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Hillwalking Advice

K

kalfwood

Member
Messages
7
Location
Falkirk
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Are there any active hillwalkers on here?

After my last appointment with the Doc, I have chosen to rip up the rule book I was using, or not as the case may be and start afresh.

I have been an active hillwalker since before I became Diabetic and have never had an issue with controlling my diabetes while undertaking short walks, or grand weekend epics in the Scottish Highlands.

Today I undertook a walk that lasted about 8 hours and given the weather recently the snow has been falling heavy on the hills, meaning that the walk can turn into an epic as we were breaking trail through deep snow.

Today felt like an endurance test, my BG's up and down like a yo-yo. I left the house this morning with a BG of 5.9, 10 units of Novorapid and sticking to my carbs of 30 for breakfast and with a relatively healthy lunch box in the rucsac.

First problem I found was that in temperatures of minus 15 , my monitor wouldnt work so it became a bit of a trial and error with trying to gauge my levels on how I felt. I stuck to my routine, kind of, by taking snacks and lunch at set times and continuing to reduce my insulin dosage given the exercise I was undertaking.

At one point coming down off the hill I felt low, attempted a BG, but to no avail - it was just too cold. I therefore took some lucozade and rested for a period of time but upon returning to the car I had extreme thirst. After thawing out the BG monitor I had a result of 29.4 :shock: Should I recalibrate the monitor given the low temperatures it has endured?

I took some Novorapid to bring it down but it has remained high (last result a little while ago was 15.9) aand this is after having dinner. I have taken another injection to try and help bring it down but I am concerned that despite already injecting, it is remaining high.

My doc did mention that I may have insulin resistance but since I saw him on the 22nd and rewrote my rule book by lowering my insulin dosages and carbs, I have had no problems until today.

Have I done something wrong today in terms of what I should do to ensure my BG remains steady through out the day? Was I right to lower the number of units of Novorapid I was taking? Should I have eaten more at my meal times?

Any advice would be helpful and gratefully welcomed?

Ali
 

Hi.
Not a hillwalker, but I think that we do have some members here who do. Let's hope that one of them is around. Just some practical answers from me, for what they are worth.

First of all your meter. Don't know where you had it stored ? The best place is next to your body to utilise your own body heat, together with the strips. One of the problems you found is that they often fail to work in extremes of temperature. Hence they need to be kept warm by any means possible. The other thing with meters is that altitude also affects them. So, you need to let your meter get back to a normal temperature at a normal altitude and then you can possibly rely on the readings. At the moment you cannot rely on the current readings until you have checked the accuracy of the meter with the control solutions (high and low). Do you have a spare meter you could use for now ?

As I am not an Insulin user I cannot really offer any advice there. Hopefully you will get a better answer later which will address those other questions.
 
I do have another meter and its presently showing 20 (aaargh) using an UltraSmart device. I use an Ultra 2 in the hills with a Nano as back-up and admittedly they were kept in the top pocket of my rucsac therefore completey exposed to the elements, I'll get them both recalibrated.

Wont happen like that next time

However, and another point to note, I generally get bad cramp in my legs after a strenuous day in the hills and ealier I took said injection in my thigh where there is obviously a build up of lactic acid. Could the Novorapid fail to work correctly if this is the case?

I took my most recent injection in my arm after getting the above reading so will test again in about an hour to see if it's come down.

Ali
 
kalfwood

You need some advice f you going up mountines, diabetics are know to go the the poles etc. in extreme cold climblers etc will keep there test strips and meters next to there bodies to maintain working tempreture (armpits are quite often mentioned)

Check this link out
diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Treatment__your_health/Keeping_active/Physical_activity_and_altitude/

Also take a look at runsweet.com

Must admit I would love to know how to recalibrate an meter, apart from changing the calabration chip, and/or double checking meter with test solution I never come across another way of doing it
 
