Skiing Again

On Friday night, I once again went skiing. I decided to stick with traditional Cross Country skis, as I'm comfortable with them. This time, I decided to do full insulin with supper, and then run a basal of 0 units while skiing.

To start out, we went down one of the unlit trails at Kamview to get to the Sundial. (The unlit trails are a lot of fun, plus it's a faster and easier way to get up to the Sundial). When we got to the bottom of the large hill after the Sundial (I believe it is on what is called the Sundown Trail), I decided to do glucose. And I was about 3.9 mmol/L at the time. So we had to head back to the Chalet. (We took the Jackrabbit back, which is another unlit trail. It's the fastest way back to the Chalet from where we were).

Even though I didn't get to ski as long as I wanted to, this was a valuable learning experience. I found out that I need to do some insulin with supper (which prevents me from ending my skiing escapades around 18 mmol/L), but I can't do the full amount with supper or I end up too low. So next week I'm planning to do half insulin with supper, to see where that gets me.

Out of Commission for a Few

Well, I feel kind of dumb.

Yesterday, I was doing some more of the Caribbean Workout Stretch Into Yoga dvd, trying out the other two segments. I got through the first segment, Basic Yoga, without incident (well, except my cat was under me when I was trying to do Downward Dog). But when I was working on the other segment, the Strength one, I injured my back a bit.

Shelley McDonald was going rather quickly through some sun salutations, and in an effort to catch up to her, I think I didn't do something properly. The next thing I know, something just felt a bit wrong in my back. I immediately stopped what I was doing (and ended up stopping the rest of the segment). Whatever had happened, things felt a bit off, rather than completely sore.

A little while later, things still didn't feel right. But luckily by that time I was able to figure out what must have happened. I think I tore one of the muscles on my low back (the left side). So I'm going to take it easy today again, and hopefully be okay to go skiing tomorrow night (if it isn't too cold out!)

Caribbean Workout: Stretch Into Yoga

Last night, I finally did something about the fact that I haven't done yoga in a long time: I did a yoga dvd. I also haven't tried any new dvds since June, so I decided to try one of the Caribbean Workout dvds that my mom bought for $4 each several months ago.

I only did one yoga segment on Stretch Into Yoga: Flex Yoga. I haven't done anything resembling yoga or pilates in about 6 months, so I didn't want to overdo it.

The Flex Yoga segment was a bit of a challenge for someone who hasn't done any yoga for several months. Every time you turn around, you're back into Downward Dog. I have trouble with this pose when I am actively practicing yoga (my heels do not touch the ground), so this was a bit tough to have to keep coming back to it. But other than that, I found Shelly McDonald to be a wonderful instructor. The only problem I had with this segment was that sometimes the camera guy doesn't properly train the camera on Shelly, so you can't see exactly what she is doing. But overall, I thought this was a great 20 minute workout, and I can't wait to try out the other segments on the disc.

The Skiing Saga Continues!

So this past Friday night I went skiing again. But this time I decided to use my traditional skis. I wanted to know what was going on when I ski traditionally (which is how I usually ski), and to see if there is a difference between traditional and skating. The answer appears to be a resounding NO.

Armed with Sebastien Sasseville's tips, I kept my glucometer in an inside pocket of my jacket. I also decided to run a sensor, so I would have a rough idea of what was happening through the whole skiing trip. I also decided, under consultation with my diabetes nurse, to run half of my basal during the ski trip. So I did no insulin to cover dinner, but always had some insulin working in my system. I started the whole affair at about 15ish mmol/L before we left my house.

I checked my glucose with my glucometer when we were finishing up the Northern Lights trail. My glucometer said I was about 8.5 mmol/L. My sensor said I was about 18.5 mmol/L. Deciding to err on the side of caution, I had a few glucose tablets and continued on my way (we were heading back to the chalet anyway). Back at the chalet, after my glucometer had a chance to warm up, I checked my glucose, which now agreed with my sensor: 18ish mmol/L.

So now I am thouroughly confused. What is going on?

I should not be hanging out around 18 mmol/L during a skiing trip. Especially with some insulin working the entire time. So I am going to speak to my diabetes nurse again this week, before attempting skiing next Friday night again. Maybe we can figure out some new strategy to try.

The Skiing Strategy

I went to see my Diabetes Educator today. I told her about my experience skate skiing last week. She suggested that I try everything again, but this time I should run my basal at half strength instead of cutting it out completely. I will also be running a sensor so I will have back up for my glucometer. The only difference is that tomorrow night I am not planning on skate skiing, but will be skiing traditionally. I'm going to put my sensor in tonight so I will have time to change it tomorrow if it goes bad.

