Daisy Mae's swimming BG thread

Sports & Exercise
, ,
1233

Jag, I know it’s taken me a while to get back to you regarding this issue, but I wanted to thank you for reminding me about the slow gastric emptying. I always love my peanut butter and generally eat it with a big spoon right out of the jar; sometimes I even eat it with butter ( yes, I know that sounds disgusting, but I can’t help myself). As well, I tend to put butter on everything I can ( for example, I put butter and salt in my hot cereal instead of anything sweet( just brought up that way).

Now that I am back into the pool, I am going to have to readjust my diet again. I know that when I swim I don’t have ANY gastric problems.

I think that swimming is the key, for me, to answering many of my other health issues besides just my D😁

For swimming I up my carbs and protein considerably and don’t eat much fatty foods at all.

1 Like
1234

EXPERIMENT IN FLORIDA #5:

The importance of the 0%basal ( pre-swim prep work)

Didn’t plan on swimming today. I had already swam 5 full days in a row. But today is our last full day here and I thought it was too beautiful to not go in the pool.

I figured I would just float around for an hour or so, so I didn’t bother doing the usual 1.5 hours of 0% basal before detaching from my pump.

Well this was a big mistake :bangbang:️ I got into the pool at 135 and truly did not feel any drop in my BGs. When I got out 45 minutes later I was down to 76. Hah​:bangbang:️

And, once again, I must say that I have changed both my basal rates as well as my ICRs. Raising the basals and lowering The ICRs. So far so good. We’ll see how dinner goes. ( another night in an unfamiliar restaurant egads)

And one last thing completely off topic: I found a solution for drinking coffee without spiking: a long pre- bolus and accounting for 20 gms of carbs. Worked like a charm. Yahoo‼️

Next swimming experiment will be coming from Bklyn.
Hope you all are well. It’s been a challenge for me to write from off my smart phone. Can’t wait to get back to my computer :sunglasses:
DM

3 Likes
1235

Yikes! I can relate to this - just goofing off in the pool at my parents house last summer, I had a similar drop, though I think I got down to the 50s before I felt it and got out of the pool to check. No basal on board, though, just bolus. :astonished: I wasn’t expecting to drop that much at all with what seemed like very little activity!

1236

Didn’t you mean no bolus insulin OB just basal?

1 Like
1237

I think @Pianoplayer7008 isn’t using basal yet?

Outstanding! For me it would be a necessity of life :slight_smile:

2 Likes
1238

@Michel’s correct - I’m still not on basal; only needed it during pregnancy. I’m perfectly flat all night (unless I eat something spiky) - I thought it might be because I was breastfeeding through the night (it’s like exercise LOL), but it’s stayed that way even after weaning. I think I just have enough beta cell function still to handle when I’m not eating. Eating’s my problem area.

2 Likes
1239

EXPERIMENT in Florida #6:

On my way back to Bklyn this morning. I am really excited about seeing my cat, Oscar Wilde; I have missed him so much. As well, I miss my own bed; I haven’t had one restful sleep since been in Florida.
( and I always feel funky when I don’t sleep well).

Also, as an aside, my neurotic Jewish mother has driven me completely crazy. Oy vay :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:.

So, back to :swimming_woman: swimming: Eric has helped me immeasurably with making changes in both my BGs as well as my ICRs since I started to swim again. But even though I swam for 6 days in a row, I swam easily without really pushing myself ( I didn’t want to injure myself and have to start all over again). When I am back home, I can push myself harder and swim longer.

So, I’m going to try and use my same old formula from before I injured myself. I hope that it will be an easy transition.

I am loooking forward to my next challenge despite being a little bit nervous. Whenever I make changes I get nervous even if they are minor ones.

But, all in all, my excitement is great and is pushing me forward. I am trusting in the Force and am UNLIMITED

:sunglasses::pray::swimming_woman::swimming_woman::swimming_woman::swimming_woman: I will, as always, keep you posted and in the loop.

Signing off,
DM

4 Likes
1240

I am just so happy to see how much we have all learned from this thread, and how confident you sound! Not to mention the great results.

3 Likes
1241

BACK IN BROOKLYN SWIMMING EXPERIEMNT POST SURGERY # 1

today was a weird day in the pool for me. today was a weird day anyway. i had to get back into my groove after not having swam strongly in 3 months.

i woke up at 6 am and my blood sugar was 160. i gave myself .5 units correction, and when i woke up again at 6:55am my BG was back in target at 123, but i still had IOB. still, i bolused for a litttle over 1 Cup of Old Fashioned Oats (30gms), waited 40 minutes, and then ate away. yummy. i hadnt had oats since my surgery.

