Category Archives: Low Blood Sugars

Smartie Spit

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Get that picture into your mind: Smartie Spit. Now think of that spit going through a clarinet. Gross, huh. Don’t stop reading.

I play the clarinet. I’m in my high school’s symphonic band. It’s really fun, because I got first clarinet, and I just love love love music in general. It’s just so much fun. It’s really one of the best part of my days.

A couple of days ago I was low in band. Now that’s just awkward. I mean, try to imagine trying to inhale smarties during the rests (pauses while playing) and then forcing Smartie spit down your instrument. It’s really gross. And I’m not grossed out by many things, but this is just one of them.

And then in many cases your band teacher just gives you this look, that basically says, Why the heck are you eating and playing your instrument at the same time? Irresponsible student.

So you basically hope that you never get low during band.

Okay, and then you join the marching band. Which can technically be counted as exercise. Don’t get me wrong. Marching band is totally fun. Football games are the life. I mean, we’re all the “band geeks” so we really know nothing about football. So we just sit around and play little rifts and laugh and talk.

But throw the whole marching thing into the mix. We play at parades too. But how do you march in a contest in formation and get low in the middle of the song? It’s a puzzle, I tell you. A puzzle. My band teacher told me that I could just duck out when I needed to, and I’m not saying that I’m against the idea, but that it’s sort of awkward to playing our school’s fight song and then to duck out of the group when we’re all in formation.I will totally duck out if I need to, but it’s still weird. I still have a bag of Smarties in the pocket of my uniform. But I haven’t been low yet, which is a good thing.

Luckily, just now we’re only doing basketball games right now and no marching, so I wont have to worry about this until next school year, when we start marching again.

Well, adios for now!

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 diabetic, Diabetic blogger, Smartie spitter

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My Gum Drops are Out To Kill Me

I Have Low Blood Sugars When I Ski

1 Reply

Who knew.

So after a couple of weekends of taking ski lessons at Copper Mountain I’ve deduced that I always end up in my 20s after my first run. And being 20 mg/dl is just scary. And my goal is not to have Ski Patrol come rescue me (even my mom says that they are hot). So what do you do? I hate being high, and I hate being low. But at this point in time I am guessing that I should send myself high in order not to go low. Any suggestions?

I already carry candy in my pocket: jelly beans and Smarties. The first time that I was low and skiing my dad freaked out so now whenever I go skiing my pockets are weighted down like I’m carrying a bowling ball or something. Which brings me to my next point.

For all you skiers, always bring something with you. That really should be common sense, but I just want to get out there so I can say that I’ve said it. I carry candy, my lunch, my tester, an extra lancet, and a shot with me. All in my pockets. But seriously, if you need something on the mountain, you wont be sorry that you had all of that stuff with you.

For example, one time during our ski lessons we skied down to the bottom of Resolution bowl on Copper Mountain. For those of you who don’t know, Resolution is the only lift were you aren’t at a base, or can’t ski down to a base. So if the mountain looses power, you’re stuck. And guess what? Just as we got to the bottom of Resolution, the whole entire mountain lost power! I know, right? CRAZY. And for some weird reason Copper decided that Resolution was going to use reserve power LAST. That’s right, LAST. So everyone else in the class was starving, but my brother and I had our lunches in our pocket, so we weren’t starving. I know that I wasn’t low, but what if I had been? That right there is a really good reason to have sugar with you right there.

So anyway. I’m asking for suggestions on what to do to stop being low on the mountain when I ski. Suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 diabetic, Diabetic blogger, Diabetic skier

Related Posts:

Skiing with Diabetes
Skiing with a High Blood Sugar

Skiing With Diabetes

5 Replies

So. I ski. I suppose it’s not that surprising, but I live in Colorado, so of course I ski. Stereotypical, huh? My grandfather rented out a house in Steamboat for winter vacation so all of my aunts, uncles, and grandparents (and my immediate family) came up to Steamboat to hang out and ski. Fun, right? But I’m sure that you’re all very surprised that skiing can get very complicated when mixed with diabetes (intense sarcasm). It’s like running for me. Really. I’ve had a crazy couple of days.

So you think I would go low, right? Well, I did, but I also went high. While I was there I skied for a total of two days, and on the first day I had some really low blood sugars. On the second day I had blood sugars that were in the 400 range. Not really perfect. And it makes it hard to find a pattern. And on the first day, when my blood sugar was low, I was in the 30′s. That’s the lowest I’ve ever been before, and it really scared me.

So I guess I am asking for advice, so please comment. :) I’m going skiing in a couple of weeks so I will be sure to try out some ideas.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic skier, Powder shredder

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Skiing with a High Blood Sugar

A Try on Cross Country and Diabetes

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Okay, so you know how I was having real trouble running Cross Country with diabetes? So my dad does this whole LinkedIn group thing, and he asks questions about diabetes on it. Most recently, questions about how to run cross country with diabetes. So this other dad with a kid a little older then me answered and told Dad about this thing called a SPIbelt. A SPIbelt is this thing that is basically a little belt with a pouch on it that is perfect for running, because IT DOESN’T BOUNCE. I mean, I get annoyed when I run and my test strips click, so when this thing doesn’t bounce, it’s like a blessing.

