[mmende77]

Hi- I'm curious as to whether other people are experiencing major issues when it comes to exercise and lows. I have had type 1 for about 20 years and I have never really tried to stay physically fit. My doctors tell me it's important to do cardio on a regular basis but no matter what my sugar is when I get into the gym, if I exert myself to any degree, I leave the gym with a low! I don't want to intentionally make my sugar high as to avoid this but I'm not sure how to fix it otherwise. Any advice ?

[dano]

Originally Posted by mmende77

My doctors tell me it's important to do cardio on a regular basis but no matter what my sugar is when I get into the gym, if I exert myself to any degree, I leave the gym with a low! I don't want to intentionally make my sugar high as to avoid this but I'm not sure how to fix it otherwise. Any advice ?

Diabetes and exercise is just like your diabetes when you were first diagnosed. We all have to do what works for us, as we are all different. Some people cut back on the insulin the meal before the scheduled exercise. Some people "carb-up" for the exercise, while other drink Gatorade during the exercise. Basically, you will have to find out what works for you. Your doctor is correct with his advice, good luck with your exercise routine.

[bjrose]

Best advice I can offer (I am person managing type 1 also for 23 years, and a CDE) is to find a qualified health care provider in your area and seek their guidance. Usually, with exercise, I will (and also) encourage my patients to DECREASE the rapid acting meal coverage and correction by 40-50%, to test every 30 minutes when starting a new exercise regimen, and evaluate the patterns and trends, What is your TDI (total daily insulin intake)? = all your long and short acting insulin used in a day with reasonable control. Take this # and divide it into 1700, this will give you your sensitivity. EX:you are taking Lantus 30 Units per day, Humalog 10 Units/meal, eating 3 meals/day. Usually a type 1 in good control has about 50% of their TDI in basal (long acting) and 50% in Bolus (rapid acting). In this example, sensitivity to your Rapid insulin would be for every 1 unit Humalog, blood sugar would decrease by about 30 pts (28.33), and if your eating about 60 gms of carbs per meal, 1 unit would cover about 6 gms of carbs. So, if going to exercise and you eat, you could take 4 or 5 units H-log (when you would "normally" take 10 for the same 60 gram carb meal without exercise), do your exercise activity, test every 30 minutes during exercise, and see how your body is responding to the food consumed, insulin taken to cover the food consumed at meal before activity and the exercise, which increases your insulin sensitivity, decreasing the amount of insulin needed to "clear" a meal successfully without ending up too high or too low during and after activity. I am here to help, LMK if you have any questions. I am training for a half marathon at this time, and I understand the frustration at times, but also celebrate the success when things go well. Whole idea is to understand how much the food and insulin are pushing and pulling your individual glucose results, and for you to understand how to adapt them both to keep you safe and in goal.

[vnniyB]

Great advice @bjrose I find eating low GI foods an hour or two before the gym prevents drastic changes in BG.
When I used to swim train for 1.5hrs at a time I would drink 700mls of powerade to avoid low BG worked a charm. Now I gym roughly 45mins at a time find powerade unnecessary. I'm 22yrs old BTW

i have a question of my own. I've been going to the gym 5/6times a week this year and during the past month I have been consuming lots if carbs to try an put on weight and as a result I've been injecting a lot more novorapid. Wondering if my insulin sensitivity would have changed as I have noticed my BG have been on the high side this month (after having my best HbA1c this year 6.9 or 53mmol/mol in July) wondering if any type 1's out there have any experience with trying to increase muscle mass

I inject Lantus twice a day and carb count my meals and use novorapid accordingly

[selewis28]

Hi! I'm new to this thread but after reading your post, I wanted to comment. I was diagnosed 2 years ago with type 1 (at 29) - I am incredibly insulin sensitive and often drop low-- sometimes just from a walk or if work gets busy. I notice what works best for me is to not take insulin with the meal before my work out - also I eat a low carb (10-15 gram) but HIGH protein meal before and a higher carb (30-40 grams) meal after-- I'm still working it out too- I have been taking insulin for only about 7 months now--