Pump On Tour

Carrying on from my previous blog, I had some slight worries about taking my new pump away with me abroad. 

On true form my blood sugars were extremely high just before I was about to leave the house to make my way to the airport early Thursday morning.

I see a pattern here; the same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago and I missed my train because of it. I knew everything was OK with the pump and infusion site, so I put it down to the take-away food I’d eaten the night before and gave myself a correction. It came down eventually, but over the next couple of days I continued to get high readings as I woke up.

High blood sugars aka hyperglycaemia are in some ways worse than lows. You feel really hung-over when you have one, like groggy and blurry eyed. But there is no fantastic night out to explain these high’s, you aren’t drunk or hung-over, it is just your blood sugar messing about.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and adjust the amount of basal insulin (basal = throughout the day and night, regardless of food intake) I was getting during the night. My diabetes nurses were a bit anxious about giving too much insulin whilst I am asleep, and advised me to only adjust it slightly. But I’m a bit of a rebel, and rarely do as I’m told when it comes to diabetes. (Hence being a divabetic).

I knew through vigorous testing at 3am that my blood sugars were far too high during the night, so I raised it by a bit. You can’t really blame me though. This had been happening for a week or so and I didn’t want to wake up feeling ‘falsely hung-over’ on my holiday. I couldn’t call and check with my nurse, so it was up to me to make the change. And it paid off! That extra bit of night time insulin has really helped my morning levels.

Although, I do advise if you can to check with a nurse of doctor before you start making drastic alterations. I plan on ringing my nurse first thing tomorrow and informing her of my changes... promise.



Czech us out...

Another pump concern of mine was all the yummy, fatty food I knew I would be munching on abroad. It is so much easier now I have the pump to dine out or eat on the go. For me, that is its greatest asset. When I’m out at a restaurant I can simply tap in the amount of carbs I’ve gorged on and the pump works its magic with no mess, and no fuss. A couple of years ago I would have been too embarrassed to inject in public and probably wouldn’t have bothered. Bad, I know!

As you can tell from my previous posts, I’ve become a bit of a pro at disguising my pump. I’m still a bit wary about digging into my bra in the middle of a restaraunt, but as far as I can tell so far nobody seems to notice.

Until my holiday. On our first night out we found this gorgeous pub which was serving traditional Czech food. Before I tucked into my Czech pancakes, I fished out my pump and gave myself a heap load of insulin. A few mouthfuls in and I realised that my family were staring at me. Instinctively I wiped my hand on my chin to check I hadn’t slopped.  Let’s just say, I’m not the most lady-like eater.

But I was OK. My pancakes had not strayed from mouth. “What are you staring at?” I defensively grilled my family.

“Err Kim, you’re glowing.”

I looked down and sure enough, because I’d given myself so much insulin to tackle the pancakes, my pump screen was brightly glowing through my white top as it was delivering the doses.

Embarrassing to say the least. So next time I am planning a mammoth meal, where my pump might be active for a while, I will have to either wear black or not stuff it down my bra. Lesson learned.

All in all, I had a wonderful time on my trip abroad and had a fantastic 21^st birthday. Having the pump enabled me to eat all the lovely and yummy foods that would normally mess up my blood sugars. Definitely worth an airport frisking and a glowing bra.

Don’t believe me? Just check out these Prague treats below.