It is often hard to stay fit with Type 1. Whether you are on a pump or not, your blood sugar drops and you have to eat or drink. Even if I prepare for a trip to the gym, 9 out of 10 times, my blood sugar gets low, immediately. Is it just my luck, or is my body saying, “Go home and go to sleep.” Well, body, there was no sleeping after my low this evening.
Excited to get out of the house and take a few minutes without work or my loud toddler, I walked to the gym late at night to listen to music and enjoy some time off. Five minutes into my run, I heard a beep, then a louder beep. Within minutes I went from double arrow 92 to 40. I had a few pieces of candy, but nothing for this type of low. I ran to Rite Aid next door, sweating, confused, and sad, chugged a juice, and proceeded to buy twenty-five dollar of candy and sweets, including a box of creme-filled Tastykake Krimpets-a Philadelphia favorite with extra sugar in the middle
I swiped back into the gym again and ran up the hill to the workout area, out of breath and looking forward to the minute I sat down and took off my soaking shirt. I locked my smelly, sweaty self into a stall in the women’s locker room and ATE, and ate, and ate. I like to distract myself by surfing travel deal websites and fancy hotels. I read my work email and looked at old photos of my son. I was drenched and depressed. I need some tone and muscle, I need to sweat, but not this way.
Forty minutes later, I could see, I could stand, and I had eaten eight packs of Tastykakes. I hid the box at he bottom of the trashcan and tied up the rest of my goodies. I proceeded to put back on my sweaty shirt and went back to the same treadmill. I wasn’t going to give up this opportunity to sweat the right way, to enjoy a few moments to myself, and to try and have a few normal minutes.
Ten minutes later, BEEP BEEP, BUZZ, BUZZ…high blood sugar alert. Ok, well, I got ten minutes.