Looking For Advice (long - sorry!)

[BearcatsFan]

Visited the doctor for my diabetic check-up yesterday. He was concerned enough about my blood pressure patterns that I've been put on a low-dose of blood pressure medicine and now have to do home monitoring. He also wants me to start watching my sodium intake.

Soooo ... now when we go to WDW in Sept., I need to watch carbs AND sodium ... and because of the BP meds, I need to try and stay out of the sun and heat as much as possible. I had problems last year when we went and ended up sitting in First Aid waiting for my sugars to stabilize. I don't want to go through that again - I'm taking my own water supply this time and I'm hoping to get a better touring plan put together, continue using FPs, etc.

I'm also worried about swelling of my feet/legs which also happened last year. We ended up being put in a HA room, so there was nowhere to soak my tired dogs.

Anyhoo, on to my question! I know getting carb counts is impossible with WDW, so I imagine getting sodium counts would be equally as difficult. We are on the regular DDP with 1 CS/1 TS per day. With the diabetes, I eat 3x per day, so that means 2 CS/1 TS per day, plus snacks.

Anyone have experience with making requests for low-sodium, specifically with CS locations, but at the TS locations as well? I did a search here, but didn't come up with much recent info. I also checked the FAQ, but didn't find anything there, either.

Any information you could provide (touring plan suggestions, help for swollen feet, sodium-wise, etc.) would be welcomed! Thank you in advance.

 

[ttintagel]

I'm also worried about swelling of my feet/legs which also happened last year. We ended up being put in a HA room, so there was nowhere to soak my tired dogs.

No advice about the sodium, but an inflatable foot bath might be helpful for you. It would take up a miniumum of luggage room, and you can get a low-end one for under $10.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I have no real idea about the CS locations, but at TS locations you can talk to the chef ( of course they may not know). When we ate at GF my DH had the chef come at take him to the buffet because of allergies, but the chef also had another guest who was getting info on carbs. The chef seemed to be knowledgeable, but with no printed info I guess you have no real idea.

 

[Hannathy]

To be honest with you since he said to start watching your sodium intake and not "you have severe kidney disease you have to limit your sodium intake to ___ a day immediately" I would do what he said and just start watching it. I wouldn't stress over it on vacation to the extent of checking sodium content in food. I would simply not add any salt to anything, and stay away from salty foods and snacks. If you just eat a well balanced diet which you will be doing with the diabetes I think you will be fine for vacation.

As an RN, This is the advise I would have given my clients when I worked in community education at the hospital.


For you feet and legs you want to elevate them more than soaking. Be careful with the soaking with Diabetes, it softens the skin and makes it easier to be cut or germs to get into small cracks.

 

[BearcatsFan]

To be honest with you since he said to start watching your sodium intake and not "you have severe kidney disease you have to limit your sodium intake to ___ a day immediately" I would do what he said and just start watching it. I wouldn't stress over it on vacation to the extent of checking sodium content in food. I would simply not add any salt to anything, and stay away from salty foods and snacks. If you just eat a well balanced diet which you will be doing with the diabetes I think you will be fine for vacation.

As an RN, This is the advise I would have given my clients when I worked in community education at the hospital.


For you feet and legs you want to elevate them more than soaking. Be careful with the soaking with Diabetes, it softens the skin and makes it easier to be cut or germs to get into small cracks.

He actually did tell me no more than 1500mg per day of sodium.

I appreciate the elevation vs soaking advice. I forgot to ask him yesterday and won't see him again until after our trip.

 

[Talking Hands]

As a long term diabetic I can say don't soak your feet but elevate them with a couple of pillows. Be careful of sodas. Most have hidden sodium unless they specifically say sodium free. Diet Rite brand is sodium free and has several flavors. Drink lots of water and carry snacks with you. Check bs often and adjust with insulin if you use that.

 

[Sparkly]

If heat is a issue try going at the cooler times of year such as December/January/February. January and February are also much quieter!

 

[clm10308]

Based on my personal experience, if you have to limit your sodium, you are going to want to bring food/ snacks with you. My BP increases considerably with consecutive restaurant meals and I get the swelling feet too.

Even breakfast cereals that you might think are healthy can have a good bit of sodium like my favorite Rasin Bran

 

[carrie6466]

You can get a book to give you sodium grams in foods, just like you can get carb gram books or fat gram books for other types of diets. I remember my grandmother having them a while back. Check out Amazon, I'm sure you'll find a guide of some kind you could bring with you. Off the top of my head, I remember tomatos, celery and salad dressing and ketchup all being too high in sodium for her to have. I don't know how much she's allowed to have per day, though.

 

[BearcatsFan]

Thank you all for the advice. Much appreciated!

 

[PatsMom]

I have high blood pressure controlled with medication in addition to my diabetes and a bunch of other stuff! I avoid the obvious sodium culprits like the salt shaker, soy sauce, etc. I have a book I can consult but I rarely do. I don't have a specific target for sodium per day. And when you are sweating like you will at Disney in September, you are sweating out sodium so your needs are different I think.

I don't worry too much about it on vacation except for not adding salt to anything. drink lots of water. Three small meals a day and a few snacks (low carb) seem to keep me going.

I elevate my feet when I can - I never soak. If I sit and rest, I'll put my feet up on the bench if possible. Tough when it is crowded! Also at meals, there are three of us usually so that leaves the fourth chair available to elevate my feet for a bit. That seems to help with the swelling.

September can be hard because it is still pretty darn hot in Florida. The heat tends to screw up my blood sugar. But not to the point where I don't have a good time!

 

[I Love Pluto]

Another vote for elevating legs. I do this about 4 times each day. You can even put your legs up as you sit on one of the walls outside a ride.

The puffiness goes right down.

 

[PFW]

You might find this websit helpful. http://www.alsosalt.com/sodiumcontent.html

Also, I found a delicious Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing. I usually get a nice big bottle of it at a very reasonable price at Walmart. The brand name is Olde Cape Cod. It has alot less fat and sodium than any other salad dressing that was on the shelf when I discovered it. It must be getting popular around here because it's out of stock quite often in our store so when they do have it I usually pick up 2 bottles.

 

[book_junkie]

Calorieking is probably the book/guide a previous poster was talking about; I know my endo recommended it. If you have a smart phone, they also have a free app that you can download. It won't have the Disney stuff, but you could look up comparable items (1/3 pound cheeseburger, for example) and get close. I use it but journal on paper, while my husband who has Crohn's uses myfitness on his phone, and we've found them to have almost the same info.

Table service talk to the chefs, they should be able to prepare veggies and other sides without salt, and steer you towards better options. Counter service, ask if you can get side salads without dressing instead of fries, or fresh fruit. If you pick chicken, be aware that they may be higher in sodium than a burger due to processing.. Also look out for sports drinks, even low calorie ones, lots of sodium in there as well. Stay well hydrated; once you feel thirsty it's too late. It's weird, but I've found that Smartwater works better for me than normal in hot situations.