I have a cold. I don’t believe in getting sick, and therefore I almost never do. I haven’t had an illness in years. Colds, when I do get them, can hang on for months. Last cold I got I had a cough for at least 5 months. I ran Thursday (5 days ago), 2 mile trail run at a very slow 14:30 min/mile and it wiped me out – breathing through my mouth and just the general cold aches. My BG also rose quite a bit afterward. My insulin needs are back down now, I don’t need the extra I do on the rare occasions when I get sick, but the cold has moved into my chest, so I’m thinking I may have a cough for a long time. I want to exercise, I’m going stir crazy! My general forms of exercise are 1) trail running ~45 min (only 3 miles, I’m slow), weight lifting (I usually do a 3.5 day split where the 0.5 is 20 min of concentrated core/ab work), or slow bike rides. There is also a 10 mile Time Trial I could do tonight.
What do you do? Exercise not at all, exercise hard, or easy? Would you do aerobic or resistance? Do you need extra insulin when you exercise when sick?If I’m sick, I generally take a break for a few days, then build back into my regular routine as I recover my capacity. When I’m sick, my insulin and nutrition requirements just take too much of a beating for me to try to figure in any amount of exercise. I’ll usually run higher BGs when I’m sick and I may need to up my insulin. As a result, my BGs have crashed trying to exercise. Alternatively, I’ve had my BG skyrocket to near 250 after a workout when I’m sick even after upping my insulin. I just can’t anticipate what will happen, so I just take care of myself as best I can until I start to recover. I’ll usually recover my anaerobic capacity first so I’ll hit the weight room and work through high rep sets until I get my legs back and my BGs stabilize, then I’ll build back my miles whch end to affect my BGs the most. Other than diabetes and asthma when I was a kid, I’ve never had an illness linger for more than a couple of weeks so it’s never been too much of an issue.
When i get sick i tend to stay away from excercise. i usually need more insulin while i’m sick, but this can vary a lot depending on a number of factors, so i use the temp basals. i find that when i’m sick i don’t have the energy for a good workout, and aerobic exercise (running or eliptical usually) often makes me feel sicker afterwards, or sets me back in terms of getting better. also, i’m never quite sure about how to adjust my basals while i’m sick because they’re already out of whack.
once i start to feel better though, i’ll usually start with a really light workout, and run for a smaller distance, or start with things like light yoga or pilates as my body eases back into my routine.