It's so funny what we as diabetics become immune to. What I really mean is that nothing that I do really surprises me anymore. Lessons always seem to be learned the hard way and really it only takes the one time for the lesson to be learned. And no matter how prepared you think you are, you always catch yourself unprepared at some point. And some things don't really seem like that big of a deal until you tell someone about and then realize, WOW, the things I do to stay healthy and keep doing the things I love are pretty off the wall. And when you tell a fellow diabetic, well, some of these stories can be pretty hysterical. Take for instance yesterday....well....
Actually, here's a little history before my story. I've been swimming alot lately....YAY!!! Good for me...I'm finally getting in the pool on a regular basis. And I've picked up my training hours to about 20 hours a week which means not only am I swimming, I am biking, running, changing clothes and, more importantly, I am sweating.... ALOT!! I already sweat more than the typical person...atleast I think I do. Well, I put my last site on after a long cool shower after a long run....the problem was that I had not really stopped sweating completely. I always put on lotion after a shower....so...I wiped off my lotion with an alcohol swab to prep the site and I noticed that when I put on the site....well... it didn't really adhere as well as it usually does. But I went with it knowing that I would stop sweating soon and it would adhere a little better.
For those of you that are not diabetic....A site is the place on your body that you have to change every 3 or 4 days that is similar to a tiny IV that connects to your insulin pump....basically it's the only way that the insulin can get into your body from the pump. So without your site...you're pretty much screwed!! Most diabetics put their site on their upper buttock or stomach (switching sides each time so that scar tissue doesn't build up too much).
Well, if you are a diabetic athlete you know that when I site doesn't adhere well, you are constantly fighting to keep that site on. SO...here comes my story about yesterday.
So yesterday I did strength training for a little over an hour, I ran for an hour, then I went to my gym and took a kickboxing class for an hour....Afterwards before getting into the shower at the gym when I wrapped my towel around me I almost ripped my site out. Oh Crap!! I, of course sweating like crazy, had a feeling that this wasn't going to last much longer. But I'm trying my best to keep the site in. It stayed on throughout my shower and afterwards as I took my towel off...well so did my site!! Dern!!!
Looking in my bag....no site replacement!! Really???? I'm usually so prepared but I forgot to replace the one I usually keep in my gym bag. BUT....Not to worry....I have one in my purse (which was in my car) and I also keep one in my car console so I'll just put it on when I get to my car. PERFECT!! So 10 minutes later, dressed and ready for dinner, I get down to my car. Turn the interior lights on.... one big problem....NO ALCOHOL SWABS!! I've just put lotion on....so as you probably know this new site will not adhere unless I wipe the lotion off. So I'm looking around in my car....Ahh Hahh!! I found something that would probably work just as well as alcohol.....WINDEX...yes...the streak free glass cleaner. I don't normally keep windex in my car but I had put it in there (along with paper towels...thank goodness) to take into my classroom to clean off tables and desks (I am a school teacher and school starts on Monday).
So yes....I'm sure it was a lovely sight ( no pun intended)....there I was sitting in my car with my pants pulled half down wiping my ass with Windex...just so I could get a good site. The things we do to stay healthy and keep living an active lifestyle. The funny thing is that even while I was doing this it didn't really seem like that big of a deal (it's all relative) until I told a diabetic friend what had happened and she literally laughed for 5 minutes straight....to the point that her stomach was hurting:)
Hopefully you got a laugh too....take it easy and always do whatever it takes to keep living life the way you choose....healthy and active:)
Lesson: Always replace what you use;)
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