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During which types of exercise and/or physical activities do you feel confident in your ability to maintain comfortable blood glucose levels? Select all that apply!
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I’m confident keeping by bg levels reasonable during g any activity. The most challenging ones are any high intensity ones and/ or weightlifting as these tend to spike levels up. With practice, even during these I rarely go above 8 (about 144).
I walk, cycle, and do yoga. I’ve got those dialed in. I’m fairly confident that I could manage other activities reasonably well. The PEAK study is very helpful.
What’s the PEAK study?
Some activities are quite variable both in their intensity and/or my timely passion in them, which makes a difference in my glucose levels.
Walking and household chores are usually consistent for me.
We have to lower basal for or eat carbs for any activity. Random activity can be crazy
Take my time
Being confident doesn’t mean I always get it right.
I answered almost all of the activities list, with a big caveat. In order to maintain comfortable glucose levels, I have to watch my glucose levels closely, and take appropriate nutrition.
For example, as soon as I am done answering this question, I am going for a 45 minute run. I can only do this is I drink a protein shake before hand, and wait for my BG level to rise to a comfortable level. The protein helps me maintain the BG level I need to sustain a 45 minute run.
I am 63 years young! I’ve exercised consistently since high school. I am never afraid but I am always prepared!💪💪
I am able to set my Omnipod to Activity Mode which helps keep my levels steady.
I have had T1D for ~45 years and try to do some type of activity daily. I use Tandem CIQ, but even in exercise mode I become hypoglycemic even when I go for a walk. So I usually turn off CIQ and set my basal at 25% of my normal 1-2 hours before I do an form of activity. When I’m having an active day I only use about 10 units of insulin per 24 hours total. My endocrinologist says I’m ridiculously insulin sensitive. I like to exercise aggressively but I require a barrel of glucose and no insulin! Sometimes I do exercise just because it requires too much tinkering.
Staying physically active is my goal. And, I am proud that I have been able to maintain a healthy BG range (90 to 180) during exercise with planning and preparation. Over the last 35 + years with diabetes, I learned (sometimes the hard way) that I need two hours of elapsed time after meals before I start hard exercising and reduce my meal bolus by 30% to 40%. And, if I am going to do heavy cardio, I increase my protein and fat intake beforehand to help avoid a drop. But, if I do go low (less than 90), I make it a priority to sip some juice or take a tab to get my blood sugar back in range. I’d be unstoppable if I didn’t have diabetes. Given that I do, I just learn everything I can to avoid wild BG swings to stay in the game.
Well said, Eva.
Comfortable only with preparation and bringing glucose tabs.
Having pockets makes me “confident” because then I can carry my libre scanner, glucose tabs and an empty glucose tab cylinder now filled with skittles. It is impossible for me to predict if my glucose will spike up or head down after I’m a a mile out from my starting point. Therefore, I check along the way and act accordingly.
Exercise is my biggest stumbling block to living well with diabetes. I definitely need some help!
I find it incredibly difficult to maintain a comfortable BG level playing tennis.
Ok with other exercise, but usually eat a few carbs (5-10) about 15 minutes before starting the exercise.
I have a zero profile on my pump for exercise and shopping.
As others have mentioned, my confidence comes from being prepared with glucose tabs/gummies in my pockets. I walk, bend and stoop frequently on every photoshoot, walk what often seems like miles grocery shopping and doing the laundry means caring a heavy laundry basket up and down to the basement from our second floor apartment. It’s often two hours or more before I’ll notice any glucose level changes from the activity. Before assistance from devices that help maintain a fairly level glucose any activity was a real crapshoot.
I looked you. up! You have some cool floral shots!
I struggle to maintain control at all exercise levels.
Walking of housework. However it also depends on IOB.
Since going to Omnipod 5 on automode I rarely go low with brisk/ long (5-13 miles) hiking. However it does over-react and will suspend too long and causes highs afterwards. I was excited to do a 13.1, 1275 elevation gain trail hike race without a low!
I have spent a lot of time trying to manage BG while exercising from simply walking the dog to strenuous gardening or more strenuous hiking, weightlifting or yoga and find there are too many variables. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes don’t. Everyday is an experiment. I do my best. My A1c is always great but there are still days where a low from exercise can throw off a whole day of numbers.
^^^this
At the risk of sounding idiotically neurotic, I now answer, “supremely confident and not confident at all.”
The hubris of “supreme confidence” comes form knowing all the formulas, the mathematics, the decades of experiences, and everything about T1D known to mankind.
The humility of “not a damn thing works” come from a spastic gastroparesis nerve making the ordinary unfamiliar and the experiences unmoored from prior assumptions.
C’est la vie! 🫤😏
“None” because at 84, my life is so sedentary that my glucose goes up whenever I do anything, especially showering or laundry. It’s because I do not exercise.
I’m sorry Pauline. Hopefully, you’ll find some activity to help you with this, but I have had pain in my life that has kept me sedentary at times. It’s tough to control diabetes if one cannot “move.” If physical therapy is available to you, maybe you can get some tips.
I have no problem doing all the physical activities. I’ve been type 1 55 years and it’s so much easier than when I as younger. Work out 2 hours 4 times a week at gym and cardio and walk daily and play sports. I have a setting on my pump when I work out on top of the activity setting as I burn more energy. I always have snack and emergency drinks with me. As long as I plan for any scenario.
I missed household tasks or gardening which each is different for me, but I got it covered.
You didn’t include yardwork. I have a lot of yard work each week. This week I worked 4 days moving 2 cords of wood on to new racks. Winter is coming. Kept my BG levels in check with a normal breakfast, mid morning snack and a hardy lunch. I kept my T:slim X2 in exercise mode. I felt confident with it.
Comfort & certainty are two different creatures. The best information, knowledge, even experience guarantees nothing for certain. A definite and important “buffer”, a lower dosage will provide all the comfort knowledge can offer us.
I feel confident during any exercise. Things happen so having a cgm and having available carbs helps my confidence. Also I have done some reading on how to prepare for exercise. Read The Diabetic Athlete by Sheri Colbert, PhD and Exercise with Type 1 Diabetes by Ginger Viera. I have run marathons having type 1 and last 2 years have thrown the discus at Ohio Senior games. I’m not sitting on the sideline.
I am not 100% sure I can prevent myself from going low, but I always carry snacks with me to boost my sugar up if needed. I give myself a B on my exercise control.
When I say “maintain,” I also mean having a means available to bring my levels back up quickly and comfortably. I know to expect lows in some cases, so I come prepared, adjust my pump to give less insulin, and eat a bit more carbs if activity will be particularly high.