extra bulk and weight.

Now, what if not carrying around your phone all the time meant that your health would suffer. You would literally start to feel sick. At first you would get really thirsty and have to pee all the time. Then you would start to get nauseous and maybe even dizzy or start to get a headache. Then you just feel like crap. That would suck, wouldn’t it?

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the world of insulin pumps!

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it has meant to me to be attached to a device constantly. To me having a pump is better than the alternative of daily injections, so mostly I just learned to deal. But while it has become part of my life, I still think about it from time to time. I also opted for a pump with tubing instead of the omnipod, so while I may complain about tubing from time to time, I know there are alternatives. However, I personally am not a fan of a tubeless pump, but I won’t get into that today.

What does wearing a pump mean to me?

  • Inconvenience. My pump is always with me (except for in the shower, while swimming, and often while I’m exercising), which means that I need to think about where it’s going to go. Often it can just go in a pocket, but I don’t always have pockets. Am I going to clip it to the outside of my clothes, wear it in a strap around my leg, or clip it under my clothes?
  • Planning. The pump only holds enough insulin to last 3 days, so I need to be thinking about where I’m going to be when it runs out. If I’m not going to be home, I need to have supplies with me so that I can refill and change my set. This means always thinking ahead and being prepared.
  • Being uncomfortable. I’m going to be honest, wearing a pump strapped around your leg under a skirt or dress is a little awkward and uncomfortable. Sleeping and rolling over to feel the pump dig into your side is uncomfortable. Waking up to find yourself wrapped in your cord is not pleasant. Figuring out what to do with the pump when you are getting intimate is slightly awkward as well. 
  • Questions. Wearing a pump, especially when it’s visible means questioning looks as well as curious people asking questions. “Oh, you have diabetes?” “Is that a pager?” “What is that?” “Are you checking your blood sugar?” “Is that an mp3 player?” “Does that have games on it?” (uh I wish!)
  • Freedom. It’s interesting how being tethered to an external device nearly 24/7 means more freedom, but it does. To me it means a less strict schedule of eating and even more freedom in what foods I can eat. 

I think that having the option to disconnect my pump when necessary makes wearing it a little more bearable. However, there are consequences. Being disconnected means I’m not getting any insulin which affects my blood sugar. It also means it’s possible to forget to connect it back to me. Lucky, I can count on one hand the number of times in the past 12 years that I’ve had a pump in which I’ve left and realized that I had forgotten it behind.

Despite all the inconveniences, I honestly am so very thankful for my pump! It has truly made my life so much easier and I can’t imagine life without it.

Frustrations

Posted on by

11

I haven’t been able to formulate much of a blog post lately, my apologies. So instead, I decided to take the diabetes related happenings in my life during the past week and summarize them into two lists: the Diabetes Frustrations and the Diabetes Triumphs:

Diabetes Frustrations

  • For the past week or two, I’ve noticed that my blood sugar has been sky rocketing after I eat even though I haven’t changed my carb counting or insulin dosing. Basically I’m not doing anything different from what I have been doing, but my bg numbers are going crazy! Pretty much every time I pick up my CGM, my reaction is WTF! I just don’t understand it. On top of that, I keep waking up in the middle of the night in the 300’s and feeling sick. I’ve been going to sleep at a perfectly fine number and still wake up high in the middle of the night. Not sure what’s going on, but it’s becoming incredibly frustrating.
Grumpy Cat seemed fitting
  •  On a related note, why is it that I never fail to hear my CGM go off in the middle of the night when my alarm is set at 180 and I’m at 186, but when I’ve been over 300 for hours….silence?! 
  • A couple of days ago, I had exactly enough time to workout, shower, change, and then leave so that I wouldn’t be late for a dinner party. But of course I had to have a low (35) after my workout that threw everything off. My lows have the best timing! With no time to spare and now running behind, I ended up taking my gatorade in the shower to make sure that my bg would start going back up. Seemed like a good idea at the time…
  • At said dinner party, someone made this lovely comment in reference to the desserts, “I’m going to have diabetes when I finish this all.” ARGH! I kept my mouth shut, I just didn’t feel like getting into it. My friend standing next to me looked right at me when he said it. She knows and understands how much I hate that statement. Glad someone does!
  • While playing with my dog on my bed, I scooted backwards on my stomach and an infusion set that had been in for less than 24 hours fell completely off. Love when that happens. 
  • I got a letter from my endo’s office saying that my appointment date and time had changed as well as my doctor. Confused, I called to see why I had a different doctor listed. Turns out that the endo I’ve been seeing for the past few years decided to stop seeing patients! Grrrrrrr, thanks for the heads up! Of course this has to come right after the best A1c I’ve had in years. Unfortunately with all the extended highs I’ve had lately, I know my A1c is going to jump way back up. I’m pissed that my first appointment with a new doctor that I now have to find has to be an appointment where my A1c is going to be much higher than I want and not reflective of the hard work I had been doing.
  • I decided to sleep in on my day off after staying up late the night before. However, I was woken up by my mom who was concerned that something was wrong. She thought that I may have passed out, because I wasn’t awake before 10. No Mom, I’m not unconscious, I’m just sleeping. But, I do appreciate the concern, and thanks for checking.
  • CGM, stop with the “???”! It’s not helpful and I don’t know why you are confused!! 
  • And to top it all off, last night my CGM sensor, which had been in for only 1 day, came off in my sleep. It was in a new place and I guess all the tossing and turning knocked it off. Lovely.
Diabetes Triumphs

