Festivalabetes

Concerns time! part 18

One of my concerns now I’m diabetes-tastic is Festivals.

I’ve bought tickets for my third Reading Festival and yesterday my ticket arrived for my first Glastonbury.
But festivals are dirty places with massively overpriced food stalls of highly dubious quality.  Where as last year I was content to live on snack bars and sausage rolls, how the hell I go about it this year is an unnerving mystery.  I’m going to have to get my arse in gear and speak to various people about it; Doctors, get on the festival forums and see if I can get advice.
So many people go to festivals, there must have been some Type 1 diabetics in there.

Main concerns, as usual, are the practicalities;

• Diabetic or not, how are security going to feel when I turn up with a tin full of needles?
• Where is best to keep my insulin?
• If they let me in with needles, will I be able to take them into the main arenas?
• Will I be looking at traipsing back and forth missing big segments of bands etc so I can inject insulin, eat, then head back in?
• Safer keeping things on me/in my tent? Or find some storage?
• How many extra insulin pens do I bring with me?
• What about eats?
• Are the food stalls to be trusted?
• Which ones?
• What are the best snacks to take with me?
• How do I best combat hypos if I’m rocking out?
• Am I taking it too seriously and it’s all really simple?
• If I get an bad hypo, will they think I’m just drunk?

Ah-ha! I’ve discovered infoman!
An email address on Glastos website, he proclaims to have all the answers.
So hopefully he can answer at least some. We’ll see.

But for now, I’m asking you blog world.
– Anyone have any advice for me?
– Know any diabetics who go to festivals and how they coped?
– Any of you diabetics out there know how easy or difficult it is?
– Let me know!

In Related news, I’m off to see Pendulum tonight, and I have nerves overwhelmed by excitement, I’m really looking forward to it.
I think despite the crossover appeal I’m wondering if it’ll still be full of rudeboy drum’n’bass racers and the cap-wearing chavmassive, but considering how good ‘Self vs Self’ is I’ll be donning my In Flames tee!

It’ll be a test for me, as I want to see how dancing my arse off affects my bloods, and what I can do to tackle it without hampering my enjoyment.  Aiming to put my blood sugar a little higher to compensate, and keep those lovely dextrose tablets handy.

The only time I’ve seen them – at Reading Fest two years ago – it was the closest to injury I’ve been at any gig as the crush of people was immense.  Riding high after In Silico had been released, I had to get the hell out, and just as I reached space where I could breathe, they played their cover of the Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People’.  Yep. Straight back in. Bruised. Knackered. Worth it.

In other news
The writing has started, but not much.
Reviews and work have got in the way, but I did get stuck in.

What I’ve done is rubbish, but that’s not the point at the moment.
It’s too descriptive, making it clumsy, but I’ve started. I have to finish.

Word Count: 350
Soundtrack: Pendulum