Hi everyone….?? regarding exercise
Hi…I’m pretty much a lurker, although I get some fabulous
information here!
I just ordered Compass software from Roche that is the data-
management tool for the Complete and the Advantage. I will be
receiving a cable that works with both of them. The software will
download the information from the monitors (including events, etc)
and allow me to edit it (put in other values, etc.) as well as add
information on how I am feeling, and other details re: my life. It
also creates several charts. It also allows you to change the event
codes that you are using on the Complete. I can hardly wait to get
it…although it will require more work, it will make it easier to
see what is going on and figure out the pattern of highs/lows that
I’m still struggling with.
I’m starting an exercise program for the first time ever. In the
past I had problems first with extreme, excessive lows and then later
actual exercise intolerance. I haven’t done much yet because of
other issues interfering, and fear of the "adjustment" period. But
what I have done doesn’t seem to be creating a pattern for blood
sugars. Maybe with the software I can figure out if it is just the
actual routine/intensity, the blood pressures, or what and get a grip
on the whole situation. Of course the problems with erratic heart
rate and blood pressure drops definitely are complicating things!
Any suggestions that anyone has would be definitely appreciated!
I am thinking about requesting my diabetes internist do a continuous
glucose monitoring on me. I would like a better idea what is going
on behind all the swings, etc. I have at different periods in the
past ended up doing blood sugar checks 10-15 times a day for 3-7 days
straight without any viable/logical pattern developing. Most days I
check 3-6 and only "react" to truly high (over 240) or lows (80 or
below). By those numbers I’m sure some of you automatically
understand that my swings can be extreme, and my insulin reactions
can be severe. In fact even though things have leveled out
considerably in the 4 years I’ve been pumping, I still have reactions
with bg of 24-45 where I actually function normally, if a little more
slowly, and people around me who don’t know me notice nothing out of
the ordinary!
I sporadically have episodes of 6-8 hr "reactions" where I will start
with a low of 65 treat it, 2 hours later I’m at 70 so I treat that, 1
hour later I’m back down to 52 so I treat that and eat a meal, and 2
hours later I’m still only at 85 or 92. During these "episodes" I
can treat with a full can of coke, snack on fruit and/or cookies, or
chips, or peanut butter & crackers; eat 2-3 times as much carb. at
the meal as usual AND cut my bolus by as much as half. Then after
the episode I usually go through 6-12 hours of mild highs that are
fairly non-responsive (so I’ve learned not to treat them unless they
get really highs-because treating them causes phase 1 to start up
again), and it then settles back down to my "normal".
Anyway…basically I’ve never been able to "check" my basals in a
normal way because I NEVER have a 24 hour day without either a high
or low blood sugar. But, believe it or not the pump has made a major
improvement on my control. I would recommend a pump to anyone who
has problems with control, or is just looking for quality of life
improvements!
Anyway (didn’t mean to ramble on so!) any suggestions on working out
before and after exercise snacks/blood sugars/basals & boluses would
be appreciated…just wanted to warn you that it’s not going to be
the cut & dried approach that most people can take!
Thanks,
Suzanna
February 14th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
You left out one very important detail: Are you using Humilog?
I used to have problems like you describe, but after starting Humilog,
all these went away. The short time constant solved most of the
problems. The remaining ones are due to my own carelessness…
I do have a problem with complex carbs, though, and use the square wave
function to compensate for this.
David
February 16th, 2006 at 1:09 am
Suzanna
1. What causes you lowered blood pressures? After a few years of nearly
fainting now and then, I was fortunate (?) enough to have a
REALLY low BP while going to my endo. It was 66/44 and he confirmed that after
I almost passed out in front of his nurse. He
realized I wasn’t kidding that I didn’t feel good a lot of the time. I’m now on
florinef which forces the kidneys to balance the amount of
salt that leaves through the kidneys. I started feeling better within a few
days.
Re: heart rate and BP’s - Dr. Joe at diabeteswell.com talked about a Heart
Variability Test that is new, takes little time, and checkes
if diabetics have autonomic neuropathy (which also controls BP). You might ask
your dr. about that. (It’s so new, its not in Canada,
no one here has heard about it.)