but at 9:30 i woke up and couldnt see right; bright lights flashing in front of my eyes. i knew my BG was low. i went to test and i could hardly read my meter. i needed my husband’s help. my BG was 40. i ate 3 Gtabs and went back to sleep. at 10:30 i was back in range at 103. then i tested every half hour. at 11am i was 125 and i felt like i was in a great range to begin my swim prep.

i gave myself .4 units (to prevent a spike) and i turned off my pump for 2 hours. by 12noon, my BG had spiked to 170. eegads !!! i waited another 1/2 hour and tested again: 168 (same difference) i decided it was a good time to start walking to the pool. BUT when i was at the pool and changed into my swim suit, i tested before jumping in. my BG had come down to 152. how strange, i thought; this is new. usually i would have stayed level or maybe even gone a bit higher.

well, whatever; this was a “high-class-problem” and no big deal. i jumped in and swam at a medium pace. not my hardest, but far from my slowest. i got out to test half hour later and my BG was 114. OMG. that was one hell of a drop !! unexpected. i ate one Gtab and got back in for another 1/2 hour. when i got out to test, my BG was 70. i decided to call it a day…a disappointing day of swimming. only one hour.

but i promised myself i would not be so hypercritical as it was my first real day back into my routine and the first day back into my regular pool. so thats it, guys. i want very badly to swim tomorrow, but we are expecting a terrible noreaster and being warned to stock up on food and to NOT go outside tomorrow. UGH.

here are the quick stats even though i already wrote them out:
1pm bg 152
1:30pm bg 114
2pm bg 70

and, as always, thank you for all of your encouragement. it really keeps me going. one day at a time.
DM

4 Likes
1242

DM, it is GREAT to see you back in your home pool!

Given the morning events, I don’t think there is anything untowards in your swim. Possibly some IOB left from the morning?

You will be happy to know that my auto-correct changed “DM” to “DAMN” but that I caught it in time :slight_smile:

1 Like
1243

ha ha ha ha ha!!!

(my auto correct makes all kinds of obscene “corrections” too)

4 Likes
1244

EXPERIMENT #2 : READJUSTING MY BODY TO MY EXERCISE:

it amazes me how my body is not remembering things; my IC ratios are completely different from when i was on the mend; my basals are completely different from before i had my surgery, and my body is reacting to insulin differently…not as efficiently yet, as it did when i was swimming 4 days a week.

i think i expected that when i jumped back into the water, all would be restored as it had been, but that is obviously not the case. i thought that my body would immediately return to its former needs, but it has not. of course, i have only been back in the pool for a little over a week now, so i know i should be more patient.

todays swim was hard and strong. i swam just under 2 hours until i just couldnt swim anymore. i was pooped. completely exhausted. this was a new feeling for me. i usually feel like i could swim forever. it just brings be so much happiness and joy to be in that water. so peaceful. my mind travels all over the world when i am swimming.

please keep in mind that my ICRs are not appropriate yet, and i am still working on my basal rates, so my BGs are wonky and seemingly off the mark. what i worked for all of last year was getting my starting BGs down to the 130s and finishing at around 70 to 80. certainly, that did not happen today. anyway, here are the stats:

6:50am ate 1 Cup of Old Fashioned Oats (27gms) plus a strong Cup of coffee. i waited till 11am, when i had no more IOB, and then i turned off my pump for 2.5 hours. then i walked to the pool. this morning my ICR was set at 1:7 (clearly, as you will see, this was not going to give me substantial insulin)

by 9:30, my BG had spiked to 145, then at 12pm it was 185, then i walked to the pool and retested and my BG was 221. quite a climb. and all of this from an innocent bowl of oatmeal :blush: .in any case, i was not about to let this ruin my day. i jumped in and swam as hard as i could.
1:30 BG 221
2pm BG 184
2:30 BG 159
3pm BG 132
3:15 BG 124
it took me 2 minutes to walk up to the locker room. i tested again, and my BG had risen to 140 !!! i gave myself replacement insulin for the 4 hours of missed basal, showered, got dressed and walked home very very briskly (thinking this would level out my high BG). but, when i got home just 15 minutes later, i tested again, and i had spiked up to 157 !!! i was going to refuel with 32 gms of carbs for which i always take only 1/2 the amount of needed insulin. but instead of taking only 1.6 units, i took 2 units (thinking that this would cover the spike). i waited 20 minutes before drinking the shakes, and before drinking them, my BG had come back down to 102. crazy stuff, huh :wink: .

this experiment is teaching me new and exiting things about my body. i am learning many things about my D that i had never known before. it is amazing. and i am 100% certain that my body is as confused as i am. :wink:

hope this info helps others who are struggling and/or confused. this takes time, so i am cutting myself some slack. i know, i know…patience is a virtue. well so is education :blush:

will let you know how tomorrow goes (i am changing my ICR to 1:6 to see if that will cover me for the oatmeal)

signing off,
DM

4 Likes
1245

Yeah, it happens to me every time I type in the name of this forum :wink:

