Ahh, vacation…what’s that, again?

After the insanity of the entire month of August (I’ve had LOTS going on professionally and personal), I can’t believe that I actually escape for a full week earlier in the month. But I did, and I’m so very thankful that I had the opportunity to soak up some sun with my boyfriend and dog at the vacation spot I’ve visited annually most of my life.

Of course, they weren’t my only travel companions – my diabetes tagged along too, just as it always does (oh, if only I could do something about that). And my diabetes proved to me, once again, that it dislikes disruptions to my daily routine.

In fact, that dislike manifested itself into several things that just straight-up went wrong with my diabetes on vacation:

• Rollercoaster blood sugars: My blood sugar crashed 3x on the morning of our road trip to our vacation destination – THREE TIMES before we even got there! It got me worried that consistent lows would be a theme throughout the week, but naturally, it was actually highs that turned out to be more of a problem. My diet and exercise routine were wayyy out of whack from my norm, and I had trouble getting accurate carb counts for some of my meals (particularly dinners that we ate out at restaurants). I did my best to combat highs by walking EVERYWHERE – thank goodness that was an option for our plans most days – but I was still frustrated that I wasn’t experiencing as many flat lines as I would’ve liked on my CGM graph.
• A pod failure: Our first full beach day was marred by a pod that failed, seemingly the instant that I dipped my toes into the Atlantic ocean. The roar of the waves almost drowned out the shrill beep emitting from my pod, but once I was back ashore there was no mistaking that something (a bent cannula? The freezing cold water? Some other mysterious variable?) had triggered the pod to fail. And as my luck would have it, I didn’t bring a new pod or insulin to the beach with me, so I decided to wait until we walked back to our house to actually do something about it. Under normal circumstances, I’d never delay replacing my pod, but since I knew we’d be walking back home soon I figured it’d be okay to wait.
• A sensor failure: Our second and sadly last full beach day couldn’t be enjoyed without another diabetes disruption – this time, it was my sensor that failed, and only after we’d been on the beach for about an hour! While this matter wasn’t as urgent, it was still annoying, because I didn’t have my meter with me (ugh, I know, I sound like a total diabetes rookie here). I chose not to worry about it and make the most of our beach day, and rely on my body’s signals to let me know if I was going low.

Sounds like I had my fair share of diabetes drama on vacation, right? I can’t deny that these instances were varying degrees of frustrating, but also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also consider all the things that went right while we were away:

• I didn’t forget to pack any of my diabetes supplies for the trip! While I may not have had certain things (see reference to meter, pod, and insulin above) on me at all times, I did always have back-ups at the house, and remembered to carry low snacks with me no matter what.
• Despite delaying a pod replacement for my failed pod, my blood sugar was totally fine! I didn’t spike from that whatsoever.
• Even though I didn’t have a working CGM for 4-5 hours on my last beach day, I wound up having a stellar blood sugar when I checked it with my meter once I was at the house. I was 81! I attribute that to staying hydrated and getting exercise on the beach, as my boyfriend and I had played volleyball with a couple of other beachgoers for a solid 45 minutes.
• I was able to walk just about everywhere, which was a massive help to both my mindset and my blood sugars. Turns out, walking approximately 50 miles total over the course of one week is a really good thing for a person with diabetes on vacation.
• My travel partner was incredibly mindful and considerate of my diabetes needs over vacation. Whether that meant walking with me at 10 P.M. at night to fight a stubborn high, or splitting a super carb-y meal at a restaurant so it would be easier for me to bolus, he made the entire trip so much better by being a thought partner with me when it came to taking the best possible care of my diabetes.
• Also, not especially diabetes-related, but a personal milestone unlocked: I didn’t get sunburnt at all from this trip. Dare I say that I’m actually TAN now?! (And by tan, I just mean that my pale skin is speckled with a few more freckles now, given me the illusion of being tan. I’ll take it.)

So yeah, I could choose to dwell on the things that went wrong with diabetes while I was away…but then when I think about what went right and take a look at that list above, they absolutely outweigh the snafus. Diabetes tested me over the course of this trip, but it certainly didn’t ruin it, and I’m still very much so looking forward to the next time I can get away for another week.