Hi hello etc etc

[fester]

I hate writing these things, if i could remember the other forums i'd registered on ( and subsequently forgotten the login details for then moved email accounts ) i'd copy and paste directly in here 🙂

Anyway my name is Patrick and i've been T1 since about 1993.

I'm on Novorapid and Porcine Isophane ( split in two 14U am and 12U pm) and my last A1C was 7.1

So why am I here?

I need to get that A1C down a little and that needs some background. I recently kicked smoking, I've had a long term love affair with red wine that is FINALLY under control - nothing during the week and a bottle over the weekend is what i've settled on.

I have been exercising every night on the X trainer, doing 5km to 6km at varying speed / resistance which takes from 20minutes to 30 minutes depending what kind of day i've had. This is broken into 3 split sessions with free weights in between each.

After 3 months of this i've lost no weight but I have managed to shift about 5" off my waist and almost 1.5" off my neck measurement - never going to be a 6pack wearing gym freak but it's been worthwhile.

So 6 months ago I was drinking ( and had been for a long time) between half a bottle and a bottle of red a night, not eating so well and generally being lazy. A1C has always hovered around the 7 mark - i'm quite agressive with my testing and injecting routine which as allowed me to misbehave a little more in other areas. My last eye scan was clear ( ive had laser treatment in the past for retinopathy) with no signs of further damage so all in all i'm happy.

Prior to cleaning up a little, i was injecting 22U of isophane am and 18U pm so the drop to 14U/12U has been a big one, that the A1C hasn't gone up tells me that I was under exercising and over eating AND looked like it.

So what's my plans?

I need to get back to injecting 10 to 15 minutes before eating - that's the one area i have always failed to stick to, usually because i'm busy and by the time it's time to eat ... i'm already hungry and waiting 10 minutes for insulin to start working is 10 minutes too long. I think that this alone will bring the drop in post meal blood sugar which in turn will bring down the A1c.

The biggest problem i've had with exercise is that I just can't do more than about 30 minutes without needing to eat more or inject less and on the days I don't want to exercise ( the weekends) that causes havoc with blood sugar, the only way I could find to do regular exercise and not have to constantly mess about varying basal insulin was to keep it to between 20 and a MAX of 30 minutes. I have to start with a blood sugar of at least 7 and 20 minutes later it is hovering around the 4 mark which is then time for my evening meal.

So my gut feeling is to tell my GP to 'p**s off' and give me another 3 months to see what happens now that i've stabilised everything and have a new routine that i'm sticking to.

So in a larger than planned nutshell, that's me 🙂

 

[shiv]

Hi Patrick, welcome to the forum. I'm 23, diagnosed when I was 2, Animas pumper.

I am just starting out in the world of exercising with type 1 (I've had it for 20 years but don't regularly exercise) so I'd be curious to hear what conclusions you come to!

Well done on losing inches and giving up smoking.

Bolusing before you eat should help as it'll hopefully stop the spike, or lessen it at least.

 

[novorapidboi26]

Welcome from me.............

I have also upped my activity recently and its proving difficult with both my blood sugars and ultimately my fight to lose weight..........


I dont think I am doing enough or at a hard enough intensity.....

pre and post exercise blood sugars are OK, I exercise after dinner, so I have carbs working away with insulin..............its the following day I have problems, and not with low blood sugars but high........

Anyway, look forward to hearing more from you..........

Stick at the routine..........

 

[Northerner]

Hi Fester, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sounds like an excellent plan! I can relate to a lot of what you say. I'm a runner and was one long before diagnosis three years ago. Now I find that, when I am being lazy or if I have an injury, my levels start to misbehave and I have to start adjusting basal and my bolus ratios. The basal adjustments aren't normally necessary until I've been out of my routine for a week or so. In the past couple of weeks I've been running regularly and this has required a 40% reduction in my basal insulin, plus a similar reduction in my meal ratios, especially post-run. Very difficult when things are changing like this to get the doses right - I've had hypos on three consecutive nights until last night's lantus reduction and plenty of daytime hypos too from when I thought I was being cautious with my novorapid and failing abjectly!

One problem I don't have is the length of time I can exercise without falling low. Normally I can run around 5 miles (around 45mins) without my levels showing much change, then a couple of jelly babies (10g carbs) every 15 mins keeps me steady (no extra insulin). I've also read (and found it to be true in my case) that your body becomes accustomed to longer periods of exercise, so you can do more without your levels being radically affected. So, if I ran 10 miles regularly enough then my levels would not fluctuate a great deal - it would only be when I get beyond 10 miles that maybe I'd need a glucose boost.

I've also found that injecting 15-30 mins before eating really helps with the levels. My last HbA1c was 5.4%, and when I am into a good routine of exercise this is when my levels are very stable and predictable, and mostly in range.

I'd recommend getting hold of a copy of Diabetic Athlete's Handbook by Sheri Colberg - an excellent analysis of exercising with diabetes. Also, http://www.runsweet.com/ has lots of useful information.

Although you aren't losing weight, the reduction in waistline shows your health is improving well - well done! I look forward to hearing more from you 🙂

 

[fester]

Hi Patrick, welcome to the forum. I'm 23, diagnosed when I was 2, Animas pumper.

