Daisy Mae's swimming BG thread

I think a small dose 30 minutes before you are done will help your spike after finishing. And maybe doing the same thing tomorrow that you did today, except without the bite of candy bar before you start will help you finish a little lower.

How many carbs did you eat today? You may drop a little more tomorrow because of today’s hard work.

You can also pre-load a syringe. Get syringes with 1/2 unit markings, use your NovoLog or Humalog vial and load it with 1/2 unit. You can usually buy syringes without a prescription. Or, since they are non-prescription, I can send you a box of 100. I have thousands!

It’s good and wonderful that you have made progress! But remember,
“Those whom the gods would destroy they first make proud.”
-Sophocles

So tell your endo about it with a spirit of helping. Each of us is a work-in-progress, and nobody requires more work than I. :wink:

BTW, I sent you a PM, make sure your drop your basal tonight!

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We have experienced this SO many times with Liam.

got your pm. i just turned off the TB. now back down at 100%. thx.[quote=“Eric, post:361, topic:894”]
So tell your endo about it with a spirit of helping.
[/quote]

i would only tell my endo in the spirit of helping others like myself. to know that its ok to think outside of the box. we are all different despite having the same disease. i would never be cruel or condescending. its not my nature.

& just to let you know, 3 hours post dinner my BG was 105 w/ only .3 units left on board. so far, so good.

PS: i have endless supplies of syringes :wink: . but thanks for the offer. also, i did think about bringing a pre-filled syringe to the pool and keeping it with all of my emergency sweets. great minds think alike (sometimes). how many units would you suggest i take 30 minutes before i finish? and, does it depend on how long i have been w/out my basal? i don’t do well with the math and the science of it all. (my worst subjects)

:thumbsup:

I think how much depends on your BG. If you test with 30 minutes left in your swim, correct the high BG at 40% of the normal correction rate, and then add 1/2 hour of your basal. Since it’s 30 minutes, just 1/2 an hour, adding half of the basal essentially means you are having 1/2 hour less of “disconnect” time. You are giving yourself the missing basal for the last 30 minutes, so instead of a 4.0 hour disconnect, it’s more like 3.5 hours. Does that make sense?

So for the pre-loads, what I do is have several with different amounts ready. If you have 1/2 unit syringes, you can have 1/2, 1, 1 1/2, 2, etc. all pre-loaded.

Do the math ahead of time! While you are sitting at your desk, not on the side of the pool. Calculate 30 minutes of missed basal, and figure 40% correction rates for 130-150, 150-180, 180-200, etc., and have all those different values written down so you know:


If I test and my BG is 145, 40% correction is this ___, plus 1/2 of one hour of basal is this ___.
Correction + Basal is this ___, which is what I take…


If I test and my BG is 165, 40% correction is this ___, plus 1/2 of one hour of basal is this ___.
Correction + Basal is this ___, which is what I take…


etc…

Do you have syringes with 1/2 unit markings on them?! That is really what you need!

I know you are sweet. I am sure you are nicer than me. That comment was just a self-reflection, because I am an ass when it comes to Endos who give bad advice, and I am working on overcoming that shortcoming. :wink:

Consider a little drop below 100% if you need it. Keep an eye on your BG before you go to bed, and make the best call you can.

no, i don’t. i just have the 1/30 ccs w/ the short needle. its microscopic and hard to see w/out my old-lady-reading-glasses ( :wink: ) Medicare only pays for just so much. bummer. and those insulin pens cost a freaking fortune, too.

just tested before i hit the sack. (i admit that i had some of my husbands chic chip cookie earlier) and my BG was 126. so far, so good. will deff keep an eye out for any lows. i think i will keep my basal rate at 100%. if i go low in the middle of the night, i’ll just correct and lower the basal and go back to sleep.

i am really looking fwd to doing this again tomorrow :sunny:

I can send you some syringes with 1/2 unit markings if you want them. They are great syringes, made by BD, 31 gauge, 8mm.


BTW, sounds like you are a champion! Great work!

i have the same BD 3/10 cc, 1/2 unit, 6mm syringes, but mine don’t show the 1/2 unit mark line on them. its weird, b/c the plastic bag is exactly the same as yours; it reads “1/2 unit.”

let me see, b/c i can always get my endo to call them into the pharmacy. thank you though; i may hold you to your offer. :smile:

last night before bed, i turned off the TB and went back down to 100% basal rate. i woke up in the middle of the night and my BG was 180, so i turned the TB back on to 120%. woke up this morning at 105. ate a bit too much PB at bfast and my latest BG is 136 with a tiny bit of IOB leftover. i am hoping that by 11:30, my BGs will have come down more so i can begin my experimenting from where yesterday left off. its 10:45am and i have .5 units left OB.

i plan to stop my basal at around 11:30am for 2 1/2 hours to prep for the pool. will keep you posted.

Sounds like maybe something else is going on with you! Are you sick?

Are you sure it doesn’t have the 1/2 markings? They are between the full markings, but on a different side.

The right side is the full units, and left side is the half units. Like in this picture:

Daisy Mae, that was OUTSTANDING! I think you are doing an unbelievable at demonstrating how a person with diabetes can do ANYTHING: trial and error followed by a lot more of it – but it works in the end!

