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Finding exercise tough, any other type 1's??

sdaber1

sdaber1

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
So, I've been diabetic for 15 years now, I manage to control it mostly, but there's a lot of ups and a lot of downs (I'm type 1)

I've tried to speak to consultants but they question me negatively.

Whenever I do exercise my sugars come down rapidly, but I find that If I try to do any form of exercise when my sugar levels are 9 OR ABOVE, I struggle hugely! (Eg rapid heart rate and severe sweats) Does anyone else have this problem or is it all in my head?

I'm thinking it may be that when I test my meter shows what my sugars are, not what they're doing but if anyone else has something to say, please help me out!

THANKYOU!
 
I pretty much felt like this when I went to the gym, don't have time now........:(..........

my blood sugars had to be at a certain level in order to get the most out of a work out...............

i was fairly successful in avoiding lows with reduced basal and taking on carbs........

being high though was a disaster as I fatigued quickly and my blood sugar went sky high.......

getting back down was a nightmare too........

I am hoping to get back in to it when both my kids are at school and the wife can get a job in the daytime.......

its not easy that's for sure, but definitely worth it.........
 
Thank you for your reply... I know that fatigue is common when blood sugars are high, but the consultants don't believe me when I say 9 or over, they think I should be able to exercise properly with them up to 12!

:(
 
You don't say what type of exercise or the duration of it, but if your exercising soon after a meal you need to give a reduced bolus dose with your food, this itself should help prevent you from dropping too fast, although you may still need to take on board additional carbs whilst you exercise, again it depends on how strenuous the activity and the duration, if it;s something like a days hillwalking then you would need to reduce both your basal and bolus doses by around 50%.

Runsweet has some great advice for those who enjoy sport and have type 1 diabetes:

http://www.runsweet.com/
 
@noblehead is right about learning to manage your doses, but you also need to learn to manage your exercise as well.

You can split exercise into two types, aerobic and anaerobic.

Weights, yoga etc are always anaerobic.

When it comes to running, cycling, rowing, etc it depends on your heart rate essentially. Too high and you go anaerobic, stress hormones kick in, including cortisol and adrenaline and you start to release glycogen stores from the liver in preparation for a fight or flight type response. Keep the HR low enough and you can start to utilise fats once the circulating sugars have been used up or are in decline, but only as long as insulin is low enough as insulin is a fat storage hormone and supresses fat utilisation.
 
Hi, You have got some useful replies already but I wanted to say how much I relate to your difficulties with this. I have always done exercise but don't feel that I really have the hang of it even now.As a child I just ate extra before activity.In my twenties I tried the gym and swimming, tended to have exactly the same issues as you describe.
In my thirties running about after two kids just had me eating all the time even when my exercise wasn't formal but I got into exercise classes, high impact and over within an hour, lucozade featured a lot though.
My forties have let me discover that I can run, when not injured for at least an hour but it took a year of trial and error to get my pump settings to work for running and classes.
Exercise can be great or miserable depending on whether I get things right.
One tip though I do my exercise at a time when I have not bolused for food within the last four hours so I only have to consider and adjust my basal rate, less complicated for me. Good luck.Rx

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
what are the negative comments... just wondering if there are some sensible elements within them...


i have books which i find useful. think like a pancreas, pumping insulin (even though you may not be it is good) and diabetic athlete (covers all levels of athlete)

ps yes it can be difficult and i am not consistent enough... good luck
 
I find caffeine always motivates me to have a better workout.
 
Hi,

You've had some really helpful responses

Www.runsweet.com is great for anyone who enjoys exercise and needs some advice regarding blood sugars.

When I first became interested and hooked on the gym I really struggled, my consultant was useless and was only ever interested in the negative.

I now run, swim, do antigravity yoga and some weights each different activity needs managing slightly differently when it comes to blood sugars.

Another interesting read is 'Diabetic Athletes Handbook' by Sheri Colberg a lot of the case studies are American and focus on pumps but if you want to understand some of the physiology concerning blood sugar and exercise in diabetics it's worth a read!

It is about trial and error as everyone is so different. Just take it steady be safe and enjoy it!!
 
I'd also comment that it is a very individual thing. Elydave and I have discussed this before and the point at which I feel impaired is very different to his. As hannahlou has said, it will be trial and error that will eventually get you where you need to be. Test, test and test again...


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