Hi everyone. I am in a bit of a rut at the moment, and I hope you can help me out. I've recently decided that I hate how I've been treating myself. Long story short, I've joined a gym, and I have been going for about three weeks now, 6 times a week. Basically, I've gone from absolutely no exercise to a lot of it! I'm on the One Touch Ping, and I love it, but I can't control my lows right now. I know because of the sudden change in my activity level, it'll bring my sugars right down, but does anyone have any hints or tips on how to figure out my basal levels? For the past two days I haven't bolused once, and have just been riding the post-workout downhill coast, topping up with food when I feel a bit on the lower side. I have been reducing my basal rates, but I feel like I'm constantly doing that! And yes, I do add a temp basal of about -50% for four hours, which I start at the beginning of my workout. I just want to feel in control again. Will there be a point where things will plateau and start to get "normal" again?
If you are running low with that much basal, it may be "leftover" bolus from earlier pushing you down? I try to let that get cleaned out before I work out but it's not always possible. I don't go for an hour at a time, except on weekends. Another thing that can push BG up is anaerobic exercise, like lifting weights. It may also be that if you crank up your activity level suddenly, that you may want to cut the basal beforehand. When I first started working out, I turned my pump down lower, like to 10-40% of normal basal but now I don't do it as much. I think that it may be that as you get used to working out, it may be less shocking to your body or you get used to it or, dare I say, in shape, and need less basal adjustment but I'm not sure about htat either. Don't apologize for long posts though, there are lots of them around here!
Good for you for trying to make changes..anytime I have tried to "workout" I have lows...and I'm always confused about what I should be doing...some say strength training is best for a D others say areobic is best...I guess I just need to do something and stop being so afraid! Good luck!!
I've started getting back into shape recently too and had the same issue. 6 weeks ago my total basal rate for the day was 16.3 units and now I'm at 13.4 and don't have to bolus much at all (then again, I am filling up on veggies rather than carbs). My blood sugars have started to plateau. I do still have the odd low, but it doesn't happen nearly as often as it did in the beginning.
I think that the answer is that both kinds of workouts are good, they have different hazards and benefits. Strength training can push your BG up and aerobics can push it down but being stronger is good and improving your cardiovascular fitness is good too, as long as you keep track of your BG. Once I got into it, exercise became a good motivator to keep my BG in line, since I didn't want to mess up a workout.
I have been back to the gym pretty regularly lately, and this is the routine that works for me...
I am usually slightly above target BG in the morning, and I bolus 1st thing when I wake. When I am nearly ready to workout, I eat my breakfast (half a cup of old school oatmeal-dry before cooking, a 6 oz light yogurt, and 1-2 pieces of fruit. I do not bolus for this, and 10 minutes later when I get to the gym, I start a minus 75% temp basal for two hours. My workout is usually treadmill running or stationary bike riding for 30-40 minutes, followed by light weight lifting--typically about 60-70 minutes in all. During this time, my BG climbs from about 100 to near 200 (sometimes higher), then decreases until I stop excercising where it levels off and sometimes climbs again--but nothing dramatic. Once I am completely cooled down, I take a corrective bolus and turn off any remaining temp basal time left (if any).
I use Dexcom G4, which enables me to see how my BG moves, and should I take a longer run, or push too hard for too long it will alert me before getting into hypo trouble.
I think the key is to be as consistent as possible with carb quantity and timing to learn how you will react to different excercise patterns. Also, keep a bias toward a high BG instead of trying to manage a normal target when excercising.
I hate to admit this, but exercise TERRIFIES me. Everytime I try to get active, I seriously suffer for days, as does my husband. It is always not pretty. Just talked to my doc about it and he just said to start...but he is not the one suffering or picking up the pieces.
At diagnosis in the the 60s, I was removed from all physical exercise, as well as gym class which as a tween was OK by me. :) I am overweight, retired and need to move.
Any suggestions on an easy, get my rear in gear exercise to start? Not walking--I never get motivated
The chart here is pretty useful and I keep the numbers (there's only 9...) in my head. The basic idea is that you turn your basal down to the %age depending on how intense and how long you intend to work out:
It can also work for eating, as a %age bolus. I took a pic of the one in "Think Like a Pancreas". I know it's out there online somewhere but I haven't been able to find it for years.
