I went whitewater rafting for the first time a few weekends ago and it was quite an adventure! I went with a local T1D camp organization and they had protocols in place for diabetes management on the river. They asked us to disconnect our pumps and put them in the dry bag, and then we stopped every 20-30 minutes to reconnect and check BG. I don’t ever disconnect, so this made me a bit nervous but it ended up being okay. I saw some people had small dry bags that went over their shoulders and inside of their PFDs, which I thought was an interesting idea. I get ketones fairly quickly if I’m disconnected, so wondering how others might manage this? It’s slightly more complicated than swimming (disconnect, put in dry bag…also considerations for temperature, stop every half hour, take off PFD, reconnect pump, wait for Dexcom to reconnect, bolus/snack if needed, wait a few minutes, disconnect, put on PFD, back in the rapids). I really enjoyed the trip and want to go again, but want to make diabetes easier next time!
@libshasse went on a 21-day rafting trip down the Grand Canyon earlier this year. I’m interested in hearing about her experiences.
Sorry to hear that, that sounds so complicated and like such a hassle for you! I totally get wanting to make it easier next time. I went whitewater rafting in Bali with my Libre CGM and thankfully didn’t have any issues since I also used a patch from Not Just a Patch, and so far so good with keeping my sensor in place, even through all the splashing and activity. Hope your next trip is smoother, you deserve to enjoy the adventure without so many extra steps!
That sounds like such an awesome adventure! I’ve heard from a few others that rafting with T1D can definitely be tricky. Some people use waterproof pump cases or keep their pump in a small dry bag clipped inside the PFD so they can stay connected longer. Others set a small temporary basal before disconnecting to help avoid ketones. It’s great that the camp had solid safety protocols sounds like you handled it really well!