Diabetic Camping

Over the past 4-6 weeks I have been seeing a multitude of physicians regarding a health problem I developed. At this point it's not known if I have Diabetes or I have Diabetic like symptoms caused by the medication used to treat another condition. The one thing I can say is I am testing my blood sugar every 4-5 hours.

I'd like to know how others who are Diabetic camp, what they do, any tricks or ploys they use to keep blood sugar level in range.

Hello OGE,

I am not diabetic, but I know at least 2 insulin dependent diabetics who do serious camping. (On our recent Wood Badge Course, there were 8 diabetics.)

The one who is more thorough tests himself frequently. He said that when he is working hard in the outdoors, he can reduce his insulin requirement by half.

The other guy takes whatever insulin he feels like and titrates his blood sugar by eating candy bars. (DON"T do that.) However, he is late '70s and has been diabetic for over 40 years so he has been doing it for quite a while. However, two years ago, he went into severe insulin shock on a backpack and my wife had to administer appropriate emergency backwoods first aid. She later was told that she likely prevented severe problems and possibly saved his life.

I am not a physician and am very reluctant in a forum like this to list the many things that I have read and heard about diabetes and camping. However, there was a superb issue of the Wilderness Medicine Newsletter concerning diabetes about two years ago. I would suggest that you obtain it and read it thoroughly. I would also suggest that you make a more than trivial google search on this topic. There is plenty of good information.

If you are careful and learn your metabolism and your limits, then your outdoor activities should not be particularly limited.

OGE,

Sorry to hear your not feeling well and hope you are doing better soon. Like Neil my experience is second hand. For years I shared a tent at summer camp with a diabetic scouter.

Best tip I can offer you is share info with your friends. They can spot signs of trouble that your condition will make you miss. Tell them to watch for moods that are out of place, loss of fine motor skills, trouble walking and indistinct speach. All it will take is a friend to tip you off that you should run an extra test and you can get your self back on track.

OGE,

I am Type II diabetic on no medications. The two suggestions I would make is (1) directly inform at least one other adult on the outing of your condition, and (2) be alert to signs of low blood sugar as well. I have found that diabetes means fluctuations in blood sugar, not just high blood sugar. On a serious trek it is just as easy to get too low. Consequently I snack at late mid morning when lunch is a few hours off yet.

My condition is not serious enough to warrant too many special concerns about diet on the trail. While trail food tends to be high in carbs, as it needs to be, you are burning a lot up.

I'm diabetic and have been for 20 years. The most important thing is education and knowing how your body deals with different foods and situations.

If you are insulin dependent, NEVER EVER get caught out without a roll of Life Savers in your pocket or some other form of quick action sugar (I dont like glucose tablets they aren't called "Chalk Pills" for no good reason).

When I'm active like hikes or long bike rides I reduce my insulin but since injected insulin stays around for a long time you still need to eat to keep the blood sugar up. I've found that a Snickers bar for every five or six miles works well. A Snickers is about 650 Calories and your burn about 150 calories per mile. Other candies "wear off" too quickly. Life Savers are a "rescue" medication and will get you through a low but you'll still need to eat since they are only 10 Calories each.

Don't worry about litte animals and keep something in your tent. I always have Life Savers on hand. I don't want to wake up with a bG of 34 (that's VERY low) and have to walk 200 yards to get a snack at 2 AM.

At summer camp, don't let them confiscate your meter and insulin. I went to one Summer camp that tried to take my insulin and meter away on the pretext that they are prescription drugs. They also gave me the argument that if the Scouts saw me taking shots, they'd get the message that "Drugs are Okay." Actually, most of the Scouts in my troop think that it stinks that I have to take shots. If that question happens again I have a letter from the government that says that insulin is an over the counter drug.

Being a diabetic is a balancing act. Food/activity/insulin. Too much or too little of any and you can have problems. Find a Certified Diabetes Educator usually a nurse she will give you much more information than a doctor will. Follow their advice until you learn how YOU deal with different situations. For example I was told that if I eat Chineese food that I'd need more insulin before dinner but I found that not only did I need more before dinner but I need another shot about an hour after dinner. The rice does something strange.

Exercise is good for you it reduces your need for insulin. Losing weight is good and also reduces your need for insulin.

Dont be bashful about being diabetic. Don't drink a regular soda just because that's all thats there. Let people know that you have restrictions in your diet. Let people know if you have problems so they can help.

I'd follow the Atkins Diet. Bascally eat low carb foods for the most time but when hiking and stuf flike others said make sure you got something surgary. It would help if you did see a diabetic specialist so you are aware of what and what not to eat.

My wife is a nurse, and she taught me a trick. Always carry a tube of cake frosting...in the squeeze tube. Someone who is unconscious cannot swallow liquids or take a glucose tablet. Squeeze the frosting "between the cheek and gum" and massage it in. The sugar will absorb through the mucous membranes. Keep it in your Troop first aid kit and another in your pack.

The advice to teach others the signs and symptoms of hyper- and hypoglycemia, so that they will know how to react is valuable. And wear a Medic-Alert bracelet or necklace.

There are two distinct types of diabetes: Type 1 (insulin dependent, or body does not produce enough insulin) and Type 2 (body produces insulin, but does not absorb or use it properly). Although the symptoms for each can appear similar at times, the treatment can and often is quite the opposite of each other.

The key, as most diabetics will tell you (I'm Type 2 myself) is that you will gradually learn over time what will throw your blood sugar off track. My dad is Type 2, and my mom is Type 1; their trigger foods are completely opposite. For me, it's potatoes and corn; but oddly enough processed sugar doesn't affect me nearly as much. Gatorade will put me to sleep due to the heavy carbs/sugars in solution; easier to digest, and quicker to be absorbed in the bloodstream. Every diabetic will have one or more trigger foods that you learn to moderate or avoid. Activity, as noted earlier, will also throw your blood sugar off; increased activity will obviously burn off sugar, which can make you weak if you don't eat properly in anticipation of that extra activity.

