It's the humidity
I don't like summer. I mostly don't like summer due to the fact that if it's humid to any degree, I will start sweating. Ick. When I lived in Arizona, in the mountains, it was perfect. 80 degrees was the hottest it would get and with a very low humidity. That was perfect. But I'm certainly not in Arizona anymore. Early June and it's going to be over 90 degrees with up to 70% humidity. Again, ick.
I get intense cravings for fruit during the summer though. I could eat melon, berries and peaches along with fresh ripe tomatoes for every meal when it's hot and humid. What else do people eat in the summer anyway? I'm certainly not going to turn on my oven and make anything. Even using the stove is questionable. And obviously anything grilled is perfect, but it takes a while to get that grill going and you still have to stand around a hot fire!
This will be my first Midwest summer with diabetes/my pump. I wear it in a black case which I'm afraid will heat up pretty fast. I normally don't have time to spend all day outside in the hot sun (stupid full-time office job!), but I imagine I'll be doing that a lot on the weekends.
I am also already thinking about a vacation to southern California I'm taking this summer for my friend's wedding. I'll have to buy a new swimsuit since my old ones are bikinis and I just don't feel comfortable showing of my dotted stomach and my little insert to everyone. So I'll have to go shopping for a one piece. My main worry is really about what I'll do with my pump when I want to run into the ocean. Do I leave it on the beach in my bag? Nope, too expensive to leave all alone. Do I make my friend stay with it while I'm in the water? Do I leave it in a locked car, or will it get too hot in there? Hopefully I'll have enough people with me that someone will sit with it. But seriously, I'm not going until the end of July and I'm already worrying about something like that?
Winter's so much easier. I love coats and hats and scarves. Jeans and sweaters. Just a couple more months...
posted by Tekakwitha @ 8:12 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Oh you are so very right. It's not the heat, it's the humidity that gets you here. I'm going on my 18th year in the midwest, and I am yet again bracing myself for the dreaded heat index (temperature plus humidity). Like the "wind chill," the heat index gives you an idea of what it really "feels" like out there.
Thank God for AC. You do have AC, don't you? If not, then woman you must get yourself to the lakefront. It's about the only relief from the heat.
Stay cool...
Sandra
And then I have lived in the Dallas area for 20 years and absolutely LOVE the heat. And I get to enjoy it in the summer.
And you just figured out why I have an Animas -- I can get it wet. However, I think that Minimed makes a waterproof pouch.
I grew up in the midwest so I should be accustomed to this. But I'm not. Luckily my window AC cools my room down just fine at night. I don't think I go without it during the steamy summer months!
I have the minimed pump that claims to be waterproof, but there's no way I'm taking that risk!
I live on the Rhode Island coast and, as soon as summer hits, I am at the beach as often as possible. Last summer was my first summer with the pump and I found that after a few trips, I was surprisingly comfortable with having it out there.
I work it this way: I am too damn cheap and stubborn to buy a new bathing suit when I like the bikinis I have, so I've continued with the bikini bathing suit. I wear my infusion site on my abdomen or my thigh and just clip the pump to my bathing suit bottom (because that's the easiest place). Tuck the tubing into the suit and I'm off. If you prefer to cover your site, maybe a tankini would be best, and that way you can still clip the pump to the bottom part of your suit.
When I'm laying out, I lay the pump next to me on my towel and cover it with a light colored t shirt. If I disconnect completely, I put a cap on the site and toss the pump in a plastic bag in the cooler. I leave it in the cooler when I go in the ocean. Most often, it remains there unattended. Once, I asked the older lady next to me to watch my cooler. People are very accomodating. If you have your car nearby the beach, put a cooler in the trunk and store the pump in there while you swim. Small bit awkward to go traipsing out to the car before you dive in, but the peace of mind might be best for you.
I won't lie to you: I felt a little strange when I first went on the beach with my pump on. I felt like everyone was looking at me. I know the site is noticeable. And I know it looks to the public like I'm quite taken with my garage door opener (that's what some nut mistook my pump for), but there was no way I was sacrificing my beach time for this bit of machinery. I'll drop anything in the winter in order to make do, but the summer is my favorite so I just can't bend.
Whatever you decide to do, you'll have a stellar time in CA. Don't worry too much.
(And I have the Paradigm 512 (minimed) and this little sucker is water RESISTANT, not water proof. Better to disconnect or supplement with injections for a few hours than bust it.)
We pretty much do what Kerri does. I typically pack a lunch in a cooler that has a cooling pocket on the front. That's where I keep Brendon's pump when he's detached.
Keeping the pump out in the hot sun is not good, especially for the insulin, so follow what Kerri does by covering the pump while you're attached and all will be fine.
Well, as a guy, I feel that I am very lucky. All of my swimsuits have pockets. I think women have it a little tougher with clothes and their pumps, and the topic of bathing suits is at the top of that problem. I am impresses that Kerri ahs the courage to just wear it with her 2 piece. That is awesome. I know that when I see someone else with a pump I make an effort to say hello and intoduce myself.
As a side note, I took my Cozmo swimming once. I flooded the battery compartment, and it never really worked right after that. The company was great though and overnighted me a new one. They will tell you it's waterproof (up to 8' for 20 minutes in the cozmo literature), but don't trust it.
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