Gym asked if i was diabetic high or low

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hotchop

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Ive gone and joined the local gym... with the aim to lose 2 stone by xmas!😱

When I filled in the medical forms, the lad came over to me after my induction and asked if I was a high diabetic or a low diabetic...

Have I missed something during my 9 months of diabeticness? lol

I am right in thinking that without the correct insulin dose ( and diet) i will always run high bs?

:confused:
 
I've heard some people think there is a type of diabetes where people produce too much insulin but apart from that I don't know what they mean. You should have asked them.

Marc
 
Perhaps it's like 'High Church' and 'Low Church'? Do you have any particularly obscure and mystical rituals you have to follow in order to manage your diabetes? Have you signed the Sugar Pledge and sworn off Belgian chocolate? Do you swing incense and speak Latin during injections and BG readings?

There's no doubt that we'd all be 'High' diabetics without our medications or, for those lucky ones, the extra attention to diet and exercise that keeps them 'Medium' 😉
 
Like me, you are type 2, which means like me you have some function in the pancreas. We are less likely to have a hypo, if that's what he means. When you go back ask what he means and then direct him here...

Glad to hear you are doing all the right things. being an ideal weight for your height and being fitter will reduce insulin resistence.
 
I hate to admit this but before I was diagnosed I too was guilty of thinking one type of diabetes was where you have high bs and the other where you have low.

Its good that the gym is paying interest though - just a little educating needed.

My PT was extremely interested in diabetes. I initially told him I couldn't hypo as not on meds. However I have hypo'd a number of times. I recently went on a course and got chance to speak to a dr about my 'hypo' episodes. He believes it is a condition known as hyper glycaemia (I think). Basically I am working at an athletic level and this causes me to hypo.

I am only saying this as my PT now insists that along with my water, he carries a bottle of lucozade in the gym too.

Yesterday I did boxing for the first time (loved it - everyone should try it!) and it was extremely exhausting - I didn't totally realise myself but the lucozade was needed and the PT knew before me!!

I hope i am not speaking too much about myself here, but just thought that anyone really upping their normal exercise to exercise that exhausts you, should be aware.

I don't think the hyperg.... is even related to diabetes, I think anyone can suffer it.
The difference for me is I went right down the 3's...and couldn't communicate or function properly.
 
Lucy, no way are you talking too much about yourself - very interesting and educational post. You have a good personal trainer there who is watching for all the signs, not just diabetes, of how far you can go, when to stop, etc. Not sure I will take up your suggestion about boxing though!!
 
Marg - it is absolutely brilliant.
I didn't think I would like it - but ended up punching hell out of my PT (bless him). Its a great release and I was very surprised at how cardio it was!
The best part of all was - i got PINK boxing gloves!!!

Off next weekend to buy my own gloves and pads so we can do it at home!

Jab..hook...power hook...whoosh!
 
Lucy, it is something I like the THOUGHT of, but the actual pain when you make the connection - no way. Doesn't it jar your shoulders or elbows or cause discomfort somewhere? Am I going to back to my childhood when i would run a mile from a fist fight because they hurt?? And I mean they hurt the hitter as much as the target.

Love the idea of pink gloves though - are you going to buy pink?? Barbie Pink boxing gloves?
 
...I don't think the hyperg.... is even related to diabetes, I think anyone can suffer it.
The difference for me is I went right down the 3's...and couldn't communicate or function properly.

Hi Lucy, the hypoglycaemia is precisely what a hypo is (hypo=low, hyper=high) and it is exactly what diabetics experience if their blood sugar drops too low. As you say, it can be experienced by non-diabetics also if there is insufficient glucose available either from digested food or the stores of glycogen in the muscles and liver, usually as a result of high levels of exertion. Paula Radcliffe has suffered from it, so you're in good company! 🙂 It can also be suffered by some people who produce an excess of their own insulin in reaction to a glucose boost (known as reactive hypoglycaemia)
 
Thanks Alan - so I am on a par with Paula then is what you are saying..........thats how I will interpret it anyway ...yeah a true athlete in the making!...

Margie - the boxing didn't hurt me at all - its a lot of punching and just exhausted my muscles completely.. Not sure if it hurt the PT though _ i will see if he is wearing plasters today!!!

Its really strange though - you put the gloves on and you straight away start dancing around like barry Mcguigan!! I couldn't stop and was laughing so much at how ridiculous I must have looked. Does anybody else box and know what i mean about the dancing??
 
Well its all good.. Ive been to the gym since posting the thread.... walked 6 miles, sweated loads and actually feel pretty good!

I spoke to the centre manager and he explained that all the lad was asking was if I was controlled well..

He said that he would have felt that he was patronising me if he would have just asked if I was well controlled.

He also came in and checked on me to see if I was ok which I thought was nice.


as for the boxing........ i reckon i would love it lol
 
Excellent to see that they showed such good understanding and tried their best to demonstrate tact when asking you about it hotchop 🙂 Well done on the workout! :D
 
Well done Hotchop - get ready to become addicted!!
Good luck with the weight loss!
 
Perhaps gym thinks type 2 is higher than type 1, because 2 > 1?!?
I think I'd be annoyed if a gym person asked me about my control, because they're unlikely to know more than me. Having just finished 13 months working alongside several sports science graduates in a diabetes research unit, I have overheard several misconceptions about diabetes, and have corrected where they seemed amenable to listening, but haven't told them my diagnosis. I may tell the head of the unit, who I know was impressed by me skiing to work in December (have been told by a couple of people that it made an impression on him) of my diagnosis, just to see his reaction : - )
 
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wow, how did you manage to hide it from your co-workers for 13 months?
 
Discrete pencil case to hold insulin kit; couching by locker or going into stockroom for injections; knowing that they'd react wrongly if they found out, and if one found out, all would know, as they wouldn't respect confidentiality.
 
Discrete pencil case to hold insulin kit; couching by locker or going into stockroom for injections; knowing that they'd react wrongly if they found out, and if one found out, all would know, as they wouldn't respect confidentiality.

I would find that a right pain. I used to hide it at uni but it just ended up with me taking injections ater than I should etc.

Why would they react wrongly?
 
Because I'd heard them talking about relatives and volunteers with diabetes, and they'd generally made my life a misery for the 13 months I worked there, so didn't want to give them any more material to make my life more difficult.
 
Sorry to hear that, that's terrible. They work for a diabetes research unit, they should do some more research!
 
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