Ski and diabete

Hi everybody,

I’m going to ski for three days, this is the firt time since I was diagnosed (29 June 2009). I’am afraid for my glucose meter, insulin pen and lows. Do you have some advice ?

Thanks

Keep them dry. Test at the top, test at the bottom - or every 30 minutes while skiing, whichever is longer. Also carry some glucose tabs or other fast acting carbs on the slopes. Better to keep you BG a little on the high side while skiing than try to keep it low. Next to last - make sure you have something that ID’s you as having diabetes.

Have a great time!!

Terry

Depending on where your’e skiing and how long it takes to go up/down a slope, you may not even need to bring your meter or anything out with you. When I went skiing most of the stuff I left in a locker (indoors, but cooler than usual room temp). And would just go inside to warm up/test every so often. I ski on east coast so a lot of the places here, you can get in 3-5 slopes in 30-45 minutes. If you’re worried about your insulin, you might want to check to see if the place you’re at has a first aid station where you can store your insulin. Unless you’re staying right at the slopes? Then I would just leave it in the room. I never did this with skiing but when I went to amusement parks when I was younger I left it with the park’s first aid station. I wouldn’t take the insulin out with you.

Glucose tabs probably would work best in cold weather since they’re least likely to be affected by the cold (I’ve found that candy like skittles/starburst) get to hard and are difficult to chew and handle. A tube of glucose mints you could even just pop the top off with gloves and get a few into you w/o needing to take off your gloves. Hard candy works okay too…though doesn’t dissolve quickly.

Good luck and enjoy. I also second Terry’s adivce about staying a little above target. Also watch out for lows several hours after as well.

Hello! I ski every year in Telluride which is at a really high elevation. I find that both altitude and weather can really affect my glucometer, so just be aware that when you’re on the mountain it may not be reading correctly (frustrating, but true) Mine tends to read high so go with your gut, you can correct later, and you don’t want to over-correct when you’re out there skiing. For that reason, I test mostly at lunchtime when I can warm my meter up, and always at the bottom of the mountain. Pay attention to the energy you’re expending, sometimes it doesn’t feel like much under all that clothing and gear, but be aware of your own body. Glucose tabs I think are the best thing to keep in your pocket if you feel a little “off” you can take a few.

Keep your insulin and meter etc on an inside pocket near your body if it is really cold.

Have a great time! I’ve done it a lot, nothing really to worry about, just another form of exercise!

We ski with our daughter (Dx 2007). We always carry a meter, glucose tabs and extra snacks and water as well as insulin + pens (when she was injecting - now pumping). We also take her Glucagon kit. You never know when a chair lift might break down or a member of your party gets injured and you can’t get back to the lodge in a timely manner. My daughter finds that skiing really drops her BG numbers and she will snack fairly often if we don’t lower her basal numbers. Keeping her stuff warm isn’t a problem - just tuck everything inside inner jacket pockets. Have fun on the slopes.

at my last job i kinda worked inside/outside, so everybody wore carharts and gloves because there was no way in keeping the huge doors closed for very long. I would usually keep my meter and insulin on me, inside my jacket, to keep it warm. If it didn’t work i would stand in front of the heaters, or even keep my meter close to the heater. Just recently i went to a flea market to work, and there was no heat coming down our aisle! I had to remember to keep my meter close to me, because it didn’t want to work in that cold (rest of the building was heated). So i guess you never know when your meter might stop working! Anybody ever have it happen when it gets to hot?