Anyone out there with diabetes?

[Diabeticdivergirl]

I’m a type 1 diabetic and would love to chat about handling blood sugar during dives since this has been an area of struggle for me. Let me know!

 

[michael-fisch]

Blood Sugar usually drops @150mg/dl over a 90 minute cold water dive. Make sure to enter the water with a B.S. above 300mg/dl and no fast acting insulin that hasn't yet kicked in.
Hope this info helps you, it's worked fine for me for over 30 years of diving.
Also carry 2 squeeze bags of liquid glucose totalling around 250cal that you can suck underwater, in case of unexpected low blood sugar.

Michael

After over 20 years of cave diving, I'm going to close, next week, on a 1450 sqft house in Lake City Fl - the heart of cave country - with a 2 car airconditioned garage for the dive gear.

 

[formernuke]

I'm type 2, diet controlled so I can't really help except to say I'm sorry you got this horrible disease. ( I was on insulin for a while, what a PITA)

 

[Diabeticdivergirl]

I'm type 2, diet controlled so I can't really help except to say I'm sorry you got this horrible disease. ( I was on insulin for a while, what a PITA)

Haha thanks, yes it is!!

 

[Diabeticdivergirl]

Blood Sugar usually drops @150mg/dl over a 90 minute cold water dive. Make sure to enter the water with a B.S. above 300mg/dl and no fast acting insulin that hasn't yet kicked in.
Hope this info helps you, it's worked fine for me for over 30 years of diving.
Also carry 2 squeeze bags of liquid glucose totalling around 250cal that you can suck underwater, in case of unexpected low blood sugar.

Michael

After over 20 years of cave diving, I'm going to close, next week, on a 1450 sqft house in Lake City Fl - the heart of cave country - with a 2 car airconditioned garage for the dive gear.

Hi Michael, that’s a good idea for the glucose gel, I usually carry glucose tablets, but I would have to come up to the surface to eat those. I always worry I won’t be able to spot a low underwater, does it feel the same as on land?

Also, my issue is that I always end up super high. I use an insulin pump so it’s hard to be not attached for that long. I usually take some long acting insulin before and it works sometimes, but doesn’t others, esp on day 2 for some reason. Are you on a pump or mdi?

 

[divezonescuba]

I had a student who was type 1.

She checked her level before each training dive.

I had her put a lanyard around her neck with a tube of cake frosting attached to it, in case she felt hypoglycemic in the middle of a dive.

we also tested her insulin pump at training depths to insure that it was functional.

 

[formernuke]

I had a student who was type 1.

She checked her level before each training dive.

I had her put a lanyard around her neck with a tube of cake frosting attached to it, in case she felt hypoglycemic in the middle of a dive.

The gel mentioned above if pretty close to icing. It is just gelled sugar.

 

[chillyinCanada]

The gel mentioned above if pretty close to icing. It is just gelled sugar.

Have you ever practiced sucking up the gel whilst under water?

 

[formernuke]

Have you ever practiced sucking up the gel whilst under water?

Thankfully no, while I was on insulin I was not in the water partially because when I went low I was asymptomatic until I was dangerously low.

 

[Diabeticdivergirl]

I had a student who was type 1.

She checked her level before each training dive.

I had her put a lanyard around her neck with a tube of cake frosting attached to it, in case she felt hypoglycemic in the middle of a dive.

we also tested her insulin pump at training depths to insure that it was functional.

Did your student dive with her insulin pump?