New - 4 Days - with Sports question

[alfietom]

Hi,
I am 13 (just). On Monday of this week I discovered I am Type 1 Diabetic.
I am a superfit 13 year old who has competed regularly in cycling races for about 4-5 years now with dreams of one day being a pro cyclist.
On Monday my world came crashing down when I thought I could never ride or race again although as the week has progressed I have realised this is not the case.
Tonight (Thursday) I went to bike club training.
Before I went at 6pm my level was 5.8. I ate 1 peice of wholemeal toast and sugar free jam and an apple.
As a trial I rode for 30 minutes then checked. I was 17.6. I rechecked 5 mins later and it was 14.1
as a guide to exertion I would say I rode at 6/10 for exertion.
During this exercise I had 3 small gulps of a weekened mix (50%) SIS Go Energy - this is 94g of Carb for each 100g but only 6.9grams of which sugar.

I rode for another 15 mins at an easy pace 4/10 then went home and checked again - 17.1....these are some of my highest readings.
I had 5 units of Novo Rapid and then a healthy dinner.

I am confused by these high readings when I excercised and what I need to be doing.

 

[dawnmc]

A quick look on Amazon came up with this, Diabetic Athlete's Handbook, good reviews, and there are other books. Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution is a good one too. Hopefully someone can treat you to these books.

 

[VickiT11979]

I have type 1, use a pump & enjoy cycling, am nowhere near as fit as you but do it pretty often. To give an idea of intensity, when I ride with my kids I run at about 60-70% of my max heart rate & if riding alone I'm above 70%, with decent periods of 80-90% of max (based on my age). I do between 35min & 2hrs. My BG drops fast in the first 30min, then usually stabilises & rises after I finish. I try to manage it by altering my insulin rather than using carbs, though I take 10-15g fast acting carbs 20min before I start if my BG is under 6 & often need around 10g if it's down to under 5 after the first 30min.

You essentially have 3 options: reduce your basal insulin (harder on injections than a pump - you'd be a very good candidate for a pump), reduce your bolus if you plan to exercise within 1.5-2hrs after eating, or take in extra carbs, or a combination of these.

Very intense exercise can usually raise your glucose levels, moderately intense exercise (I think 70-85% MHR) drops it fast & moderate intensity exercise reduces it more gradually & by less.

Runsweet is an excellent website with loads of information about diabetes & exercise, backed up by research. It's contributed to by a diabetes consultant who's done loads of work on this area.

Basically you'll need to test lots, record what happens every time & learn through trial & error to some extent. I don't know if you can join at 13 but there's a Facebook group called Sporty Diabetic Type 1s & people on there do Ironmans & there's a cycling team called Team BG made up of Type 1s.

It is tricky, but not impossible - good luck!

 

[Daibell]

Hi. You need to be aware that it's Total carbs that matter not just the sugar content so your energy drink is almost complete carb and if so not ideal for a diabetic other than bringing your blood sugar back up if it's too low. Gym exercise can have some unexpected results on blood sugar. I can't remember all the details but there have been threads on the forum for this. Don't worry too much about those exercise swings other than monitoring your blood sugar to avoid a hypo or really excessive highs. The wholemeal toast and apple will have contained carbs. It may be that you need to slightly adjust your Basal & Bolus a bit to improve the balance but do this in conjunction with your nurse.