Could I ask

Fallenstar

Well-Known Member
Messages
546
:D

Hi
Could I ask anyone who exercises very regularly who is Type 1 and now on a pump instead of the pen injections what difference it has made to their control while exercising ?

Did it take a lot of getting used to?

Did you have to change your exercise routine? Or did it compromise it at all?

Did you have a lot of hypo's? Or better control during ?

I would love to hear any experiences off exercise using the pump as I have chance to go on one and would love to hear from anyone using one with their routine :D
 

Cheryl

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Messages
180
I exercise 1 to 4 times per week, which in pump terms is irregularly. Simply put, if you exercise more than every other day, you will always be in a glygogen replacement period, so you are not likely to need to reduce your basal insulin after exercise as I do (because I exercise mostly, less than every other day). You can easily reduce your basal before exercise (if you can plan 2-3 hours in advance) which means less reliance on extra carbs to sustain you.

You will need to experiment with reducing basal and/or bolus amounts before exercise & taking extra carb before/during it, but once you get the hang of how it works for you, the pump is more flexible. The system to use depends on what exercise you do, when you do it, for how long & whether you have time to plan. There's an American website WWW.diabetesnet.com which has a very useful & easy to understand section on exercise which has really helped me match insulin reduction & carb intake to my exercise programme resulting in far less hypos during/after exercise & fewer forced highs beforehand too.

Good luck, I was very anti pump before I got one. I don't love it now, but wouldn't go back to MDI.
 

Fallenstar

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Messages
546
Thankyou Cheryl for the info and link :D

Could I ask where you have your pump? I have VERY little to no abdomen fat, I now have to inject into my bum for fat, I tried my arm but hit a vein twice (not nice :shock: ) and it gets absorbed too quickly from my leg, arms and stomach which all have muscle and not much fat, so I was trying to imagine how you would go on attaching the pump to your butt cheeks and where you would store the pump...keep it clean :lol: :lol: . If I had to use it in my Butt cheek I wonder how comfortable it would be for sleeping.I have read a bit about pumps now and it's looking not without it's hitches but also very positive but I may find due to lack of site options for me I will stick with my injections.
so you would never go back? How do you find the pack during exercise?
 

Cheryl

Well-Known Member
Messages
180
I'll stick to the bits that I haven't answered in my reply to your other post.

Most of the time I wear the pump on my waistband. I have a leatherette case & it looks at a quick glance like a.mobile phone in a belt pouch. In winter I sometimes either drop it into my boot, if the ones I'm wearing have loose-ish legs, or clip it to my boot top (if my trousers ate wide enough at the cuff to cover it.

Not sure if you're male or female, so other options (some girl only ones) are:
in a soft pouch clipped to a bra under your arm
in same soft pouch clipped to pants
in a thigh pouch
My pump is an accu chek spirit, quite old, not offered any more, if you get one with a remote, it's easier to put in a pouch under clothes. All pump companies offer accessories, at a price of course.

Icve heard some girls say that they put it inside their bra cup or clip it on their bra between their boobs. My boobs definitely aren't big enough to do that and not look very strange.

Exercise wise, it's pretty good. Takes a bit of studying to work out the way to approach a workout, but I'm finding it easier all the time. My workouts are x-training (30 mins flat out) or swimming (45 mins/2 km). I take it off to swim. It doesn't get in the way, but I expect that it would be harder to deal with team sports (or weight training) as you'd have to remove it as it would get in the way. Then you'd need to work out how to replace the missed insulin., how much carb you'd burned, deal with sugar rises if you're work out was anaerobic, consider the after exercise glycogen replacement period etc. It was brain scrambling to start with, but I've pretty much got a handle on it now.

Cleaning? I dump it in the bath for a quick wash now & again! If I have a bath, I don't disconnect & I take the opportunity to wash it alongside me. It's waterproof enough for that, but only some devices are rated properly waterproof, mine isn't one of them.
 

Fallenstar

Well-Known Member
Messages
546
Cheryl you are a star :D

I'm female and can't imagine wearing anything extra in the boobage department. I have to wear three highly constructed sports bras as it is to keep mine under control...any extra baggage might just tip me over the edge :shock: :lol: I think like yourself I will go for either it on a waist band or on the outer thigh strap/pouch which sounds good for running.

Like you I will just have to trial and error it for a while for my runs....maybe disconnect it for my really long distances, I will have to see, I will work it out I suppose just like I have for the injection doses.

Thanks again Hun for all your info it has really helped and put my mind at rest