2 Likes
1246

SWIMMING EXPERIMENT WITH NEW DIET AND ICRs:

first off, i want to say that today was a great swim. 2 hours, strong pace, leaving me with very tired muscles. but what is most important about today is that i experimented with my ICR and found a perfect successful ratio. 1:6 for 1.25 Cups of oatmeal and 1 lg C of coffee. now this was no easy task to find this ratio; i have been experimenting for months now. i just happened to luck out this morning. i think i am most proud of this new accomplishment than i am about getting back into the pool :wink:

did the usual prep, which you guys already know, so i wont bother going through that experience just to say that i started out low (65) and brought myself up to 130 before getting into the pool.

here are the stats:
1:30 BG 130 (took 1 glucose tab and jumped in)
2pm BG 120 (took another Gtab and jumped back in)
2:30 BG 97 (took another Gtab, which i deff didnt need as i was on a 0% basal for 3.5 hours already with no IOB; i just didnt think it through and i wanted to swim more without crashing)
3pm BG 125 (high bg result of that darned Gtab :wink: )
3:30 BG 116 bolused 2.4 units basal replacement and walked home as fast as humanly possible.
4:10 BG 104 bolused for 32 gms of carb/protein re-fueling shakes (1.6 units), waited 15 minutes and chugged those delicious chocolate wonders down. :blush:

what i would like to say about this amazing D site is that for me, UNLIMITED means not just that we can do anything despite our D, but that we can continually try fearlessly to experiment.

nothing is a failure unless you quit.

signing off,
DM

5 Likes
1247

DM, what a terrific set of numbers! Outstanding!

1 Like
1248

EXPERIMENT WITH ICR WITH OATMEAL AGAIN:

just to see if i could get the same result from eating oatmeal for bfast with the ICR of 1:6. i want to learn as much as possible and to be the absolutely healthiest as i can be.

i do know that my ICR will be different from when i eat, for example, eggs for bfast. i dont know what that ICR will be yet, but its another experiment in process. i like to eat the oatmeal for swim days, but i like my eggs for weekends. both are important to my diet. protein and carbs for energy and muscle rebuilding.

3 Likes
1249

EXPERIMENT IN TRUST:

when i began this thread i never in a million years thought that i would be comfortable going into the pool with a BG under 200. i also never thought that i could swim for 2 hours detached from my pump for 4.5 hours. i basically never thought i could pursue such dreams because of having Diabetes. i always felt limited and afraid.

what i have learned over this past year is that worry is a wasted emotion. fear can be healthy, but if you really really want to accomplish something, Diabetes does not need to get in the way, and if you think that you cannot do something you want to do, just reach out and ask questions from others who have achieved these things. you trust in their experience, their experimentations and you learn from trial and error.

today i swam for 1 hour and 45 minutes. i am not saying that this is easy, because its not. what i am saying is that just one year ago i never ever thought that i could do this. i was seeing an endo who was an idiot. i listened to his strict limitations blindly without a thought in the world that there might just be another endo out there who could educate me and encourage me to reach out and try new things. i also joined this site. its all about being UNLIMITED. freedom from misperceptions about diabetes that tell you you can’t do this, or you can’t do that. BS. you can do anything.

i have some new goals for myself now. here are 3 of them:

  1. learn how to do the flip kick at the end of the pool lane
  2. learn how to do the “dolphin” kick
  3. learn how to do a better freestyle stroke

my stats today are pretty much the same as usual. not only did i swim with a BG under 200, but i swam with a BG under 84. i swam for 1 hour and 45 minutes and was off of my pump with no IOB since 11am. my last BG was 82. and, for those of you who have not been paying attention :wink:, my last A1c was 4.9% . when i began using this FUD site, my A1c was in the high 7%s.

i want to emphasize something here:I DID NOT DO THIS ALONE; i had plenty of help along the way.

so, i dont want to proselatise . that is as far from my intention as could be gotten. i just want to spread some happy news and encourage those who have not yet found the freedom that they deserve to have in their lives.

wishing you all well, filled full of hope and courage.
signing off
DM

8 Likes
1250

love ya, DM!
:heart:

Let’s get started.

2 Likes
1251

on monday i will ask the Y director about swimming lessons. i know that they give them for children, so they must give them for adults as well. god knows that there are plenty of adults who dont know how to swim :wink:

:sunny: :sunny: :sunny:

1 Like
1252

@daisymae You go, lady, go!

You don’t need swimming lessons… You need training! (I think that’s what the athletes call it these days.)

And yes, there are swimming lessons for adults. My aunt got them for her boyfriend years ago, and he was 60. He never learned how to swim as a kid - and now he knows. :slight_smile:

I’m so glad you’re back in the pool and it’s going well, even if it’s a challenge. Excellent work!

4 Likes