When I was about eight years old I went to Six Flags in Ohio. It was a HOT day in July. I had been a diabetic for a year at this point, and was not using an insulin pump. So my life was very “structured”. I carb counted 5 times a day, while taking insulin shots 4 times a day. Pretty simple and basic. Blood sugar control was not much of a problem at that time in my life. Mid afternoon this steamy summer day my mom bought me a HUGE chocolate and vanilla twist ice cream cone. It was the perfect treat on a hot hot day. I ate the whole thing, and then proceeded to go on more rides. While we were standing in line for a spidery-twisty-flippy sort of machine, I started to feel a little dizzy and wobbly. We tested my blood sugar and I had dropped into the 50’s.
I’m sure it's obvious that I had to forget the spidery-twisty-flippy ride for a juice box and a cracker and cheese pack in a shaded pavilion. Then surprisingly after checking 15 minutes later I was still in the 50’s!! It takes around 15-20 minutes for my blood sugar to rise after a low, and whatever I was doing wasn’t working. Mom went and purchased a large french fry and I drank another juice box. It took about an hour of carby snacks and shade for my blood sugar to return to normal before we could venture onto rides again….
This experience at Six Flags 17 years ago was my first experience with heat and blood sugar monitoring. The temperature of your environment plays a HUGE part in the rise and fall of a type 1 diabetics blood sugars. Over the years i’ve learned a few tricks on how to control it in the heat.
I learned most of these things after moving to NC when I was 16. Summers on the beach, exercising in the sunshine and breaking out into a sweat when WALKING from the door to your car made me much more aware of how hard my body is working to stay cool.
Think about it…. Remember what I alway say: Your body (having any autoimmune disease) is working twice as hard as a normal persons to function. That is in “NORMAL” conditions!
90 degree weather is NOT “normal conditions”.
So now your body is working at least 3 times as hard as a healthy humans. This often causes your blood sugar to drop because you're burning sugar/energy by sweating and trying to stay cool.
WHAT on earth are you supposed to do to battle this you might ask??? And now you're expected to work FOUR TIMES AS HARD as the healthy person sharing an existence with you by mentally calculating how to handle the heat? Well, let me help with that. Here are a few things that have helped me handle the heat ;)
Please remember that what works for me may not work for you. Talk to your Doctor before doing anything drastic trying to manage your blood sugar levels in the heat.
Tips!!!
1: Decrease your insulin intake if you are going to be spending a few hours in the sun. If you are on an insulin pump temporary basals are the best! If you can reduce your insulin to about 80% for the few hours you’ll be outside it should keep your levels steady. Some of you might only need 90% and others might need 70%. Make sure you figure out what is right for your body. Because everyone’s body is different and will react differently. If you are on shots or a pen talk to your doctor about the right amount of insulin to drop from your usual intake. I haven’t been on shots in 15 years, so i’m a little rusty.
2: SNACKS! Don’t be afraid of small snacks what you're struggling with lows in the heat. A little peanut butter or a granola bar are great things to eat before hanging out in the heat. Protein and carbs will keep your blood sugar level and will help with your energy so you aren’t burning through your sugar reserve too fast. AVOID JUST SUGAR Sugar will make your blood sugar rise quickly and once all the sugar has burned out of your system your BSL (blood sugar levels) will plummet quickly. So make sure you have protein along with the juice box, candy bar or slushy. (Great protein examples to go with your sugar are an apple and some peanut butter, a couple spoonfuls of almond butter in a smoothie. Cheese and lunch meat with crackers, half a sandwich. All of these things are great snack ideas.)
3: CONSTANT MONITORING: If you have a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) you’re set! Make sure you check it regularly during the summertime and be sure to calibrate it as soon as it prompts you. If you don’t have a CGM check at least once an hour, or every half hour. YES your fingers will have blood blisters, but it could save your life. Once you're back in the AC you won’t have to stress as much, but in the sunshine you need to be hyper aware of your levels.
4: Have someone keep an eye on you: I had to get over being “babysat” by friends and family a long time ago. Now when I am going to be out in the heat I tell who ever I am with to make sure i’m acting normally. If I begin to wander off on my own for no reason or stare off into space or start giggling for no reason, make me test. Several members of my family will just ask me what my blood sugar is when I think I seem perfectly fine. My little brother, Wes, who is 20, has been checking up on me since he was little. When we are at the beach, or skiing in the mountains, or i’m throwing a summer BBQ, randomly he’ll walk up to me, place a hand on my shoulder and ask, “What’s your blood sugar?” and then he’ll stand there until I test or show him my sensor readings before he walks away. YOU NEED PEOPLE LIKE WES IN YOUR LIFE. You can’t do this alone. You're not supposed to. Find a friend or family member who will check up on you while enjoying wonderful summer activities. Pick someone who won’t baby you or drive you crazy. Be kind to yourself and them.
Those four things have saved me from a trip to the hospital or missing out on an hour of amusement park riding while eating a large fry in the shaded pavilion...... AGAIN. Let me know what tricks you have found for blood sugar control in the heat and let me know if any of these things help you! We are stronger together!!:):)