  • Finally remembered to change my lancet.
Ugh, it’s just been one of those weeks…
Thanks for letting me vent. But since it’s Wisdom Wednesday

The Costco Curse

Posted on by

2

Living in the age of Costcos and buying bulk, a lot of the everyday items that I use come in pretty big containers. Items that used to take weeks to finish such as shampoo or ketchup, now end up taking months to get through. That’s probably why when I finally do get to the end, there is this sense of accomplishment and pride. I used that entire box of dish soap! I finished that enormous container of conditioner! It feels good to get to the bottom, to know that you didn’t waste any. I feel this similar way about a lot of household and everyday items when there’s none left. It’s a small joy in life, but a positive moment nonetheless.


However, I recently got to the bottom (and top) of certain items and felt none of these usual feelings. I finished a bag of 100 glucose tablets and filled a sharps container.

I stared at the bottom of the bag and my first thought was, “wow, how many lows have I had that I finished this whole bag?” I felt like I had just bought it.

You see, when you finish a large container of soap or shampoo, the most you can say is that you have good hygiene. You finish the large container of hot sauce or ketchup, well, you like condiments. But finishing a bag of 100 glucose tablets, there’s really nothing good you can say about that…either you’ve had a lot of lows, or you eat a lot of sugar.

Similar for the sharps container. I know I deal with a lot of needles, but it isn’t until a container is at capacity that it really hits me how many it actually is. With all my other supplies, there’s always a constant flow. When I finish one vile of insulin or box of infusion sets, you better believe there is another one ready to replace it. It’s not too often that I stop to think about the large quantity of what I actually use until I either see an empty bag (like the glucose tablets) or a full container (with the sharps).

So there was no sense of accomplishment or satisfaction with these events. Quite honestly, I would prefer that the bag of glucose tablets has to be thrown out because they expired before I could use them. Or that I never have to fill up another sharps container again.

Wisdom Wednesday: Blessings and Lessons

Posted on by

0

When people come in and out of your life, it’s often useful to think that there is a purpose for why you met them. I love the musical Wicked, and there’s a part in one of the songs, For Good, that has always struck me:
I’ve heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
But I know I’m who I am today
Because I knew you

To me, finding the DOC has been a blessing, whether I ever actually meet the people I read about and talk to in person or not. 


So here’s the quote for today:

Nonchalance and Capillaries

Posted on by

5

I’ve entered into a brief period of nonchalance with my diabetes. Not quite diabetes burnout, but definitely not the level of vigilance and care that I currently was operating at. While I don’t want these feelings of apathy to last, I’m okay taking this mini break. I’ve learned that for me, my self-management kind of ebbs and flows. I’ll have periods of high motivation, followed by some time where my diabetes seems to take a back seat. I don’t want to get as far as burning out and having my self-management truly suffer, so if I need a week or two where my diabetes isn’t the all consuming focus of my life, then so be it. Luckily, I have my CGM to keep me on track and alert me when I’m too high or too low when I forget to test or check.

So what does nonchalance in my management look like?

Well, allow me demonstrate.

A few days ago, I was changing my CGM sensor. I still don’t like inserting the sensor, so I try to just get it over with. I started to push down the inserter into the left side of my stomach and felt this incredibly sharp pain shoot across my left shoulder. Um that’s never happened before.

