Daisy Mae's swimming BG thread

Sports & Exercise
, ,
1041

BACK IN THE POOL AGAIN (after 12 days in bed with an awful flu-like bug) Yahoo!!!

didn’t know what today would bring. i’d been out of the pool almost 2 weeks. but, i was dying to get back into the water and swim those wondrous laps. didn’t want to set the bar very high and feel like i failed if i couldn’t reach it, so in my mind i thought i would swim for an hour and just take it nice and easy. also, my BGs were on the low side for swimming, so i wanted to be careful and see how i was doing.

well, i’ve got to say that as far as it went, i was a little slower than i am usually, but that was okay with me. my kick was good and strong, but my arms weren’t very cooperative. just tired, but nothing to hold me back.

i swam for and hour and a half ( 90 minutes), and felt very good and strong getting out.

here are the stats:
1:30 BG 109, walk to the pool
2pm BG 119 jump into the pool
2:30 BG 106
3pm BG 102
3:30 BG 107 got out and gave myself 1.7 units insulin (have absolutely no idea whether or not that was the right amount of insulin for the time i had been off my basal, but took a stab in the dark, figuring if it was too much, i could always eat when i got home.)
4pm BG 119 took 1.6 units to cover 32 gms of chocolate BOOST shakes. and am now feeling great. we’ll see how the evening progresses and if i’ll need a lowered TB at bedtime.

i must add one more thing regarding taking another suggestion from eric:

eating oatmeal for breakfast has had a major impact on my exercising. i feel well fueled and physically very comfortable and it seems to have been a factor in stabilizing my BGs while swimming. every time i look back over my notes, whenever i 've had a nice flatline, strong swim, i had eaten oatmeal for breakfast.

will keep you posted :blush:

DM

6 Likes
1042

Awesome!

This is one of your best yet, right?

It’s great you were able to get right back in without losing anything as far as the BG and insulin dosing. You have become an expert at this! Great numbers!

2 Likes
1043

i think that this is deff one of my best, if not the best ever. i am very surprised that i did not drop the way that i use to after my 1st or 2nd 1/2 hour. i leveled off right away and then just hung out there around 105ish. very pleased with it; wondering what on earth i did (besides) the oatmeal that could have been responsible for the tight control. maybe i owe it all to the oatmeal :blush:

1 Like
1044

AMAZING!!! I bet non-diabetics are often not this flat with exercise!!! This was your goal from the beginning right? To jump in the pool at 120 and stay flat?

2 Likes
1045

yup. its an OMG day :wink:

1 Like
1046

TODAY WAS ANOTHER OMG DAY IN THE POOL:
I TRUSTED THE FORCE.

well rested and well fueled, i ate my large bowl of old fashioned quaker oates for breakfast and prepped for my swim.

pre-swim my BG was 97 and i walked over to the pool. it is a miserable day in Brooklyn; the kind of day that you just want to stay under the covers and go nowhere. but i persevered. i jumped into the pool at 2pm
2pm BG 104 took 1 Glucose tab
2:30 BG 83 took 1 Gtab (i figured that the first tab hadn’t hit my system yet, so i wanted to be conservative and not to over-do it with the sugar
3pm BG 97
3:30 BG 73 decided 90 minutes was a good enough swim, got out of the pool and bolused 1.7 units, showered and walked quickly home
4pm BG 90, bolused 1.6 units for my 2 Boost carb/protein shakes and waited 20 minutes before drinking them.

this swim was a great followup to last Friday’s. a nice lowish flatline. and i had no fear because of being so low as far as my BGs were concerned. i used all of my knowledge and previous experience from lessons learned throughout the year. i knew that it would be okay to jump into the pool at about 100 if i took just 1 GTab, and i knew that that 1 tablet wouldn’t hit me for about 1 hour; so, when i got out to test again and my BG had dropped slightly to 83, i knew not to panic and to take just 1 more Tab and then jump back into the pool. i knew that i would not take another Tab because by the time i would be done with my swim, my BG would naturally begin to rise again; and, i was right. when i got out of the pool, my BG was 73, and right before i bolused the replacement insulin of 1.7 units, my BG had already come up to 90.

during my walk home, i stopped about half way there and bolused 1.6 units for my 2 Boost Shakes; this way, once i got home and got out of my hat and coat, i would be ready to sit down and drink them. the timing was perfect.

i am very excited about this achievement. 2 swim days back to back hovering between 100 and 70ish. i never thought i could do this when i started this experiment. in fact, even 6 months into this experiment i still doubted the possibility!!! OMG. this is very mind blowing.

