The struggle continues :(. I am still having the same problem post exercise. I just can't control my blood sugars and as I continue to experience this problem, I am losing patience (not to mention my head). I cannot believe that I still haven't come across something that would, if not solve, improve this situation. It's so frustrating. :(
Friday, my CDE/dietician got back to me after looking over my logs with my Endo, Dr. P. They suggested that I reduce my basal during exercise even further. Their previous advice was to reduce it to .8 an hour before, during, and after exercise. Tried that, didn't work. This time, they suggested I cut it down to .5 prior, during, and after AND to skip my usual pre-workout snack. I was a little bit hesitant and doubtful that this would help, but I reluctantly agreed to try it. So Friday, I tried it.
I was a little high to begin with, but I went ahead as planned. I got to the gym, did my usual workout, and afterwards, drove home and tested. Ok, well it did change things. Instead of being low, I was high. I rang in at a just wonderful 200. :( boo. Argh! Well, what could I do? I corrected and ate dinner. Tested again 2 hours after and I was still in the 200 range :( . Then later I went low, 49, before bed. What the #$%&! **sigh** I thought, fine, whatever...I'll do this Monday as well, and if it happens again, I'll fax my Endo, and show them that this didn't work. Yesterday, Monday, I did the same thing with setting the temporary basal, skipping the snack, etc.. I tested before my workout, was again a bit high to start, 175. During the exercise itself, I felt ok. However, as I was drawing to the end of my workout, I noticed that I felt a bit off. I got to my car, tested, and realized that I was low, 59. Great...I'm really getting somewhere. Then later last night, I was back at 200. :( :( :(
No, it's not great at all. My numbers are so unpredictable that I can't even find a pattern. I set a temp basal and one day it affects me one way, the next a completely different way. Ugh. I feel like I'm like I'm going around in circles, chasing my tail... I know it's going to be an ongoing process trying to get things on track. I'm just starting to lose it and I just don't understand why this has to be SO difficult.
~~As a side note, yes, I do have to work with J., the cat lady, unfortunately. We haven't spoken and she hasn't even looked in my direction. Actually, this is fine with me. Because after what happened on Friday, I really prefer not to have anything to do with her. My only hope is that Toby is ok. ~~
Friday, my CDE/dietician got back to me after looking over my logs with my Endo, Dr. P. They suggested that I reduce my basal during exercise even further. Their previous advice was to reduce it to .8 an hour before, during, and after exercise. Tried that, didn't work. This time, they suggested I cut it down to .5 prior, during, and after AND to skip my usual pre-workout snack. I was a little bit hesitant and doubtful that this would help, but I reluctantly agreed to try it. So Friday, I tried it.
I was a little high to begin with, but I went ahead as planned. I got to the gym, did my usual workout, and afterwards, drove home and tested. Ok, well it did change things. Instead of being low, I was high. I rang in at a just wonderful 200. :( boo. Argh! Well, what could I do? I corrected and ate dinner. Tested again 2 hours after and I was still in the 200 range :( . Then later I went low, 49, before bed. What the #$%&! **sigh** I thought, fine, whatever...I'll do this Monday as well, and if it happens again, I'll fax my Endo, and show them that this didn't work. Yesterday, Monday, I did the same thing with setting the temporary basal, skipping the snack, etc.. I tested before my workout, was again a bit high to start, 175. During the exercise itself, I felt ok. However, as I was drawing to the end of my workout, I noticed that I felt a bit off. I got to my car, tested, and realized that I was low, 59. Great...I'm really getting somewhere. Then later last night, I was back at 200. :( :( :(
No, it's not great at all. My numbers are so unpredictable that I can't even find a pattern. I set a temp basal and one day it affects me one way, the next a completely different way. Ugh. I feel like I'm like I'm going around in circles, chasing my tail... I know it's going to be an ongoing process trying to get things on track. I'm just starting to lose it and I just don't understand why this has to be SO difficult.
~~As a side note, yes, I do have to work with J., the cat lady, unfortunately. We haven't spoken and she hasn't even looked in my direction. Actually, this is fine with me. Because after what happened on Friday, I really prefer not to have anything to do with her. My only hope is that Toby is ok. ~~
posted by Andrea at
12:24 PM
6 Comments:
Oh Andrea,
I'm so sorry you have to deal with these crazy fluctuations. We've had similar experiences with exercise-- trying to find that magic combination of food & temp basal rate.
Sometimes we hit it just right. Much of the time we're off-- and more times than I'd like, way off.
Don't know if it helps, just knowing that you're not alone in this on-going struggle.
