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Diabetes and exercise

C

CharlieDee

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Hello, Can someone please help me?
What should my sugar levels be prior to exercising?
If I am due to exercise I try to carb load in the day and drop my insulin by 1 unit at each meal so I am roughly around 14 prior to exercise. I exercise for up to an hour (walking/cycling/resistance work) and my sugar usually drops to about 3.8 so I eat my banana, go home and then have my tea. I have the right carb/insulin ratio but then before bed my sugar is still low and then most of the next day I am fighting a hypo....so I am eating carbs none stop...I exercise every other day...the days I don't exercise I am fighting hypos!
I have spoken to so many doctor and dietitians and they say everything I do is good..my diet is balanced and my carb ratio is good. Yet my weight isn't shifting...should I be higher before exercise??
I can't get it right....any tips would be so appreciated..
 
Are you on MDI or pump? If MDI what basal insulin do you take?

How long before your exercise is your last bolus?

I find being in double figures makes exercise much harder work and there is a risk that exercise can push you up, so I was told not to exercise if over 12.

Do you take any carbs on while exercising? I prefer to be at 8 to start and top up with carbs during.
 
yes I agree with Catapillar. I find if my sugar is high I do not have much energy, this is because it is insulin that allows the sugar to transport into the muscles fo give us energy. I find it better to take a few tablets of glucose just before staring and top up with glucose during the workout.Though think maybe a banana before starting could also help.
 
I don't exercise if my BS is above 12. As others have said, it's best to start a little high and then top up as needed.

You say you're fighting hypos on the days you don't exercise too. Have you done a basal test?
 
Carb loading doesn't have that much of a use if you're working out for under an hour. What you eat 3-4 hours before the workout is of higher concern but even then carbs for workouts under an hour aren't required. You store a good deal in your body (glucose that is) and usually you don't deplete that within the hour especially if you're doing resistance training where you take rest between sets.

Furthermore different types of workouts have different types of effects on your BS. So just pin pointing one cause might be difficult if you go walking, cycling, weight training, ... The time between your last bolus and your workout is an issue as mentioned. If you're dropping that much i'd say it's an insulin issue rather than a carb issue.

Lastly workouts do have lasting effects, as an example an HIIT session can have an effect on the BS for up to 3 days (usually positive) but if you're not aware of that it's easy to use too much insulin. Having a routine in eating and exercising usually makes it easier to control your BS but if you're eating more carbs one day than the other day it might become difficult to get a proper base line. If on top of that you switch the type of exercise you do it becomes even more difficult.
 

I take 36u of Tresiba and I am on 2u of Apidra for every 10g of carbs. I usually eat a banana before exercise and straight after. Are bananas okay?
 


Thank you so much this has given me so much to think about.
 
CharlieDee said:
I take 36u of Tresiba and I am on 2u of Apidra for every 10g of carbs. I usually eat a banana before exercise and straight after. Are bananas okay?
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I don't know how flexible Tresiba is as a basal insulin. I was on levemir and I would drop my dose a bit on days when I had done a lot of cardio. Perhaps @tim2000s might be able to help with that, or know someone who does use Tresiba?

I'm assuming you exercise in the evening? So how many hours before you start exercising do you do your lunchtime bolus? Because you will likely still have active insulin in your system from lunch when you start exercising.

Bananas are fine as fasting acting carbs. It's just if you are usually finishing your workout hypo at 3.8 the banana probably isn't doing the trick at the moment. So you might want to think about having a little bit of carbs mid workout - a couple of sips of lucozade or a couple of jelly babies just to top you up and stop you dipping under 4 during the work out, that might help out with the the lows later in the evening too.

If you do have active insulin on board when you start working out, working out is going to make the active insulin burn up any sugar faster, so you are in a position where you need to feed the remaining active insulin with carbs to maintain your blood sugar during your workout.

Do you test your blood sugar at all during your workout? that might help you figure out what each bit of your workout is doing to your blood sugar.
 
I have asked for help getting back to high level sport ....all I get is brick walls ...so I have given it all up
 
Jonny jibbs uk said:
I have asked for help getting back to high level sport ....all I get is brick walls ...so I have given it all up
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What brick walls exactly?

There are many T1D's who partake in sport, some at the highest level. It just takes a lot of learning, trial and error and correct planning to get it right. But "giving it all up" is not the right way to go.

If you explain what the issues are surrounding you exercise and associated difficulties, then we can work to help put them right

Maybe @azure could pop this into another thread for you, if this would end up de-railing the current thread?

Regards,
Grant
 
Jonny jibbs uk said:
I have asked for help getting back to high level sport ....all I get is brick walls ...so I have given it all up
Click to expand...

Who are you asking for help from? What kind of help are you expecting? What sort of high level sport?

When Steve Redgrave was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1997 he worked with dr Gallen to figure out how to train with type 1 and he went on to win his fifth gold medal in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics.

Dr Gallen has a website on how to manage sport and type 1 - runsweet.com - there is also information there on how to get a referral to see dr Gallen at his sport and diabetes clinic.
 
 

Yep, it's frustrating that there are long waiting lists for DAFNE courses. And the course itself is useful and you shoul attend when you get the chance.

