My 12 year old son was recently diagnosed with T1D and we are supposed to be traveling to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico in January. Any advice on navigating the restaurants/buffets without any nutritional information? He was also really looking forward to drinking a virgin pina colada on the beach, but I have no idea how we would count that either. Any tips greatly appreciated!
There are some size guides to help gauge serving sizes - here’s one you could try.
wellness.sfsu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Serving%20Size%20Hand%20Guide%20Condensed.pdf
Piña coladas contain pineapple juice and coconut milk - I don’t know how much. You might have to wing it with the drink - if you’re out exploring a lot the activity might balance it out, but you can correct afterwards as you need to.
How recent is recent? Depends a bit on where you are on the diabetes education journey. Like are you still limited to 1 correction no sooner than 3 hours after a bolus?
I’ve been told the resorts cater to what Americans like to eat so you can look at nutrition info from Chipotle / Chevys / Abuelos to see what is similar and how much certain favorites vary. I don’t drink pina coladas but looking at some nutrition info and recipes online it’s going to be 90-ish percent carbs so pair it with some exercise. Call it a medicinal kayak or surfboard rental.
Thank you so much. That’s a great way to think about the pina colada. And thinking of servings in terms of your hand is also a great strategy. Thank you!
He was diagnosed about three months ago. He is able to take insulin for additional carbs as often as he would like now, but they have told us not to do a correction more frequently than about every 3-4 hours. Would there be a certain blood glucose or trend where you might correct again sooner?
Great suggestion about medicinal kayaking! Thank you!
Laura @Lholinaty , let me jump in here with some “manual correction” thoughts, not Medical Advice. There are many, many factors that weigh in when, or if advisable, to take addition dose of insulin to manage a “high” BGL. Some, but certainly not all, factors to consider:
What is too high at this particular time
What level BG do you want now
Whan was the last Bolus given, and how much of that dose is still active
Is a Basal or Background insulin about to reach “peak” action
What has activity been like [intensity] in recent hours
And very important, what are planned activities such as kayaking
Enjoy your vacation and let your son have as much fun as possible! Safely
I will add some sooner if I realize I counted wrong in the first place, and of course if I ate something additional. But insulin takes a certain amount of time to work and adding on isn’t going to make it work any faster. You might take a look at the glycemic index. Foods high on the index raise glucose quickly while those in the low end do it more gradually, and including those on the lower end can help balance out the high ones. You might talk with your nutritionist for a more thorough explanation and a professional opinion.
I’ve had T1D for 35 years so I’ve felt all the feelings, figured out the activity curves for insulin in my body and can usually tell when my CGM is spot on or just in the ballpark. Eventually your son will be able to do corrections whenever they may be needed but for now definitely stick to what the docs are saying, Rate of change is something I factor into my dose timing and amounts so when you have time note it and the results of doses if you want to be ready for a future education appointment.
I like the analogy in “Think Like a Pancreas”. Dosing is like archery, you always shoot for the center of the target and sometimes the arrow hits high or low. I’ll add sometimes you miss the target and that’s okay too as long as you try to learn from your experiences and don’t end up in the hospital.