Myth; Better BG control on vacation

TRW and I went on vacation. We decided to do the "old biker" vacation and pick a direction instead of a destination.

Biker lore states: Young bikers pick a destination and ride to that destination. Old bikers pick a direction and ride in that direction.

We watched the weather report at night and in the morning. We looked at here it wasn't raining and then rode the motorbike in that direction. We tried to stop early enough to get a room at a hotel each night. We only had one night when we couldn't find a room and end up riding an extra 50 miles to get a room.

All in all, this was a very relaxing vacation. We arrived when we arrived. This reduced our stress around getting to a destination. The one night we didn't get a room out stress did go up until we found a room.

My belief as we enjoyed our vacation, was that my BG was down and better controlled.

I came back to work and immediately got wrapped up in the work and problems and issues. As I managed my BG after vacation it seemed that every time I checked my BG it was high. I related this directly to the stress level at work and how relaxing my vacation was.

I then downloaded the data from my meter and took a look at it.

43% of my readings over the two weeks, (1 week vacation and 1 week back at work), were high.
50% were within my BG parameters over the two weeks.
7% were low during the two weeks.

All in all these were not bad percentages. I personally try to keep 50% of my BG tests in the "within" range. At least this give me a target to work towards. It is hard to keep those reading at 50% or greater.

BUT, (Behold Ultimate Truth), Looking at the week by week data tells another story.

Vacation week my readings were:
44% of my readings were high.
49% were within my parameters.
8% were low.

Back to work week:
36% of my readings were high.
56% were within my parameters.
8% were low.

I am happier when I am on vacation. I am more relaxed, so I have a brighter outlook on the world and my diabetes management.

At work I am more structured in my daily activities and I have much more consistency in my actions and my diet, which makes diabetes management more effective.

I suppose with practice I would get better at managing my diabetes while on vacation, but I would need a lot more vacation! It will have to be one of those things I work on once I reach retirement. I should have plenty of time to practice tighter control while on vacation.