Traveling

[MyrandaDawn]

We just got done with a 5 1/2 hour car ride to get to Kuna (where my family lives) Along the way we checked blood sugar a few times. All times his sugar was high. And we corrected. I've got my own answer to my question, but not sure if it's the right one. Could sitting in a car for that long do that to his sugar?

[EmeeSu]

I am by no means an expert at diabetes, but I do see that when my son is less active, his numbers are higher. They aren't burning anything. Once he was back in school, (from summer vacation - lounging around the house) his numbers were much better. So, I would say that yes, being stationary for a long period of time can cause numbers to peak.

However, I am sure that others on this board are more knowledgeable than I and can offer more sound information.

This is just "one gal's opinion:D "

[bkfkmc]

Yes, you are both right. Soon after taking a 5 1/2 hour trip of our own just after diagnosis, I asked the Endo. because my son was high the entire car ride. She said it is due to just sitting and having no activity, which is not typical for my 6 year old boy. Anyway she encouraged having him run around a bit, jumping jacks or something when stopping for bathroom breaks. Otherwise, you can just expect for this to be the case. Drinking extra fluids is great, but will just mean more frequent bathroom breaks!

[Momof4gr8kids]

We drove about 6 hours to Yellowstone this summer. We stopped about every hour to stretch, use the potty, and race. We had all of our kids do 3 laps around the walkway. We kept free carb items, diet soda, and plently of water on hand for the drive. We still went a tad high. Travling is just rough with a kid, but throwing D in the middle of it just makes it truely difficult.

I don't know what to suggest for the next road trip, other then get him to wiggle as much as you can, lol.

[zimbie45]

it could be a number of things.. inactivity and antisipation for the trip, traveling in general...

[momof2]

Inactivity always raises Ben's sugars, and activity lowers them, albeit sometimes a few hours later.

Here's an example:

Before tea at 5pm yesterday Ben's sugars were down to 2.9mmol - 52mg - EEK!!! As it was teatime, I gave him a little juice, followed by his cooked meal. Then after tea, he didn't do anything except play on playstation. at 7.45pm checked his sugars - he was 16.9mmol - 304mg!!

I think he'd gone so low before tea, as he had played hockey at school in the daytime, and had been very active.
He was high after tea, through not doing anything.

D is so unpredictable!!!

:confused:

[wendyc]

Yes, the same happens to us, and add a snack on top of that along the way, it's just a high waiting to happen:)

We usually have Abby run around if possible when we get to where we are going!

[Boo]

I always increase my son's insulin dose on days that we'll be travelling in the car for a long time. In addition to the inactivity, those are also the times that we're most likely to stop and have fast food for a meal along the way. The high fat content of those meals just adds to problem. It's a great idea to get out of the car and run around for a while...I am just the type of person who'd rather get there quickly, and then run around!

I also notice higher numbers on rainy days-even school days, because they'll have indoor recess instead of going outside and running around playing football/soccer/kickball.

[rsmom]

It's really interesting, all these little things to think about. We just came back from our pump training, and our CDE mentioned that if we're ever going on a long roadtrip where DS will be sitting in the car for a long time, we might want to think about increasing his basal rate to compensate for how inactive he will be - makes total sense, but was something I hadn't even thought about! So your son being high after being in the car that long sounds pretty normal.

[kiwikid]

We live over an hour from our nearest town (over several big hills and round LOTS of corners) and a very long way from anywhere else :( .
Deciding before any trip whether to increase the basal rate to compensate for the inactivity or to reduce it for travel sickness is a nightmare :rolleyes:

[MyrandaDawn]

Thanks for all the input. With our road trip being only 5 1/2 hours, I wonder how it's going to be tomorrow. We're leaving here to go to the coast (another 9 hours). And then 5 days later coming back (9 more hours). And then FINALLY, a week and a half later, driving back home. Jeez. Long time in the car.