For diabetes sufferers.....

[bepah]

I am newly diagnosed (1 year or so) with diabetes and have barely been able to maintain my sugar levels through diet only. I started back to the erg training on December 26th, 2011.

Here is my problem.....I generally row in the morning. Prior to the row, when I measure, I get a vaule between 120 and 140 as a rule. After the workout, which is usually between a 5K (23 minutes) and a 12k (1 hour), My readings are fairly unchanged, which make no sense to me.

The variables I can think of are as follows:

1) The change in exercise level is dramatic and extreme. Could this be causing my system to be pumping glucose to compensate for the exercise demands?

2) I sweat profusely and drink little water after the row (none during). Could I be dehydrated? Are my electrolytes all screwed up and affecting the reading?

3) I suffer from the Dawn phenomenon, I go bed with a 120 reading, taken 2 hours or more after eating dinner and waker with a 140; sometime more. Does the exercise accentuate the Dawn phenomenon?

Does anyone have any ideas on this topic? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am 61 years old, 5' 10 1/2', about 222 pounds and dropping abut 2 pounds a week.

Thanks in advance!

John

[igoeja]

What type is your diabetes, Type I or II? I have had Type I for 30+ years, and it considered well-controlled. I have been rowing, nowadays only ergs, for over 20 years.

Generally, I find long pieces, of 10K+, which by definition are lower intensity, to generally lower my blood sugar. I find shorter, more intense pieces raise my blood sugar. As you seem to know, intense exercise typically causes blood sugar to rise, but neither of your workouts seem of sufficient intensity to cause that effect, although your 5K might.

As for dehydration, a quick rule of thumb is that you are hydrated when your urine if clear or slightly amber. Otherwise, you need to drink more water.

[bepah]

Thanks for the reply.....I was diagnosed in Nov 2010 with type II which we all agreed, at the time, to try to maintain via diet. Since I started back on the erg, my levels are all over the place. For example, last night, prior to dinner, I was at 126. I had some tri-tip (which was quite good) with no BBQ sauce and steamed broccoli with no butter, salt or anything else. I woke up tthis morninbg with a reading of 139......I think I suffer from the Dawn Phenomenon, but this seems pretty crazy to me. Usually, after I row my 5-12K sessions, my readings are rarely 10 points lower than prior to the row.

I am wondering, given all of the variables, that my system is just failing and I will need to go on meds soon. I can go several days without a carb and the readings stay well over 100.....

I have about 10 more pounds to lose before I panic here, but I am concerned.....

[igoeja]

I think that it is great that you are losing 2 lbs. per week. That is really what matters, since the likelihood of getting your body back to normal, meaning having good insulin sensitivity and normal-ish weight, is achievable through exercise and weight loss. Stick with it, and do not worry so much!

Has anyone explained why you are considered Type II? I assume the cause of your Type II is reduced insulin sensitivity. Your BS numbers are fairly close to normal, and it could be that the expected decreases do not occur because you have not re-acquired sufficient insulin sensitivity. Keep at the exercise and keep eating healthfully, and that will help with reducing your weight and improving your body's response to it's own insulin.

I occasionally will have had early morning highs even though I went to bed with good BS numbers, and this seems to be related to eating a lot of high-fat foods. The addition of the fat, e.g., hummus, seems to slow the digestion/absorption of carbs, so my BS is high several hours later than expected. Also, eating larger proportions of vegetables and/or fruit can have a similar effect, in that the glycemic effect of either is delayed for several hours. If you do not know what the Glycemic Index is, look it up. Stress can also have an effect on BS numbers, depending on your personality. I have seen at least one study that showed increases in BS in susceptible stressed individuals

You need to loosen up a bit. Blood sugar control is less a science than you realize, even less so when you use insulin. When you consider the factors, food composition, food quality, activity, and the vagaries of your body's processes, you would be hard pressed to get your BS numbers exactly as expected.