I will say that using the smart charts (with graph) to track Joseph's sugars has really helped with this. Makes it much easier to spot trends. I've found that we have to not only look at where Joseph's bg is prior to exercise (i.e., is he high?), but also look at the direction in which he's going (i.e., is he coming down fast from an earlier high), how much insulin he has on board from any earlier food boluses (if any), and of course, the activity level of the exercise in which he's about to engage...
Sucks that there's so many factors, doesn't it?
Good luck with this, and again, you are definitely not alone.
Sandra
It is so frustrating. There are so many variables that are working their ways with everything.
It can be so hard to isolate those variables and get a good day to test new treatment plans.
It needs more time than just 2 days. It sucks, but keep at it. Small changes usually mean small affects, which is what you want. Unfortunatly it takes so much more time.
Exercise is also one of those things that is so hard to quantify - you can't put a number on it! Makes it hard to calculate things, other than by trial and error.
I wish I had an easy answer for you, but I haven't really figured it out myself... and once I do, something changes and it moves around again.
Oh boy it's not getting any easier huh?
I'm sure you feel defeated after trying and trying and still getting no where.
Somebody has got to have an answer to this exercise thing. I mean there are famous athletes that hard core exercise and something has got to be working for them.
You are definitely not alone in this. In order for me to feel comfortable to work out my blood sugar needs to be around 180-190. IF it's lower I don't think I'd make it 10 minutes and if it's above that my blood sugar stays high for a long time following the workout (takes forever to come down).
One thing that I do now is set a temporary basal rate for overnight if I've worked out after work. I have had big problems with working out or playing sports and then barely waking up in the morning. The temp. basal has really worked.
Keep working at it, there has to be an answerr to this.
To say that this is frustrating is an understatement. It's so frustrating, I can't put it into words :( . I'm trying to keep my cool and keep it together, but, I can't lie, it bothers me a lot.
Sandra-
Isn't it crazy how exercise can cause so much variation in blood sugar levels? Here we are doing something good for ourselves and it ends up leading to more trouble than we need. I know, I know...I'm sure we are benefiting from the exercise, but I wish it impacted blood sugar more positively. I'm going to have to look into those smart graphs. Honestly, I can't find any patterns myself, b/c that's how erratic my numbers are. Ugh, this is such a pain...
Scott-
I HATE that there is so many varibles involved in Diabetes management. It makes things so difficult and I'm running out of patience...and I'm not the most patient to begin with. Well...actually...I take that back... I do have patience. But I think it's understandable that after awhile your patience starts to wear thin.
I know 2 days isn't enough to really identify a problem/pattern or what have you, but what happens when everyday is completely different? How do you make changes? It's so complicated.
I know exactly what you mean. One day I think, Oh, things aren't so bad...the next moment everything changes.
Mytime...
Yes, I'm still struggling. I do feel defeated at this point...and I almost want to just give up at trying to work at it. But then a part of me is determined to work it out... What it really boils down to is, I don't know what to do from here.
I find it funny that these athletes can manage their blood sugars so well...and here I am, wouldn't even consider myself one, and I'm having all these problems. I heard someone mention the book "The Diabetic Athlete" (or something to that effect) and I'm wondering if I should look into it...maybe it'll have some advice that would apply to me. Know anything about it?
I know, I know...I'm grasping at straws, but I'm at a loss of what the next move should be.
Actually, I decided that I'm going to try to work on this more myself, rather than rely mostly on my CDE and Endo. I know they know far more about this disease, but I don't think they have the answers either. I've actually changed my nighttime basal yesterday...so we'll see if it helps.
Anyway, I'll end this book now. I feel like such a whiny brat with this problem, I'm even getting tired of hearing myself ramble about this.
However, I honestly feel the need to vent at times. It really helps... And then what helps even more is reading your responses. It makes me feel like this isn't just my problem... Others are dealing with similar issues and I'm far from being alone.
So thanks, as always, for taking the time to write and respond. I so appreciate your advice, ideas, and feedback! Thanks Y'all! ;)
Andrea,
I hear you as I stated in another blog this SUCKS! you work out to feel better and have to figure out so many things your tired before you even start to work out! Then once I get to a point where I can increase my exercise I have to do it all again??? does it ever end !
Andrea, I just had a brain wave. (It does happen. Occassionally. Honest.) What about asking your endo for a CGMS for three or four days? I bet that would be a huge help in figuring out where to adjust your basals and boluses. You can't see the data while it's doing its thing, but you can get a print-out after, which will show you when you're trending up or down.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home