Navigating Time Zones with Diabetes

My husband and I just got home from a 10-day trip abroad. We flew to Rome for one day then hopped on a cruise to the Greek Isles. It was a wonderful, exciting adventure to a place I had always wanted to visit.
While I do love traveling to different parts of the world and experiencing new cultures, new foods and new people, as a diabetic it can be sometimes very difficult.
For a few weeks prior to the trip, I had started eating more of a ketogenic diet, meaning much fewer carbs than normal and higher fat. I was also working out every day. My blood sugars were perfect, and very steady. When you get constant perfect readings, it makes you feel pretty proud.
However, that feeling did not last when we got on the ship. You have to remember that your body is accustomed to a certain routing. Your eating schedule, sleep, medications, exercise, etc. While you may not do the same things at exactly the same time every day, it is still a regular pattern and your body is used to that. Now, throw that entire schedule/routine off by 6–7 hours. You are eating when you normally would be sleeping and vice versa. It can really throw everything out of whack.
Every morning, I check my blood sugar, take the appropriate amount of insulin and then eat my breakfast. If I don’t take my insulin by a certain time in the morning, my glucose levels rise, regardless of whether or not I ate anything. So, this constantly happened during the trip, for the first 3–4 days. The first day, I actually had a bad low blood sugar reading which really made for a bad day, but I got over it. It was all down hill from there.
As someone who also struggles with a lung issue, my breathing becomes more difficult when my blood sugar is high. Granted, we did a ton of walking in Greece which generally helps blood sugar readings, it can also cause higher numbers when everything else is off. That is what it did to me. So I had to check myself constantly (which is hard when you are walking a lot and around a lot of people). I took a good bit of extra insulin this past week to try and correct the highs, and to just take control of my blood sugar during the trip.
Eventually, it all calmed down and my body adapted. Of course, that was a day or two before we headed back home. Now, I am back on the ketogenic diet and checking myself frequently so I don’t get off track again.
Diabetes doesn’t rest. It can be extremely frustrating, but it really is worth it. So is traveling. It may be a struggle but it is a worthwhile struggle to see the world.
Have a beautiful day!
Kristi
(Originally posted on WellnessCouncilSC.org on 8/8/17)