Glucometers in the Cold

Last night I emailed Sebastien Sasseville, the first Canadian with Type 1 to summit Mount Everest, for some tips on keeping a glucometer warm when you are outside in the cold. Sabastien had to deal with the brutal temperatures on Mount Everest, so I thought he would have some tips on what worked for him during his adventures. Please keep in mind that if you use these tips, Sebastien is not a doctor, medical professional, or glucometer engineer. These tips are all based off of his personal experience, so they may not work for everyone. You should always consult with your health care professional for all of your diabetes management needs.

Sebastien writes: "First important thing is to keep your meter warm. Your outter pocket is pretty much at outside temperature so yes, your monitor must be inside your jacket. Even that is not always enough. I recommend to keep in a pocket (travel bag type), right next to your skin, under your first layer. Some straps pocket are designed especially for this. Keep your strips warm too, that is just as important if not more. (still keep them in the vial).

Then you also have to test with warm blood. If your fingers are frozen and if you have to sqeeze them to get blood out, you are likely to get a false result as well.

Most times when your supplies are too cold you'll get false lows. What you have observed is very frequent.

hope this helps!"

Again, please keep in mind that if you use these tips, Sebastien is not a doctor, medical professional, or glucometer engineer. These tips are all based off of his personal experience, so they may not work for everyone. You should always consult with your health care professional for all of your diabetes management needs.

Skate Skiing

On Friday the 2nd of January, I went skate skiing again. This was my second time out, the first time having been that disasterous incident last year.

This time, I wasn't taking any chances. I did no insulin with supper, backed off my insulin while skiing, and had lots of stuff with me to get me around the trail. My glucometer was wrapped up in my pocket, and my pump was in an inside pocket to keep it warm. I was ready.

I started the whole affair somewhere around 18.5 mmol/L (it was this when I left my house, so I'm assuming it was a bit higher when I actually started skiing). Like last time, I made it to the beginning of the Northern Lights trail before I decided to do glucose. (I was also starting to feel weird at the time). I was about 8.5 mmol/L.

This threw me for a loop. To come down about 10 mmol/L so fast with no insulin seemed insane. But I trusted my glucometer, and had some stuff to eat to get me back to the chalet.

The next while got a bit difficult. I made it a little way back before I felt low. I stopped again to do glucose, but at this time my glucometer was too cold. So all I could do was eat some more, and do my best to get back to the chalet (to make things worse, we were under a very strict time limit before the chalet closed; we had rental skis that had to be back before 9pm). So the food and the added stress of having to make it back had me feeling quite unwell in a matter of minutes.

We got back to the chalet and I was feeling terrible. I got my shoes back on (sitting down for a minute helped me feel a bit better) then headed for the car where my regular pop was waiting for me. I drank half a can on the way home.

Of course, the biggest surprise was waiting for me when my glucometer warmed up. My glucose level was extremely high (I'm talking high twenties). So this left me wondering what exactly happened during this whole escapade?

I'm not 100% positive, but I think I did not go low at all. If I did go low, then it does not make sense that I went so high afterwards. In my experience, I've gone up to the mid to high teens after treating a low, but never over twenty. For this to have happened means that my glucometer was unaccurate when I tested during the ski.

I am going to be looking into this matter more in the coming week, first with research and speaking with my diabetes educators, and then hopefully this coming Friday I will be attempting to ski while running a sensor to see what is going on.

DDR Universe

I bought this a few days ago and finally had some time to try it out today. I was a bit leery of buying it, as I looked up the songs online awhile ago and didn't recognize anything. Luckily, after having played it, I'm very glad that I bought it!

I played for around an hour and a half, but I wasn't really playing very intensely so I only took about 5500 steps (compared to the usual 7000 + I was racking up before Christmas). Some of the songs were a lot of fun to play. The only thing I didn't like was that there's a bit too much rap in my opinion. Oh, and the Challenges are identical to Universe 2, so they're going to be incredibly tough to beat (I still haven't beaten them on Universe 2).

Happy Holidays!

I know I missed Christmas, but I thought I would wish everyone Happy Holidays anyway! It's a new year, bringing a new slate, and a chance to re-evaluate goals (once the partying is over of course!) 2008 was a bit of a rough year for me, so hopefully 2009 will be a bit kinder! As always, my goal is to get in shape, but I am not going to put a specific date on that right now. I want to be in shape for the sumer (who doesn't) but I also need to maintain my mental health (I do not want a repeat of the summer!) So right now I am going to try focussing on rebuilding an exercise habit (and hopefully on getting my sleep schedule to a semi-normal one).