I envy you! Sounds like an idyllic place for jollies.
When I travel I
plan ahead as best I can. As long as my Bsls are stable and there have been no recent hypos my driver's license in Oz allows me
to drive, provided I keep my BSL above 5 mmol/l) do if in doubt at this early stage you may wish to avoid driving yourself. If I am being driven say in a
bus etc I ensure that I have things to eat on me, not locked away in a bagge apartment. That applies to
plane travel too. Muesli bars and whatever water I am allowed in the bus, plane etc.
Plus my insulin with spares syringes, testing equipment, pump supplies, batteries etc. I ensure that there are also these supplies in my baggage and, if I am going with a friend I ask them to carry a spare kit in their baggae too plus some sugar like glucose tablets in case I use up my supply. I never rely on the timetable of travel, there can be unexpected delays etc. I prepare for the worst, hope for the best. ( line credited to the character Jack Reacher, author Lee Child.)
Having an
ID bracelet, necklace stating what my health condtiions is vital. If I am unconscious, how else will someone know that I have diabetes, asthma ect and what I am allergic to? I use a company called MedicAlert and wear their Sports wrist band which can survive getting wet and does not tangle as much as a necklace or loose bracelet. See what other writers, your DN, doctor etc recommend for you.
Counting carbs for meals is best I find. I avoid heavy thick sauces, desserts ( except fresh fruit),. and fruit juices. I make sure I have food in my room especially for supper.
Having a stomach upset whilst away makes my daibetes management difficult. The upset tends to keep my blood sugars up so I still keep giving myself insulin. I have never gone hypo at these times. I use solutions like Gastrolyte, flattened
sweet lemonade or Coac-Cola( sometimes there is a God). (leave lemonade/Coca COLA out to flatten in a glass, or heat if gently in a microwave to drive the bubbles out).L
tes and lots of fluid in. I carry Travelan as a treatment as well as loperimide ( but realising that loperimide slows things down but does not cure anything, only helps sometimes to get from A to B).If I get blood in the stool or have not been able to pass urin for 8 hours I seek medical help asap)
Before you leave on holiday talk to your DN and doctor about sick day plans.
Exercise inuitially raises my Bsl if it is very taxing (lots of glucose coming out of muscle storage) but later lowers my blood sugar for up to 12 hours afterwards. Light exercise does not raise it so much initially. And
when out walking, sightseeing etc meals might be delayed so I ensure I have food to munch on. I used to have
extra food to eat before and after exercise as a way to allow for the exercise burning up some of my sugar reserves.
Exercise in afternoon and evening is the worse, because the stored up sugar in my muscles is partly emptied out to work my muscles and about maybe 4 hours plus afterward my muscles demand a payback of sugar and yes, that comes out of the blood stream, so I watch for hypos in the early morning! My way, and you will need to ask your doctor and DN for yourself, is to
reduce my insulin before the exercise but still watch out later and think abouit a heartier supper than usual and about getting up at say 2 am and each one to two hours maybe to check bsls. Morning esxercises requires my viligence in the afternoon, evening particularly. I have used simlar regimes for exercise on 7 to 8 day canoe trips.
Alcohol is a tricky beast. What it does to me is that
it stops my liver from releasing sugar stores if I have a hypo. That is bad news, made
even worse if I am arrested for appearing to be drunk when in fact it is a hypo causing my less than exemplary behaviour !! ( and why having an
ID bracelet is so important, most police are trained to look for them).
Sweet alcohol drinks like dessert wines, mixers with non-local drinks ertc also
upset the blood sugar. For these reasons I abstain from alcohol. The choice is yours. I hope the above helps. The forum is here to help as is your DN and doctor.
