Highs and lows of a diabetic abroad. Discovery Cove
 

Today we visited Discovery Cove.
I have read about it on the Dibb and in other places so expected it to be a good day out.
It didn't disappoint, we had a great day!
It was an early start as I wanted to make sure that we got an early dolphin swim.
We set the alarm for 6am and was ready to leave the villa by 6.30.
As we were going to be spending the day in the water I removed the pump and went back to pens.
I haven't used Lantus for over two years now as the pump delivers Nova Rapid throughout the day.
I decided to do half of my daily dose of Lantus. I didn't want to do a full dose as I knew that I would be going back onto the pump once we returned to the villa.
I bought a waterproof pouch from Decathlon to put all of my stuff in.
It worked well and kept everything dry.
It felt really strange not wearing the pump and not needing to worry about the tubing. It was strange but also nice to have a break from wearing it.

When we arrived at DC it was just after 7am.
We queued up for five minutes before going over to book our Dolphin slot. It was very busy already so I am glad we got there early.
If there are any storms in the area they stop the swims so it is a good idea to get there as early as you can.
We got a time of 8.55am😁
After we had checked in we went in search of breakfast.
The day is all inclusive so all food, drinks and snacks are included.
You can also get wine and beer.
Breakfast was a choice of continental, English breakfast, yogurts and fruit.
I tested my blood and it was 7.2
I had sausage patties, scrambled egg and French toast (this was like a hot doughnut) naughty but nice.
I used my nova rapid pen for the first time in two years. My pump is controlled by my hand set so it felt strange injecting in public.
After breakfast we went and got our lockers and towels.
We found Sun beds by the great reef and then went to get our wetsuits and snorkles.
By now it was time for our Dolphin Swim.
We had to watch a short film and listen to a short safety briefing.
We were then taken into the pool for our Dolphin Swim.
We were in a group of ten the trainer gave us information about the Dolphin who was called Epa.
We then took turns in having our swim. We then had pictures taken and was allowed to touch her.
She then did a couple of tricks before saying goodbye.
We then went into the Aviary, you get little pots of food and the birds will come and sit on your hand to eat the food. I have read that you need to get there early so that the birds are hungry. We didn't have our camera first thing as it was in our locker so we went back around 3pm and the birds were still coming down.
We visited the lazy river. This was lovely but it does get very deep in places with sudden drops of 8 foot.
There are no rings to sit in so it's a good idea to grab a life jacket or woggle before you go in if you want to take it easy.
We went to lunch which was nice. Choices included burgers, chicken, fish and pork.
Tested my sugars and they had gone up to 20. (Probably the doughnut bread)
I carb counted and did a correction.
I split the dose as it was a large one.
After lunch we went for a swim in the Grand Reef which was amazing!
Lots of fish to see and massive rays about 6 foot across and 8 foot long with their tails.
At the end of the day we went to look at our photos.
I warned Mark before that we would need to sell a kidney to pay for the photos lol.
I chose the $99 dollar package but Mark said that we should get the $169 package that included 6 prints, 2 keyrings, two wallet photos and disc of all of the pictures.
I am going to make you look at them to get my monies worth lol

We really did have a lovely relaxing day.
DC is expensive but I would do it again but maybe without the Dolphin Swim.
I saw people paying lots of money for a cabana. They looked lovely but as we are a family that don't really sit around on Sun loungers I feel that it would have been a waste of money.
By the time we left my sugars had gone down to 12. We got back to the villa and I was reunited with my friend.
Just keeping a careful eye on things just in case the Lantus is still working.
It was nice having a break from the pump, but going back to pens felt like going back to the old times a bit like not having a mobile phone.
I hope this post isn't too long an boring. Thanks for reading.

It sounds like you had a lovely day at Discovery Cove.

It's really interesting to me to hear about how you manage your blood levels whilst on holiday. It really gives a different perspective and don't worry it definitely isn't boring :).

I'm finding it really interesting and (dare I say) reassuring that I'm not the only one that struggles with levels when not in my usual routine. I've found my Freestyle Libre has made a huge difference to keeping on top of it - I don't want to gush about it too much, but it's probably one of the most life changing things I've done.


Especially interesting how you found reverting back to MDI for the day,

Great photos - well worth the money 😉

I haven't had much luck with the libre.
I got two for last year's holiday the first lasted 3 days and the second 4 days.
I ordered 1 for this holiday which arrived the day that we were leaving home to go to Gatwick.
I inserted it as per instruction and all was well.
After about two hours it felt strange, when I looked it was hanging out. I didn't even get one reading from it.
At nearly £60.00 a time I don't think I will bother again😔

did you carry hypo treatments and stuff around with you through the lazy river etc x

Yes I did, in one of those mobile phone water proof holders.

We spend water park days going back and forth to the lockers to re-attach DD’s insulin pump! We have considered injections instead on those days (she doesn’t mind either way) but in the end we need to top up suncream and get drinks anyways.

You should get replacements for any dodgy ones. Also Skin-Tac can help keep it stuck down as an extra layer of adhesive.
My DD used to have the Libre but is now on the Dexcom. We always use Skin-Tac on her cannulas.

glad you enjoyed it we are doing it twice next time as we there 3 weeks so cant wait our fav place