Exercise & Diabeties

[Trixy83]

Hi all, for the first time in my life I've signed up to join a gym and have my induction tomorrow night. I've know that exercise can lower your readings for up to 24 hours so I was wondering what advice, tips and things to look out for you can advise? I've had a bit of a nightmare time recently trying to get my readings back under control after what we think was me leaving the honeymoon period. I have my basal rate pretty much spot on now but still playing around with my insulin:carbs ratio so for the last couple of days I've had a a couple of mild hypos due to too much bolus so I just need to bear this in mind as well. Thanks

 

[AndyS]

It's good that you understand there can still be BG drops much later.
When I do the gym I tend to back off on any bolus dose I take. When I have had days where I know I will be very active all day then I have backed off my basal insulin as well.

The thing is that everyone is different so the best advice I could offer is keep a detailed diary of the activity you are doing and do a LOT of tests.
One of the things that I find at the gym is that when I exercise hard I lose my hypo symptoms completely so I tend to do a BG test between each exercise/machine and I always take plenty of hypo remedies with you.

Also don't be surprised if your sugars go up with exercise, however just be aware that in a case like that you may get a crash a bit later. At least that how it is for me. If my sugars run up during exercise it is because my liver is dumping glucose, it seems that later on when it should be goingback and releasing slowly there is nothing left and my BG will crash.

Like I said, the key thing is to keep notes, be cautious and test test test. The thing you are trying to do is get an understanding of what the activity will do to you so that you can compensate for it the next time by either having a snack or backing off your insulin. Either which way make sure you take a fast acting sugar with you to help if/when you have a hypo.

best of luck.

/A

 

[Trixy83]

Thanks Andy. I'm a bit of a note fanatic anyway and after my nightmare time recently I've almost treated myself like a mini science project and have notes and results galore all logged in various forms (spreadsheet, notebook, app!) I'm just worried about the basal rates, it's took me this long to finally start getting them right and I'm worried about introducing a new element that will change things, but I need to do it at some point. I will be extra careful for the first wee while and see how I go.

 

[AndyS]

Yeah the trick is to remember to actually review your data. No good if it is all write-only data.

I would suggest that perhaps don't worry too much about your basal stuff especially if you have got it about right. Like I said when I do the gym I usuall just back off on the bolus and then work that way, though for the first few perhaps accept that you will have some close hypos or you may have some spikes but the key is just going to be to watch yourself very carefully.
Like I said, I will sometimes test multiple times during a session, though once you learn how your body responds you will likely be able to back that off a bit.

 

[Diamattic]

I have heard that too, but I have never actually had it happen to me.

Typically I do not adjust my basal rate at all on workout days, or the following day. I do however make sure that i check my sugars and eat about 30g of carbs about 30 minutes before i work out with the intent to raise my BG to around 10. Not fast acting carbs, or slow acting, but i decent mix. Usually in the form of a workout bar (cliff bar, power bar, crackers and cheese etc... ) Then 30-45 minutes after eating i check my sugars again, to ensure they are at a nice level (usually 8-11, depending on what I am doing) and if they are good I hit the gym!

While working out i always keep at least 10g of fast carbs in my pocket (usually just a piece of wrapped candy i can quickly eat if i feel off).

I try not to deviate from the routine i have planned, for which i have eaten the required snack for - Typically its 15min cardio, 45-60min weights.

Afterwards i check my sugars and drive home, and then again before my meal so i know if i need to bolus with my post workout meal THEN i shower and clean up.

I find that my sugars can be a bit lower then normal for 4-6 hours after a work out, but predictably so. To counter this i just have an extra little snack (10-20g of carbs that i don't bolus for) and thats always been good enough!

EDIT - Oh, also, i make sure that i have NO bolus left in my system during the workout. So its always at least 4 hours after my last injection, and i do not inject with my pre workout meal - the plan here is eat a bit, digest it, and have it being worked off during the gym period.

You will have to start with small workouts and slowly evolve your routine over several attempts in order to find what works best coupled with your gym routine.

When i first started out i liked to bring a bottle of sugary Gatorade with me, knowing that the entire bottle was 45g of carbs IF i needed it. I normally only drank 1/2 and slowly less and less until i was just drinking water. and now everything works fantastic! I have never had an issue when i follow my routine and plan.

I hope you work at it and nail it down just right, its very rewarding, and very helpful at keeping the weight and sugars under control.

 

[JRW]

Hi all, for the first time in my life I've signed up to join a gym and have my induction tomorrow night. I've know that exercise can lower your readings for up to 24 hours so I was wondering what advice, tips and things to look out for you can advise? I've had a bit of a nightmare time recently trying to get my readings back under control after what we think was me leaving the honeymoon period. I have my basal rate pretty much spot on now but still playing around with my insulin:carbs ratio so for the last couple of days I've had a a couple of mild hypos due to too much bolus so I just need to bear this in mind as well. Thanks

Monitor, monitor, and monitor at first. Loads of good advice here http://www.teambloodglucose.com/TeamBG/Type_1_Basics.html