Re: drastic highs and lows: first thing the book, Insulin Pumping, says is to
get rid of the lows. My suggestion, get the book!
Audra
Type 1 for a long time
MY PUMP HAS BEEN APPROVED. ORDERING IT TOMORROW! I AM SCARED - AND PLEASED.
February 16th, 2006 at 10:07 am
Great!!!!!! What kind and what name will you personally give it?
Jan & Bluda Sue (MM 507C)
February 17th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
Regarding excercise…
I’ve made a few observations about my own body and how it deals with
excercise.
While the pump is fantastic for gaining back flexability and spontanity
(food and sleep schedules in particular) it’s been my experience that
excercise is best done regularly; at the same time of day, for the same
length of time and the same intensity. I crank down to between 10 and
30% of normal approx. 1hr before begining and let it run at that rate
for the full four hours my Disetronic lets a temp. low basal rate go. I
have to be careful to watch for unexpected lows about four hours after
finishing excercise and, here’s the kicker, 22 to 26 hours after I
stopped excercising.
That last one was a toughie to figure out and required religious
charting of BG records and noting duration and intesity of excercise.
Most often it is 26 hours after excercising, so there’s no real way for
me to adjust my basal to counter for it, since I’m not so regimented
that I do excercise the same amount at the same time every day.
Also I have to be careful to be aware of walking more than ususal on
any given day. Shopping for 3 or more hours will put me low, and I
rarely remember to crank my pump down in advance of shopping, its
usually an hour or two into it that I remember to adjust it.
Periods of time that are remarkably stress-free or, conversly,
stressful also require me to be vigilant for otherwise unexplained
highs and lows. When I lost my job in the middle of January a few weeks
later I found that I needed to adjust my basals up. Now I’m more
relaxed and confident in my job search, I’ve had to make some downward
adjustments.
Furthermore… (as if this wasn’t enough already) I seem to have
seasonal differences in my basal dose requirements, though I don’t have
them charted to know what they are precisely.
Never mind what happens if there’s a low grade infection, toothache or
other health issues going on.
Hope this helps. I’d love to hear other folk’s experiences and
strategies for dealing with oddities of pump-based DM management.
And if anyone knows of a good job for a computer graphics/art
director/web geek in the Seattle area, I just moved here and am
actively looking….
February 19th, 2006 at 12:04 am
Audra,
Happy you have heard from you pump. Best of luck with it and know you will
love it like all of us.
Gail
February 20th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
John,
Even if you used the continuous monitor this week, next might be different.
I find I need to adjust basals spring and fall due to allergies during
those times of year.
Also hormone changes really bother me. When starting hormone therapy I had
to do alot of adjusting, now is seems to be going back. Don’t know why.
Gail
February 21st, 2006 at 4:52 pm
<< Hope this helps. I’d love to hear other folk’s experiences and
strategies for dealing with oddities of pump-based DM management >>
My ways of dealing w/things probably isnt the best because I just get plain
frustrated w/all the variables that come w/being diabetic whether pumping or
injections. There are just too many darn things that can mess you up. Too
little exercise, too much exercise, eat too much, not enough, gastropheresis,
dawn phenominon. I dont know about anyone else but to me all this stuff is
just so overwhelming that I just say forget it!!! Do I have an attitude
right now? Yes!! Sometimes I get so frustrated w/everything that goes
w/being a diabetic I just dont know what to do. So I just do my best. Im
not a good log keeper at all. I could do better on that. My goal is to stay
alive w/as few complications as possible. But….I cant monitor my entire
life and try and guess which little thing made my BGs do this or that. Sorry
if I sound mad but I guess I just am and thats the mood Im in right now. I
give credit to those of you who can tweak and keep endless records in the
hope of figuring out what caused what. Really I do. I guess Im just not one
of them. Ive dealt w/this stupid disease for 33yrs and I still have yet to
figure it completly out. I dont know how you do it Jan for as many years as
you have. Sorry about this letter I just needed to let off steam I guess.
