1. 

   Florian
   Member

   Hi Everyone,

   I would like to hear from those who are pumping insulin and doing certain exercises or sports on a regular basis to stay healthy and fit and control blood glucose. First of all what kind of activity, exercise, or sport are you involved with? Next what changes or modifications do you make to your pump settings, before, during, of after you do your thing? Do you do any blood glucose testing before, during, and after your activity? Are post exercise/sports hypos a problem?

   Florian
   T1, dx 1967
   Animas PING + Novolog

   Posted 8 months ago #
2. 

   Leanne
   Member

   Florian,
   I like that you are asking these kinds of questions that are likely on a lot of people's minds.

   Paddling - set temp basal -40 to -60% 2 hrs prior to hitting the water. Temp setting depends on length and type of workout. During training I test before, during and after workouts but in competition I only test before and do so afterward if I remember. The adrenaline of racing plus the extra glucose I take in keeps my sugars relatively stable even though my effort is more intense than in training so I keep the same temp basal setting.
   Running - Make sure I'm starting with a BG over 6 and just run. If under 6 then I'll pop a Dex tab or 2 then go. I should do a temp basal but runs tend to be spur of the moment and not planned. Plus running doesn't have as big an impact on lowering my BG as paddling does.
   Weight Training - usually done in the morning, take a little extra with my breakfast bolus. Test before, during if I'm feeling funny and after. BG tends to go up.
   Yoga - temp basal -20% when I remember a couple hours prior or reduce preworkout meal bolus slightly. Depending on the type and intensity of the yoga, usually BG remains stable or lowers slightly.

   I've never experienced the 24 hr post exercise hypos that are common to a lot of people, could be due to my daily training but who knows!

   In talking to people, the most common problem for folks is that they reduce their basal prior to exercise but they do it right at the time of exercise and still experience lows. Instead try reducing your basal of a couple hours before hand. We have to remember that the insulin we take right now isn't in it's peak action until 1.5 to 2 hrs from now. So by turning down your basal right at the time of exercise, you still have the insulin in your system from hours before. Turning it down 2 hrs before means that the reduced amount of insulin is at peak action by the time you start exercising. Experts out there ... please let me know if I'm on the wrong track here but this certainly works for me. I was introduced to this by my amazing team at my education centre after I was diagnosed and ran into troubles with lows while paddling.

   See you on the water!

   Leanne
   Adventures in Paddling with Diabetes
   http://www.leannestanley.com

   Posted 8 months ago #
3. 

   tomster
   Member

   I have only been on a pump for 1 1/2 months, but I excercise every day, running and biking. I have found that just suspending the pump for the 1 to 2 hours I work out, and sipping a swallow of gatorade every 10 minutes gets me through perfectly. I don't know how it will work on longer runs, but I was previously on lantus and humalog before getting the pump, and recently did a 50 mile run doing the same system(a small swallow of gatorade every mile, or 10 minutes) and was 110 at the finish. I've done many marathons doing this with no troubles. It is a simple system, but works for me.

   Posted 8 months ago #
4. 

   Florian
   Member

   Thanks Leanne and tomster for describing the handling of your pump that works for you when you exercise.
   I do weight resistance training twice a week. Right now my goal is to stay strong, maintain the muscle mass that I have, and take advantage of all the other benefits of this type of exercise. I also do some cardio to go along with the recent finding that the two types of exercise together are more beneficial in controlling blood sugar.

   I use an Animas PING with Novolog and I don't reduce my basal at all. I have been keeping a log of what I eat, my workouts, and blood sugars. I will give more details when I have a chance to write more.

   Posted 7 months ago #
5. 

   wheels
   Member

   At a diabetes education meeting Monday night (3/22/010) a woman w/ D1 for 20 yrs who competes in triathalons put it succinctly - everyone is different in their exercise needs. Test, test, test. I have become an after work erg rower during the past 4 months. There have been numerous lows, erratic highs, poor diet. Once again, I am trying to commit to "Test, test, test". That, along with sites like Leanne's and runsweet give me some benchmarks and inspiration.

   I would like to know if there are other erg rowers with diabetes that might be interested in forming a team. The Concept 2 web site has challenges, member rankings (optional), individual and team events. I use these for self motivation and incentive. I would welcome a loose affiliation or team to enter challenges. For some it can be for the competition, for others the motivation. Let me know.
   I am on tudiabetes.org as david wheeler
   OR I will watch this post.

   Posted 4 months ago #

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