Amanda and I have always been fans of local farmer’s markets. For me, I love the fresh food and small businesses that are out there hustling. I am a huge fan of homemade items that are usually sold at farmer’s markets, such as pickles, jellies, pepper jellies, baked goods, fresh veggies, etc.
Our local farmer’s market is located right next to the intracoastal waterway so it is a beautiful site as well. We had not been there in a while, so we decided to check it out and see if there were any new vendors. There were some new ones there and I knew it was going to be time for a BG check and some insulin because I saw some great free samples.
That leads me into what I wanted to talk about. During this time, I was taking an insulin pump vacation for the weekend and was just using a syringe and vial. Walking around eating free samples and not knowing exactly what I am going to be eating never worked out well for me when I was on MDI. When I am pumping, it is not a big deal because every time I decide to eat something, I just bolus for it with the pump and that’s that.
When I am on MDI, my strategy is a bit different. And in the comments below, or on Facebook, I would love to hear your feedback and your comments on how you handle situations like this.
In a situation like this where I am eating random items that are free samples, they typically are not large enough that I need to worry about a bolus. If I eat 3-4 free samples from different vendors and I feel like it was a significant amount of carbs, then I will simply stop and take a shot. If I know that I am going to eat something that is not a free sample, but an actual item (New England Clam Chowda at this farmer’s market is amazing!) then I will bolus directly for that.
The other issue is that depending on what you are eating (sweet pickles, pepper jelly) it is difficult to guestimate how many carbs are in a specific food. I honestly do not get mad if the vendor does not have that information. I just ask what they put in it and I do my best to guestimate. If I am wrong, then I correct, simple as that.
Usually after the amount of walking that we do at the farmer’s markets we go to (at least 2 miles altogether) the exercise helps burn off some of the food that I ate and helps balance out the blood sugar. Please note, I am not saying exercise is going to lower my blood sugar and I don’t need insulin, so diabetes trolls, stop right there.
Like I said above, I’m curious as to how MDI-ers handle situations like this? Would love to hear your feedback.