Hi 
Happy 4th everyone! I’m headed to the pool today for some sun and fun, but need to know what should I pay attention to in order to have a safe non-ER 4th of July? I’ve only been on the pump now since Wednesday, and I’ve not swam since getting it. For a site cover I’m going to try out a Waterproof bandage, hope that’s alright, if not it’s okay because I’m bringing back up supplies (just in case).
Thanks,
Blessed Diabetic
I can’t give any advice about exercise in general, but as far as the low symptoms go, we are all different. Have you recognized what some of your own symptoms are? If so, than you know what to look for. For me it is a general spaciness and difficulty thinking straight as well as a tingly tongue and lips. I also sometimes get visual distortions sort of like shadows or jumping lines, but fairly subtle. If you don’t know your own personal symptoms yet you might want to print out a list of common hypo symptoms and then start checking off your own versions when you have a low. Sometimes it can be subtle (especially if it isn’t very low) and you have to sort of train yourself to recognize. As in, “hmmmm, I’ve read this same paragraph three times and it’s not making sense, maybe I should check my blood sugar.”
Also I’ve never worried about site covers in the water during pumping. If you disconnect make sure you put the cap on your site though because if you get sand in there you’ll get it reconnected again you’ll end up changing out your infusion set.
If you disconnect make sure your pump is secure and in a cool spot.
During water activities I always had to drop my basal rate way back compared to other physical activities. I actually could have disconnected the pump but then I’d have to sort out how to secure it (ie keep it cool, keep it safe) or figure out how to give myself insulin if I left it at home or in the hotel room. It was actually easier to keep it on and set a very low temp basal and bolus if I ran a little high.
Well I found out what a low feels like in the water, I had two of them 
I checked my BG before swimming, it was 138 so I just jumped right in. When I came back up after swimming 100 feet, I was a little dizzy and disoriented. Sure enough, my blood sugar was 79, so I suspended my pump, drank some Sprite then was back in the water at a BG of 82, swam one lap (25 feet) then it was out of the pool again check BG 68. So I decided I was out of the pool at this point, turned my pump back on and came home.
The Waterproof Bandage seemed to work though, I used two to cover the insert, I just need to find out how I can swim for an hour without blood sugar crashes.
Yeah, I’d rather keep it on me even if it’s suspended because the darn thing is so expensive and necessary that I’d hate some kids to run off with it. I mean it’s like leaving a few thousand in your purse while you’re in the water… you’re constantly aware and can’t enjoy the swim. I’m going to have to set a different basal rate during my swims, I swim Monday-Saturday (or at least I did, prior to the pump).
Sound like you need to have a snack before going in the water and to test, test, test