Cycling with type 1 diabetes

Brava210

Hi,

Just curious if anyone is type 1? I have been riding about 5 years, the same route on a MTB for fitness
on a road circuit in Bristol. I am planing on starting to ride further out when my nice Felt road bike arrives..
Just asking for advice regarding keeping the sugar levels up etc.

Gary

lc1981

Have you heard about Team Type 1? They have some tips for diabetic cyclists on their website.

team47b

I find that you can very quickly work out how many/what type of carbs you need per hour of cycling to maintain BG levels, also if you test twice before you go out to ensure your level is above 100 mg/dl and actually rising and test whilst out and eat according to result, this seems to be fairly consistent except in strong headwinds unexpected hills.

The biggest 'problem' is after exercise you can go hypo anytime up to 6 hours later, even after you've eaten dinner, so you need to keep an eye out for that.

Usual problem, getting enough test strips to test as often as is necessary and not to rely on guessing as I used to

Brava210

lc1981 wrote:

Have you heard about Team Type 1? They have some tips for diabetic cyclists on their website.

Thanks for that, I generally start cycling with a level of at least 10 as it drops very quickly.

Gary

carrock

I am also type 1 and suffer with blood sugar plummeting- particular when tackling long/steep clims

Always have a bag of jelly babies with you

And a good idea to have full sugar orange squash in your juice bottle as blood sugar tends to drop on rides

Never ride if your BS is below 5 or above 14

cookeeemonster

carrock wrote:

I am also type 1 and suffer with blood sugar plummeting- particular when tackling long/steep clims

Always have a bag of jelly babies with you

And a good idea to have full sugar orange squash in your juice bottle as blood sugar tends to drop on rides

Never ride if your BS is below 5 or above 14

out of interest why above 14?

Brava210

I think it's because your body can't use the sugar for energy if the level is too high

Gary

cookeeemonster

Brava210 wrote:

I think it's because your body can't use the sugar for energy if the level is too high

Gary

Cheers, I should've known that but didn't, might explain a couple of things

team47b

If your blood glucose is above 14 you don't have enough insulin in your system to produce the energy needed for exercise, you will produce keytones in the blood when your body breaks down fat to produce the required energy. If you exercise when you have a high level of ketones, you risk ketoacidosis.

cookeeemonster

team47b wrote:

If your blood glucose is above 14 you don't have enough insulin in your system to produce the energy needed for exercise, you will produce keytones in the blood when your body breaks down fat to produce the required energy. If you exercise when you have a high level of ketones, you risk ketoacidosis.

One of those things I read 20 odd years ago when I was diagnosed then forgot...thanks for bringing this to my attention, I wasn't too bothered about high sugar levels before riding until now as I assumed I would burn it off quick enough ( though wouldn't usually leave it that high)

Thanks once again!

team47b

whilst on a thread about diabetes...

anyone know how come injecting insulin stings, but only sometimes?

(no, Im not using it straight from the fridge!!)

bigmat

team47b wrote:

whilst on a thread about diabetes...

anyone know how come injecting insulin stings, but only sometimes?

(no, Im not using it straight from the fridge!!)

Blunt needle?

team47b

even with a new needle, it stings after the needle is in, maybe I'm just allergic to insulin! :shock:

bigmat

team47b wrote:

even with a new needle, it stings after the needle is in, maybe I'm just allergic to insulin! :shock:

Maybe you need shorter needles, or maybe you need to vary injection sites more? "Stinging" sounds a bit odd though, probably worth mentioning to your GP.

team47b

I have a frozen shoulder so have been using one side of my stomach only, 'cos cant bend arm enough, so you are right about varying sites, thank you.

bottom_bracket

I had the mother of all stings on Friday evening of last week, when it happens I usually just whip it out and try somewhere else if I've not already administered. My thoughts were that maybe I'd caught a nerve or something?

Regarding riding with it, normally I'll have some energy drink like PSP-22 or similar in my bottle, and carry some Haribo / fruit pastilles etc in my jersey along with my tester. I have a couple of testers but use the contour USB on the bike as it's small, and take plenty of test sticks (at least 10). I live on a hill and almost always start going upwards for a mile, so make sure my sugar is at least 8 and preferably rising a bit, as long as I keep going on the bike and taking regular but small drinks I *very* rarely hypo.

The only issue I have is that when I finish my ride my blood sugar will rise sharply, so usually fire in 4-6 units of fast acting (novorapid) immediately after a ride (assuming sugar is above 5).

As with any excersise, I make sure that I've had food but try to leave it for an hour after eating before riding (went out straight after a big meal once, never again!) and I get some water in so I'm not relying on the PSP for hydration.

Sorry if I've waffled on a bit but I've been diabetic 24 years and biking for a couple so am reasonably confident in having them both in my life.

Brava210

I used to get the stings too, now I use a pump

Gary