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Newly Type 1 & concerned about exercise

davelofty77

davelofty77

Member
Messages
12
Location
Lymm, Cheshire, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
People who moan about their life/heath and don't help themselves!
Hi there, I was diagnosed with Type 1 back in November 2012. It came totally from nowhere and the doctors couldn't believe it either. The usual signs were there, I lost 2 stone in weight, thirsty constantly, etc. Everything moved very quickly and I was advised to stop all forms of exercise until my levels stabilised. I was, up to that point, pretty active, playing badminton every week, climbing mountains regularly and a general lover of the outdoors. Currently I am on the Basal Bolus system using Humalin and Humalog throughout the day and have got quite a good handle on carb counting and administering the right amount of insulin. I have put the weight back on that I have lost and am desperate to keep fit and healthy, but want to make sure I do it properly. I have recently joined a gym and have been on some strenuous mountain bike rides and all seemed ok. A few hypos afterwards, but I'm a quick learner and know the signs now! I have read a few articles/posts on exercise for diabetics and they all seem to be different?! I was wondering if someone could offer some advice on what I should be doing. Is there an amount I should aim to be doing each week? Tips on nutrition pre and post exercise? Should I try and cut out as many carbs as possible? Any help would be greatly received. Look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks, Dave
 
Hi Dave,
When you exercise your body produces hormones that make your cells more absorbent. This makes your insulin more efficient which is why you are having hypos. I do exercise regularly. I normally do it in the morning before breakfast or in the evening before dinner. I've figured out that I will need 1u less of insulin for breakfast or dinner, respectively. I also need to drop my Lantus by 20%, for 48 hours and after that I'll increase it back to what it was. Works perfect for me.

The best thing for you to do is to experiment to see what works. Make sure you keep a diary of your numbers.

If I were you I'd buy Gary Scheiner's Think Like A Pancreas book, this is where I got this technique from. Gary is a fellow diabetic. Everyone on insulin should have thus book.
 
Re: Newly Type 1 & concerned about exercise

Thanks Sam, I'll certainly have a look for the book you mentioned. Whenever I've done strenuous exercise I've tended to test before, during and after to make sure all is good. I've been caught out on the evening dose when I've gone hypo a few hours afterwards. I'm just not sure about dosing less, etc. I am enrolled on a Xpert Insulin course which will hopefully help me out even more on that side of things. Thanks for your advice


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No probs. It's entirely up to you, either dose less after exercise or eat more carbs. Both will stop the hypos. Not everyone is comfortable changing insulin doses, I appreciate that. Good luck!
 
Re: Newly Type 1 & concerned about exercise

My concern is ballooning up eating carbs all the time. I want to try and shift a bit of weight and did wonder about a low carb diet?! Then in turn having less insulin requirement.


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I'm on a low carb diet. Got my hba1c from the 7s to the 6s. Best thing I've ever done in terms of my diabetes. Loads of us on here do it. Best place to start is with Richard Bernstein's Diabetes Diet book. He's a T1 and a big advocate of low carbing for diabetics. The book is a bit of a diatribe, but his philosophy works for me.
 
Re: Newly Type 1 & concerned about exercise

Sounds like I need to get hold of these books and gem up quick smart. Thanks for your help. Really appreciate it


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Think Like a Pancreas is an excellent book :thumbup:

Dave, take a look at the following site that has loads of advice for type 1's who participate in exercise:

http://www.runsweet.com/
 
Re: Newly Type 1 & concerned about exercise

Thanks Cezzle and Noblehead. I'll definitely be getting the books and having a look at the website. Good to know there's all these resources out there.


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Re: Newly Type 1 & concerned about exercise

Hi Dave. I was diagnosed with t1 ten years ago. At the time I was training to represent GB at a world championship in karate and was super fit.
Once I was diagnosed I was told the karate had to stop and that I would never get back to my pre diabetic level. I'm happy to say I got back to training in jan 2012 and am currently ladies British champion and have been selected to represent GB at the next world championships in October

It can be done however you need absolute determination to keep on with it. A fantastic resource I like can be found at www.runsweet.com. I was lucky enough to be referred to see Dr Gallen in high Wycombe. This was a thirty minute meeting which altered the course if my life thereafter.

My advice? Don't take no for an answer, keep trying, keep learnin and never ever give up.

My training and injection process is here

http://runsweet.com/MartialArts.html

Take care Mel


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Re: Newly Type 1 & concerned about exercise

Mel... what can I say... You're a true inspiration yourself. I lost about 2 stone at the start and have put it back on plus the vat! I am absolutely gutted as I'm not eating any different. It seems that there's so much advice and so many variables I just don't know which path to go down?!


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Re: Newly Type 1 & concerned about exercise

Yeah I also did that. My doc has just put me on metformin and the weight has started to come off. I don't eat any rubbish, I'm even a veggie lol. Luckily my consultant actually listens to what I say.
Have a word about the metformin see what your doc says.

Mel


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