[bepah]

Thanks for the input. I agree that I may be freaking out a little too much.......just fininshed a 10K and the BS dropped 7...big deal......maybe because I tend to finish stronger than the pace I set, the BS response is to go up.

In any case, I have heard of the Glycemic Index but know little about it. I'll do some background reading to catch up.

Thanks again!

[kayakr]

You can stream "forks over knives" from amazon for $4, and you may find it inspirational for getting motivated to stay with dietary changes. Good luck.

[bepah]

You can stream "forks over knives" from amazon for $4, and you may find it inspirational for getting motivated to stay with dietary changes. Good luck.

Thanks!

[bepah]

Today I did not have the time to row in the AM, so moved the workout to the afternoon, after having a Denver omelet with a small fruit cuo for break fast and snacked on almonds and peanuts through midday.

Rowed for 1/2 hour (6385 meters, slow, I know, but am just getting back from a long absence) and took my glucose level about 20 minutes after the row, with a reading of 1034, which I like, but do not understand.....I probaly should have done a reading prior to the row to see how it affected levels.

I am planning to do a hard 2K prior to bedtime to see what impacts it has on the morning reading.

Thanks!

[BoB/335]

Hey There,

I am diagnosed diabetic. I was on Metformin 500 mg twice a day. As I went along it became 1 1/2 500's twice a day and then 2 500's twice a day UNTIL I started incorporating "some" protein in EVERY meal. My numbers immediately started going down along with my weight and I had to start cutting back on the meds. Started rowing about 5000 meters a day and the numbers continued dropping as well as the weight.

I have lost about 20 lbs at 6'2 went from 215-218 down to 195. Gained a few back and now hovering around 198. You have more than 10 lbs to go. Probably more like 25lbs. Your numbers will be better stabilized once you get down to proper weight (for a diabetic). My opinion is that you should probably have been on meds to get your numbers into the 80's to low 90's (BUT I'm no doctor) and wean yourself down as you get better control with weight loss, diet, and exercise. I hated the thought of meds BUT diabetes is a KILLER and many do not take the seriousness of it. Proper control may not always be achievable through diet and exercise alone and don't let anyone fool you into thinking otherwise.

Besides your morning fasting number, you need to see your number before your largest meal, a half an hour after your largest meal and then again 2-3 hours after. That way you see how you have stabilized during the day with normal activities and have a starting point to see how the foods you are eating are effecting you. I just looked for the numbers but couldn't find them. SPIKES are not good. I think you shouldn't rise more than 60 points after a meal and should return to below 120 (which is where you should be starting from before your meal) by 3 hours after.

I assume you have had your A1C checked but I didn't see you mention that.

The Low GI Handbook is the best read for a diabetic who is serious about getting there numbers under control.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Low-Handbook- ... 0738213896

I have not paid a lot of attention to how exercise is directly affecting my numbers right after exercising. I do know that exercise is "summoning" the glucose from storage to get to the muscles that need it to burn, There may be a lot of wacky readings going on on account of that. Best to wait for the body to relax a bit before checking. It REALLY is most important to see how specific foods are affecting your numbers and not worry as much as to the immediate readings from exercise. IMHO.

[bepah]

Hey There,

I am diagnosed diabetic. I was on Metformin 500 mg twice a day. As I went along it became 1 1/2 500's twice a day and then 2 500's twice a day UNTIL I started incorporating "some" protein in EVERY meal. My numbers immediately started going down along with my weight and I had to start cutting back on the meds. Started rowing about 5000 meters a day and the numbers continued dropping as well as the weight.

I have lost about 20 lbs at 6'2 went from 215-218 down to 195. Gained a few back and now hovering around 198. You have more than 10 lbs to go. Probably more like 25lbs. Your numbers will be better stabilized once you get down to proper weight (for a diabetic). My opinion is that you should probably have been on meds to get your numbers into the 80's to low 90's (BUT I'm no doctor) and wean yourself down as you get better control with weight loss, diet, and exercise. I hated the thought of meds BUT diabetes is a KILLER and many do not take the seriousness of it. Proper control may not always be achievable through diet and exercise alone and don't let anyone fool you into thinking otherwise.

