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Exercise - Help Please!

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VerityJ

Active Member
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Can anyone advise me please. I joined the gym last month and been going on a regular basis about 3 times a week. I am having real problems sorting out my bloods. I only need to be on a cross trainer or treadmill for about 10 to 15 minutes and I drop so dramatically. I cannot start exercising unless I am above 11 because within ten minutes I go down to about a 5. I have been reducing my basal to 50% one and a half hours prior to exercising. I end up having lucozade and dextrose continuously through the exercise and quite often have to stop! It really does seem pointless continuing with it if all if all I am doing is putting extra calories into my body. I need to lose a couple of stone and I feel really fed up and desperate now and any advise would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Verity,
I also find that I drop very quickly when I start exercise. One of the things I have found is that it doesn't (for me) matter whether I'm at 11 or 6 the drop still happens so, in my case, it is counterproductive to start higher. However, If I am in the 4s or low 5s when I start I might eat half a cereal bar before starting. I reduce my basal to just 0.1u an hour, that's from 20-50% depending on time of day but I don't tend to reduce it as early as you do, I have found that reducing it earlier doesn't seem to stop the drop but it can make my glucose rise higher than I would like. (again for me, sorry to stress but we are different and I think there is a lot of trial and error involved, I still change things and I have been doing this for 7 years,4 of them on a pump)
I take some glucose when I start to fall which normally happens at about 15-20min and then regularly after. I only take one glucose tablet at a time unless I feel glucose has gone very low. That first top-up may need two tablets. (I used to test every time now I tend to treat without testing) After the first hour and a half or so I don't have to top up quite so often. (unlikely in the gym I realise, I got into very long runs)
Taking dextrose does obviously add calories but a dextrose tablet has 4g carb and nothing else so only 16 calories.

Have a look at runsweet for more professional advice about exercise and insulin

http://www.runsweet.com/AvoidingHypos.html
 
Hi,
I used to have this problem, no matter what I did I would always go hypo. Can I ask what time of the day you go to the gym and do you do this within 2 hours of a meal?

Basically what I've found that works for me is that I do all my workouts in the morning before work. I reduce my basal rate 2 hours before I start running, I eat breakfast 1 hour before training but only give half the dose of bolus insulin. Since I've started this my sugars don't budge from the pre breakfast reading to the post exercise reading.

Hope this might give you a new idea to try - as always take precautions as this may not work for your body.
Good Luck
 

Thanks Phoenix. I very new to exercising and am finding it so frustrating. This might sound a bit of a stupid question but when you reduce your basal on your pump, say to 20% does that mean you are reducing down to 20% or that you are reducing by 20%. I have got myself so confused by it all! I always go to the gym after work which is about 5 hours after my lunch so very rarely have any active bolus on board. Maybe I just need to accept that I am just going to have to top up with dextrose though exercising and stop battling with it. Thank you for your reply.
 

Hi Faith

I go to the gym after work which is usually about 5 hours after lunch so I don't have any active bolus work at that time but thinking about it maybe I should have some kind of carby food before I go. I have tried a banana and that has never been enough. Saturdays I go to the gym in the morning so I do tend to have my breakfast before I go and I don't give myself any insulin and that works fine. I just dont get time to go in the mornings during the week. Thank you for responding to my post.
 
Definitely have a look at the runsweet website Phoenix posted as that's how I managed to figure out different ways to help me. You sound like your having the exact troubles I used to have. Sometimes if I go in the late afternoon after work I will load up with a cereal bar and banana - this works out as about 30g carbohydrate. I don't do it often but it has worked in the past. Like you said you may just need to increase the carbs about 30-60 mins before exercising...
 
Hi Faith, that is what I am going to try tonight after work. I am going to reduce basal by 50% 90 minutes before hand and then load up on a banana and cereal bar and see how I go. I think it is going to be a case of trial and error and accepting that I am just going to have to increase my carbs! I will let you know how I get on.
 

Yes please do, i'll keep all fingers and toes crossed it works!
 
Faith, this is the first time I have played around with my basal rates. I see you are on a pump. Can you tell me if I want to reduce my basal down by 80% should my screen say 80% or does that mean it is giving me 80%. I have been a diabetic for 30 years but not very technically minded. lol!
 

I'm not too good with the percentages I changed mine so I work of units I.e 0.25 normal for excersise I would change to 0.20 etc I think when I asked my nurse she said if you set your basal at 80% then you have reduced your normal basal by 20%. If you wanted to reduce by 80% then you need to make it read 20% - don't take my word 100% though as I said I use units. Hopefully someone will be along here shortly to explain the percentages to us ....
 
Faith, what you said about the basal is spot on. I reduced to 35% last night for the gym. I had a cereal bar before starting and started exercising on 13 (bit high but really didnt want to have a hypo). I sipped half a bottle of lucozade throughout (probably a bit too much) but ended up on a 9 when I left an hour later. I am going to try and start tomorrows gym on a slightly lower sugar and just make small adjustments but hopefully what you suggested starts to work. I managed to run longer than I have before without having a hypo so I am one happy bunny!
 
Oh that's brilliant! I'm absolutely chuffed for you - fingers crossed it works again for you tonight. I'm sure there will be the odd day it doesn't work but it can sometimes be stress I find when it's not worked.
Glad your half way there then, well done!!! Keep it up x
 
So glad to have read this. I used to be quite a gym bunny. Since having my last child (who is 3 now) I tried to get back into some sort of routine, having put 5 stone on whilst pregnant :/ I made some progress but had a really bad year last year, and didnt return. I then got a pump and was concentrating on getting all my settings right, I was way too nervous to add going back to the gym into the mix!

I haven't adjusted my settings much really, and have been thinking about how to approach excercise.

This is just the kind of info I needed to read, and it has given me the confidence to try the gym again. Not game enough to try spinning until I know what my bg does. I just used to go after eating breakfast with half usual dose but appreciate the pump means can be more exact and change basal to counter lows (hopefully).

Any other tips on pumps & exercise (the sweaty aerobic 'go for it' type) anyone?




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Hi weezer - spinning should be fine for you, I would suggest your first time take it a little easier than you probably normally wood. Keep some lucozade to hand just in case. Just remember if you do some high intensity quick exercise your sugars may rise in the first 5-10 minutes however if your sustaining this level of aerobic exercise for 20-30-60 minutes your bs levels will eventually drop. Each person is slightly different in how this affects them so whilst your getting used to it I would just add a few extra bs tests in and keep that lucozade handy. Good luck, bet you'll love being back active again
 
I have just asked this question on Friday when I saw my diabetes nurse they advised to have a snack before I exercise, a cereal bar or piece of fruit about 20g carbs without insulin and then have my meal after the gym and reduce my quick acting insulin by half on that meal.

Lucy
 
Right, inspired by this thread, My little one is at preschool all day, I'm gonna try the pump/gym combo! Going to reduce basal an hour or 2 before I go and eat a banana without bolusing. Will report back!


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How did you get on weeezer?
 
Pah, didnt gym! (Had a lovely day faffing around cooking & doin washing instead!!!) but...had a huge long walk instead, didnt think walking required a reduced bolus with lunch, so just reduced basal to 60%, but ended up hypo! Going to read the chapter on exercise in 'pumping insulin' book so I'm armed for the gym (ahem, 'when' I eventually get there!)


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Haha - at least you went for a walk though, that's good. I still go hypo walking sometimes, so annoying but a great excuse to eat a biscuit or a choccy bar before I go out :lol: :lol:
 
I walk home every day and used to hypo a lot I was told to stop injecting in my legs as when you walk or pumps the insulin around your system quicker.

Lucy
 
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