Vacation

Vacation - ahh, what a wonderful word!

Since I'm now part of the 'pumper nation,' I've learned that vacation has an alternate meaning for many pumpers, which is defined in the Kocian Abridged Standard Dictionary (2009 first edition) as:

Taking your pump off and going back to shots for awhile.

Now, I've only been pumpin' for around 5 months, and with the dramatic results I've seen (a complete turnaround), I'm thinking even when they cure diabetes I might still wear it for good fortune!

So maybe I'm still in the honeymoon phase, but I just can't foresee wanting to be on a pump vacation anytime in the near future. However, the colloquial 'vacation' premise is one I'm always up for, and last week me, the minimed, and my family set off for sunny Arizona!

As it was my first major airline trip with the pump, I of course prepped as if I was about to endure a 90 day quarantine! I had my dr.'s note (allowing me to carry juice, candy, food, needles, supplies, and every other thing that the TSA finds to be an annoyance related to diabetes), lancets (the last time I changed my lancet?.....months!!), extra testing strips, needles, insulin, multiple infusion sets, reseviors, and more. I was virtually a traveling, mobile medtronic insulin pump supple store!

We made it to AZ without any problems, and I was wondering what the vacation would do to the blood sugars. My life is usually a uniquely orchestrated organized chaos, so my routine is generally changing day to day. I've learned to adapt, and I rather enjoy the lack of monotony.

My blood sugars were a little off (average slightly higher - high 140's), but I've also backed off my basal rates recently because the lows have been much more frequent. I stuck with the carb counting, and although meal times varied daily, the control remained fairly tight.

It's funny how a few months can change one's perspective, as a 140's average seemed not only implausible, but impossible a few months ago. Now, here I am bumming a bit...how soon we forget!

So the lesson from the past week is that prepartion goes a long way with the pump and a vacation. Have the lifesavers (and my favorite - Dole pineapple juice from Sam's Club) handy to combat any low's, and keep counting the carbs!

I was not only able to do more this vacation then any ever before (see and hike the Grand Canyon, climb a small mountain with the kids, play golf, swim, relax, eat, relax, get sun, relax, and eat), this time I was actually able to enjoy it like never before, thanks to normal blood sugars and this incredible piece of technology known as the inulin pump!

Now if there was only a way to vacation 2 weeks out of every month, I'd really be on to someting...

Until next time, keep pumpin......