Daisy Mae's swimming BG thread

Sports & Exercise
, ,
1653

believe it or not, after this year + , i still dont have it all dialed in. its really a lot of hard work. :sweat_smile:.

the more i swim on consecutive days, the more i need that reduced TB. but it fluctuates. one time it will work, and another time it wont. there doesnt seem to be one consistent formula. i just have to keep a careful eye on the direction of my BGs every 1/2 hour, and be flexible with the TBs. it can be truly a PITA.

keep up the good work!!!

PS: i order my shakes through either JET or AMAZON. i order in bulk. its much cheaper that way.

1 Like
1654

NON-SWIM DAY BASAL PROTOCOL EXPERIMENT # ??? :

so last evening as i began trending low (an hour after dinner), i lowered my TB from 95% down to 90%. this kept me steady through the evening; however, after 10pm, my BG began rising.( but i believe this is due to poor basal rates that have nothing to do with swimming.)

i turned off the TB and went through the overnight at 100% basal and i even had to do a correction bolus at around 1am.

but, come early morning, i went low, so i turned the TB back on again. i have been on the 95% TB all throughout the day. my last BG was 70.

i am guessing that by dinnertime i will be able to shut it off and return to 100% basal, as this day is coming to a close and i did not swim today. it is 5pm as i am writing this. however, i am swimming again tomorrow, and i will be curious to see what amount of insulin my body will need. i wont be swimming friday (endo appointment) or saturday (pool is insanely crowded saturdays), but i will return to the pool on sunday.

will continue to keep you posted. i am finding this aspect of my exercise routine very interesting. it is an entirely virgin world for me. of course, as usual, eric is guiding me through this, but we all know that YDMV, so although his experiences and his knowledge cant always apply to me, they remain excellent guides. if “this” or “that” doesnt work, try something else. so far i am experimenting with a slew of different things. its a real juggling act.

signing off,
DM

PS: hope this helps someone.

1 Like
1655

HOW I MAKE MISTAKES; EXPERIMENT # A MILLION:

i woke up in perfect range this morning (85), ate bfast and went back to sleep. when i woke up an hour later, my BG had spiked, so i took some extra insulin, despite having plenty IOB. i just didnt want to go into my swim prep with a high BG. boy was that a mistake. that IOB could have easily brought my BG down on its own w/out my misguided help ; live and learn.

then, when it was time to begin my prep, i still had .7 units on board, but i knew that i would have to bolus something to keep myself from spiking (again) from turning off my basal for 4 hours. so i gave myself another .2 units. that wasnt the mistake…well, not really. it was the combination of things i was juggling that made for trouble. a half an hour later, i had come down from 125 to 72. OMG. was i going to crash now??? so i shoved a Gtab into my mouth and chewed hard!

well, that tiny innocuous looking Gtab packed a lot of power while i had zero basal going. i went from 72 up to 145 by the time i was going to jump into the pool. obviously, i didnt need anymore Gtabs for my swim, so i knew i could swim as hard and strong as possible without crashing. and my thinking was, “well, my BG is high, but i can swim it down.” so thats what i did. i swam like a powerhouse.

the consequences were a large drop from 145 down to 105. no flat line. no even keel. just a drop.
now i know this isnt horrid, and i did have an awesome swim, but i like it better when i can have a more controlled BG level and i prefer to finish my swim between 70 and 90.

live and learn. next time i think i need more insulin, i will take my time and consider if i really need it. the same goes with popping Gtabs in my mouth. :wink:

stats for today:

1:20 BG 145
2pm BG 135
2:30 BG 117
3pm BG 105
3:30 BG 107

PS: almost forgot to mention something very important! i swam three days in a row this week, but i did not swim yesterday. i had been on a 95% TB during that time, and i even continued it for my day of NOT swimming. it was working perfectly straight through the evening, and before bed, my BG was 94. in hindsight, i wish i had shut it off then, seeing a slight rise in my BG. but i didnt think about it and just went right to bed with the TB still on. well, at 12:30am i woke up and my BG was 274 !!! i rushed to the fridge to get out my NovoLog IM pen. i stabbed myself with 2.5 units to bring me down ASAP. when i woke up this morning, i was fine at 85. now why did this happen? well, i asked eric, of course :wink: .

he reminded me that i had been on that lowered TB for 4 days straight. that i hadnt swam yesterday, and that i had been carbo loading all week. DUH. well, next time i am going to turn that TB off the second i see an unusual rise in my BG, no matter how small. you can bet on that one!!

Hope this helps someone out there in FUD cyberland!

signing off,
DM

1 Like
1656

NEW SENSOR PLACEMENT EXPERIMENT #1:

i saw my CDE this afternoon, and we put on my sensor together. i am currently wearing it on my upper left butt cheek below my hip. i hope its a good and accurate spot, however, it may interfere with my bathing suit, in which case the location will not be pratical and i will have to start all over again.

does anyone out there in FUD-Land have experience with pressure against their sensor?? i know that sleeping on it can cause inaccurate lows. perhaps this would be the same type of thing???

