Holidays and ice creams!

[Tina63]

What do we do when on holiday if my son (type 1) fancies an ice cream? We are the type of family who when on a seaside holiday like nothing more than strolling along the seafront with a Mr Whippy type ice cream. Is that a definite no-no now, or do we just say "What the heck, we're on holiday?" or should I carry a pack of mini cheddars in my bag or something and make him eat them first? Am I panicking too much about this? Also, how much insulin would you allow for a Mr Whippy (if you are going to say it's ok to have one that is!) Thanks

 

[FM001]

The worst thing you could do is deny the boy a ice cream when the rest of the family are indulging, not sure of the carb content of a Mr Whippy but if it's 10-20g it may be fine given that you'll be walking a lot whilst visiting the seaside, anymore then a small injection of QA insulin may be required to keep his bg in check.

 

[Caroline]

Ice cream is a treat for everyone. I'd say indulge and test as there is nothing worse than being left out when everyone else is enjoying the treat.

 

[Tina63]

Thank you. That is what I was wondering, if we could just go with it. He doesn't have wild readings, so I felt it should be fairly safe to indulge. Will do. Thank you.

 

[SusieGriff]

I had one over the weekend, we were out walking in the park with the dog, I ate the ice cream and left the cornet part, my levels were no different when I got home. and the ice cream was LUVERLY !!!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I'd suggest a quick BG test when you are 'at the van'. If you've had a day of wandering about it may well be that a well timed Mr Whippy will keep BG levels up and avoid having to reach for the Lucozade later. Bear in mind that ice cream is fairly fatty, so won't bring levels up at hypo-remedy speed, but can counteract a holiday stroll perfectly.

Iced lollies are faster if levels are a bit low before you start. And if the previous meal has meant you are a bit high (holidays are always a bit out of routine) then you can always guess the carbs and bolus for it. It can affect which you choose (Mini Milk vs caramel smothered Magnum) but it doesn't necessarily need to.

Same goes for scones/jam/clotted cream...

You are on holiday after all

 

[Copepod]

This recent thread discussed ice cream at even greated length and with even more enthusiasm... http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=16535&highlight=cream+bike

Enjoy the seaside an denjoy your ice creams. 🙂

 

[shiv]

Definitely let him have one! Ice cream is full of fat, so isn't all that fast acting. Everyone deserves ice cream! I had a big one at the Chocolate Festival in central London on Sunday 🙂

edit: are you part of the CWD emailing list? They are fab at answering qs like these (and between them, know the carb count of every food item known to man) when it concerns children.

 

[Tina63]

edit: are you part of the CWD emailing list? They are fab at answering qs like these (and between them, know the carb count of every food item known to man) when it concerns children.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Shiv

No I am not on the CWD emailing list. I may do that, I did have a look on there when I first found this forum but found this lot so friendly I haven't looked elsewhere yet. As my son is 16 and over 6ft tall I do wonder whether any of the child stuff is relevant any more. I do wonder too when he will be passed over to adult services. He was diagnosed days before his 16th birthday, but we do have a schedule of clinic appointments for the whole of this year, so he will be almost 17 when he has his annual review, all part of the childrens service.

 

[Tina63]

And thanks everyone else, we will enjoy the odd ice cream without feeling too guilty about it. Can anyone also advise me too if we were to have fish and chips on the seafront too, what would you do about carb counting that please? I still weigh everything I serve up so guessing is a bit of a scary issue for me at the moment. Thanks.

 

[Mark T]

And thanks everyone else, we will enjoy the odd ice cream without feeling too guilty about it. Can anyone also advise me too if we were to have fish and chips on the seafront too, what would you do about carb counting that please? I still weigh everything I serve up so guessing is a bit of a scary issue for me at the moment. Thanks.

Carbs and Cals does have Chip Shop fish and Chips for a quick visual estimate. A small chips is apparently 40g and a fillet of fish a similar amount also.

 

[shiv]

It's always a bit hit and miss with carb counting when eating out! A book like Mark suggested is a good idea so you have something to compare it to. Fish and chips tend to be very slow releasing, so it might be worth thinking about splitting his injection to meet the peaks of the food better.

There are lots of people on the CWD list with older teens - I think there's actually a separate list for parents of teens!

 

[heasandford]

And thanks everyone else, we will enjoy the odd ice cream without feeling too guilty about it. Can anyone also advise me too if we were to have fish and chips on the seafront too, what would you do about carb counting that please? I still weigh everything I serve up so guessing is a bit of a scary issue for me at the moment. Thanks.

buy Carbs & Cals, (especially if you have an iPhone or iTouch, you can carry round the electronic version) You get pictures of food and a good estimate of the carbs. In fact I now have a redundant book, so if you email me your address I'll send it to you as I bought it before I knew about the electronic version. Look it up on Amazon to see if you think it would work for you, and if you do let me know

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Carbs and Cals does have Chip Shop fish and Chips for a quick visual estimate. A small chips is apparently 40g and a fillet of fish a similar amount also.

A chippie night from our local would be a bit more than that, I generally reckon on a pie/small fish and most of a portion of chips to be about 140g (though I've never weighed it). As shiv suggested I tend to split the dose into two having say 60% upfront and then the remainder an hour or two hours after. With big blowout meals, especially fatty ones where carb absorption can be substantially different to normal its always a bit hit and miss, but once you've tried a few experiments and tried to repeat what seemed to work you end up with an approach that prevents a post chippy hypo followed by a crashing high when the carbs finally chug through the system.

 

[FM001]

And thanks everyone else, we will enjoy the odd ice cream without feeling too guilty about it. Can anyone also advise me too if we were to have fish and chips on the seafront too, what would you do about carb counting that please? I still weigh everything I serve up so guessing is a bit of a scary issue for me at the moment. Thanks.

Takeaway fish and chips is a difficult one to get right when you can't weigh the food, as a very rough guide 5 medium sized chips are 10g of carbs and a small to medium size fish is 30-40g of carbohydrate. When guessing its always far better to underestimate the carb value if unsure as you can always give a correction dose later in the day.

 

[trophywench]

There's a book that has pictures LOL - is it Carbs and Calories? - have a look on the DUK website. That shows you a pic of various foodstuffs with the carb count, to teach you to eyeball food.

Why isn't he doing it himself though?

 

[Tina63]

[
Why isn't he doing it himself though?[/QUOTE]

He does work out most things himself, it's just when I serve our main meal I prefer to weigh the carb part as he is very tightly controlled and a slight miscalculation would easily throw him into a hypo.

 

[FM001]

Why isn't he doing it himself though?

I don't always count the carbs myself, when my wife cooks she weighs my food out and tell me the carb content of my meal, she has come quite adapt at weighing and calculating food.