Hi there. I've been diagnosed T1 sixth months now and was quite exercise active prior to diagnosis. I used to run quite a bit and also do some strength conditioning work. I was very ill upon diagnosis with a large weight loss but am getting there now with insulin doses and carb counting etc. However, what I'm not getting is much exercise and I would love to get back to it. However, every time I do any physical exercise I have a hypo almost immediately and am losing the confidence to keep trying. Playing with my kids in the pool for as little as 5 minutes will see my BG plummet. I have sought some advice from a personal trainer and he advised no CV work at all but to work on strength and conditioning instead. This isn't what I want to do long term! Can anyone help me please? I really want to get back to 'normal' but don't know where to start really. Thanks in advance, Tracy
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Exercise help
- Thread starter dectjoh
- Start Date
mrburden
Well-Known Member
Hi,
If, as it appears, you do regular, planned and similar exercise, there are two fairly easy ways to stop a hypo from happening while you are doing it. Both ways take a little time to get your BG right but with a bit of practice it can be done. Either you need to consume more carbohydrates before/during the routine or you will need less insulin before you start.
My specialist told me that it is always better to be a little too high than a little too low, as a hypo can be followed by a hyper and is therefore more likely to upset your balance for longer.Take your BG before you start the routine and do gentle exercise. Keep taking your BG level at about 20 minute intervals and have some fast acting glucose products at hand (such as glucose tablets, Lucozade or similar). If your BG level drops, stop and sort out the hypo before it becomes too bad. Fairly quickly you ought to be able to predict what exercise affects you and how quickly it does so. If I ride my bike about 5 miles I generally need to cut down my bolus insuln by about 3 or 4 units at the meal before the ride. I start with a BG level of 8 - 9 and it drops to about 5 by the end of the ride.
If, as it appears, you do regular, planned and similar exercise, there are two fairly easy ways to stop a hypo from happening while you are doing it. Both ways take a little time to get your BG right but with a bit of practice it can be done. Either you need to consume more carbohydrates before/during the routine or you will need less insulin before you start.
My specialist told me that it is always better to be a little too high than a little too low, as a hypo can be followed by a hyper and is therefore more likely to upset your balance for longer.Take your BG before you start the routine and do gentle exercise. Keep taking your BG level at about 20 minute intervals and have some fast acting glucose products at hand (such as glucose tablets, Lucozade or similar). If your BG level drops, stop and sort out the hypo before it becomes too bad. Fairly quickly you ought to be able to predict what exercise affects you and how quickly it does so. If I ride my bike about 5 miles I generally need to cut down my bolus insuln by about 3 or 4 units at the meal before the ride. I start with a BG level of 8 - 9 and it drops to about 5 by the end of the ride.
copepod
Well-Known Member
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- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
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www.runsweet.com is a good source of information about exercise physiology, specific sports, type 1 diabetes etc.