I do need some help here; so, if any of you can assist me with your experiences, i would be greatly appreciative. :smile:

(wont be back into the pool until this sunday, so i have some time to see if this sensor location even works accurately for me.)

signing off,
DM

1 Like
1657

I think most people find that it becomes more accurate after a few days, and the first few days are less accurate.

So allow it some time before you give up on it!

1 Like
1658

well so far, and its only been 2 hours, the dexcom is spot on. my concern is that it will have pressure from my bathing suit covering it. i am concerned about that pressure interfering with its accuracy as well as its functionality.

also, as an aside, when you insert the sensor, do you pinch up some fleshy skin and insert it while you are holding up the flesh, or do you just lay the sensor on the skin and insert it?

1659

I pinch if I can get to it with two hands, which isn’t always the case…

1660

SENSOR SITE CORRECT, BUT CAN I WEAR MY BATHING SUIT OVER IT? EXPERIMENT # 1:

since i put the dex sensor on, it has matched up to my finger sticks within 10 points straight through the night and all through this morning. i dont want to jinx anything, but it seems like i found an accurate site. but what will i do about my bathing suit covering it? and, more importantly, how are people intimate with their partners when they are wearing the sensor on their tushy?

please help!
DM

1661

The pressure of the bathing suit on the sensor would be much less than when we sleep on a sensor, wouldn’t it? Try it and maybe you’ll find there’s no problem at all.

I don’t quite understand the issue. We trust our partners not to rip off bandaids and bang into our bruises, so maybe this is the same kind of thing.

1662

I’m curious… What should I say to my endo on Tuesday when I ask for a Tresiba sample? I wasn’t worried about asking until I came across your and @Michel’s comments. My endo is a bit of a stickler and conservative, too, so she might need some convincing.

1663

I’d just simply say you’d like to try tresiba for a couple weeks instead of pumped basal… I wouldn’t mention any exotic techniques like pumping untethered or anything like that… Just a simple “I’d like to try tresiba for basal to see how well it works for me, do you have any samples?” It’s probably their standard go-to basal, its very commonplace… I’d be very surprised if they turned you down…

1 Like
1664

Glad I asked. I MAY have made that very mistake. :slight_smile:

Thank you.

1665

SWIMMING WITH MY NEW DEXCOM SENSOR EXPERIMENT #1:

so today i will be swimming with my cgm under my bathing suit. i have put it out there that i did not know if i could do this. the official answer from dex support was “YES.” no worries.

and PS: i was told that you should pinch up about 1 inch of skin while you insert your sensor, not lay the skin flat as you insert it. hope that helps some of you in FUD cyber-land :thinking:.

will be in the water in 1.5 hours. i will keep you all posted on my experience today.

signing off,
DM

1 Like
1666

BATHING SUIT OVER MY DEXCOM SENSOR EXPERIMENT # 1:

i was so concerned that the transmitter would be in the way of my bathing suit, but my suit covered it perfectly. in fact, i doubt it could have been a better placement. :smile:

i only swam for 1 hour today. just a nice easy, relaxing first 1/2 hour swim, followed by a much harder 2nd 1/2 hour swim. i barely felt like it was exercise since it was such a short period of time, but now that i am home, i can feel that my muscles are sore despite the brevity.

another experiment i am doing is seeing if i need the same amount/percentage of insulin replacement and the same amount of insulin to cover my chocolate re-fuel shakes. i will see if i spike or if i get it right on the mark. i am assuming that i will need a little more insulin than usual, but i am certain that i will find out soon enough. ( i really hope i got it right!!! i hate needing to do bolus corrections) but, as always, i will let you know how that experiment goes ) tomorrow i plan to return to the full 1.5 hours, so i can go back to my regular formulas.

not much else. hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

signing off,
DM

1 Like
1667

KEEPING YOU POSTED AS PROMISED:

well, i did end up spiking from not taking enough insulin for my Boost refuel shakes. i am totally bummed out, but at least i will know for the next time i think about doing an hour long swim. tomorrow i will deff do a 1.5 hour swim. that extra 1/2 hour really makes a difference, even though i am kind of sore from todays swim.

signing off,
DM

1 Like
1668

MAKING UP FOR YESTERDAY’S EASY SWIM EXPERIMENT #1:

today i didnt even bother with a warm-up. i just jumped in and knew i would swim as hard and as fast as i possibly could for 90 minutes without stopping (except to check my BG). yesterday’s hour swim, although it was strong, left me disappointed and unsatisfied. i felt i needed to make up for it. and thats exactly what i did.

the pool was empty today!!! YAY!!! i think thats b/c we are having such terrible rain showers here in brooklyn that people didnt want to leave the dry indoors. i wish they thought like that every day. its such a complete joy to be able to swim in a large empty pool. no matter how hard i was pushing myself, it was still relaxing and very meditative.

