Managing exercise and insulin

[In Response]

@PaulAshby I find my body struggles to exercise when my levels are high so will always result in a rise in levels if they start above 10.
I also find I suffer from insulin resistance once my levels are above 12 so I need extra insulin to correct a high. Then I avoid eating anything until my levels are below 10.

 

[Ushthetaff]

40plus years T1 and I’ve always done some form of excessive and why not ! I played rugby for about 25 years also 4 years of American football, spent most of my life in the gym and never thought that my diabetes would stop me , and it hasn’t , even after my amputation in 2014 I still exercise about 5 times a week , don’t do the rugby any more but go to gym , keeping fit saved my life , diabetes shouldn’t stop people doing exercise it just a case of adapting to what works for u , that is all part of being diabetic whether it be adapting to exercise , eating , working shifts, etc etc etc nobody has ever said living with diabetes is easy but it shouldn’t stop us doing things we want to , bearing in mind I was doing exercise etc when taking your own bs was not possible , I used theory that there are many excuses for not doing some thing but I will not allow diabetes to be one of them

 

[RobertJ]

I've started doing this sport called Korfball (a bit like netball or basketball) and have just done training sessions so far. Every time, I notice my BG rising. It's high-intensity activity with short bursts of running around.

I have my first game on Sunday and will probably be playing two 25-minute halves. I will need to give Novorapid beforehand, it's just a question of how much. Halfway through training sessions I've noticed it rise to about 11 from being 6 or 7 at the start. It's just hard training my brain away from the misconception I had for nearly 20 years: that all exercise makes it go down, because it doesn't at all.

Who else has experience with injecting before team sports and how has it gone for you?

 

[In Response]

Who else has experience with injecting before team sports and how has it gone for you?

Not a team sport but I always need extra insulin when I climb due to the stop start, adrenaline producing nature of it.
Just before I start, I take enough insulin that would get me down to 4.0 under normal circumstances. Under climbing circumstances, it keeps me from reach 10.

 

[RobertJ]

Earlier on today I had my first game of Koftball (it's a bit like basketball and netball). It was 8.7 before so I gave three units of Novorapid. This was not based on much science, but based on experience of how my BG works in training sessions.

There was a 15-minute warmup, followed by two 25-minute halves. So an hour and a bit of high-intensity exercise, lots of running around in short bursts.

I noticed my levels were around 8 and 9 the whole time, which I guess is okay but I would prefer it it was more like 6 and 7.

Stupidly, as it was 9.6 at the end of the match I gave 2 units and cycled home. My BG crashed but I caught it before it got too bad an it levelled out at 4.1.

I haven't actually adjusted my evening meal ratio or my evening basal, simply because I don't know for definite if there's a reason to. I'll have to see how this pans out but I am proud of this achievement.

 

[RobertJ]

Last night I did two hours of a Korfball training session. At the beginning it was 9.4 and I gave three units of Novorapid. After an hour it was 8.4 and after two hours it was 6.9. It crept up to 8.3 before bed and I gave one unit. I was in target all night and woke up to a reading of 6.7.

Having not seriously done high-intensity sport since I was 15, and not understood how to manage it before, I feel very proud of how good I've been able to get it here.

 

[Juicyj]

That's brilliant Robert - great when you can crack the code and stay in range, nice work. I am struggling with running at night time atm and not going hypo when out for longer than 50 mins, am loading carbs prior to going out but don't feel that's the best way to do it, am fine in the morning can run for up to 2 hours without going low, but insulin resistance changes at night..

 

[RobertJ]

That's brilliant Robert - great when you can crack the code and stay in range, nice work. I am struggling with running at night time atm and not going hypo when out for longer than 50 mins, am loading carbs prior to going out but don't feel that's the best way to do it, am fine in the morning can run for up to 2 hours without going low, but insulin resistance changes at night..

Running can be difficult. I'm not running at the moment due to a hamstring problem but do normally. I only go about 6k and it's never more than 30 minutes. I feel like the idea starting point is a reading of 7 or 8, then having a slow release thing just before you start, like an oat biscuit.

I'm not sure what I'd do if I was running much further. Obviously we all want to avoid doing exercise while high but I don't know how I'd keep it somewhere decent for a 50-minute run. What do you do for these morning runs to keep it in range?

 

[RobertJ]

I went for a 5k run this morning, the first in a while due a hamstring problem. The run was fine but the diabetes was not.

At 5am I woke up with a reading of 13.8 (it having been in for about five hours overnight) so I gave 4 units of Novorapid. I woke up properly at 6:30 where it was 10.3 and I just gave my background.

At 7am it was 9.4 and I had an oat biscuit (7.5g carbs) because I thought the run might make it go down, and the Novorapid from earlier could still be working. I set off at 7:15. I did a reading about two thirds through the run and it was 12.4, so the oat biscuit was unnecessary. When I got home it looked like things were heading down as it reached 9.9 but it then crept up again. Eventually I got things sorted but, even so, I hate attempting exercise when I'm high.