Can any of you understand where Im coming from? Chrissy
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:25 pm
I dont know how you do it Jan for as many years as
> you have. Sorry about this letter I just needed to let off steam I guess.
> Can any of you understand where Im coming from? Chrissy
YES!!! I do understand, Chrissy. I don’t know why I’m as well off as I am. For
my first 31 years I had one shot a day and pee tests. The next 2 yrs had 2
shots a day which I thought was a GIANT step backwards. I wanted one a WEEK or
better yet, one a month - not a daily increase. When I saw my first BG meter I
turned around a walked away. WHY on earth would I want to poke my own
fingers - seemed senseless to me after all those years. My feet neuropathy
was so bad I agreed to try pumping (see the MONSTER thingy on my website
below). Even the first 15 years of pumping I didn’t know what I have learned
since from the ‘net!! There was a 3-yr period I was in the hosp. 5 times
(early ’60s)and to rectify that dilemma, I quit going to the doctor. Not good.
I have been legally blind 2x (20/400 WITH correction) and didn’t like that
either!! PTL I now see 20/20 & 20/25 withOUT correction, although I wear them
for the bifocals cuz plastic implants do not focus like natural lenses. No
biggie - I’ve worn glasses since 9 y/o.
Like I said, I don’t know why I’m doing as well as I am - HAS to be the luck
of the gene pool and the GOOD LORD doesn’t want me yet, either! (~_^)
February 22nd, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Forgot to add that I am now off ALL neuropathy meds!!!!! Started out with
four 100-mg Dilantin daily, as well as 300 mg. B6. I credit the pump and
better A1c’s for that - even though it took 15 years before I had a 6.3 with
the pump!!!!!!!
February 23rd, 2006 at 2:16 am
Chrissy,
—– Original Message —–
I so understand you. I have been there before. The two times I was
pregnant, I was meticulous about keeping records and tweaking everything.
It was exhausting, but worth it. Now, after 33 years of being diabetic,
most adjustments just come automatic and I don’t worry about it so much. I
know I’ll have some highs and lows. I may have to increase the insulin or
eat the carbs. I just try to stay in the middle of the road as much as
possible. Stressing out about it just made my blood sugars go up. There
have been times when I wondered "why me" and other times when I was glad my
diabetes made me more aware of being healthy. Don’t worry, you’re normal.
We all have our moments. Just take it one day at a time. I remember once
sitting in the doctor’s office crying and telling her I just don’t want to
do it anymore. This was just before the pump and my A1c was 11. She just
said, "You must be doing something right, because you’re still alive!"
Those words gave me great encouragement. I ended up going on the pump and
although I don’t always feel the best, overall I think I’m doing okay. Yea,
I’ve had some complications, but I just deal with them. At least the A1c is
down around 7.5. That’s good for me. Hang in there. We’re here when you
need to vent. Love ya, Jeana in Alaska (Type 1 since age
> Can any of you understand where Im coming from? Chrissy
February 23rd, 2006 at 9:44 am
I understand exactly Chrissy. Having had it for a long time also, I know
where you are coming from. I often feel the same way and get mad at myself
because after 44 yrs I think I should be over the anger. But I am not.
The important thing is we keep trying, you wouldn’t be on here posting if
you didn’t. That says alot.
Gail
February 24th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Hi John
I’m doing computer imaging at home, and workshops, and photo based
art, besides teaching high school every other day. I know what
you mean about not having regular days with regular exercise, and so
on. Your note interested me because I am just ordering a pump
after 42 years with Type 1 and 4 shots a day since last August. I do
aquatherapy twice a week. Although my sugars dip, with
injections it has not been a problem - go low, take a glucose tab!
When I start pumping I’m sure you will be hearing from me! Yikes!!!
(excitement, fear, trepidation, excitement, "When will the MiniMed
rep call me to order my pump?????")
Audra
Type 1, 42 years
pumping soon
March 1st, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Hi Audra, I take it you got on ok with Dr. Hanna?
fp