Diabetes and Holidays

I want to first start off this post by saying, Happy Easter, guys! I hope you all have had a day to relax and spend with family, whether you celebrate Easter as the day Christ resurrected from the grave or not. I had a fabulous day at church with my friends and family and got to enjoy some time with friends, neighbors, family, and my sweet boyfriend this afternoon and I'm filled to the brim with contentment.
But, let's get back on topic after that rabbit trail! Diabetes and holidays, like today, can be tricky. You might be busier than you normally are visiting family and travelling, and holidays tend to revolve around food. (Not entirely, but there's usually a LOT of food around the holidays.) I mean, come on, Thanksgiving revolves almost entirely around a huge meal where you eat until you can't possibly ingest anymore food. Holidays are great, but they can wreck havoc on diabetes. It's hard to check, or you forget to check, or your blood sugar is all over the place from going high from all the food and the dropping low from treating the low(this is a rollercoaster that I got to ride today... it's exhausting.)
I've been diabetic for almost ten years now, and I STILL haven't mastered holidays(and truth is, I probably never will. Diabetes is definitely NOT a science that you can master and set "rules" for.) But, that being said, I do have a few tips for y'all on how to better manage diabetes around the holidays.
TEST, TEST, TEST.
Let's face it, the holidays just require more checking than usually. You're eating tons of food, you might be travelling, and you might just be plain stressed out by the holidays, all of which can cause your blood sugar to be higher/lower than usual. Although you can't avoid this, you can monitor your blood sugar more closely and try to roll with the punches as best you can.
Bolus, bolus, bolus.
Along with testing, bolusing is another thing you need to be consistent about doing. It's easy to eat something and completely forget to bolus, especially around the holidays, but being diligent about it can help prevent the rollercoaster of highs and lows.
Something I've found helpful in keeping up wit bolusing is keeping a log of blood sugars, what I'm eating, and how much insulin I gave myself/when I gave it. It may take some extra time, but I have found it helpful personally.
Relax and don't stress yourself out.
The holidays can be stressful, but there's really no need to get stressed out! The holidays are a time to celebrate and be with family and friends, so don't stress it! Everything will be okay. You may have a few highs and lows, but life happens. Nothing always goes as planned, and as long as you're trying and you take care of the highs/lows and take measures to prevent them, that's what ultimately matters.
 http://www.cdc.gov/features/diabetesmanagement/index.html

http://www.diabeteslibrary.org/View.aspx?url=Diabetes_Holidays_Stress