So my Dad is going to get me a SPIbelt. I can fit some Skittles (haha, I know, ironic) and one of those OneTouch Minis in it. Which is cool because now I won’t have to carry anything in my hands, which is also annoying.

So I suppose that going low is just one of those things that happen when you run, right? And if you’re a diabetic and run Cross Country, please COMMENT so I can get some advise. Which would be really helpful. PRETTY PLEASE. :)

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic Blogger, Cross Country Runner

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Cross Country

Cross Country

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Sooo…. About three weeks ago I started high school! Yay!

And high school means sports. And sports to me means cross country. Which I really didn’t want to do, but my parents made me. And it turns out to be pretty fun. The people are nice, not to mention supportive. There’s just one little snag.

Usually I am opposite of most people when it comes to blood sugars and diabetes. Like I usually go high and have to account for that. Except then I joined Cross Country.

There hasn’t been a day when I haven’t gone low. It sucks. Period. And it’s not just the sixty or seventy range. It’s the fifty or forty range, which just makes it worse. And all I can say is THANKS TO GOODNESS that I have my CGM on, or I would probably collapse and fall unconscious (usually I feel my lows, not when I run).

I love my coach. On the first day I gave her my diabetes letter and told her that I had type 1 diabetes. And her first question was, “How are you going to not be low?” Like I said, I love my coach. She knows what diabetes is! She asked the right questions! LUCKY ME! So I said that I usually don’t go low, and that I was going to run with my tester and smarties.

On that first day, I left my glucose tester and smarties in my backpack, because I was only going to run around campus. Bad idea. I was running with another girl, but then I had to turn back because I was feeling seriously shaky and dizzy. It took me about forever to get back. And I was 50 mg/dl. Yup. From then on, I held my tester and smarties in my hands as I ran, and was low EVERY SINGLE DAY. NOT FUN.

It’s gotten to the point that I couldn’t finish my three miles, and nearly cried because of it, because I was so frustrated. I mean, I’m lowering my insulin, I’m eating before hand, what’s going on? Hopefully I’ll figure it out soon.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery

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Watch Your Blood Sugar in the Water
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My Gum Drops Are Out To Kill Me

4 Replies

Okay, maybe I’m joking.

My normal pencil bag candy for school is Smarties. I’ve mentioned this before. Well, last time I checked, Smarties are strictly American and Canadian candy. And, oh right, I live in Mexico. So it might be time to extend my candy preferences.

So let me remind you about something: I absolutely loathe Smarties. And that’s exactly the reason why I carry them. The basic idea is so my willpower doesn’t crumble and so I can same my Smarties for when I’m actually low. Also, so I don’t eat too many of them and go high.

The Mexican candies I have to choose from are pretty limited. There’s candy with chile (basically spicy stuff), which even though I like, it’s hard to eat fast, unless I want the fire extinguisher and I to become best buds.

So when Mom and Dad went on a shopping expedition, they came back with gum drops and chocolate covered raisins.

Here’s the good/bad news: I actually like these candies. I sense a high blood sugar in my future.

The problem is this: Okay, maybe my willpower doesn’t collapse, but when I’m actually low I eat too many of them, and then go high. Or my willpower crumbles completely, and I go high. It’s sort of a lose lose situation.

My dad is a speaker, and so he flies out of the airport to go to jobs. So the last time he left, what do you know, he brought me Smarties.

Maybe one day I’ll figure it out.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Insulin Pump User, Candy Eater

Related Posts:
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Diabetic Low Blood Sugars in Mexico

Give Me The Candy!

5 Replies

Low blood sugars in Mexico.

When I’m low at school, I eat Smarties. Unlike in the US, people here don’t really know that I have diabetes, where in the States, it was just some sort of random information that wasn’t big news.

Here, nobody knows about it. I mean, I don’t like to publicize the fact that I have diabetes, but it’s really hard to explain to people that I have it when they notice my insulin pump or see me testing my blood sugar, because I don’t speak Spanish, and my questioners usually don’t speak English. I can usually fumble out a sentence or two, but they just look at me blankly when I say, “Tengo diabetes.” (“I have diabetes.”) Then they nod wisely as if they know exactly what I’m talking about, but turn around and shrug at their neighbor. And I don’t have enough language skills to explain what it is.

So back to the Smarties issue. So, as you know, I eat Smarties when I’m low. I hang out with a strange group of friends at school in Mexico. Two girls speak pretty fluent English and another girl speaks a ton of English, but is in no way fluent. Her name is Adriana. Sofie and Atalya are the fluent ones.

