No more solo overnighters for me

[HaYWiRe]

This is quite hard to say, and part of it is giving up, quoting, but sometimes you need to be sensible, all outdoors activities involve risk, but my condition adds too many

Last camping trip was with the whole family, parents in a caravan, and myself and my partner up on a hill in our tent, now most trips are with her, we share the load, and company is nice.
But that night she woke me up as I was shaking and convulsing in my sleep, I couldn't talk and she tested my bloods, 1.8!! Anything under 4 is bad news, ideally I want to be a 7, anyway, I dont know if you guys know much about diabetes, but hypoglycemia that bad in my sleep, well, there's a chance I wont wake up, a scary thought but sometimes you need to know your limits


I will continue to push myself, push my distance and hopefully help support my charity, but ill be doing so with my partner, as she could very well be my safety net


Sorry if that didn't lead anywhere, or start a discussion,or end on a witty note, but its been bothering me for a while, and needed to get it off my chest

[Pyro]

Hey Haywire, think of the positives - having company on overnighters make them more fun anyway :)

You may already know of this, but maybe something to look into is stuff by a guy called James Thurlow from Open Adventure. James was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a couple of years ago. He's done a lot of work and research (as well as going through many sugar-level ups and downs) since into how endurance sports affect him, how certain exertion levels impacted his blood sugar and culminated a chunk of it with running/hiking the Coast-to-Coast route. His 'HowFast' blog (http://www.howfast.org/) might contain some info that helps prevent or reduce any more hypo dips on your own part.

[Scattamah]

Might not be a bad idea when out in the sticks to measure your levels before going to sleep and top up as required. I'm presuming that if they're stable and within range when you go to sleep they'll stay relatively static overnight?

Greetz

S.

[Ray Young]

My stepdaughter often has lows through the night but she generally wakes up to deal with it. If she's been out on the drink that can be a different matter though, her Mum gets very little sleep on those nights due to worry.

[Bearbonesnorm]

No more solo overnighters for me

Trust me ... never say never fella

I will continue to push myself, push my distance and hopefully help support my charity, but ill be doing so with my partner, as she could very well be my safety net

And I can't see anything wrong with that. If she enjoys riding, nights out etc then it all sounds ideal - just keep on doing what you do.

[whitestone]

+1 for James Thurlow I've had email conversations with him (not about diabetes) and he's fine to get on with.

[HaYWiRe]

I generally consider myself well controlled, I haven't eaten cake in 3 years and test regularly, the problem lies in how unpredictable it can be at times

Usually I'm stable all night, or wake up, but exercise, or at least day after day of it means I'm more prone to night hypos, and being properly knackered from all the riding means I dont wake up, 70 mikes has a tendency to make me sleep like a log

Some things are not worth the risk, hence why I shave grams off tools, cut down a rollmatt, but take a 1st aid kit big enough to save the 3rd world

[FLV]

You could always arrange with people on Here to join you if your good lady didn't fancy a night out.

For instance if you were to fancy a peak district overnighter I'd be happy to join you, I'd need briefing on what to do just in case but it wouldn't be an problem.

[mountainbaker]

Have you looked into Ketogenic Diets, or giving up meat and dairy? Sugar isn't your only enemy, or so say a few researchers. I guess it depends what type of diabetes you have...

[Owen]

I'm an insulin dependent diabetic, and have done a few solo trips. I've found the key is to make sure your background insulin is sorted, and go low on fast acting - I've gone to bed (well, tent) with blood as high as 20 and woke up with it around 5-6. It's surprising how much it drops after exercise, especially the sort of long slow endurance stuff.

I wouldn't worry too much about the odd high blood sugar to make sure you don't hypo at night. Make sure you eat properly, and maybe have a low GI snack before sleeping?

Understand your worries though - doesn't bother me and I've never had a problem but my family do stress a bit if I'm out on my own. The risk of me hypo-ing compared to me moaning about not going out has meant they all accept it!

[Ian]

My Mum has been diabetic since just before I was born, so while I don't have to deal with it personally, I've grown up with a constant awareness of what she does to manage it.

Years ago, she used to have a fixed dose of insulin twice a day and then calculate the correct amount of carbohydrates in a meal to maintain the correct blood sugar level. Now she tends to take a dose of insulin (by injection) before a meal but tailor it to a) present blood sugar level and b) what and how much she needs/ wants to eat.

On holiday last week, she lost her blood test kit and had 5 days of guess work until she could get another one. Went hypo twice but once she got a new kit everything was back to normal. Sometimes it's quite finely balanced, but but short term hyperglycaemia is more manageable than hypo.

Not really sure what I'm trying to say, except that it's constantly been a process of adaption throughout her life. No single approach has worked and it's always s learning experience. The nurses and consultants love her, as they learn so much from how she's managed it.

So, don't give up. Keep experimenting.