New - 4 Days - with Sports question

A quick look on Amazon came up with this, Diabetic Athlete's Handbook, good reviews, and there are other books. Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution is a good one too. Hopefully someone can treat you to these books.

I have type 1, use a pump & enjoy cycling, am nowhere near as fit as you but do it pretty often. To give an idea of intensity, when I ride with my kids I run at about 60-70% of my max heart rate & if riding alone I'm above 70%, with decent periods of 80-90% of max (based on my age). I do between 35min & 2hrs. My BG drops fast in the first 30min, then usually stabilises & rises after I finish. I try to manage it by altering my insulin rather than using carbs, though I take 10-15g fast acting carbs 20min before I start if my BG is under 6 & often need around 10g if it's down to under 5 after the first 30min.

You essentially have 3 options: reduce your basal insulin (harder on injections than a pump - you'd be a very good candidate for a pump), reduce your bolus if you plan to exercise within 1.5-2hrs after eating, or take in extra carbs, or a combination of these.

Very intense exercise can usually raise your glucose levels, moderately intense exercise (I think 70-85% MHR) drops it fast & moderate intensity exercise reduces it more gradually & by less.

Runsweet is an excellent website with loads of information about diabetes & exercise, backed up by research. It's contributed to by a diabetes consultant who's done loads of work on this area.

Basically you'll need to test lots, record what happens every time & learn through trial & error to some extent. I don't know if you can join at 13 but there's a Facebook group called Sporty Diabetic Type 1s & people on there do Ironmans & there's a cycling team called Team BG made up of Type 1s.

It is tricky, but not impossible - good luck!

Hi. You need to be aware that it's Total carbs that matter not just the sugar content so your energy drink is almost complete carb and if so not ideal for a diabetic other than bringing your blood sugar back up if it's too low. Gym exercise can have some unexpected results on blood sugar. I can't remember all the details but there have been threads on the forum for this. Don't worry too much about those exercise swings other than monitoring your blood sugar to avoid a hypo or really excessive highs. The wholemeal toast and apple will have contained carbs. It may be that you need to slightly adjust your Basal & Bolus a bit to improve the balance but do this in conjunction with your nurse.