Rolling With My Pancreas: Getting Back in the Flow
After a long five-year hiatus, I finally made my return to the mats to start training in jiu-jitsu again. This inauspicious return actually happened about six months ago, but I’m still in the process of getting my fitness back.
You see, over my five year sabbatical, I became a fairly soft, fairly sedentary fellow, and I knew it would be a long road back. In my first class back, I was wiped out after the warm up and had a fear of myocardial infarction. Seriously, I was a mess physically.
I kept at it, though, and tried to keep working, learning and pushing in order to get my conditioning back where it needs to be.
Getting back on the mats was an additional challenge as I had to factor in my pump and CGM use, too.
The pump situation was solved pretty easily: I’d disconnect for the hour-long class and reconnect as soon as I got back to the locker room.
The CGM situation, however, has been a more complex one. You see, jiu-jitsu is a very close-contact, very sweaty proposition. Sometimes (read: often) sensors have been pulled out while training.
“That’s to be expected,” you say. “What are you complaining about?” you ask.
Well, sensors are expensive. Like, to the tune of about $100 a pop. So I’ve been trying to find the right combo of location and covers/bandages that will allow the sensors to stay intact. It’s still a work in progress, though.
My return to training has also hit some roadblocks in the form of shoulder tendinitis, not being as young as I once was and a recent battle with bilateral pneumonia that, in combination with a trip overseas with my lovely wife, kept me out of the gym for about six weeks.
Anyway, I’m also still walking a blood sugar balance beam, ensuring my glucose doesn’t bottom out during the sparring (or “rolling,” hence the title) sessions every class. The key, of course, is to listen to what my body is saying and try to limit the risks I’m taking
As I said, it’s a long road back, but I’m thrilled to be doing it again. I’ll write more to share my glucose experiences, and hopefully I’ll be able to share that I’m able to start improving my skill set again soon.
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