You’re diabetic and it’s getting cold. ‘So what?’ you think. Well think again, chump, because things are about to get interesting.
Here’s everything you need to know about surviving the winter months with type one diabetes. Notebooks at the ready…
Why does winter make a difference"?
The temperature affects how blood travels around your body. Feeling warm? Blood will get from A to B without an issue. A little nippy? Blood will take its sweet, sweet time. In summer this impacts diabetes differently, causing insulin to act quickly and potentially leading to spikes in your blood sugar levels. But when winter hits, the opposite can happen, as your blood - and the insulin/ carb it’s carrying - slows down, potentially tricking you into thinking it hasn’t impacted you at all. You fools!
Be patient with your doses
Because your blood flow is slower, you might find it takes longer for insulin to kick in, or for any corrective sugar to do its thing. In usual circumstances, insulin acts in around 20 minutes, then stays in your body for the next two hours. But when it’s proper chilly, insulin can take twice as long to get to work. If you check your blood sugar within this timeframe, you might find it’s gone up, tempting you into taking an extra dose. Don’t! That’s exactly what sneaky insulin wants you to do! Just be patient - wait 40 minutes, see what it’s doing then, and if it’s still on the rise consider taking some more. But on the flip side of this…
Be patient with your sugar
If things are going too low and you need to have some delicious glucose, this might take longer to work as well. While you might usually see your levels even out pretty quickly, the cold can slow things right down, making your symptoms last for longer and making it tempting to have more glucose to fix it.
This one is trickier than just waiting to see what happens, as you’ll feel dog rough and want to stop that, sharp. I find it’s always best to play it safe - having a couple of extra glucose tablets ain’t gonna be the end of the world, and if it makes you feel better, faster, there’s no harm. You might notice your levels rise steeply once the glucose starts to act, but don’t correct any following highs within that 40 minute window, or you’ll end up chasing a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
Cold skin feels bad to touch
That’s a weird sentence to read, isn’t it? It was weird to write, too, but I can’t think of any better ways of saying it. When you have to inject insulin, you have to touch your cold skin with other cold skin, and that does not feel nice. This is especially bad if you have to inject while you’re out and about, as you’ll expose yourself to the elements. I wish there was a way to make this bit easier, but apart from blowing on your hands or having one of those magic heat packs in your pocket, there isn’t. Just be brave and it’ll all be over before you know it.
Winter is full of temptation
Now for the boss level of diabetes at winter - it’s a season full of chocolate and sweets. First you have Halloween, where sweets are literally being handed out to children by the handful. We always get hundreds of kids knock on our door, and after the initial feigned interest from me, I end up just hurling sweets at strangers as they approach.
Then you get bonfire night, which is full of hot chocolates and fudge and toffee. And only a month after that, the big pappa, Christmas. You’re going to be surrounded by sugar all winter long, it’s going to be tempting, and you’re going to want to eat all of it. Here’s the deal: you can eat some of it, some of the time. You can get away with the odd chocolate without needing any insulin at all, but it’s very hard to only stick to one when there’s a big bowl of them out on the table and everyone else is tucking in like dirty festive pigs. If you want to indulge a bit more, you’ll need to work out how many carbs are in your chosen brand and take some insulin for the amount of sweets you want to enjoy. Is it the spirit of Christmas? Not so much, but needs must.
I wish you luck. Stay strong, stay switched on, and let’s regroup in January when everyone jumps on a diet and you feel like a god.