Usually people’s BG will rise after a meal. If your BG is dropping right before, the drop kind of cancels out the rise. So I think it is ideal to be dropping right before a meal. I can eat the most in those situations.
It’s kind of like why people pre-bolus, to get the insulin active before the meal. A drop before you eat works the same way.
Since this worked for you, use this as a guideline. You were dropping, and ate 10 grams with no bolus. So next time, if you are dropping, try subtracting 10 grams from the bolus of whatever you plan to eat.
Example - if you are dropping and plan to eat 25 grams, only bolus for 15 grams (subtract 10g)
Since it worked for you last night, maybe that is a good starting point to try.
this is an extremely helpful suggestion. next time, will do. (and i know that there will be many “next times” so i’ll have many chances to fine tune this formula)
since i have been having so much trouble digesting the milk with the Ovaltine (spiking and then crashing later) i decided i would experiment with my old formula: my BOOST SHAKES. they are made specifically for Diabetics and are labeled Glucose Control.
now i used to drink 2 shakes, each having 16 gms of carbs (totaling 32gms for the 2) but only bolusing for 50% (1.6 units) of them. i never spiked and i never crashed. BUT this was in my earlier days of swimming, and i wasnt working as hard as i am now. when i started, i was very slow and i had to swim in the “slow lane” and was still being lapped by the other swimmers; now, though, i have graduated to the “medium lane” and am keeping up a good pace. my swim is much harder and much faster, and it is a much stronger workout.
so, all this to say that the old formula that worked so well, may be outdated and insubstantial. but, i just had to test it b/c i was so curious, and i am dying to find a solution to my spiking and crashing problem.
so this is a big experiment for me. i want to err on the side of caution. but i am prepared to be eating chocolate later if i do end up crashing. and i will just eat dinner without bolusing any insulin. i will, of course, report back on how this experiment went, for better or for worse.
here are today’s stats:
1:20 BG 106 (took 1.5 Gtabs )
2pm BG 135 (probably could have taken only 1 Gtab)
2:30 BG 100
3pm BG 79
3:30 BG 77
a strong, hard swim, that felt wonderful. and the pool was empty!!! i’ll be back in the pool tomorrow, so if this BOOST shake thing doesnt work out, i’ll know that i need to find another solution. one day at a time. one swim at a time
just to let you know…you and everyone else who follows this site, i drank the 2 Boost Shakes at 3:30pm. its now almost 7pm. my BG never rose to more than 91 and never dropped to less than 82. i am feeling wonderful, and very pleased with the outcome of my experiment.
it is 6:45, my BG is 86, and i am bolusing for my dinner (2 tuna on Rye sandwiches).
SECOND RE-FUEL EXPERIMENT (just to see if yesterday’s success can be repeated) :
as i had no real glitches last night with my Boost Shakes as my re-fuel, with the one exception of having to SUSPEND my pump for 1/2 hour after dinner, i am going to try a repeat trial run and see if yesterday’s success is the formula for my post swim.
today’s swim was fantastic. a nice strong even pace throughout, after the 15 minute warm-up. i was exhausted the entire swim, though, but i just kept pushing myself along anyways. am very pleased with my numbers today. i doubt i could do much better .
here are the stats:
1:25 BG 109 (took 1 Gtab and jumped in)
2pm BG 108 (took 1/4 Gtab and jumped right back in)
2:30 BG 101
3pm BG 85
3:30 BG 80
no major drops, no crashes, just a nice relatively flat line throughout. Yippee !!!
swam 4 days this week and am taking the weekend off. will be eating my way through it…
will keep you all posted on the repeat of my re-fuel experiment (#2 ) Have great weekend Everyone!
well, it s 9:30pm now and i have achieved wonderful success. no crash and burn, no spike, just steady, flat line BGs since i got home from the pool. i feel very exhausted from my swim; my muscles are burning, but i was able to have a nice dinner without having to even suspend my pump. i did throw in some nuts and 1/2 slice of Rye into the mix with my shakes. i think that helped keep me on an even keel.
