"What can't you do?" is a question I hear a lot. It's a really good question, considering most people without diabetes cannot fathom how good it is just to have normal blood sugars! If there are some trade-offs, most of us pumpers would gladly agree, it's well worth it.But despite what you may think, the simple answer is, "nothing!" I mean, I guess technically speaking I can't go through an x-ray machine (it messes with the pumps electronics), and I need to take it off before a raging roller-coasters with steep drops and upside-down inversions; but is that really a limitation? Hardly!
This past weekend my wife & I went to our favorite resort in Michigan to enjoy some incredible skiing & snowboarding action. I've been skiing as long as I can remember, and switched to the board when I was about 16 (around when it first came out). I took a hieatus during my 20's, and now am back at it! Being on the pump and snowboarding (and skiing) is really not an issue at all. I simply adjust my basal rate (the continuous trickle of insulin) down due to the excessive exercise and go for it!
Before the pump I would allow my blood sugars to hover higher while snowboarding, knowing they would be crashing down because of the exertion. As you can imagine, it is not a reciepe for feeling great! I also noticed that when my sugar levels were high, my reaction time was a bit slower. Normally not an issue, but blazing down a mountain at break-neck speeds, you need every bit of reaction time you can muster!
So now my levels are normal and I feel better before, during, and after the weekend on the mountain. It allows me to fully enjoy each moment, and helps to create life-long memories like this:
Stay encouraged, and tell everyone you know to keep pumpin...
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