I guess running in the morning is a different ball game than running later on in the day.

 

[Quinapril]

Currently very lazy on my activities.

Had a bit of a depressive period which also caused me to abuse alcohol for a while.

However, I used to be very active and I'm on the good path to getting better.

When I used to be more active I did around 30 mins - 1 hour of brisk walking just after breakfast almost every day. This would help me get my bg down after breakfast as well as deal with any dawn phenomenon. I would usually just inject a little less insulin and let my activity do some work.

After the walk I would either end up and around 7 mmol which would be perfect to hit the gym for me or if I was lower I would have a quick bite and then drive to work out. Usually wouldnt have any big problems with going low in the gym. However, if I did always had my glucose or some extra small snack with me. Occasionally if I was high like 9 - 10 mmol I would inject maybe 1 or 2 units which I found evened it out at around 5 - 6 combined with activity.

Most of my physical activity is always in the morning because I work late evening shifts (till 1 am) which makes me go to sleep too late and wake up too late which messes with my bg as well but thats a whole different story.

 

[Quinapril]

I went for a 5k run this morning, the first in a while due a hamstring problem. The run was fine but the diabetes was not.

At 5am I woke up with a reading of 13.8 (it having been in for about five hours overnight) so I gave 4 units of Novorapid. I woke up properly at 6:30 where it was 10.3 and I just gave my background.

At 7am it was 9.4 and I had an oat biscuit (7.5g carbs) because I thought the run might make it go down, and the Novorapid from earlier could still be working. I set off at 7:15. I did a reading about two thirds through the run and it was 12.4, so the oat biscuit was unnecessary. When I got home it looked like things were heading down as it reached 9.9 but it then crept up again. Eventually I got things sorted but, even so, I hate attempting exercise when I'm high.

I guess running in the morning is a different ball game than running later on in the day.

I feel you. Bg often goes haywire when doing activity while high.

What I tend to do is when Im working out and I see that my sugar isn't dropping, I kinda push myself to the limits.

That usually gets the ball rolling and drops my bg. Sometimes too much tho and have to end up having a snack to prevent a low before it happens

 

[Westley]

Like others here, I find heavy strength training raises my BG, while low intensity cardio lowers it.
I used to do nearly all strength and little cardio, and would often need a bolus before or during to keep it down.

Recently I've been adding a lot more cardio, and in the effort to reduce my total insulin, I've been doing weights until it gets high, then cardio until it comes back down.
This doesn't feel ideal though, and sometimes I have to cut the lifting short because it rises too quickly, even when I'm eating very low carb or fasting. Also if I do extended cardio after I sometimes have to stop or have carbs because it gets too low.

Has anyone found a sweet spot that keeps it in balance without insulin or carbs?
Should I try jumping back and forth between squat rack and treadmill? It seems an odd way to train, but maybe could work.

 

[andrewbristol]

Like others here, I find heavy strength training raises my BG, while low intensity cardio lowers it.
I used to do nearly all strength and little cardio, and would often need a bolus before or during to keep it down.

Recently I've been adding a lot more cardio, and in the effort to reduce my total insulin, I've been doing weights until it gets high, then cardio until it comes back down.
This doesn't feel ideal though, and sometimes I have to cut the lifting short because it rises too quickly, even when I'm eating very low carb or fasting. Also if I do extended cardio after I sometimes have to stop or have carbs because it gets too low.

Has anyone found a sweet spot that keeps it in balance without insulin or carbs?
Should I try jumping back and forth between squat rack and treadmill? It seems an odd way to train, but maybe could work.

I find the same (albeit with Badminton). Initially BG drops, then after about 40 mins my body decides it's high intensity and BG goes up. I usually drop out and go for a walk. Seems your strategy of mixing squat rack and treadmill is the way to go. Nice approach!

 

[Tom-stick]

I never called myself a runner when I could just run whenever I wanted, I was just someone who went running, however I have been saying "I was a runner" quite a bit. Totally a case of not realising what you have until it is gone. It wasn't really about fitness (though I was fit), it was about head space and getting some time to think. I used to do it to process ideas like "should I make this big financial commitment" or "should I move into that flat" or "I have type 1 diabetes and that is horrifying." So I basically can't do the thing that I usually would do in order to deal with the problem and I didn't really know I was using it like that.

I have tried to go running, I have not been able to do it without feeling really bad. Right now as I sit here I feel like I am just getting over a bout of flu as I have for weeks, and if I run I can only go at half speed and one quarter distance and the feeling gets worse until I get the shakes and have to stop.

If I can only run if I do a bunch of preparation and mental arithmetic and risk feeling bad, then I will just be thinking about those things all the time and it will defeat the purpose of doing it. Looking back I realise that the purpose of running was to be free of day to day cares and spend some time going over things in my head, and if I can't do that then frankly it is totally pointless.