so, when i get out of the pool after Monday’s swim, i know exactly what i will do when i walk into my front door when i arrive home
this experiment has taught me that although we are all Ds here (or parents of), our bodies dont respond exactly the same to the same situations. being able to stick my neck out there and come up with some crazy idea to try has helped me incredibly. i have been taking suggestions all year now, and, IMHO, i have tried just about every version of suggestions. i realize that i need to take the risks of trial and error in order to find the solution that works for me (at least the one that has the best consistency of success…and finally i have found the formula for this new venture)
YAY!!! i hope that this helps someone. god knows, we all need help with somethings sometimes…well, at least i do.
ITS BEEN A WEEK NOW AND MY FORMULA IS STILL WORKING #1:
so as i have mentioned already, i went back to drinking my Boost Shakes post swim rather than the Ovaltine and Milk experiment (which did not work for me at all). why the Boost works and the milk didnt is anyone’s guess. i’m just glad that i found something that doesnt cause a spike, or a crash and burn. the Boost holds me steady from the moment i drink it, straight through the overnight. i can eat dinner without worrying that i am going to go low and i can go to bed without worrying that i will spike mid-sleep. HUGE SUCCESS!!! am very happy that i have found the consistency with this formula. consistency is a good thing
had a great swim today. there was literally no one in the pool. i dont know why, but i am not going to question the gift.
here are the stats:
1:25 BG 115 (took 1/4 Gtab)
2pm BG 120 (if i remember correctly)
2:30 BG 99
3pm BG 91
3:30 BG 85
i will just add quickly that i have problems with milk. not dairy like cheese or yogurt, etc, but milk itself. any time i drink milk, no matter my bolus, i spike, crash and burn. i think that this is why the Ovaltine experiment did not work for me. but its my nature to at least try anything once before dismissing it.
IS THIS THREAD STILL WORTH POSTING EXPERIMENT # 1:
just wondering if members are still reading my posts and, if yes, am i helping anyone or at least keeping your interest? each day i swim, i learn new things. but are they enough to continue sharing?
please pipe in and let me know your thoughts, and maybe share some ideas that perhaps i could share that would be useful.
it was a nice, even paced swim. the funny thing is that i am not spiking today, but i am going low.
just tested and my BG was 49. ate 2 Gtabs and a chocolate covered malt ball and put myself on a 90% TB for the evening and throughout the night. i am not surprised by this, though, as i swam a lot this week and had consecutive swim days that add up when it comes to basal needs. i become very insulin sensitive when i work out a lot. today is one of those days.
I’m with @Eric - you better keep posting, especially with these kinds of numbers. This is amazing! If nothing else, reading these posts makes me feel like someday in the hopefully-not-too-distant future I can do my own experimenting to finally conquer my exercise challenges.
@daisymae I actually read ALL your swimming posts. If you don’t want to post them I totally get it because you’re busy living your life! But I find it very interesting/inspirational. It definitely motivates me to keep on plugging towards better outcomes with Samson. And you and Erik troubleshooting has really gotten me thinking too!
I also think this is incredibly useful for someone who’s starting exercise for the first time – it can show a very step-by-step process. They can see the outcome and also how long it takes to get there. That’s huge. i see so many posts on D-forums where someone’s like “I’ve tried XYZ and it didn’t work.” Well, how many times did they try it? How many different ways? How did they isolate the variables? You really show how much persistence and troubleshooting it takes to get to these awesome numbers, which I think is very important for people who are just starting out and could get discouraged.
worked for you, use this as a guideline. You were dropping, and ate 10 grams with no bolus. So next time, if you are dropping, try subtracting 10 grams from the bolus of whatever you plan to eat.
i’ll be back in the pool tomorrow, so if this BOOST shake thing doesnt work out, i’ll know that i need to find another solution. one day at a time. one swim at a time 