Besides your morning fasting number, you need to see your number before your largest meal, a half an hour after your largest meal and then again 2-3 hours after. That way you see how you have stabilized during the day with normal activities and have a starting point to see how the foods you are eating are effecting you. I just looked for the numbers but couldn't find them. SPIKES are not good. I think you shouldn't rise more than 60 points after a meal and should return to below 120 (which is where you should be starting from before your meal) by 3 hours after.

I assume you have had your A1C checked but I didn't see you mention that.

The Low GI Handbook is the best read for a diabetic who is serious about getting there numbers under control.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Low-Handbook- ... 0738213896

I have not paid a lot of attention to how exercise is directly affecting my numbers right after exercising. I do know that exercise is "summoning" the glucose from storage to get to the muscles that need it to burn, There may be a lot of wacky readings going on on account of that. Best to wait for the body to relax a bit before checking. It REALLY is most important to see how specific foods are affecting your numbers and not worry as much as to the immediate readings from exercise. IMHO.

Since my last post on this subject, the highest reading I have had has been 122. My thinking (for which I have no medical explanation) is that for 3 months of focused training (nearly 900K) my RBCs have all recycled and taken with them the adhered glucose. As to my last H1ac reading, it was 6.5 about a month ago. My VA doctor is very attentive to this and takes a reading quarterly.

In general, my blood sugar readings have been from a low of 79 to a high of 122...

Not bad for someone who is fighting to stay off meds and control this monster with diet and exercise.

Right now, my big battle is 'portion-control' which I find the hardest thing to manage at the table. It seems unnatural to walk away from a meal when I am still hungry.

Thanks for your input.

[BoB/335]

An A1C of 6.5 should have meds. You are not playing this safely. Just my opinion. (And I'm sure that your VA doctor agrees)
Wondering how your cholesterol, blood pressure, and family history are.

Adding more protein to your meals with help with hunger.

[bepah]

An A1C of 6.5 should have meds. You are not playing this safely. Just my opinion. (And I'm sure that your VA doctor agrees)
Wondering how your cholesterol, blood pressure, and family history are.

Adding more protein to your meals with help with hunger.

The 6.5 reading is down from 6.7 3 months prior and seems to be continuing downward. The doctor seems comfortable with my progress to this point.

As to my other measures, they are genetically high in my family. I am on BP and cholesterol meds and controlling them at current levels. Last total cholesterol was 186.....

I want to avoid meds for diabetes for as long as possible, maybe forever, if I can do so with exercise and diet. The current limitation is muscle strength. My legs run out of gas long before my lungs.....working on fixing that but it will take more time as I have just applied for my Social Security benefits.......the body does not seem as anxious as my brian to fix these problems.......

[igoeja]

Has either of you read the reports of studies that showed increased death rates among tightly-controlled Type II diabetics? Although researchers narrowed it down to a subset of people, it was not necessarily better to be tightly-controlled. On the flip side, there have been numerous reports of benefits from the use of Metformin, a long-standing stalwart of diabetes control. The best thing you can do for yourself and diabetes, is develop your insulin sensitivity and lose weight, to the point you are no longer considered diabetic, and in the process get off the BP and cholesterol meds.

BTW, I have Type I diabetes, diagnosed 34 years ago. Although different, I think I understand how tough it can be to deal with these issues, and how unrealistic it is to expect to reverse diabetes.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

[BoB/335]

If you've read the benefits of Metformin I'm sure you also read the side effects. So, it's better to be on Metformin and not tightly controlled than to be tightly controlled with exercise and diet???

[igoeja]

Two contradictory ideas simultaneously... They are both statistical relationships, and do not have to agree....they are both true for different reasons....