Hi,
I ski in cold temperatures and hill walk in rather hotter climes.
When skiing on very cold days I keep my meter either in an internal pocket, with the meter and case in a bubblewrap pouch. I think I've only had a few occasions when I've not been able to get a reading. the meter was an accuchek and shows a thermometer to indicate it's too cold. It hasn't had a lasting effect on the meter.... indeed I've got it to work within a few minutes of getting into a warm place.
I find that being (ie living) at altitude raises my overall levels by 1or 2mmol but this is at almost twice the height of the Scottish hills. I hadn't considered that it might be the meter reading higher, I do know that I record lower levels as soon as I go down the mountain.
I don't know what to suggest about the walking. Personally, I have to both reduce bolus insulin and eat a lot more carbs than ususal at breakfast and lunch. Now I have a pump I reduce my basal to a tiny amount but pre pump I had to eat a dextrose tablet , some raisins or a bit of a cereal bar every hour or so to keep my levels from dropping too low rather than taking a lot of sugar in one hit but I really haven't had the problem of high levels.
I do wonder if the combination of extreme weather,difficulty of your walk and inability to test caused all sorts of stress hormones to kick in which could have caused the rise.
As Jopar says there maybe some useful advice on runsweet there is also a group of mountain enthusiasts with diabetes with a UK contact number here http://www.mountain-mad.org/
 
Thanks for the replys. I guess I'm looking for a sort of best practise approach to adopt when taking to the hills. Thanks for the links and from what I have seen so far there looks to be some sound advice to be had.

In terms of calibration I'm simply meaning using the control solution...

Ali

On a positive note since my visit to the Doc on the 22nd, my weight has dropped to 14.2 stone (down from 15.1), my Blood Sugars are seem to be holding steady between 5.0 and 8.0 (with the exception of yesterday) and I feel that my change in diet and watching the carbs is helping considerably along with the increased exercise. Early days though but so far so good...
 
All I can say as a low level short distance( max about 5 miles) walker is don't forget to allow for heat loss. You will burn much more fuel to keep warm.
Hana
 
I'm type 1 diabetic. I do a lot of solo hillwalking, and there are a few pitfalls, which experience will teach you about.

I know it sounds obvious but take plenty of carbs with you. I take lucozade, lots of other stuff and squeezy honey as a last resort in my rucksack. Enough water to drink is a good idea too.

If I want to do a test, I move the meter from my inside pocket to my armpit for a few minutes in extreme cold. Take breaks as often as necessary. I know it adds time when you're out. High blood sugar levels are sometimes encountered, like you said. I don't think it's the meter needing calibration, although I could be mistaken. I've often had a high sugar level since I take carbs before setting off, usually an hour of uphill struggle brings it down and there's always insulin if you're too high.

Remember there are many factors in the equation. So I usually do a blood test if in any doubt.

And make sure you leave a route card with someone and expected contact time. I always have a whole heap of food and drink in the car, as I once struggled to get back, knowing that I only had a couple of old mars bars, but at least they saved the day.


Good luck with your walking.
 
Buying New Hillwalking Boots

Given that diabetes can lead to problems with feet and we all need to look after our feet, is there anything in particular that I should be looking for when I go to purchase my new hillwalking boots?
 
Thanks for this thread.

I used to go hillwalking quite a bit, but have been out of it for a few year. Been spending a bit of money lately on new gear and plan to start with an easy 4 hour walk on a 528m hill. I'll then do a few easy munros before hitting the hills properly in the summertime.

The advice in this thread will prove useful and if anyone has anything else to add, I am sure others and myself would appreciate it
 
I reckon just don't get boots that are too small. Remember your feet will swell up during a walk. I made that mistake about two years ago. Thought the boots I'd got were just right and they would stretch a bit. I was wrong, so moved up a size and never had a problem with the new ones. I had to give the other ones away.
 
Re: Buying New Hillwalking Boots

Fencer said:
Given that diabetes can lead to problems with feet and we all need to look after our feet, is there anything in particular that I should be looking for when I go to purchase my new hillwalking boots?
Click to expand...

Go to an outdoor store which offers boot fittings.
I went to one in the centre of Norwich near the market (Cotswold Outdoors) which was excellent.
A proper fitting can take up to an hour.
This was also free
(Link removed. Google Company name)

They diagnosed that I was wearing a size larger than I needed because my feet needed more support and were spreading.

They then fitted me with what they considered the correct size, including an extra supporting insole.
The combination of boots (Scarpa, I think) and insole was eyewateringly expensive so I went away to think about it then saw some other boots in another shop in the sale for 50 quid and bought those instead. Although I do still feel a touch of guilt

HTH

LGC
 
Re: Buying New Hillwalking Boots

That's great to hear about good service in Cotsworld - there's one a two minute walk from my flat
 
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