I am just starting out in the world of exercising with type 1 (I've had it for 20 years but don't regularly exercise) so I'd be curious to hear what conclusions you come to!

Well done on losing inches and giving up smoking.

Bolusing before you eat should help as it'll hopefully stop the spike, or lessen it at least.

That's what i'm hoping will happen. The only advice i can offer with exercise is that something is better than nothing and finding something you can slot in without any extra hassle is worth doing ... for me .... the gym is a no no - the extra hassle of joining, going, getting changed, then getting home turns what I can be bothered with ( 30 mins max) into a 2 hour ball ache. I already have diabetes to take care of, anything else on top of that is just too much. Because exercise will require a basal adjustment over time, you need to pick something you can and will stick at - as a permanent life style change. Gym 'fads' are best avoided, for me at least. X trainer is low impact, compact footprint and inexpensive - half of a yearly gym membership 🙂

Welcome from me.............

I have also upped my activity recently and its proving difficult with both my blood sugars and ultimately my fight to lose weight..........


I dont think I am doing enough or at a hard enough intensity.....

pre and post exercise blood sugars are OK, I exercise after dinner, so I have carbs working away with insulin..............its the following day I have problems, and not with low blood sugars but high........

Anyway, look forward to hearing more from you..........

Stick at the routine..........

Routine routine routine - as above it's hard to maintain motivation when you see nothing happening. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you eat - a challenge for T1 diabetics! What I found was that three sessions of 5 to 7 minutes each varying intensity / speed every 2 minutes with a final 1 or 2 minute speed burst burns more calories than slogging away at medium speed / medium intensity for the full 15 minutes. Exercising before my evening meal means I can often get away with not injecting for what I do eat - no insulin and no blood sugar rise.

Would be interesting to see what happens if you set your alarm for 2 am one morning, 5am the next and 7am the next and test your blood sugar - see if you can work out when it's starting to raise? once you work out when, you can work out how to catch it.

Hi Fester, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sounds like an excellent plan! I can relate to a lot of what you say. I'm a runner and was one long before diagnosis three years ago. Now I find that, when I am being lazy or if I have an injury, my levels start to misbehave and I have to start adjusting basal and my bolus ratios. The basal adjustments aren't normally necessary until I've been out of my routine for a week or so. In the past couple of weeks I've been running regularly and this has required a 40% reduction in my basal insulin, plus a similar reduction in my meal ratios, especially post-run. Very difficult when things are changing like this to get the doses right - I've had hypos on three consecutive nights until last night's lantus reduction and plenty of daytime hypos too from when I thought I was being cautious with my novorapid and failing abjectly!

One problem I don't have is the length of time I can exercise without falling low. Normally I can run around 5 miles (around 45mins) without my levels showing much change, then a couple of jelly babies (10g carbs) every 15 mins keeps me steady (no extra insulin). I've also read (and found it to be true in my case) that your body becomes accustomed to longer periods of exercise, so you can do more without your levels being radically affected. So, if I ran 10 miles regularly enough then my levels would not fluctuate a great deal - it would only be when I get beyond 10 miles that maybe I'd need a glucose boost.

I've also found that injecting 15-30 mins before eating really helps with the levels. My last HbA1c was 5.4%, and when I am into a good routine of exercise this is when my levels are very stable and predictable, and mostly in range.

I'd recommend getting hold of a copy of Diabetic Athlete's Handbook by Sheri Colberg - an excellent analysis of exercising with diabetes. Also, http://www.runsweet.com/ has lots of useful information.

Although you aren't losing weight, the reduction in waistline shows your health is improving well - well done! I look forward to hearing more from you 🙂

Cheers for the links - will have a look at those later. Interesting that you report the same drop on basal /bolus requirements as well as dealing with the same problems working out the new figures, it's like being dx'd all over again! This time though, we have the equipment and the experience to hit the ground running - it's been a LOT easier to adjust.

Unlike my GP, I'm not remotely interested in weight or that stupid chart they plot you on - it's how i feel that matters. I couldn't even do 2 minutes warmup on that X trainer when i got it - now I can do 15x as long - still sweat like a carthorse in the desert but it feels good as opposed to feeling like dying 🙂

 

[Steff]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

 

[Mark T]

welcome to the forums Patrick 🙂

 

[HOBIE]

Milk & Beans Land

Hi Patrick ! I am a newby also and love the name & the milk & beans bit ! Do u like uncle fester on tv ? And what makes u tick apart from red wine because I can tell u have good sense of humer from the milk & beans land ! I like milk & choclate digestives when i am low bg and thinking beans ? It made me smile !

 

[fester]

welcome to the forums Patrick 🙂

Cheers Mark

Hi and welcome to the forum.

And you Steff

Hi Patrick ! I am a newby also and love the name & the milk & beans bit ! Do u like uncle fester on tv ? And what makes u tick apart from red wine because I can tell u have good sense of humer from the milk & beans land ! I like milk & choclate digestives when i am low bg and thinking beans ? It made me smile !

The only reason i have this name is because i shaved my head for a freshers do at someone elses university some time back in 1996 - it has stuck - unlike the rest of my hair 🙂

Everything else is .... well not really relevant to diabeasties and that's the primary reason i'm here - whatever i haven't mentioned will no doubt become clear over time as that's the nature of participating in a forum 😉