But, if you are after basic carb counting, it is pretty much what it says on the tin. Carb counting = you count the carbs and you figure out your insulin to carb ratio. Yeah that second bit is a bit tricky takes a bit of trial and error.

There are some courses and information you can get while you wait for DAFNE. Have a look for the book "think like a pancreas" and the new free online carb counting course - http://www.bertieonline.org.uk
 
[QUOTE="catapillar,

But, if you are after basic carb counting, it is pretty much what it says on the tin. Carb counting = you count the carbs and you figure out your insulin to carb ratio. Yeah that second bit is a bit tricky takes a bit of trial and error
Carb counts I got .....easy when ur still on 10carbs makes 3 mmol so to take one unit for said sum..... No what bothers me is the fact that I have been booked for dafne and had it cancelled on me three times...When I do any physical actions or anything that mean am working the body ...can assure u a hypo...not that they bother me ...what bothers me is that once it's gone I am unable to move to do anything ...So go do sport .,,have. 20 min before hypo kick in ..then ur to mashed to do any more,,,,,,and it's like that in day to day.....with living too..so run high all time that way I can just get on with it...and yes I know the issues..but I don't like not being able to move ....I tried one session of ninjutsu after D .....so weak ..so little strength . So yer ..for the 16 months have been D can not get above 10 stone...so not matter what I do won't have strength for it...oh an yes to top it all of seems I have issue with fat..as been told I have eating disorder with my D as use ..or not use so to say ... My slow hit to control bod.......yep thinking as,e dam thing.. Not only is he f@&ked up in head but he screwing with meds....but D Ra and Va have taken it all away ...so the level of what I enjoyed sport is forever gone I think ....
 

Interesting !!!
 
For a start, you don't need to worry about DAFNE. I'm 29 months into diagnosis and I've not done this course. My last A1c was 40mmol/mol and I exercise without worry and to the same level as when I was non-diabetic. You don't need the doctors to give you DAFNE. Sure it may help, but you can get all the information you need online. As a matter of fact, the information you would gain from this forum alone, will be a lot more detailed and in depth than any NHS run educational course.

Too much "****** to work out"? Yes it's tough, but don't expect to learn it all over-night. You need to start slow and build from there. Don't run before you can walk.

Don't take this the wrong way - but your attitude is the issue here - not your diabetes or your fitness/health. You're not getting your head around things because you're going at it with a defeatist mindset. Use this forum, runsweet.com and all the other free literature that is offered online - take things on-board and persevere. Don't expect things to fix themselves, because they won't.

Grant
 
[QUOTE="GrantGam1337,

Too much "****** to work out"? Yes it's tough, but don't expect to learn it all over-night. You need to start slow and build from there. Don't run before you can walk.

Don't take this the wrong way - but your attitude is the issue here - not your diabetes or your fitness/health. You're not getting your head around things because you're going at it with a defeatist mindset. Use this forum, runsweet.com and all the other free literature that is offered online - take things on-board and persevere. Don't expect things to fix themselves, because they won't.
Grant[/QUOTE]

My attitude nothing to do with it bud... In fact it's the only thing from me handing back the meds to the D doctors and saying had enough and happy to go..... And I think it's not defeatist ...it's realist ...it knowing what after getting four auto immune issues in 2 years do to u
So forgive me if I say ....well ya talking pants there mate lol

As said in other post ...on this feed...am bout to lose a leg in four weeks so even if wanted to ...chances are not going to happen .......so not defeatist,..realist lol
 
So you need to adjust your insulin to take account of your planned exercise:

1) bolus timing. Fast acting insulin can last 3-6 hours, if you drop durin exercise, its better not to have active insulin on board, so try not to exercise immediately after eating and injecting, maybe think about reducing your pre and post workout bolus by 20-50%

2) take on carbs - so complex long acting carbs with you last bolus and some fast acting carbs withou a bolus immediately pre exercise and during if necessary to keep blood sugar up

3) think about reducing basal for exercise days.

I'm really sorry, I'm struggling to read your post, but it is late. Clearly what you are doing at the moment isn't working. You have niche specialist needs and the only person who can work out how best to manage diabetes to meet your needs is you. You just need to be proactive and find the information

There's also a book called type 1 diabetic athletes handbook.
 

My attitude nothing to do with it bud... In fact it's the only thing from me handing back the meds to the D doctors and saying had enough and happy to go..... And I think it's not defeatist ...it's realist ...it knowing what after getting four auto immune issues in 2 years do to u
So forgive me if I say ....well ya talking pants there mate lol

As said in other post ...on this feed...am bout to lose a leg in four weeks so even if wanted to ...chances are not going to happen .......so not defeatist,..realist lol[/QUOTE]
I'm sorry to hear what you're going through, diabetes is a nightmare of a condition.

All I can say is that you have to try something. Giving up is a guaranteed way to not make any improvement with your given situation.

You clearly need guidance and direction, and some good starting points have been given to you tonight. Whether that information is pants or not is personal opinion. But most will agree that it's good, solid advice. I do hope you take something away from it.

Good luck to you,
Grant
 
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