i hope to continue on this path. i feel really proud of myself and really grateful to eric and everyone else who has been supporting me from the beginning of my journey. i know for a fact that if you guys had not been here for me, i would have thrown in my hat and given up months and months ago. you lead the way and you have rooted me on, and that has made all the difference. my life has changed immeasurably since this experiment has started.

aside from the swimming, there are so many other things in my life that have been effected by this education. i take risks now that i would never have taken before. not only has my diet changed for the more pleasurable (eating things i never thought i would be able to eat), but going as far as getting rid of that IDIOT ENDO, and finding one who is willing to work with me on my terms (not his)

so thank you all very very much

DM

5 Likes
1047

You should! I wanted to dance with excitement for you Friday, and I feel that way again! GREAT job! I’m amazed at your progress.

1048

This is great DM! There are so many good things here. The fact you were able to start at 104 and still went swimming. The fact you didn’t overdo it with the gtabs, taking just a small amount because you knew how being at zero basal for so long would affect you.

All these things open so many doors for you. It isn’t just swimming. You can do this with anything. Very happy for you.

Sometime you should go back to the beginning of this thread and recall where you started. I have a quote to dedicate to you on the quote page.

1 Like
1049

So glad it’s going well! And I’m enjoying fall on the west coast too, but I don’t want to do it in a swimsuit! I’m proud of you for swimming in the cool weather!!

1 Like
1050

and this is just the beginning. East Coast winters are nasty. i mean, i don’t live in Fargo or anything, but the walk to the pool in february from my house is something requiring a little devotion mixed with a little insanity. and then walking back home with a head of wet hair ( i mentioned a while ago that i cut it all off like a pixie just for convenience reasons; it was a smart move :blush: )

1 Like
1051

Oh my goodness. I don’t even know what to say. I can’t even get out of bed right now because I don’t want to be cold, and it’s about 55° in my house. My favorite item of clothing if it is below 65° outside is a fake fur trapper hat with ear flaps. :snowflake:

You are the boss!

1052

the trick for this is layering. then once you look like the MICHELIN MAN you are good to go :wink:

3 Likes
1053

Having lived in MN for most of my formative years, the trick is accepting the cold padawan.

2 Likes
1054

ONE VERY WEIRD DAY: BUT I DIDNT USE IT AS AN EXCUSE NOT TO SWIM!

The pool schedule has changed due to the change in seasons, so i thought i would try and be in the pool 1 and a 1/2 hours earlier. so i set my alarm clock to wake me up at 6:30 this morning so that i could bolus for breakfast and still have enough time on my hands to prep for my swim and get out of my house and into the pool earlier.

i don’t know if this was a big mistake or not, or if it were just some kind of D body confusion playing with my BGs.

heres what happened: although when i woke up, my fasting BG was 87 and my 2.5 hour post bfast was 77, my BGs decided to climb…and climb and climb and clime.

when i turned off my pump at 10:45am i was 145. i bolused .5 units and turned off my pump. from 10:45 until 12:30pm my BGs rose to 195 !!! and i haven’t a clue why this happened. it just did. i was thinking that if i went over 200, i would not swim, but just call it a bummer of a day and stay home.

what a bunch of BS i was telling myself. when i first started swimming last year, i even went into the pool at 300 BG. why would today be any different. it wasn’t. i planned to get my butt to the pool and swim my heart out. and thats exactly what i did. i swam as hard and as fast as i could possibly swim for 90 straight minutes.

here are the stats:
1pm: BG 188
1:30 BG 148
2pm BG 105
2:30 BG 88 gave myself 1.7 units insulin showered and walked home.
3pm BG 78 gave myself 1.6 units for my Boost Shakes, waited 20 minutes and drank away. feeling good and strong. hopefully my BGs will be more cooperative now and not go rising to some crazy high. maybe all i needed was a good swim. who knows; its Diabetes and it does what it does. sometimes no matter how hard we try to keep everything in check, D is a foe we just have to accept and move on. no self-flagellation. just courage, hope, and willingness and loads of inner strength. we, at least those of us on FUD, are a tough bunch. we want the best for ourselves, believe that we do deserve it, and we search for answers continuously. we strive. we succeed. we live with this disease but refuse to let it rule or govern our lives.

WE ARE CHAMPIONS

hope this helps someone in some way.

DM

1055

DM, I’m glad you went swimming despite your high BG. And it turned out well for you.