I agree with the others that it is important that those around you are aware of your condition and TYPE diabetes (paramedics will need to know that if an incapacitating event occurs; you don't really want to give an insulin shot to a Type 2 diabetic). Medic-alert bracelets/pendants are an excellent idea, as are wallet cards (which I carry, and outlines current meds).

Some diabetics are more symptomatic than others; so feeling good or feeling bad is not necessarily indicative of low/high blood sugar. Luckily I am QUITE symptomatic, so when I feel the old blood sugar falling (and verify it with the glucometer) I can pop a piece of hard candy like a peppermint, wait 15-20 mins, and check it again - usually I am ok. Keep your glucometer handy at all times.

One of the biggest keys, in my experience at least, to moderating blood sugar is to take your meds and have your meals/snacks timed as uniformly as possible. I'm sure the other diabetics out there will agree that you KNOW when lunch is an hour late, and it's time to eat, NOW!

Scoutldr: I have heard of the frosting trick before, but have read warnings on diabetes support forums before to NOT use any BLUE frosting in this manner. Seems the food coloring can make your gums blue, which can really throw off any diagnosis of what is going on (as it could falsely indicate a lack of oxygen in the tissues), especially if you are incapacitated. Stick to vanilla.

Hope this info is Helpful.......

LE83

Scoutldr,

Your frosting suggestion is essentially what my wife did in the situation I mentioned. Actually, the man, at her insistence, had brought a tube of glucose gel which is probably a better idea as it is designed for this purpose. When she was unable to rouse him at 4AM, she slowly introduced it into his mouth and it took over an hour to achieve some consciousness.

She later learned that this is not a trivial matter and both she and the man in question were lucky. Introducing anything into the mouth of a person in this kind of shock can cause them to aspirate the material into the lungs and suffocate. However, one of the principles of wilderness emergency first aid is "You do what you need to do."

There also is an emergency glucogen injection which a diabetic can take to address shock emergencies. However, I understand that any one of these treatments should be immediately followed up by a trip to the emergency room.

As the other posters have said, there are many types of diabetes and many presentations of it. Don't feel that what others do or can do will be right for you. Talk to your physician, read, learn and experiment with your body. But experiment gently and gradually. And don't feel that your situation necessarily is static. Your situation can change with time also.

Lot''s of good ideas here. That is what I like about this site.

This is just another bump. No sense in posting another question.

edited for spelling(This message has been edited by OldGrayOwl)

How are you doing, OGE/OGO? Hope all is well with you.

I''m not diabetic, but I too have to watch what I eat on Scout campouts and high adventure trips because of coronary artery disease. I''m a 55 year-old grey Scouter, too, and about a year ago I had quadruple bypass open heart surgery and thought I wouldn''t be able to hike Philmont as planned this past summer (I had previously volunteered to be lead crew advisor for our Troop).

Since I was determined not to let our guys down, I decided to undergo a serious cardiac rehabilitation program which got me in good enough shape to hike the 75+ mile, two week trek, including scaling Mt. Phillips and Urraca Mesa with a 50 pound pack, with my Scout son, who, I''m proud to say, hopes to pass his Eagle Board of Review this weekend after 11 years in Scouting.

The problem with most Philmont trail food is that it''s loaded with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils--a no-no for heart disease patients and others because of the attendant artery-clogging trans-fats. If necessary, I know Philmont will let you take your own food on the treks. If properly packaged and labeled, they will even deliver it to you in the backcountry, but they don''t give you a break on the price. Oh well, hopefully they''ll improve their trail food menu some day soon when more folks speak out and demand healthier BSA high adventure base foods.

I was diagnosed as Type II diabetic about seven years ago. Initially I took no medication but now take Metformin (generic for Glucophage) twice daily. I too have found that my main problem in the back country is variability of blood sugar since I am doing more physically that I typically do at work - pounding a computer keyboard just as I am doing now. What I found out regarding myself echos one of the earlier posts. I may get weak and woozy from low blood sugar late in the morning. So I make sure to have sufficient snacks that I can munch while walking available for my personal use.

As others have said, the most important is to share info with others who are along.

I know with my brother (TypeI) it is apparent to those of us who know him that meal time is late; he gets short tempered and his responses become unusually terse. I have not been diagnosed with Type II, but have the tendencies and am working hard to prevent it -- trying to lose weight and excercise more regularly. I have found in the last few years, that I become a bit of a "grouch" if meals are too long delayed. My strategies include keeping some snacks handy and having something a little healthy available for a quick breakfast.

Having someone along who is aware, and can tell you that you are becoming a "grouch" or lethargic or whatever the case may be is helpful. My best friend gets so caught up in activities and having fun, he sometimes forgets he hasn''t eaten until he is reminded by one of us that realizes skipping meals isn''t for him.

OGE

I found the site that NeilLup refered to Wilderness Medicine Newsletter the back issue is available for $3.50 July/Aug 2001. Send request and payment to: WMN c/o TMB Books, Box 35B, Tasker Hill Rd., Conway,NH 03818.

I was diagnosed about eight years ago with Type 2. It will be a big change in your life style eating, excerise etc. but once you accept it and listen to your Dr. you learn to work with it.Get to a Certified Diabetes Educator they are a real big help. What worked for me might not be good for you.

I have been looking for menus or foods to take on hiking or camping trips.If anyone out there has a food list or menus it would be great. Good luck and don''t let it get you down.

NeilLup

Want to thank you for the info.