So one day I made the mistake of giving them all Smarties and Adriana hasn’t left me alone since. “Can I have some candies? Can I have some candies? Can I have some candies?” She doesn’t understand that I have to have these candies or I’m in trouble if I’m low. Finally I got fed up with it and got Sofie to translate that if I didn’t have these candies, I could end up in serious trouble that might end up in a trip to the hospital. Adriana left me alone for about thirty seconds and then started asking me for more candies. Here’s what I say to this: Never give candy to someone who doesn’t understand why you might eventually need it.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Diabetic Teenage Blogger, Candy Giver

A Low Dilemma

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In which people bombard me with questions at my candy eating habits due to low blood sugars.

While I’m low I eat Smarties. Everyone thinks I eat Smarties for fun. It’s actually quite the contrary. I hate Smarties. I eat them for lows because then I can’t be tempted to eat them when I’m not. My dad thinks I am really mature for restricting myself, but the truth is, I can never catch up with bolusing (giving myself insulin via pump) and almost always end up being high. If you haven’t guessed by now, I hate being high.

Low blood sugars make almost everyone confused. For instance, when most people think of Diabetes, they think of a person who is restricted in their eating habits and sugar intake. So most everyone does a double take when they see me stuffing Smarties into my mouth.

And then when hear the reasoning behind my eating habits, they want the candy. This is quite annoying, as you might imagine.

Hence, the reason I carry Smarties. I suppose the biggest reason is that they are easy to put into a bag and stuff into my pencil bag. Also, they are easy to stuff into my mouth without people noticing. Though of course, some people do notice, which is where the dilemma comes in.

I have had a number of odd experiences involving lows and candy. For example, last year I was low in Science class. A girl, we’ll call her Agent X, saw me eating the candy. So Agent X, naturally wanting the candy, asks me why I am eating candy. When  I explain that I am a diabetic and that I am having a low, she nods, satisfied. Then she smiles and says, “Yah, I’m a diabetic too.” Agent X laughs. To this day, I still haven’t gotten the joke.

When I was in 6th grade I was in an advanced math class with the worst bunch of 7th graders in the school. So of course I am seated next to a mean boy, who in the next week takes my empty desk as an opportunity to steal my Smarties. I never traced their theft to Mr. Mean Boy, but I’ve always assumed it was him, as he’d seen me eating Smarties before. The next class the teacher moved me to sit with a perfectly nice, and not to mention sane, 6th grade girl named Sarah.

Just this year I was low and a girl noticed me eating candy. “Claire, you bad a**,” she said. “You’re eating candy.” That’s the first time I’ve ever been cussed at, by the way. I find it odd that I was cussed at for inhaling sugar. So I quickly explained that I was a diabetic.

So, I think that the solution to this problem is to say that everyone goes wacko around candy. Everyone except the diabetic in the group, of course, who immediately pull their pump out, and bolus up.

Sincerely,

Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Teenage Blogger, Candy Eater

Watch Your Blood Sugar in the Water

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People don’t tend to notice their lows in the water, so be sure to be careful about it.

That’s what my trainer said two days after I was diagnosed with diabetes. But usually I go high instead of low while exercising. And then it all began to change.

The first time I noticed that I was low while swimming wasn’t a result of swimming. I was low before swim team and wouldn’t come up. Even during dinner I wouldn’t come up. First I had a juice before dinner. Then I ate dinner. Then I had some smarties. Then I had another juice. Then I started to swim during practice. I checked again and I was 80. So I had another juice. And then, finally, I was fine. But it took maybe forty five minutes.Swimming With Diabetes

The next morning we biked to swim team. After swimming my mom made me test even though I felt fine. And I was 56. My mom called my dad and he came and picked me up. Luckily I had some smarties with me. When I got into the car I overheard my mom telling my dad that at the end I was only going fast enough to stay afloat. And that’s why she made me test.

In the next couple of practices I was fine. But one morning after practice my brother and sister convinced my dad to go get doughnuts afterwords at Safeway. When we got to Safeway, we were holding my doughnuts and in line to pay when I tested my blood sugar. I was 45. It was sort of a funny scene, we were paying and I was devouring my doughnut. “Three doughnuts,” my dad said. He looked over at me. “Well, two doughnuts, actually. Her doughnuts on her face. I meant that the crumbs were on her face. Do I know you?” The cashier laughed, and we payed for three doughnuts and left.Managing Low Blood Sugars While Swimming With Diabetes

At my next swim meat I was 200 after my first event. So I corrected. After my fourth event I was 460. After my fifth I was 450. So I guess you go high at swim meets.

I’m just putting this out there to say that diabetics should watch their blood sugar in the water. Because if you don’t, some nasty situations could come up.

Sincerely,
Claire Montgomery
Type 1 Diabetic, Independent Pumper, Doughnut Stealer