I’ve paddled with someone who had
…a monitor and pump strapped on to his torso. He said it worked but that there was some tweaking involved, so it’s not a brain-dead kind of thing.
Heard a lot…
… about pumps, but I can’t afford one.
Thanks
Thanks for the advice! It’s reassuring to hear from people with same issues that they are not too big issues 
Yeah…
Saw a news story yesterday that they are cutting down almond trees that were in their prime bearing years for wood because they have died from the drought. Very sad for the farmers, and of course no fun for the rest of us either.
Means a better restaurant
To get real food after a paddle - this works fine by me! And yeah, I’d not have known.
OJ and oral glucose
I use to paddle with a friend that was Type I with a Kidney transplant and partially wheel chair bound. We made sure to stop and eat, we also carried a bottle of OJ and if he didn’t listen as happened when he started to crash, oral glucose, which taste horrible. The big thing if you paddle solo is to know what is going on. My friend had a sugar crash and crashed his car so paddling solo wasn’t an option he would crash to quickly, though we all paddled solo boats. I would suggest finding a Dr. that will work with you. If they say you shouldn’t paddle at all find a different Dr.
Or even just a truck stop
Chicken tenders, slice of pizza with meat on it…you get the idea. Not ideal nutritionally, but works better for me than sweets.
Is your weather improving even a tiny bit?
Our weather
The good news for us is that the Sunday night/Monday morning snowfall is going to land mostly south of here, towards New York and Boston. We are on the break line between who-cares-with-4wheeldriveandsnowtires and have-to-drive-carefully.
Of course all of that assumes that anyone can find enough salt to treat the roads, probably another sloppy snowfall. Supplies are already so tight that many private operators who do things like corporate parking lots can’t get any. The salt mountain a few blocks away from us is barely a hummock now.
But it is determined to still be winter - long range forecast has overnights hovering around zero again for a few days this coming week. Getting so old!
Service dog
I’ve read about dogs who alert their owners or someone else that “something is imminently wrong” with the owner’s health. There’s one I know of who was not even a trained service dog, just a very sensitive animal who was (obviously) bonded with his Type I diabetic owner. Of course, it probably helped that she was a true certified animal behaviorist by profession.
Bummer -starting insulin tomorrow
I’ve had type 2 for over 6 years and really well until last year, but can’t control it with metformin anymore and I’m allergic to other options … my mother and grandfather were type 1 and it seems I am joining them.
You have my sympathy in full
My doctor has been pressuring me to either start injecting insulin or add other drugs besides the metformin. I told the doc flat-out NO to insulin. Word is that once you’re on it, there’s no going back.
Around mid-December, I instead saw a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. I’ve been taking Chinese herbal pills since then (in addition to the metformin). My most recent a1c dropped 0.4 since the last test 3 months ago. I’m not going to complain about that, and it has no side effects. I’m still finding that variations having to do with diet and meal size and spacing (and STRESS levels) make a bigger difference than changing metformin doses does. I actually halved the dose I was on a few years ago and my blood sugar levels slightly dropped overall, without adding any other meds. But there’s no denying that it’s still an uphill battle in the long run.
I’ve read that diabetes might be an auto-immune disorder rather than “just” a metabolic problem. Makes me wonder what kind of drugs will be recommended next.
apples and oranges in a way
Type 1 is autoimmune, mine had an identifiable infection trigger - soon after infection started to clear my immune system “ate” my beta-cells.
Type 2 is less straightforward, as it involves signalling pathways disfuction - you have enough insulin, it just does not work, to put it plainly.
(Neuroscientist by education here 
- lots of theory, no practice, as it usually is).
Pika, insulin is not as bad as it used to be, with multiple forms available (fast, slow, ultra-slow acting) there are a lot of options with it, and it is certainly less poisonous than some other chems we put in our bodies. There is some evidence that keeping BG stable via insulin protects your remaining beta cells (no use for me, I don’t seem to have any any longer).
Damn, it’s turning medical… wanted to avoid it LOL
My mother and her father were type 1
they got it as adults, it looks like I am going down the same path.
I have worked a bit on diabetic drugs, so not excited about insulin, but it does work and control BG.
I should have written more clearly
– Last Updated: Mar-03-14 1:46 PM EST –
I've read that some studies suggest Type II diabetes may also be an autoimmune disorder, not just Type I.
Also, from what I understand, insulin still works fine (otherwise, why would any diabetic take it?). It is their body's cells that are not working normally.
Some people have posted (elsewhere) that they like insulin because it allows them to eat whatever way they want and then they "just" dose up with insulin to make up for poor habits. That is not how I want to mitigate it, given that small changes in diet and other habits still have beneficial effects for me. The doctors are tied into a huge industry that benefits from me (and huge numbers of Americans) becoming dependent on them simply to survive. The less I allow that to happen, the better. I might ultimately have to do it their way, but as long as I don't have to, I will not give them that much control over my life.
I agree …
and I work in the pharmaceutical industry.
Two many drugs are pushed …statins, DPP4 inhibitors, all looking at a way companies can keep making money.
I won a reprieve and I am supposed to see if I can get my weight down some more.
Two Way Street
I have way too much time in hospitals even accounting for making it past 60 yrs old. Here and there in hospital stays for myself or family members I have seen individuals who really are doing everything they can do fully recover despite the discomfort involved. And here and there I have seen people who truly have physical liabilities that only Superman himself could get by. (meaning both the fictional character and the remarkable post-accident recovery of Chris Reeves)
But I’ve seen way, way too many people who don’t accept the task of managing their health, or their recovery from a health issue or surgery, as a job. Meaning responsibilities and scheduled tasks and all that stuff. They get to a point where they have to do something - whether it be altering daily habits, incorporating useful activities like exercise or revisiting their diet - and they call their doctor for a pill rather than making the change.
I get that it is hard. But the insurers and drug companies couldn’t make the kind of bucks they do unless patients cooperate by needing them.
Snacks
Re reading my earlier post it sounds like I’m eating candy all day. YIKES!
Yes I keep sweets handy any where I go including paddling.
But on a perfect day I don’t need to use them.
If I plan a long active day I cut back on my basal(long acting insulin). If I used a pump I would do the same thing by lowering the basal rate.
That helps prevent needing to feed the insulin.
That said I don’t see too many perfect days. So I test as often as is practical and correct, either with sweets or insulin, as required.
The reprieve
Yes! Summer’s not far off for you and that should help with the weight. If you’re not hiking and cycling, might be worth adding them to your bag of sports.
Or you could take a long kayak-camping trip and the weight loss is guaranteed…nothing like eating “camp food” and letting the stomach shrink from slightly undereating (relative to activity) to reset your appestat. I dunno how those yummy-looking meals using fresh produce appear in the TITS expeditions. They sure don’t look like the meals I’ve seen on camping trips after the first night!
Paddling with diabetes
– Last Updated: Apr-08-14 11:29 AM EST –
My daughter Sage has been a diabetic since age 3, celiac since age 8, and thyroid disease since age 11. At 7, she was on a private 16 day trip on the Grand Canyon, has done multiple multi day raft and self support kayak trips. She uses an Animas 1 Touch Ping pump beccause it is waterproof, and provideds the best control, and we also travel all over the country competing in freestyle and slalom competitions, so we have a lot of access issues worked out. We also carry Cliff Blocks for lows, and Pocket Fuel Naturals for base energy when we paddle. Please contact us at wwkayakfamily@gmail.com with any questions!