BG report from the JR Gonō Line

Sometimes, having a continuous glucose monitor really shows you interesting insights into how BG behaves (or doesn’t).

Today I rode the JR Gonō train line in northern Japan, famous as one of Japan’s most scenic rides. But when I woke up in my hotel room in in Ōdate, I saw what my BG had done overnight.

It had been slightly high the night before, about 230, and I’d had a unit of corrective Humalog. Then I went to sleep. My BG glided down in a steady line until precisely 4:00 am, when it reached 114.

Breakfast in Ōdate

Then, immediately, it began a similar slow rise upward, thanks to the usual glucose infusion from the liver. When I actually woke up, at 7:15 am, I was 184. The graph made a big wide V shape all night.

I had a nice little breakfast in my hotel and the post-meal spike wasn’t too bad, about 204 before arcing back downward. By 10:00 am, as I waited at Higashi-Noshiro Station, arguing with an automatic cashless food payment machine, I was about 125 and steady.

On the train ride itself I started to get a bit low – first, it was 85, but it kept dropping so I ate some glucose.

I had lunch spread out all over my seat and windowsill because there were no other passengers around me, but then at one station a big tour group got on and I had to scramble to make room, while chewing and trying to stuff the rest in my mouth.

After lunch I hit around 182 and stayed around there, before gliding back down again. By the time I got to my hotel in the city of Aomori, I was again 85.

Dinner in the hotel room, with a baseball game on TV. Good relaxing after the train excursion.

Dinner was from a local convenience store. After these long train journeys, I usually don’t feel like locating and going to a restaurant, and these in-room hotel meals are something I really look forward to.

All in all, my post-meal spikes today were entirely reasonable, even similar to those of non-diabetics. Must have been the majestic scenery that helped keep the diabetic wolves at the door.

Jeremy photo

About Me

My name is Jeremy. I travel to lesser-known places around the world out of pure curiosity. I've had Type 1 diabetes since 1982. You can watch all my travels on my YouTube channel, T1D Wanderer. Extended versions and exclusive videos, all without ads, are on Patreon. I publish a newsletter each week on my Patreon page for free. I'm from the United States and currently live in Ōsaka, Japan.