Re: Question on exercise

[Guest guest]

Thanks Susie and Edd.

I hadn't heard of people going hypo during exercise either,but the

instructor at my diabetes education class a few months ago said she

didn't want anyone exercising if their bg was below 120, and I was

wondering. Not really worried, but wondering.

Susie, I tried to answer your kind email, but mailer-daemon returned

my reply. Just wanted to thank you.

Tracey

[Guest guest]

Dear Tracey,

I've been in e-mails with our moderator Rick today, wondering

why I couldn't view my own posts when I visit our group's website. I

learned that they were appearing in the digests - but I couldn't see

them. Then I found out I hadn't properly corrected my e-mail addy

when we switched services recently. My correct address is

ottercritter@...

Best wishes for gaining excellent control. After years of good

control, my readings climbed steadily, even though I didn't think I

had changed my diet or other habits. I guess I was in denial ... I

kept making excuses and not changing anything. Finally I wound up in

the ICU with acute pancreatitis. I'm on UltraLente and Humalog now,

checking my glucose much more often, and taking a more aggressive

approach to good diabetes control. My honeymoon is over, but at least

the years spent learning from others in these excellent online groups

has equipped me with some knowledge to help me improve.

~ Susie

[Guest guest]

I am new to this list (well fairly) I was diagnosed with Type 2 in

May and since then worked hard to get my levels in order.

However lately my thyroid has totally gone out of whack.

I have been on thyroid meds for years and years.

Now the thyroid had put my sugars out of ballence too.

does anyone else have this problem and what did you do.

Meg

--

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged

by the way its animals are treated

~Mahatma Gandhi

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[Guest guest]

Vicki wrote:

<< So how's the dosing going, Susie? Are you using insulin-to-carb

ratio to determine your Humalog dose? And are your BGs nicer now? >>

My frustration has been my FreeStyle arm-sticker. I'll take up to 4

readings from the same blood sample and get readings that are 25

points apart, so I tend to err on the " safe side " (a misnomer) by

undershooting Humalog for meals. I tend to eat one " meal " a day plus

some snacks, so I only shoot for the meal, or when my numbers are too

high. So, e.g., if I test in the morning and I'm 120 (a typical

morning reading), I'll hold off until I'm ready to eat and then shoot

20 units UltraLente and 20 units Humalog. Then I'll usually test

during the day and add more Humalog if I don't like my readings. Then

toward evening (I tend to stop eating not too long following mid-day)

I'll test again and do 20 units UltraLente if I'm reading 150+.

Because the arm-sticker isn't very accurate, I don't have a good

handle on ratios yet. My sense is that I'm wacky ... It seems as if 1

unit Humalog lowers my readings 3 points ... certainly no more than 5

points. And it also seems that 1 gram of carbs will raise my readings

3 points. I just tested and I'm 81 (but who knows how accurate that

is?), so I won't shoot any nighttime UltraLente.

I find finger-sticking painful, but am about ready to switch back

because of the FreeStyle's lack of accuracy. Also, I find I must use

way more blood than their literature shows. My younger sister is

having the same problem. We both have ours set on " 5 " because it's so

inconsistent. Sometimes that causes a gusher and other times it's not

enough blood to get a reading. I have stuck myself up to *11 " times

just to get one reading! Egad ...

~ Susie

P.S. I haven't gained any weight since beginning insulin, and I'm

obviously an insulin-resistant type 2, so I tend to agree with those

who feel that insulin can be used as an excuse to overeat/eat too

many carbs.

Dr. Bernstein's " dart-throw " technique hasn't worked for me because

my abdominal skin (where I'm shooting) is leathery from years in the

sun. The needle just bounces off. I do an exploratory mini-poke and

move on if it feels painful. Then I just work it back and forth a bit

until it slips into the skin. If I hit more than one sore spot, I

wipe a finger over the needle (always *toward* the tip, from the

syringe) to see if it has a rough spot. I use the shorties (5/16 " ),

so that I don't accidentally shoot too deep, into the muscle tissue.

Using the shortie, I poke the needle straight in, at a 90-degree

angle from my skin, rather at the 45-angle one would use with a

longer needle. (The needles are thin, and can be easily bent, so do

check them.) I use my needles about a week and my lancets for up to a

month.

