One of many issues I really like most about dwelling in Southern California is that I will be exterior sporting shorts just about every single day of the yr. It’s like summer time yr spherical and I take full benefit of it by mountain climbing loads.
Climbing with diabetes could be very doable in case you put together properly, convey your diabetes gear, and have an excellent routine for testing and adjusting your blood sugar earlier than, throughout, and after the hike. I’ve it right down to a science by now, and I all the time observe the three steps beneath.
Analysis the hike
I all the time lookup a brand new hike to learn how lengthy it’s and if it contains any elevations. There are many sources on-line on the place to seek out good trails, their situations, size, and elevation.
We normally don’t need to hike greater than 2 hours and like there to be no loopy elevations (besides after we go to locations like Yosemite or Hawaii). If the hike is tougher than our regular hikes, I would like to regulate my insulin accordingly and produce additional snacks.
Pack what’s wanted
I’ve a cool fanny pack that I all the time convey alongside on hikes. It was initially a present from me to my husband, and I assume it got here with a transport mule = me 😀
I all the time convey:
- Diabetes gear – My glucose meter (Roche Accu-Chek), my CGM receiver (Dexcom G6) and my insulin pen (InPen)
- Emergency gear – Glucose tablets, fruit strips and maybe a glucagon emergency package, akin to Baqsimi, Gvoke or Lilly Glucagon
- Water – Minimal 1 liter
- Snacks – Relying on how lengthy we’ll be gone, I would convey a full lunch (like a rooster wrap) or only a few rice desserts or a quest bar.
- Different stuff – Cellphone, band-aids, sunscreen, and so forth.
Modify blood sugar ranges and insulin
That is additionally a 3-step course of (I flip every little thing into 3-step processes if I can. It makes it a lot simpler to recollect):
Measuring and adjusting my insulin earlier than leaving dwelling. If we depart proper after a meal and I anticipate to hit the path inside 2 hours of consuming, I’ll scale back my bolus insulin by 25-50% for that meal.
Measuring and probably adjusting after we get to the hike. I all the time take a look at my blood sugar degree earlier than we begin the hike. As with different cardio actions, I do know that I should be cautious to not have an excessive amount of energetic insulin on board or my blood sugars might go low in the course of the hike. Nonetheless, if I’m trending above 170 mg/dL (9.4 mmol/L) and have lower than ½ unit energetic insulin on board, I’ll normally regulate with ½-1 unit of insulin.
IMPORTANT: That is what works for me! You should discover the degrees that be just right for you.
If my sugars are within the 90-170 mg/dL (5-9.4 mmol/L) vary, I’m normally good. If they’re beneath that, I’ll munch on a rice cake (simple moveable 7 g of carb) earlier than beginning the hike.
Measure throughout and after the hike. I depend on my CGM whereas on the hike but additionally take a look at often. If the hike contains very steep inclines, I’ll even embrace that in my calculation for insulin dosage for the remainder of the day/night time and probably scale back my night time basal insulin.
Whenever you stroll up and down a steep elevation, you activate just about all the big muscle teams in your legs and that may impression your blood sugars for a number of hours after you full your hike. So bear in mind to check your blood sugar extra ceaselessly for the remainder of the day in case you’re new to mountain climbing with diabetes.
Get on the market and luxuriate in nature
There are such a lot of nice locations to discover on this world of ours and there’s no manner my diabetes goes to face in my manner, and it shouldn’t stand in yours both. If you happen to plan forward and produce all the precise gear, mountain climbing with diabetes will be executed in a secure method.
Climbing is each nice train and a strategy to be social. If you happen to don’t have a mountain climbing accomplice, there are many mountain climbing MeetUp teams on-line or you possibly can strive contacting your native ADA or JDRF chapter to seek out others with diabetes to hike with.
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