I just started Speed Camp this week which is a 2 hour class for mountain bikers to help them ride better and faster. It is super intense and it takes place in the Houston heat. Here’s the deal - my bg seems to stay relatively stable throughout the class, but I notice I go low a couple of hours AFTER. On Tuesday, my bg was around 100 after class, I ate, gave myself my normal dose and I ended up really low (40) about an hour after. So last night I decided to be more conservative ,so I skipped my shot altogether. My bg was 119 after class. I ate a salad (21g) and a little bit of regular Gatorade, and my bedtime bg was 145. This morning I woke up and I was at 79. Normally I wake up around 150 to 175 so this was a bit of a surprise.
I always thought that it was typical that people go low DURING exercise and not after. Is this normal?
I am going on the pump on Thursday, so maybe that will enable me to have better control in these situations.
Def. normal. Because of your activity you have residual effects of increased insulin sensitivity.
The pump will definitely help hinder those because you will have the flexibility to set a decreased basal after the ride as well. For example you could set your basal to -15% of normal overnight to help prevent that drop from 145 at bedtime to 79 the next morning.
That class sounds pretty fun! I hope you enjoy and learn lots! And good luck w/ the pump start too. There is a learning curve, but once you have the basics down, it should really help improve your post-ride number fluctuations
Hi I do not use a pump however if I do a long intense ride I cut back on the Lantus , the Gatorade not good for us try the Hammer heed and mix it in half, its been working for me for years keep a log on your fueling that help figure out things too. its fantastic what you are doing way to go.
24 to 36 hours after a good cardio exercise (where I don’t have much muscle recovery) I find that my insulin sensitivity is very different. Being on a pump allows me to set a temporary basal rate (basal is like the long acting insulin, if you haven’t gotten trained yet).
I find that if I do an anaerobic exercise, like a heart rate averaging up near 185, or a lot of heavy lifting, then the body breaks down a ton of fat into glucose, and my sugars stay elevated for a while.
My Heart Rate never gets that high on the bike, but when I run I find it does often. Either way, my overnight basal rates get cut down a bit on days that I exercise a lot. I also find that if I eat RIGHT at the end of my exercise, I can get away with not taking any bolus.
Good luck on the pump, and always keep the trusty CGM in the back of your mind as a future “enhancement”. I rely on mine even more than on the pump itself.
Good move going to a pump! There is a big difference between exercise less than 90 minutes, and over 90 minutes. That is the point you will have used all your muscle glycogen. Take a look at a post I compiled from data a CDE/exercise physiologist gave me: http://www.tudiabetes.org/profiles/blogs/proven-formula-rough-draft
Thanks for the replies!
Joe, your method looks very helpful. I am always confused how to work in nutrition on long workouts - even before diabetes!
We had a really intense class last night - We did hill repeats for 2 hours straight (ow, my legs!). I went to bed last night with a pretty high bg (230) and I woke up at 110. Crazy stuff!
Just a quick update - I’ve been on my pump for a week now and wow! what a difference! On my Tuesday workout, I went to a 50% temp basal from about an hour after my workout until wakeup, but that appeared to be too aggressive. I hovered around 200 from night until morning.
Last night, I went to a 75% temp basal, and I didn’t have any issues with lows. Went to bed about 150 and woke up at 119.
I think I found the formula that works, but knowing diabetes, I’m sure that will change!
Thanks to you all for the great advice!
