Holiday concerns ref swimming/walking more

A

Abner55

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Carer/Partner
Good evening
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend

My wife was diagnosed with Type 1 six months ago and is currently on 1unit of Novorapid before meals (3x a day) and 6 units of Abasaglar at 9pm

We are holidaying in the UK in a few weeks time, which we are looking forward to, but have a couple of queries

1) Walking .. There are lots of opportunities to do relatively long walks while we are away, which we enjoy, but since diagnosis, my wife can only manage 15-20mins of walking before her levels drop rapidly and she has to have something to eat/drink and sit down for 10mins or so before we start again, then repeat this as required
If anyone has any suggestions to make this easier for us, we would be very grateful

2) Swimming .. concerns are much the same as above, but also..
While we will be in the pool, naturally we will be away from her phone so will have no immediate indication of how fast her levels are falling. Can anyone share any tips on how they deal with situation?

Thanks in advance
Abner55
 
Abner55 said:
Good evening
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend

My wife was diagnosed with Type 1 six months ago and is currently on 1unit of Novorapid before meals (3x a day) and 6 units of Abasaglar at 9pm

We are holidaying in the UK in a few weeks time, which we are looking forward to, but have a couple of queries

1) Walking .. There are lots of opportunities to do relatively long walks while we are away, which we enjoy, but since diagnosis, my wife can only manage 15-20mins of walking before her levels drop rapidly and she has to have something to eat/drink and sit down for 10mins or so before we start again, then repeat this as required
If anyone has any suggestions to make this easier for us, we would be very grateful

2) Swimming .. concerns are much the same as above, but also..
While we will be in the pool, naturally we will be away from her phone so will have no immediate indication of how fast her levels are falling. Can anyone share any tips on how they deal with situation?

Thanks in advance
Abner55
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I can’t help with swimming, but with walking, I find I drop very quickly after about half an hour, so I set my Libre alarm to 5.5, so when it sounds, I’ve got time to eat some jelly babies, and a biscuit if I need it, on the hoof, and keep my BG levels topped up without actually going into hypo territory, with all the attendant wobbles and needing to stop. I find on a very long walk, that once i’ve got over the initial drop, and possibly a second one, my body seems to adjust, and I can then carry on without dropping my levels.
 
It sounds like your wife may be on a smidgen too much basal?

She is on quite low doses, and I wonder if her beta cells may be having a bit of a ‘second wind’ now that there’s some support from the injected insulin?

She may want to consider adjusting doses for the duration of the holiday (I often do this myself) because there’s usually an increase in level of activity etc. If not confident to adjust doses ‘solo’ as she is only recently diagnosed, then perhaps she could email her DSN to ask advice?

The other option is to take snacks before, and regularly during the walks etc. Even a small swig of full sugar Coke might be suitable to keep her levels topped up?

For swimming, some people just take their phone poolside. either as-is, or possible in a waterproof transparent bag/wrapper.
 
I agree that her basal might be too high @Abner55 In addition to looking at reducing her basal dose, she could eat extra carbs before her walks and at the meal before her walk, eg if she was walking after lunch. She could also experiment with reducing her Novorapid for the meal before her walk (I presume she has a half unit pen for the Novorapid?)

It’s normal to need top ups of glucose and longer lasting carbs on walks. Make sure she has plenty and a selection of carby snacks.

For swimming, I like to be around 9 before I go in the water. If I’m not, I have some carbs. I also test at regular intervals and have Dextro tablets if needed.

In the long run, she might be better off on a twice daily basal insulin as that gives more flexibility.
 
Robin said:
I can’t help with swimming, but with walking, I find I drop very quickly after about half an hour, so I set my Libre alarm to 5.5, so when it sounds, I’ve got time to eat some jelly babies, and a biscuit if I need it, on the hoof, and keep my BG levels topped up without actually going into hypo territory, with all the attendant wobbles and needing to stop. I find on a very long walk, that once i’ve got over the initial drop, and possibly a second one, my body seems to adjust, and I can then carry on without dropping my levels.
Click to expand...
Thank you, that sounds helpful, we shall take it on board
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
It sounds like your wife may be on a smidgen too much basal?

She is on quite low doses, and I wonder if her beta cells may be having a bit of a ‘second wind’ now that there’s some support from the injected insulin?

She may want to consider adjusting doses for the duration of the holiday (I often do this myself) because there’s usually an increase in level of activity etc. If not confident to adjust doses ‘solo’ as she is only recently diagnosed, then perhaps she could email her DSN to ask advice?

The other option is to take snacks before, and regularly during the walks etc. Even a small swig of full sugar Coke might be suitable to keep her levels topped up?

For swimming, some people just take their phone poolside. either as-is, or possible in a waterproof transparent bag/wrapper.
Click to expand...
Thank you. We shall talk to the DSN tomorrow
 
Inka said:
I agree that her basal might be too high @Abner55 In addition to looking at reducing her basal dose, she could eat extra carbs before her walks and at the meal before her walk, eg if she was walking after lunch. She could also experiment with reducing her Novorapid for the meal before her walk (I presume she has a half unit pen for the Novorapid?)

It’s normal to need top ups of glucose and longer lasting carbs on walks. Make sure she has plenty and a selection of carby snacks.

For swimming, I like to be around 9 before I go in the water. If I’m not, I have some carbs. I also test at regular intervals and have Dextro tablets if needed.

In the long run, she might be better off on a twice daily basal insulin as that gives more flexibility.
Click to expand...
Thank you, the half unit pen has been suggested before on the forum, we shall ask the DSN tomorrow if it’s available
 
Abner55 said:
Thank you, the half unit pen has been suggested before on the forum, we shall ask the DSN tomorrow if it’s available
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YES! I meant to suggest that too. On such small doses it males a lot of sense - otherwise you are forced to make comparatively huge adjustments compared to the total dose.
 
My additional suggestion is to add diluted juice to your wife's water bottle to drink while walking. I find a more constant low glucose maintenance easier to manage than regular stops every time BG gets low enough to need something NOW.
 
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helli said:
My additional suggestion is to add diluted juice to your wife's water bottle to drink while walking. I find a more constant low glucose maintenance easier to manage than regular stops every time BG gets low enough to need something NOW.
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That sounds like a very good idea..thank you
 
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