exercise

just incase there are loads of health junkies out there i would be interested in your experiences around exercising after meals. i find that depending on what type of exercise i do it makes my BG levels lower at the end of it.that's not the problem.what seems to happen in my case is that if i don't reduce my next meal ratio to half of what it usually is i wind up experiencing hypo's later on during the day.it seems to have more of a effect on me afterwards rather than during the exercise itself i know everyone is different but do you have similar experiences?

i sometimes think that if i didn't exercise that i would have better long term control over BG'S .i know that is a negative way of thinking and it is something that i would not consider but it would make the risk of having to many HYPOS a lot less and i suppose increase my hypo awareness and with being a bus driver and just having recently just got my licence back for 12 months is a priority for me to maintain high hypo awareness

look forward to hearing from you

cheers and merry xmas

Your absolutely right about exercise causing trouble with the blood sugars, one of the main reasons I am not as active as I should be.....

I do martial arts a few times a week, sometimes this can be a low intensity, sometimes high intensity.........

I would always reduce my BI insulin for that evening by 2, and if it was more intense I would think about reducing it further.........if not I would be woken by a bad hypo in the early hours..........also if it was a more intense session I would consider reducing my AM BI also.......

As you may have guessed I am on a split Levemir dose.......you should really be on this if you intend to exercise regularly....

Have a good XMAS..........

One point that neither of you have mentioned is that exercise can affect your BG's for at least 24 hours. Even though you have finnished the exercise your body still needs glucose to feed the muscles that have been used in the exercise. You need to consider this, however we cannot tell you exactly what the effect on you will be nor how long it will last sice we are all different.
You should still exercise however as this will mean your body has less insulin 'resistance' generally and so works more efficiently, even T1's can resist insulin remember the big difference is
we have to 'mainline' the insulin in So keeping up the exercise will help your overall levels AND you will be able to work out the effects it is having on your BG since you will get more
practice at working it out !

I find the same - hypos after exercise if I don't reduce my ratio for the meal following. My endo told me that new research shows that exercise can result in hypos for up to 48 hours, and I have found this to be true. I am a health nut though - I did two marathons in October and the length of time that exercise affects BGs is probably dependant on your level of fitness and the intensity and length of the exercise.

I tend to take sports drink during exercise to keep my BGs stable. Everyone is different, but I find I need about 750 ml Gatorade per 10 km when running, or the same for an hour's cycling.

I also reduce basal the night after exercise. Prior to DAFNE, I was having night time hypos at least once or twice per week. I think I have had two in the 6 months since doing DAFNE, and they were more related to my QA dose for dinner then my BI so I am really happy with that. I can have bad days though - I did a lot of exercise last Friday - 2 hours cycling and one hour basketball followed by our work Christmas party which 7 hypos in 48 hours on Friday and Saturday, but since Sunday, no hypos at all (although a couple of low 4s).

All the best with it. Given that a huge number of T1s suffer from depression and the preventative effects that exercise has on depression, I strongly encourage you to keep on exercising.

Warwick.

You are absolutely right, exercise has a longer term effect on blood glucose, reducing insulin resistance and making it work more efficiently for us, which can also mean lower blood sugars even later in the day.

The best place to find info on T1 and exercise is www.runsweet.com

Don't be put off by it referring to athletes- the bloke helped Steve Redgrave achieve gold, but it covers all activities for all levels.

Jen

Perhaps some of you experts can help out a novice. I am going running tonight for the first time with a group. We will be running (slowly I hope) from 6.15 to 7.15. I intend to eat dinner when I get home. I will change my ratio at that time as you have advised above but I wondered when is the best time to eat beforehand and how many Carbs should I take.

I have been regularly running for ten years now, so I can generally eat whenever I like before a run, even during a run if necessary (bananas etc, not pizza). When I started though, if I had food before running, I would get a stitch, or feel nauseous. I'd recommend having some carbs like a banana, piece of bread etc about 90-120 minutes before you run. That way you shouldn't be troubled by the food during the run, and it should keep your blood sugars pretty stable during the run.

I also find that sipping sports drink at regular intervals during a run helps, but you probably need to get a running belt that holds a drink bottle for this.

All the best with it. Exercising with T1 diabetes is like everything else - needs experimentation, but you will be able to work out pretty quickly what works for you and what doesn't. Just check your BGs a little more often than you usually would and you will be able to build up a pattern of how your body responds to exercise.

Warwick.

I do a bit of cycling and like Warwick, I don't eat meals before exercise. I regularly check blood sugars before during and after the ride and try to maintain around 8-10. If at the lower end before I start, then a couple of bisuits I find are fine.
When I joined a charity event which was 7 hrs during the night, I didn't take my BI that night and just controlled with QA, checking every 20km and found energy bars to be great.
Always have a bottle of cola (full fat) on the bike as well as water.
Never experienced hypos afterwards thankfully. Good luck with the exercise, with DAFNE training, exercise should be enjoyable for all.

Lows after exercise are caused by muscles taking sugar to replenish themselves (so I've read/been told). Its this replenshiment that helps them rebuild themselves slightly better each time you exercise.

If I'm going out on a proper ride (more than 20 miles) I will half my BI before and lower my meal before (usually breakfast) ratio to 05:1 from 1:1 for short rides (about 10 miles) to 1.5:1 for no ride. For long rides I will also lower the ratio for meal after (usually lunch) from 1.5:1 to 1:1 to stop after exercise lows.

I also find SIS energy bars are great as they are 40g carbs, but only 20 is sugar so they keep you up as well as bring you out of a hypo, pockects on the back of cycling tops are great for a handful of bars and my trusty Accu-chek mobile (no strips so can test while riding

This is what I do, but never seem to get it completely right though, all trial and alot of error!

Hope some of the insulin/carb ideas help.

Phil

Thanks for all your advice. Have been out a couple of times now and already notice an improvement in my readings.