Maybe T'ai Chi? I was pretty inactive until I tried Tae Kwon Do but the spiritual aspect of it and keep trying while making incremental progress aspect of it appealed to me and engaged me quite a bit. I'm not sure it's exactly the same but perhaps you can find something in T'ai Chi can appeal to you?
Exercise terrifies me as well since I started pumping, actually any type of movement I can go low.
I don't exercise on a bolus for sure. The best time for me is when I come home from work, I eat 15 carbs and I am okay for about 1/2 and hour.
Not much I know but better than nothing.
I just remember being on shots, and exercising for hours, but I bet I was high, and did not know anything about carbs, testing pre and post exercise, etc. I think with tighter control and trying to keep bloodsugar normal, oh and hypoglycemic unawareness, comes the feeling of being terrified.
I think 1/2 hour will make you healthier. That's about all I exercise about 90% of the time, I just do longer runs and bike rides on the weekends and, occasionally, 40-50 minutes when I can find time and/ or the weather is inspirational which it hasn't been since October and won't be until well, jeez, at the rate we're going March? I totally understand the feeling of being terrified and went through a lot of test strips getting what seems to me to be a decent sense of how to roll. It wasn't easy and I had numerous "uh oh, I'm low and down to my last 15 G of carbs, 3 miles from home, what do I do?" moments (the answer, BTW, is to sprint...eeek) too but just kept chugging.
Part of it sort of feeds itself, I start planning to work out about 2 or 3 at work, test BG and then test again at home or before I leave to go home and maybe once more before I run if it's being jiggy. After all that, I can't NOT work out so off I go. About 50% of the time, I'm like "eh, I'm not going to go" but talk myself into it and almost always feel better, pumped up, etc. when I get home.
Exercise is an amazing thing I always feel better afterwards, but it takes a lot of energy, thought, planning to do it now with the pump. My basal is way low for three hours in the p.m. .025 and I still struggle. Somehow I feel like it is not fair that I have to test, test, test all the time, okay I am done venting (for now).
This is why it is very important to always start any major change in diet/exercise under the supervision of a trained professional. There are a lot of ways to get to a goal but you have to test it out on your own body to know what is right for you. One thing I would urge a "beginner" not to do is to start out all gangbusters by going every day for such an extended period. If you haven't been actively exercising this much all along, I would encourage you to cut back some and hold that level for a while. Way back in "prehistoric" times when I was a teenage lass, the PE teacher told us that exercising every other day is the best to [at least] start out with because the activity can cause micro-tearing of muscle tissue and those poor old sore muscles need some time to heal. That's why our wonderfully designed bodies hurt like H-E-double toothpicks when we decide to become weekend warriors or start making up for all the exercise we've been missing for the last 10 years or so! :o)
Personally I'm running in the next to nothing on basal's when doing something (10-15% region depending on what it is for how long). How I got there was lot's of trial and error though. Started by using an 80% temp to no effect, then 50% then 25% etc. until a comfortable level was found. Bolus wise I just knock things down a little on what I'm eating before hand and make sure it's something with a nice slow burning duration to it.
It might be a good idea (was for me anyhow) to go silly overboard with blood tests during a session. Early on I was testing every 15mins so I could see exactly what was occurring and when to try and gather enough info to learn from. A CGM is handy but not the cheapest or possibly the easiest things to get, or the most accurate sometimes other than for a direction.
The low's after the exercise sound like the usual bit where your body's pulling you down as it recharges it's reserves you've burned up earlier. They can be to some extent anyhow be avoided by keeping the levels more in the normal regions during the exercise and again having plenty of tests afterwards (not as many as the every 15min though).
Nice going on the exercise :) You'll get there! just takes learning yourself and what craziness your body decides to do when you do things is all :)
I have just started working out on a daily bases and am having a heck of a time with keeping my bg's in range. I am on a pump and need a little advice as well. I am doing a combination of excercises, using a little bit of Tony Horton and Shaun T so total body is getting into things. Now that I have started to work out after all these years how do I manage my pump settings and eating to help keep things in control?
I am on 50% basil for 4 hours, but start it an hour before I work out...none during (I swim) and for 2 hours after. This seems to be working without any major lows.
I think Tony Horton, etc. would be more anaerobic and may push your BG up a bit. It may help to test and be ready to correct. I usually cover that sort of thing with a 200% basal for 1/2 hour and it works ok.
