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What do you usually do before engaging in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (i.e., working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat but still be able to talk)? Select all that apply, and come back tomorrow to share more about your preparation and ideals for exercise!
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I exercise after meals. I do not change pump settings.
My current exercise routine is to drink a protein drink about one or two hours before I run. I do not take any insulin for the protein drink. I skip my breakfast. I disconnect my insulin pump when my insulin starts to rise, but before I go out to run. I run without my pump. I reconnect my pump as soon as I get home. Then I stretch.
I find I always have to eat something carby like a small yogurt (Noosa!) if I’m working out at the gym in the morning. Even then, my sugars drop to the point I have to stop after about an hour. I don’t like to eat too much before working out though.
I have something more substantial if I’m playing tennis. For tennis I also drink a Glucerna shake during the match – it steadies my numbers.
I also change to “exercise” mode on my tandem pump. But I always need to watch the numbers!
It depends on my glucose level at the time I do exercise on what I do. Sometimes I do nothing and other times I will put activity mode on my pump.
It depends upon the starting BG and insulin on board, of course, but I will generally put my pump on exercise mode 1-2 hours in advance and eat 15g of carbs just before starting exercise.
During a half hour-45 minute run my blood sugars can drop by 100+, 50+ during a brisk walk. Given this, I need my starting BS to be above 180 with no bolus insulin on board. I find it too difficult to reduce basal insulin in advance, given insulin stays active for me for 6+ hours, so I prefer to drink juice closer to starting the exercise. Not ideal, but has been the only way to avoid going low during longer aerobic activities. For these reasons, I tend to prefer interval training / weight lifting which has minimal immediate impact on my BS levels.
It depends on my bg at the time I want to exercise. If itās above 150, I go ahead and exercise, if itās at or below 100, I donāt exercise because I know my bg will tank before anything I ingest starts to work.
I turn off the Tandem Control IQ and set my basal to 25-50% of normal 1-2 hours before activity and consume 15-20g of carbs(juice, pop,dextrose tabs….) before activity. Once my BG hits 10-12(180-220) I can get going, running or biking. This is about the only way I can avoid hypoglycemia!! If I’m biking hard or jogging, I must top up with simple carbs every 45-60 minutes. I would exercise more if it wasn’t such a bunch of fiddling around to do before hand!
My levels after exercise often vary. Sometimes I go lower & others I go higher. If itās exercise that Iāve done routinely, it will probably go lower. If itās a routine that I havenāt done before itās probably going higher. Try to be around 110 to 140 for safety. Yesterday I started training with a new group that includes ninja warrior obstacles in the workout! Great fun!!!! Started at 140. Afterwards started climbing. Added 4 units. Kept climbing & added 6 units. Went to 325 & added another 6. I never ever use that much insulin but my body must have released trapped stuff. Iāll still going to do it again! Made working out fun! Iām sure that Iāll adjust. Had a similar response to another new workout routine. The ninja warrior obstacles are awesome. By the way, I canāt do much on them yet but with this groups help I can see that Iāll be able too eventually! I even did the 8 foot wall & Iām 70!
Wow, good for you!
An hour before I exercise, I put the “activity” mode on and I also lower my basal rate. If I don’t do both, I usually drop too much. I also eat a carb if my sugar is not above 120 and I eat a carb/protein combo if my sugar is between 120 and 140 as once again, my sugar level many times drops quickly. If I am eating a meal beforehand, I reduce my bolus by at least 1/2. Exercise is the most difficult time for me to keep my sugars in range.
I suspend insulin. Take pump off or I’ll go low.
I raise my target in my DIY closed loop
I eat a small snack consisting of 3-4 ounces of yoghurt. Because of gastroparesis, this is the only thing that works to keep me from wanting to vomit. That is, other than ondansetron or pepcid.. š
Not having the use of a pump anymore I cannot use it and its fantastic features to plan my exercise. Instead I estimate my proposed exercise level(s) and work towards having my glucose level just a few points above my normal target level when I start the exercise. Not my preferred way as before I had my pump preprogramed to generally satisfy my glucose levels during my exercise program. This has always worked out best for me. Now I frequent more lows during my program that require immediate actions and basically ruining my excercise program for that day. It is dicouraging when you don’t have a pump, you tend to eliminate many activities you used to participate in and get fearfull of others. The physiotherapists, kinesiologists and other medical exercise specialists who are often overseeing or facilitating exercise classes for people with chronic conditions naturally expect that if you are a Type 1 diabetic your daily management involved use of a pump and a CGM. Often if you do not have them you are not allowed to participate in the exercise class.