I had stopped pushing when I felt that sudden pain, the inserter only halfway down. Awesome. I held my breath and pushed down the rest of the way. Luckily, there wasn’t any more shooting pain. I looked down at the sensor and saw red begin to seep through under the plastic. Yeah that’s not suppose to happen.

Common sense would say “okay just don’t touch it, it will probably stop bleeding.” But sometimes common sense goes out the window. So I pressed down a little bit and even more blood started to gush, filling the plastic. Oops. While it didn’t hurt, apparently I may have hit a capillary and maybe a nerve that caused that shooting pain in my shoulder. Who knows.

Here’s where the nonchalance comes in.

What I probably should have done:

  • Removed that sensor
  • Taken rubbing alcohol to clean the area that was bleeding
  • Inserted a new sensor somewhere away from the old one
  • Called Dexcom to explain what happened and request a replacement
What I actually did:
  • Nothing
I just didn’t feel like doing anything above, mostly I just didn’t want to have to insert another sensor. So I figured I would leave it in and see what happens. Well the first day it seemed to have a hard time getting a reading with quite a few gaps in my graph. Then it started working more consistently, but the number on the CGM would be way far off from the number when I tested my finger. But I decided to keep the sensor in (yes, lazy), checking my finger more than usual and eventually it started working fine. Will this always be the case? Probably not. Should I have changed the sensor earlier? Probably. But knowing that I could always just test my finger like I did before my CGM, I just figured I’d let this one go. 
I pick my battles with my diabetes, and even though this was a bloody one, it wasn’t really worth the fight to me.

Wheels yield to heels

Posted on by

2

Hey everyone. Today we are going for a bike ride. Now we aren’t just going around the block a few times, we are going for a 20 mile bike ride. Don’t worry, there aren’t many hills so it will be quite enjoyable. Are you ready?

So what will we need? We probably should get everything together. Let’s start with our attire.

I’m thinking bike shirt with some workout pants. But what about the pump? Where should it go?

I can:

A. Wear a pair of shorts/pants with pockets and hope it doesn’t fall out
B. Find some pants with a zippered pocket
C. Clip it to my pants
D. Leave the pump at home. I’ll be exercising, it will be fine.

Well, since I don’t really have many shorts with pockets, I’m going to go with option C. That way I won’t have to worry about it falling out of a pocket either. And since the ride may take a couple hours, I’m not comfortable being disconnected from my pump for that long.

They match!

Great, now that we know what we are wearing, what will we take with us? Here’s what I’m thinking:

  • Some kind of liquid. Should I bring water or gatorade? I don’t really like to drink gatorade, but it will keep me from going low. 
  • A granola bar. In case I need something more substantial to eat.
  • Something to treat a low. Probably some fruit snacks. But how many packets? Maybe 4. If I go really low, I might need 2 packets, but I need to have enough in case I go low twice. Is 4 even enough? Maybe 5.
  • My phone. Obviously.
  • License, insurance card, money/credit card. You know in case something happens or I feel like buying something along the way.
  • My glucose meter. Or my CGM? Or both? My CGM is usually pretty good, but it isn’t always accurate so maybe I should have my meter too.
  • My helmet. Safety first.
  • Bike gloves. Don’t want any blisters. 
  • Sunglasses. I have to be able to see.
  • Sunscreen. That I don’t have to take with me at least, but I will put that on before I leave.
Hmm yea that should cover it. Kind of a lot of stuff. Luckily it all fits in the pouch on the bike. So we’re off!
Okay we’re 8 miles in and you start to feel low. What do you do?
A. Keep riding for now, we can stop when it starts to feel worse.
B. Pull over! Treat that low! 
C. Low shmo. No pain, no gain baby!
D. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have diabetes.
I’m going to go with B! I did get low on this bike ride and so I pulled over to the side of the path, got out a pack of fruit snacks, and sat and waited until I felt better. The last thing I want to do is fall off of my bike because I’m shaky and disoriented from a low. As much as I hate disrupting a workout (or bike ride), I know that I’d also be putting other walkers, runners, and bikers at risk if I’m riding with a low blood sugar. 
After feeling better, it’s back to the bike ride. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone for any kind of bike ride, let alone one for this long. 12 miles later we make it back, phew! We did it! What a ride! It really was a great summer activity.

Sure I may have had a few extra items stuffed into my bike pouch, but I didn’t let my diabetes slow me down! Can’t wait until our next ride!

And because it’s Wisdom Wednesday…
Found on Pinterest