Canadian Type 1 climbs Everest: how did he test?
I've done trials with various meters in cold weather (-20C) and the idea that you can get an accurate reading by keeping the strips and meter warm and doing a quick test is wrong for very cold temperatures. Even if the meter is still warm the strip cools off too quickly. The meter is measuring the resul of a chemical reaction on the strip, and chemical reaction rates are very dependant on temperature. I found very large errors between indoor, lab calibrated readings and tests done just minutes later in my car parked just outside the lab door.
Tags: altitude, everest, meter, temperatue
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by nel peach on -
Hello David, why not ask Sebastian , the pumper ? His e-mail address is seb@sebinspires.com. Regardless of wearing a pump ( he wears an Animas product ) , one still needs to do finger pokes. Maybe he wears a CGM device , in that case fewer finger pokes ?.
I had been volunteering at the Holiday train , coming through Salmon Arm , BC , several hours in minus 18 degrees temperature and it took me at least 15 minutes being indoors to get my Bayer Contour working. I had to keep my meter in the car nearby .
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Permalink Reply by Anna Kiff (FatCatAnna) on -
I met him a few weeks ago here in Montreal (JDRF Research Symposium). He was a hoot to listen to - and I got to talk to him afterwards. It took him 3 months to get to the top - and out of the group he was with - all diabetics - he was the only one in the group who made it to the top (along with Sherpa guides). I asked him the same question you are asking - how the heck did you test your BG? He said - he didn't. He did when he could at the base camp - but because of the cold temps, etc. anything inbetween there was pretty well impossible. He just went with his gut instincts - and also he said he would rather be on the high side of blood sugar readings then low - as there were some pretty tricky situations he got himself into with the climb. Like he had to walk on suspension metal ladder across two HUGE cracks in his climb. Just looking at the pic of it - and I have a thing for heights - made my stomach go - oh boy!
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Permalink Reply by David Lamb on
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Yes, I took up Nel's suggestion and contacted Seb. As Anna, says, Seb pretty much didn't test. One thing to add: he said that he does use meters above their rated altitude (usually about 10,000 ft for most) to get at least an idea of his BS, but only up to a certain height (either 14,000 ft or 20,000 ft... his email was lost in a crash).
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Permalink Reply by Carol Coombes on -
He's a really interesting speaker. He was at our JDRF (Kitchener,Ont.) symposium last month.
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