To end on something useful if not positive, anyone who suspects they have this disease needs to see a doctor absolutely immediately because part of my problem is ketoacidosis which has completely torn up any level of fitness I had. Do not delay, I could have had it for WAY less time and been WAY less damaged by it.

I began running at the beginning of the year, and to say that maintaining my Bg levels has been difficult is an understatement. Having said that, it is far from impossible. It's a never-ending learning curve, but the benefits of running far outweigh the discomfort of managing T1D while exercising. I'm fitter, my insulin sensitivity has improved, and my overall mental health has improved significantly - all of which play a role in diabetes!

@NoKindOfSusieI, too, experienced dramatic drops in my levels and thought I would never be able to run more than 5k again as a result. However, after much trial and error, I'm getting better at managing my levels on a run and am now successfully running 10k-18k with a half marathon planned for January - it's taken me a long time to get to this point. There are numerous options available to you, but the key is to find what works best for you. It will take time, but it is doable

 

[SimonP78]

I began running at the beginning of the year, and to say that maintaining my Bg levels has been difficult is an understatement. Having said that, it is far from impossible. It's a never-ending learning curve, but the benefits of running far outweigh the discomfort of managing T1D while exercising. I'm fitter, my insulin sensitivity has improved, and my overall mental health has improved significantly - all of which play a role in diabetes!

@NoKindOfSusieI, too, experienced dramatic drops in my levels and thought I would never be able to run more than 5k again as a result. However, after much trial and error, I'm getting better at managing my levels on a run and am now successfully running 10k-18k with a half marathon planned for January - it's taken me a long time to get to this point. There are numerous options available to you, but the key is to find what works best for you. It will take time, but it is doable

Perhaps best broken out into its own thread, but can you give some details of what you eat/insulin you take/etc. and how your process of trail and error proceeded? Everyone is different so what works for you won't necessarily work for anyone else, however, having some idea of how people have worked out what to do, and what they now do, is I think a useful source of information and inspiration.

I've done similar for my cycling which I hope might help others, I'd be interested to know how you got on.

 

[Gennaro]

Yes I wouid be interested to know what you do I cycle ,, 50 kms most days mountain biking ,,I have always had to eat 25/30 grams of carbs in Musili bars every 20 mins to sustain BSL ,,

Out of interest are you on pump ? ( I am )

How do you monitor while running , I had a data field on my watch which worked great with dexcom but am yet to find a working data field on my watch for gaurdiun 4 ,, but that’s another topic .

I have also found that from my educator they have said anerobic ( sprints ) can make bgl go up again, I found this to be true but it’s hard to maintain when you are already tired

Very interested to hear what worked for you

 

[jmclean2006]

A number of members have posted recently about sport and exercise and ways to manage blood glucose levels before/during/after the event, and as someone who rides a bike, swims regularly and since 2 months ago has started running twice a week (with the help of a libre sensor), i'd be keen to hear from others about what exercise you do, what achievements you've had, what tips you have for exercise/sport and just a general chat about how you manage it.

Personally I do it to stay well and fit as well as to challenge my t1 status and to prove that nothing can stop me from living a 'normal life, and each time I feel like slowing down or stopping I grit my teeth and keep going..

Hi, i was diagnosed T1 suddenly in 2001 at the age of 43. Have always been reasonably active, took up running in 2012 at age 54 to improve my fitness. Since then I have run 5 full marathons (running my 6th in Manchester next month) , about 30 Half marathons, countless 10K and 5K runs, and 227 Parkruns, to be precise LOL. On short runs I have a small snack/drink beforehand, on longer runs I take a hydration pack with flat full sugar coca-cola to sip on the way round to prevent hypos during the run, as well as snack bars/gels. On half and full marathons I reduce my basal insulin by 50% the day before, and make sure I have no active insulin on board when I start the run. Can't say I've never had hypos during a run, but generally I manage ok.. I totally agree with your last sentence, don't let Diabetes control you, and sometimes you have to grit your teeth and carry on. Good luck.

 

[Juicyj]

Hey thanks for that @jmclean2006 - some great advice in there about glucose management and some incredible achievements too.

It's funny reading this back as I started it in 2017, I am now at 141 parkruns, 2 marathons, 1 half, countless 10k's and tbh some 10k's far worse than any other runs, notably mud and hills my 2 nemesis's ! I have found running in the morning much easier than later in the day as BG levels seem to behave better. I also find after long runs the 24 hours afterwards can be a bit tricky too. Interested to ask how you manage mentally with longer runs and what mantras do you adopt to get through the miles ? I have found tackling the mental side of things harder than the physical at times.

 

[Fern Hopper]

Parkrun always spikes my BG. Last 2 half marathons I managed with nothing to eat at all. Run many 10k's. Always spikes BG. But riding the bike, particularly for big mileages, less insulin and lots of food. Perhaps I am a cyclist and not a runner?

 

[Fern Hopper]

As for the mental side - I love mindless running! Not so easy on the bike - far more concentration required.