and again, no problems with my dexcom transmitter under my bathing suit. easy as pie. i went out of range for the duration of my swim, but the graph came right back on the minute i was done showering and beside my locker.

i have been having terrible problems with my overnight BGs. i start climbing exactly at 10:30pm. its weird b/c at 10pm, i am in perfect target, and then out of nowhere, BAM, spike. and this continues through the night. so i have been slowly increasing my basal rates, and i hope that tonight goes well. i wont know what effect todays swim will have on my overnight BGs, but i will find out. thats for certain. still its only been 2 days in a row that i have swam, and yesterdays swim was such an easy 1 hour swim, that i am not certain whether it counts or not. how will it effect my body ?

currently, after finishing my re-fuel shakes, my BG is 67. both my dex and my finger stick are in agreement on this one. :wink:

today’s stats:

1:25 BG 103 ( took 1.5 Gtabs )
2pm BG 130
2:30 BG 115
3pm BG 97

( i think that next time i am hoovering around 100 right before my swim, i will only take 1 Gtab)

and thats all the news thats fit to print :blush:

signing off,
DM

2 Likes
1669

CLIMBING OUT OF THE POST SWIM CRASH EXPERIMENT #1:

dont quite know what happened this afternoon. i had a great swim after 2 days rest and refueling. strong and hard for the usual 90 minutes. started out high, but then instead of plateauing as i usually do in my second hour, i plummeted. i’m fine, now, but i am hoping i didnt over-correct with the carbs when i crashed. i usually try and be very patient when i am trying to bring up a very low BG, but i had all this bolus IOB, so i chugged down some milk, followed by some juice (after drinking my 2 refuel shakes).

totally different topic:

i typically do a 0% TB for 2.5 hours before i swim. i notice, though, that every single time, i spike at the last 1/2 hour before jumping into the pool. for example, i leave my house at 1pm. at 12:30 i tested and my BG was 104. but, right before leaving the house i tested and my BG was 129. right before jumping into the pool, i was at 130. now, if i cut out the “middle man” so to speak, and leave the house 1/2 hour earlier, i could potentially ward off that spike and just take Gtabs as needed to keep my sugars level throughout my swim without going low. this was eric’s suggestion, anyway, and it makes complete sense to me. so i think i will test it out tomorrow and see what happens. a bit nervous, as always when i am trying something daring and new, but courage will hopefully see me through.

also, i changed my dinnertime ICR (again) to try and further limit my post bolus crash. when i started this decrease, i was taking a 1:12 ICR. tonight i will be taking a 1:18 ICR. hopefully this will be the magic number.

today’s stats:

1:20 BG 130
2pm BG 129
2:30 BG 95
3pm BG 74 (bolused for missed basal)
3:30 BG 62 (bolused and drank refuel shakes )
3:45 BG 48 (took 1 Gtab and a small amount of whole milk)
4pm BG 42 (drank a very small amount of juice)
(currently, at 5pm BG 95)

also, tomorrow i will weigh myself to see if i have been able to maintain my weight. i have deffinitely increased my calories and carbs in the last couple of months trying to match my harder swimming needs. i am very curious about that. my husband thinks i am looking a bit too thin. hummmm. :blush:

signing out,
DM

1 Like
1670

Outside of the post-exercise low, enviable numbers. Really amazing!

2 Likes
1671

ANOTHER LOW BG POST SWIM EXPERIMENT # 2:

i had a great swim today. my BGs were great. but, i had (almost) a repeat of yesterday’s low. i think that when i am back in the pool on sunday, i will give myself even less replacement basal. in stead of giving myself the full 2 units for 4 hours off of my pump, i have been giving myself only a bolus of 1.7 units. i think i will just give myself 1.5 units next time. also, for my refuel shakes, i was originally giving myself 50% bolus to cover 32gms of carbs/protein. but lately, i have only been bolusing 1.4 units. i think i will try 1.2 units next time. perhaps this will curtail the crash. or, perhaps i will just cut one change at a time, duh. :wink:

anyway, today i didnt overdue the carb correction for my post swim low. i just took 1 Gtab and am waiting for the shakes to get into my system.

i dont really have an explanation for this; maybe my body is becoming more efficient and just needs less insulin after exercise. i’ll be certain to ask our FUD guru :wink: 'cause he’s got all the answers with things pertaining to exercise.

hopefully this evening wont be a repeat of last night’s (a bit of a roller coaster)

today’s stats:

1:20 BG 120
2pm BG 114
2:30 BG 94
3pm BG 85
3:30 BG 76

also, i will be doing a repeat of last night ICR at dinnertime to see how it goes when my BGs are flat. i think that will make it easier to see the most accurate results, b/c last night was too wacky to measure anything by. will keep you posted!

signing off,
DM

1 Like
1672

I think that shorter ZB time is a good move for ya! Next time maybe even 2 hours of ZB.

1 Like