Really thrilling – a GREAT example for all :slight_smile:

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i’ve turned the needle around to the other side and still did not see the 1/2 unit line. i see how yours are marked, but mine are not so. WTF.

so its been 2 hours off basal and my BGs shot up tp 173 !!! OMG, very unexpected.

so, i am going to leave for the pool now. (the usual 15 minute brisk walk and then change into my bathing suit and into the pool.) i deff feel safe swimming at this BG. will keep you posted when i come back.

PS: one meter showed 157 and the other meter showed 173. go figure. either way, i wont be taking any carbs now. and i will test every 1/2 hour while i am swimming.

wish me luck. DM

Good luck!

BTW, on a BG test that much different, it’s a good idea to retest!

eric, this was a strange swimming experiment. to say the least :confused:

1st off, i forgot to take that mini bolus when i turned off my pump’s basal (.3 units) but still, i dont have clue as to why i rose so fast from 120 up to173 before i left my home. and, btw, i tested 3 times, & once on a different meter. all the same bgs . so i said to myself F it, and went for my brisk walk to the pool. when i got to the pool, before jumping in, i tested again, and this time my BG was 201. so i am utterly confused, but hey, we have “on” days and “off” days and i figured that this was one of those weird D days and i would not be defeated. so i went for it. here goes:

EXPERIMENT # 9

1:45pm bg 201
2:15pm bg 206
2:45:pm bg 180
3:15pm bg 161 now here goes the messed up part: when i got out of the pool to test at 3:15, my meter read “ERROR; call customer service.” so i was afraid to get back into the pool. i didnt have my back-up meter with me either. ding-a-ling that i can be. so i ended my swim at 90 minutes and went to the locker room. i guessed how much “replacement” bolus i should give myself and decided upon 2.7 units. when i got home at 4:10pm, my bgs were 175 (i tested 3 times on 2 different meters just to get an average and to know what range i am in. )

a few things come to mind. possibly i went high b/c i didnt take the mini bolus when i tured off of my pump. possibly it was just one of those days w/ its unpredictability. (bad nights sleep, anxiety, who knows)

one thing was going well: despite being high, i was stable. no crashing. this is great evidence that i can stay in range once i turn my basal off and there is no IOB.

another thing that went well was that i had upped my game as far as how strong my swim was. i creased the intensity and speed of my swim and it felt great. if my meter wasnt broken, i could have easily swam another hour. i was pumped up from fueling my tank yesterday and even though i had some residual lactic acid build-up, my body felt strong and comfortable.

my goals:

  1. to keep my bgs in target range before and during my swim, despite being off of my pump for (between) 4.5 and 5.5 hours.
  2. to increase my speed/swimming intensity
  3. to have less fear and more faith in the goals i am seeking.
  4. to not feel defeated b/c i have a “bad” day
  5. to feel proud of myself for the effort i am putting into this “project.”

i had some tuna salad the minute i walked in my front door and drank copious amounts of water. i’ll be having an early dinner of protein and carbs and a salad and more water. i want tomorrows swim to go well; better than todays if it is in the stars.

please get back to me with your take on what went down this afternoon. opinions, suggestions, etc. and PS: i am calling ONE TOUCH about my meter now. i want a replacement. (i have had this hapen before, and this is a 3-week-old meter w/ new batteries.) thx, DM

PS: i just got off of the phone with Life Scan and they are sending me a new meter, expedited, and it should arrive this Saturday; they were full of apologies and very kind.

yay :sunny:

I think that little pre-emptive basal before you turn of will be very helpful to keep you from spiking so much before your swim. That number will be good to iron out over the next few weeks. 0.3 units, or 0.5, or whatever it takes.

But you still were able to swim hard and put in a lot of good work, so that is positive.


No carbs? Carbs are very important right when you finish!


These goals sound great. You will keep getting better over time. Don’t get discouraged. It is a journey, not a destination.

It will help you to be able to take a small bit of insulin when you do your BG test during your swim, either with a pen or syringe. Is your pen a half-unit pen? You really need half-units for this!! Very important.


Sometimes a little water getting on the strips or in the meter, or getting on the strips and then being put into the meter will mess them up. It might fix itself after it dries out.

Get yourself a $15 spare meter. Even if it is not connected to your pump, knowing your BG is helpful. Get a ReliOn Micro from Walmart. That is a great spare meter. It is small and relatively accurate, and cheap. It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but it does one thing - it tells you your BG! :wink:
It’s $14.98. Buy a box of 50 strips with it, and there is no charge for shipping.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Micro-Blood-Glucose-Monitor/19276256

funny you should say that, b/c i just re-tested and my meter is now working. weird, huh?

but the woman rep from LIfeScan said that the warning i received on my meter meant that there was something intrinsically wrong with the meter itself and had nothing to do with the strips. go figure. :wink:

Could be water. Maybe they will let you keep it as a spare?

whatever the problem was regarding my high BGs, it has resolved itself; just tested and my bg was 105. used my WIZARD to calculate for my dinner. yummmm, i am sooooo hungry.

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last night was a real challenge to say the least. 1st i went up to 190 in the middle of the night. i corrected, then went down to 48 at 6:10am. by 7am was 119, then at 9:30 was 61. had some Gtabs and some peanut butter. and going to test again at 11:15 at which point i will turn off my pump to prep for my swim.

not certain why i spiked last night. understand the lows which you guys prepared me for, but the high was confusing.

any ideas? DM

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