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Wild swimming.

E

emfor

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Looking for advice on anyone who wild swims. I am trying to figure out best way to carry hypo treatments and treat if middle of loch. Spending longer in the water and further away from the sides and getting myself more worried about hypos.
 
emfor said:
Looking for advice on anyone who wild swims. I am trying to figure out best way to carry hypo treatments and treat if middle of loch. Spending longer in the water and further away from the sides and getting myself more worried about hypos.
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Hi there, do you have hypos on 'normal' days at all?, what medication are you on and what type are you? This might help people to answer as if you are a person who hypos multiple times a day as opposed to rarely then that may affect any advice. Having said that, your actual question is how to carry treatment and treat!! I wondered if a libre would help but then thought well how would you carry your tester! There surely HAS to be some waterproof pouch that you attach to yourself about. Hope someone is able to help. x
 
KK123 said:
There surely HAS to be some waterproof pouch that you attach to yourself about.
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Pretty sure I found one at the airport travel store last time I went on an overseas beach holiday.
 
Hi @emfor I snorkel and swim up to 3 hours so far. I swim 2-3 times a week.

First I wear an Omnipod pump and that makes it easier because I can lower my basal for a couple of hours and that has worked out well. I used to stay out at first a half hour and then an hour because I had a routine that worked for a length of time and I knew I stayed pretty safe up to that time. But I do start out higher still to make up for the drop I get after about an hour to one and a half hours, then I start to rise.

I ordered several Stash pouches, one carries ginger chew candy for a quick hypo treatment if needed. I haven't been critical yet but I have used it. Once I did get quite a distance from shore and ate some to make sure I stayed at a certain level to swim back, plus I've eaten some so I could stay out longer because I was starting to drop more than I liked. I did try a couple of plastic bags at first, but after chewing candy that got salt water into it, yuk...............it doesn't give you a lot of extra time though.

The next thing that has been the most important is a Libre. I carry the reader in a Stash pouch and it scans underwater!!!!! This has made it possible to swim 3 hours and know what my blood sugar is doing.And it's also helped me fine tune my routine to what works for me. That routine changes though as you get used to swimming and you don't use as much energy. Keeping track of my blood sugar levels while out in the ocean has been a real blessing!!!!!
 
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You could try taking some GlucoGel with you for emergency hypo treatment ! Just break off the top of the tube and suck out the gel , I think it's about 10 carbs .
 
I've always thought a very small plastic bottle of undiluted sugary squash would be best when out swimming. Haven't taken it to the test yet though.
Same idea as @jaywak s really, except much cheaper.
 
Not to sideline this thread but.....@Antje77
Interesting..............when you first said sugary squash, I thought food? Food wouldn't work as well because you have to digest it. Then I thought to look up what sugary squash is in the UK because so many things have different names there.................and found out it's fruit juice or fruit flavored syrup lol...............:angelic::)
 
Marie 2 said:
Not to sideline this thread but.....@Antje77
Interesting..............when you first said sugary squash, I thought food? Food wouldn't work as well because you have to digest it. Then I thought to look up what sugary squash is in the UK because so many things have different names there.................and found out it's fruit juice or fruit flavored syrup lol...............:angelic::)
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And I had a wild google session to find the right English translation for the Dutch "limonadesiroop" ('lemonade syrup') before posting to make sure I used the right word! :banghead:
Sometimes being on an international forum thoroughly confuses things :hilarious:.

To be all clear, I referred to the sugary fruit flavoured stuff which says 'dilute with 9 parts of water to make a refreshing fruit drink' or such :). Usually drank by 7 year olds on birthday parties. It works wonders for hypo's and you only need a very small volume, as a sip of the undiluted nastyness has the same effect as a whole glass of lemonade!
 
So many responses, I should have been more specific, I am type 1 (25 years) I have libre 2 (but doesnt read when swimming due to being too cold) I have an aquapak for pump (although waterproof has failed in water before Medtronic 640g)
I have been managing an hour in water around 13⁰C -15⁰C (Scotland).
I have on average 3 hypos a week.
Feel very apprehensive in the water especially so far from shore can be about 20 minute swim.
 
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@emfor How are you trying to get your Libre scanner to read? My ocean water isn't cold so I haven't run into that problem. I do know that bluetooth communication doesn't work underwater. But so far with the 14day Libre and the Libre2 and the reader in a waterproof Stash pouch held right over my sensor has given me a scan? (the phone does not work) I also keep the reader shoved between me and my swimsuit so it probably helps keep it warmer. The Stash pouch has never failed, I have 3 of them, one for my phone, one for the Libre reader and one for a bag of ginger candy.

Before getting my Libre to scan I used to limit my swims to about 1 hour because that seemed to the safe time period, although a few times I came out at around a 4.1. In my case with a pump I reduce my basal rate for 2 hours prior to swimming. I have an Omnipod so I reduce and don't completely stop it. The additional option is to boost your BG level more before you swim. I used to boost it to around 8.3 before. Now I just boost it to around 7.2. I make sure I don't eat in the am so that I had no bolus insulin on board when I swim and in my case would drink some chocolate soymilk to boost it up to the level I want before I swim with no insulin. Having any active bolus insulin makes it a lot harder to stop having hypo's.

I ran into that the other day, we spontaneously decided to swim and I had eaten and dosed for a larger carb lunch. I ate some extra peanuts and caramel to boost me more and went in to promptly fall 4 mmols in only about 4,000 feet of swimming. I downed a few ***** bears, swam to shore and promptly downed half the bag and then went back out. And you can't always tell what exertion you are going to expend when swimming in the ocean so that adds difficulty.

But maybe try to work with the Libre more? Insulate it or???? Because I used to always worry what BG level I was at and it influenced how much I enjoyed it and how far and long I swam. Now I just check my Libre and that allowed me to learn what to do to stay out longer.
 
What a wonderful informative and useful post, @Marie 2!
Marie 2 said:
My ocean water isn't cold so I haven't run into that problem
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I can add a bit of information, as I've often ran into Libres being too cold.
It's not the reader/phone being too cold, it's the sensor itself when the back of your arm gets cold. In my case it has happened at campfires (hot on the front, cold on the back), while doing manual work outside, making me warm enough to work with little clothes in a cold environment, and also when swimming.

When swimming is the hardest to solve, as there is no place to warm the sensor. Campfire is the easiest, just position that chicken wing like it is a chicken wing.
In all cases, it takes quite a while for the sensor being warm enough again to give readings.

Edit: fun but off topic fact: in winter I can't use my meter at night without warming it because it's too cold in my bedroom. Scanning the Libre works just fine, as the sensor stays under the blankets when it's cold!
 
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Okay, so if it's the sensor I am wondering if it is on your arm if it would help wrapping it in a ace bandage? Maybe an insulated wrap of some kind or a heat pack wrapped with it and around it? Something that could stay warm but not burn you or be too heavy. They have those paper ones that once opened create heat, maybe in a plastic wrap, wrapped around your arm??? There are small SnapHeats, hand warmer size that are reusable that might work to wrap with it? SnapHeats are wonderful I have some I use for my back all the time at night. Just an idea to try to get your Libre to work. The Libre is what has helped me the most!
 
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