I always scrub with soap and water before testing or injecting

insulin. I store the insulin in the fridge door and keep the insulin

and syringe(s) in a Zip-Loc bag which I replace weekly. I never set a

bottle of insulin down, other than to put it back in its box, to

avoid contamination. I often combine the Humalog and UltraLente in

the same syringe (it'll hold up to 50 cc's). If using 20 units each,

I pull the syringe back to 20, hold the UltraLente bottle upright and

shoot 22 cc's of air into the bottle. I remove it and reset the

plunger to 20 cc's and shoot air into the Humalog bottle. Then I turn

the Humalog bottle upside down and withdraw 20 cc's of insulin. Then

I give the UltraLente bottle a good shaking, inspect it, and insert

the partially filled syringe into it, turn that bottle upside down

and withdraw 20 cc's of UL.

I have a carrying bag that can be refrigerated or frozen. When I

travel, I carry spare insulin and at least one spare syringe. If you

use Wal-Mart or another national chain and your insulin or meds are

prescribed, you can get your prescription refilled at the nearest

facility. We order all our meds and insulin supplies from Walgreen's

online. When we order three months' worth, they give it to us for the

price of two months.

[Guest guest]

> At what bg level is it not safe to exercise? I have noticed when I

> exercise, my bg goes down a minimum of 30 points, sometimes more.

> This would indicate any level below 100 would not be safe to

> exercise. Yet, I frequently run about 90. Do I then need to eat

> some carbs before I exercise, to get it up to, say 120?

>

> Thanks for your help.

>

> Tracey

Over the years I have noticed that exercise can do strange things to

BGs and the way I percieve them. My first experience with the " liver

dump " was when my BG shot through the roof during the Assualt on Mt.

bike ride in 89. I couldn't understand why my BG would rise

during such extreme exercise, until a Dr. explained it to me. BTW I

did get assistance from Lon Haldeman, a Race Across America winner,

so at least I have a good story . Now I always watch for the liver

dump, and it has happened under less strenuous situations.

Another thing I have noticed as I have become more concious of my

control is that I don't seem to notice lows during exercise until

they get lower than the point I usually notice them, and even then

the only symptom is often fatigue. For instance I normally feel the

symptoms of being low by the mid 60's. However during exercise

sometimes I will not have any of my normal symptoms of Low BG, only

fatigue, will stop and check and be at 40. I don't know the cause of

this I have assumed it is the body's reaction to exercise. Perhaps

someone has some info on this.

Adam

[Guest guest]

<< even if I test the same blood sample two times in a row using

different strips I get answers differing more than 10 points

sometimes. >>

I think I could live with a 10-point spread, but the 25-point

difference I'm noting with my FreeStyle makes me nervous about dosing.

<< I've been using the Ultra meter with the lancet on its adjustable

setting on the very lightest on my fingers It doesn't hurt at all and

you know how much I test! Also, the Ultra requires only a very tiny

drop of blood. I strongly recommend it. Finger testing gives a much

more immediate and accurate reading than arm testing, although the

Ultra can be used for arm testing as well. >>

I appreciate the recommendation, Vicki, especially coming from you,

who is so fastidious about glucose testing and insulin adjustments.

<< Secondly, UL needs to be taken twice a day for maximal coverage, 12

hours apart. Ron advises the best time to do it is at 8 a.m. and 8

p.m. >>

I coerced the doc into switching me from R to UL and Humalog, and I

set it at twice a day, hoping for better coverage. I've only been on

the UL three weeks and I don't have much faith in my meter, so I

don't have it all figured out yet. Another issue is I was on vacation

my first two weeks on UL/Humalog and " cheating " some; I have more

regular habits here at home and am finding I need to reduce the

background insulin.

<< It sounds like you're being pretty random with the UL. >>

Although my pancreas was decimated, I'm still a type 2, and I think

it's staging a comeback. As long as I can retain some beta cell

function I'll never have to be as careful about insulin dosing as a

type 1 ... and that's why I encourage other type 2's to make the

switch to insulin while they still have some remaining insulin

production.

~ Susie