This drop today was much bigger than what you have seen recently. Going from 188 to 88 is kind of the drop you used to have! Since you haven’t been swimming as much in the past few weeks because of being sick and your appointments, your body just needs to get back into it. You will find our rhythm very soon, I know!

I know my IC is different in the morning compared to later in the day. Starting earlier might be part of the difference too.

Don’t worry, a few days of swimming will fix you right up!

1056

so i just tested 2.5 hours after drinking my Boost Shakes and my BG was 63. so, no worries about going high again (at least i don’t think so)

i will take you at your word and trust that my body will reaclemate once my schedule is back to normal.

tomorrows swim i hope to do 2 full hours as hard as possible. i am hoping that my BGs will cooperate.

(i know it seems weird that my BGs crashed so much today, but i did drink a LOT of water during my swim and i pushed myself very hard; who knows :wink:)

1 Like
1057

EVENING AND OVERNIGHT TEMP BASAL:

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Temp Basal on my pump. i have found it extremely useful, especially when i have been ill. so far during my swimming experiments, i have not needed to use the TB overnight for potential low BGs. but tonight it has creeped into my life as a necessary obligation.

after finishing my dinner tonight i went from a comfortable 78 down to 63. i wasn’t too worried; just love a little chocolate after a meal, so why not :wink:…

the only problem was that i would temporarily bring my BG up, only to feel it go back down again. there are just so many chocolate bars a girl can eat and maintain her lovely figure :blush:

so, when i went down to a BG of 40, i had some apple juice and turned on the beloved TB setting it for 80% (lowering it from 100% by 20% on the Medtronic Pump) and i set it for 8 hours, which should get me through the night safely and right into breakfast time. of course, i will get up during the night several times to test and make certain that it is working for me, or, if perhaps, i can turn it off.

i was warned that this could happen at some point; and, today was that day. i knew that i had a really strong swim today, so i am certain that this plays a large part in my need for a lower basal rate. S happens. what ya gonna do? I say : go with the flow!

signing off for the night,
DM

2 Likes
1058

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER EXPERIEMENT:

today was a repeat of my last swim. started out really high ( i am spiking from the oatmeal breakfast) at 171 and landed at 108. i have to figure out a way to have the oatmeal for breakfast without spiking. its not only a meal that i enjoy tremendously, but it really sustains me throughout my swim, so its a super food. i dont spike like this with other breakfast meals so i know that my I:C ratio is on the money. already, i pre-bolus for 1/2 hour before eating the oatmeal, figuring that this is ample time for my insulin to have kicked in.

i am certain that i will figure this out; as you all know, when i have a goal, i go after it like a wild animal. ferociously. so, no worries here, just the frustration of more experiments that take time to solve.

here are todays stats for a 90 minute swim:

1:30 BG 172 walk to pool
2pm BG 171 right before jumping in
2:30 BG 152
3pm BG 117
3:30 BG 116 took 1.7 units of insulin manually through my pump and walked home
4pm BG 108 took 1.6 units to cover post exercise carbs

as you can see, i drop significantly in the first hour. then i plateau and find that sweet spot where my BGs stabalize and just hang out . i have a suspicion that i still have some insulin floating around in my system when i get into the pool and that is what is causing this drop. i am not certain, so i will have to confer with eric about that :wink: . certain he will have some amazing and very helpful ideas.

naturally, i will report it all back to you right from the oatmeal to the BG drop with possible IOB.

is there anyone out there who is reading this post who has had this situation with oatmeal or another food similar? please share it with me; i could really use the help with this. all ideas no matter how “out there” are welcome!!! :sunny:

DM

1059

I think I’ve mentioned this before - in order to not spike with oatmeal (very similar to your spike), I have to more than double my bolus for it - I use a 1:10 ratio rather than 1:25 - and I pre-bolus 45 minutes. Only problem is, I usually have to follow up with a small snack - generally just a big spoonful of peanut butter - at about the 2hr mark to keep from going low. I’m not sure if it would end up just being too much IOB for you by the time you swim, especially if you suspect that’s behind your drop already, but maybe worth a try to do a double bolus and see what happens.

1 Like
1060

thanks for sharing your idea about the double bolus. i eat very early in the morning so that over 4 hours have lapsed before i even prep for my swim. so my breakfast insulin is totally gone before i get into the pool. the insulin i am refering to that is still floating in my system is from a tiny bolus of .5 units i give myself when i shut off my pump 2.5 hours before my swim to keep from spiking from the 0% basal. but my thoughts are this: that insulin plus the fact that i must still have some BASAL IOB could be causing the big drop within that first hour of laps. just a guess.