I reduce my breakfast bolus before my cardio workout in the morning. I also use an exercise profile that cuts my basal rate in half and has a 1:500 correction ratio to prevent stealth boluses when my BG starts to rise. I use the same exercise profile before body boarding later in the day and also eat 10-15 jelly beans before I get in the water.
It totally depends on my BG starting point. Sometimes I stop my pump for an hour. I know I will usually drop 50 points, so I plan accordingly.
I set Exercise Activity on my Tandem pump, targeting a higher BG. I also MAY eat a snack if I have more than 1 unit IOB AND BG is level or falling. I also set a higher Low BG alarm and 2mg/dL Fall Rate alarms to be able to catch a plummeting BG.
As I am writing this, I am once again sitting in a grocery store parking lot waiting for my blood sugar to rise enough for me to drive home. 30 minutes of moderate exercise? Don’t make me laugh. Yet 10 years ago I would easily take a 90minute dance class and then walk to wherever I parked, rehearse 3 or more hours. But none of this corresponds to a box doctors need to tick, so nothing exists.
I do reduce the basal amount for longer periods of exercise but not for 30 minutes. I do have quick acting carbs with me if needed.
NOt sure since I don’t do much on my nights off since there’s nothing open to do anything at on my nights off and I can’t do much at home without waking others, but my normal work is intense enough people who have watched what I do comment that they think the only thing I could gain by joining a local gym or health club would be some time to relax and wind down.
Even now, after hand surgery, back at work restricted to using only my left hand, people have said that I’m doing more at work with just one hand than my coworkers do with two usable hands.
30 minutes of moderate exercise I can usually handle depending in where my blood sugar starts and insulin in board. I may have 15 gm cho before. I tend to do longer workouts (bike riding 2-4 hours) and that looks very different than just 30 minutes.
Stop all insulin and disconnect my insulin pump if I’m swimming.
Prior to pumping before specific tasks would take in a bunch of carbs, than carry in a sweetened drink for when I’d drop. Now with an insulin pump, this week 20 minutes before getting to a deflooding job (toilet malfunctioned flooding 2 floors) cut the basal 50%. About 15 minutes into it had suspended completely, stayed in the 60-70 range (pulled up some wet carpet, cut a wall to remove wet insulation, carried equipment). Resumed the basal when levels rose to 85-90 range afterwards. Heard this called planning on the “black hole,” the time it takes for insulin to function or to decrease the intensity (about 20 minutes for me). There have been times I needed a bolus after but rarely.
Suspend insulin
Earlier this year when I knew I had to lose weight I decided to go for a walk each day after lunch. I experimented with combinations of temp basals and dual wave boluses. I was dropping low no matter what. I’ve finally settled on leaving my basal alone and not bolusing for lunch, or bolusing a very small amount. I go for my walk and when I’m on my way back home I check my CGM. Sometimes I’ll bolus then, sometimes I wait until I’m home. It all depends on what the graph is showing. Sometimes I will bolus the full amount and sometimes I will subtract a little.
If I have to go somewhere in the morning I can walk for an hour without it dropping my BG, because it naturally rises once I get out of bed. I can walk to & from the drugstore or post office (an hour walk in total) and not have to worry about going low. Unfortunately, I’m not a morning person or else I;d try to do that every day. I do not eat breakfast.
For most exercise, such as weightlifting or using an elliptical, treadmill, or Zumba, I take my pump off and suspend delivery. When I take a walk or go running, I leave my pump on but set a temp basal.
I eat a meal, bolus for perhaps 15g less than the meal, turn off insulin delivery as soon as that bolus is complete, eat, wait for SG to reach about 180, exercise, turn insulin back on partway through the exercise, finish exercising, set a repeating timer to make sure I’m watching when BG rebound starts, do early correction bolus to get ahead of the process of managing the rebound (otherwise I’ll go high). Not perfect, but it’s the best approach I’ve yet found for me.
I should read other comments before adding this, but I haven’t. It all depends on the overall circumstances, initial level of most recent BG and bolus, anticipated type of exercise and the where of it, weather, how long after opportunity to eat or otherwise correct will occur, etc etc etc. Expect the best but prepare for the worst, and always be prepared — when I rowed regularly, I would always have a bottle of Gatorade by my feet just in case. A good glug of that could get me through 5,000 meters, not that I was talking during the race!
In addition to a reduced basal rate and a looser icr, we put my son’s pump (c:iq) in “sleep mode” so he does not receive any autoboluses.