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Specific Exersize Question - Surfing

G

Gomas

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,

I was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago. I'm taking 6 units lantus daily at present (at 6pm) and nothing further. Not that i plan to for the very long term, but i am eating about 100g carbs a day and this is allowing me to keep levels just about in check.

I am planning on going surfing later. Just wondering as the DSN nurse has just said go for it and take a snack in your wetsuit. I want to be on the safe side though so can anyone answer these questions?

- will my Lantus have more or less worn off by 4:30 - when i plan to go?
- Should i aim for a specific BG score before i go out (i.e. carb up) - or will i be OK to just go out and not worry too much?

right now when i do about 15 mins of aerobic excersize indoors mid morning it's dropping bg down by about 3.

- I am aware of the dangers of having a hypo in the water, and will be taking some jb's in my wetsuit for emergencies. I'm not planning on being out for ages and ages (maybe 1-1.5hrs). but just want to do it safely. I am sure when i am taking meal-time insulin, things will get much more complicated, so i sort of want to get in while it's easy!

Any guidance would be much appreciated. This is probably the main area of life i want to maintain and the thing that is probably going to be most difficult!
 
Hi @Gomas and welcome to the club no one wants to be in
At the moment you are in what is called the honeymoon stage. Your pancreas is still producing small amounts of insulin but as you are aware this isn't going to be the case in the future. Lantus is supposed to last 24 hours BUT a lot of people split dose ie take it twice a day (half of their daily dose twice!). Really can't advise on your situation. As for surfing....go for it BUT check your levels just before you go in the water. I am sure yopur levels will drop as soon as you do some physical exercise and your DSNs advise to take a snack in your wet suit is very good BUT hard to do (I have surfed in the past). Maybe a fair few jelly babies tucked away somewhere easily accessible. BUT are you aware when you are starting to go low/hypo?? And would you be able to eat 5 or 6 jelly babies whilst in the water? I used to ensure my bloods were in the higherr range before I used to go out on the board ie around 14-15. When I got back in and tested straight away they were around the 5 or 6 mark. Only other advise would be to go in every half hour and test your bloods to see where your levels are at. When you get to know your body and how exercise effects your BGs a bit more then it would be easier for you. Don't let diabetes beat you on this one mate.
 
Hi @Gomas

In theory your basal insulin shouldn't impact exercise it's when you're taking quick acting insulin that you have to take care with any active insulin on board.

I personally prefer to be above 8 or even 9 when exercising depending on the exercise as different exercise has a different impact on my BG levels, so out on my road bike I can easily drop fast and quick, so I always aim for no active fast acting insulin on board and BG levels above 10, as you're in the water your body will require extra glucose to keep your body warm. To be on the safe side come out and check after 30 mins to see what's going on, as you become more confident then this will get much easier but best to err on the side of caution to start with, have a look at runsweet.co.uk for tips on exercise and insulin.You also may not feel yourself going low in the water hence why my advice about erring on the side of caution and maybe have a small carby snack before you go in too.
 
Thanks for the tips. As it happens it wasn't that good today, so i'm going tomorrow AM instead!

I will have jelly babies up my sleeve just in case. I am wondering whether to err on the side of caution and just have a few as i go, or take a snack bar into the water (up my other sleeve) for 30 mins in etc..

Coming in every 30 mins is probably not really an option. Could probably do every 45 at a stretch.

I think tomorrow i will have a decent ish breakfast and see how it goes. Usually after a couple of pieces of toast i'll be on 12+ anyway.
 
Hi @Gomas, when I have surfed, I've always eaten something before getting in the water and deliberately pushed levels up a bit. I used to have cereal bars.

Ignore what people say about basal having little impact - surfing contains a lot of aerobic exercise and that will lower glucose levels, even with "only basal".

What I'd do is check levels before you get in the water, and decide based on that what to do. If you are in the 4-6 range, have a bit more carbs. If you are 6-8, you can probably manage slightly less. It doesn't hurt to carry emergency supplies with you if you can keep them dry and if you feel hypos, to treat on the fly.

It will be hit or miss at first until you get used to what you need to do.
 
So i went in anyway. Couple of bits of toast, and was on 8.4 before going out. Ate a cereal bar walking down (17g carb), stayed in for about 40 mins, came out and was on 10. So obviously played it fairly safe. I had the Jbs up my wetsuit sleeve and they stayed in fine.

What was interesting is that by lunchtime i was down to 4.6 and then had a decent lunch (30 odd gs of carbs) and was on 4.7 2 hours after lunch. (this is all still with no bolus, so normally i'd see a higher reading after lunch for a while). It pretty much kept me fairly low all day.

More experimentation needed to get it all spot on, but glad i have tested the water so to speak.
 
Because you are plying in water it’s advisable to be a little high than low, especially when you are new to D. My medical team prefer me around 10 when I play sport as I need to think quick and there are no second chances.
 
Chowie said:
Because you are plying in water it’s advisable to be a little high than low, especially when you are new to D. My medical team prefer me around 10 when I play sport as I need to think quick and there are no second chances.
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This is interesting - my diabetes team advised me not to exercise if my BG is higher than 9.
It may depend on the type and intensity of the exercise but I find I struggle to run or climb, for example, with a BG higher than 8 and, as a result, the stress causes my BG to rise.

I guess the key point is to work out what works for you.
I agree to start on the higher side when in the water and maybe reduce the starting BG after a bit of trial and error.
 

I've happily started running or cycling at 14, and it'll normally drop. Not sprinting, loping along - 5 minute kms or so, probably an easier pace on the bike.
 
Second surf taken care of. Went in on 8.8. Stuck my cereal bar up one sleeve, Jelly Babies up the other. Ate my cereal bar after 25 mins (empty packet back up the sleeve!), came in after an hour. Levels Down to 5.4 back in the car. I suppose for now, an hour may be about my limit. I can live with that, although i will try a more carby snack back next time and see if i can add 10 mins on. Ultimately, i'd like to safely be able to go out for an hour and a half, but in the sun, with nice waves, I can settle for an hour!

There are some really inspirational people on this forum, and I hope that i can also prove in the long run that you can still do the things you love!
 
@Gomas do you drink whilst surfing?
I am not sure where you would put the bottle so probably not.
But, if you do, you could take carbs on board slowly through your drink with a weak fruit squash instead of water. This is what I use when I am exercising (on dry land) for more than an hour. But I don't have to worry about hiding the water bottle in a wet suit.
 
That's an interesting idea. I could probably get a camelback water pack down the back of my suit with the tube strapped to my arm.. Like the idea of a slow and steady intake, without having to have half a sweetshop up my arms!
 
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