What’s New (The Preview)

A few items:

1.  Recently someone told me how they find it easier to manage diabetes without working out.  Exercise makes their BGs bounce around.  I agree with the bouncing.  I get it.  Where I disagree though (and I can only speak for myself), is exercise makes your body and mind stronger.  Exercise keeps your blood pumping and I LOVE, love, LOVE that I have a strong pulse in my extremities.  Exercise is a good stress reliever (even if I stress about my blood glucose levels while I exercise).  And the most important part for me (currently), is there are days when I feel like I have zero control in oh so very many areas of my life (sometimes read: ALL AREAS).  Exercise is O N E area where I have some say… making the time, making exercise goals, achieving a goal.  My “mantra” (thanks Stacey for reminding me) is Do Good, Feel Good.  I think when it comes to exercise, this applies to one’s own body too:

Do Good For Yourself, Feel Good About Yourself.

Now when it comes to the BG bouncing, I get it.  Saturday is my JDRF Jamaica, Queens bike ride.  I believe I am getting a loaner bike.  Yep, 20 miles in an area I have never been on a loaner bike (I hope it’s not a beach cruiser… I’ve heard they are not ideal… ha).  Tonight I rode again at the gym.  I played around with the screen and ended up with some sort of video of a path in a Northern “pocket” of California (pocket was their video screen word, not mine).  The video kept changing.  It may have made me nauseous.  I believe the videos are for running because the path turned to sand on the beach right up against crashing waves.  Biking in the sand?  That “may” be out of my reach.  Then I became the smirking girl on the bike.  Could be worse.  I am far from riding in the woods on paths of roots and dirt as learned when I wanted to hit the breaks before the log going across a creek… yikes.

The photos below are what happens when you take pics from a moving vehicle…. oh, wait, I was on stationary bike.  You are viewing paths (and a log I had to dodge) and a Dexcom screen.  What you can barely see is the Dexcom down angle arrow and a BG of 128.

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I had reduced my basal by 40% for 30 minutes which started 10 minutes pre-workout.  I thought it was a HUGE success when I finally stopped dropping at 82 YAY!

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I made dinner, and after bolusing and eating, I started dropping again.  Bummer.  And then treating a low after I JUST had eaten was less than ideal, BUT every workout isn’t like this and hopefully Saturday will be a smoother ride.  Get it?  Ride?  Bikes?

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2.  I love seeing and hearing so much publicity around Miss Idaho.  Rock on Sierra and #showmeyourpump  Out of all the mainstream press I’ve seen though, this article from Bustle is my fave (EXCEPT the part that describes an insulin pump as “an aid that controls her diabetes”… oh how I wish that was true…. but more on THAT on THURSDAY).  Would “Helps” Control, make it better?

3.  I’ve gotten a lot of information about this whole putting your Dexcom on the Cloud stuff (cool pics ).  I haven’t looked much into it for 2 reasons: 1. Time is a little tight right now and 2. There is no one in my life who would want/need/be aided by seeing my Dexcom readings in real time.  I will say though, I can see how this is immensely helpful to parents of T1D kiddos and like Kerri said, her husband and Mom can check on her when she or they are away.  At some point, I will look into this further (although I suspect/expect this to be COMPLETELY over my head since I can’t even delete emails off an iPhone… they just keep coming back).  Having my Dexcom readings on my wrist or phone would be cool.  There is a fascinating Facebook group for this technology CGM in the Cloud . Cool right?

4.  I caught this earlier tonight (post bike ride lows).  Dating and Diabetes.  I have spent a solid year avoiding this topic.  I feel my stories could be discouraging and I want to encourage, not discourage… and then I feel incredibly torn on the entire topic, my feelings and my experiences.  Sigh.  Briley at InDpendence tackled it a bit tonight.  I truly applaud her bravery.

5.  I had a #5 item but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was #OldAndTired

 

 

 

 

19 thoughts on “What’s New (The Preview)

  1. There are definitely other stories that could fit into the dating category, but will not show up on the blog, so please don’t think that I am completely brave! However, I figured that if I could write about dating in a book, I could probably do it on my blog as well. As much as this is what I hate writing, I truly hope that I can help someone.

  2. Re #3: I totally understand… I like to keep my stuff private, and I’m not sure who I’d “trust” with access to that info 24/7. There’s something to be said for it, especially living alone (I had two 911-grade lows overnight when I lived alone), but it would be hard to accept that kind of scrutiny (and judgment, and unsolicited advice) from mom. Then again, it wasn’t an option for me at the time.

    Re #5: I woke up this morning with the first line of Mother’s Little Helper by the Beatles going through my head over and over. (“What a drag it is – getting old.”) You and I think alike.

  3. I have a tough time controlling blood sugars while exercising too, I bounce around just as well. I find that carbing up a bit before going out on a run helps. Like you, I think that the benefits of being strong in body and getting the heart pumping outweighs the cost of dealing with a couple hours of bouncing around. I also find that my blood sugars are easier to control overall when I’m exercising regularly. I had to stop for a week and a half while recovering my knee and my sugars went through the roof!

  4. Check! Yes, exercise does mess things up in the short term, but good in the long term. Sometimes it’s hard for me to see the long term…It would be interesting to discuss the CGM cloud stuff in reference to those of us living alone and how this could put some minds at ease…(like my mom’s).

  5. I truly believe that exercise is what has kept me healthy through my 37 yrs of T1. I find that exercise that I am used to is somewhat easy to figure out (most of the time), but new activities really muck things up. The pump and Dexcom really make it possible to keep adjusting. I’ll be thinking of you on Saturday! Check!

  6. For me, I think once I get over the original hurdle of figuring things out, regular exercise definitely makes things smoother. What I mean to say is, blood sugar smooth out and I suspect my body uses my insulin better.

    #dblogcheck

  7. I can definitely relate to the blood sugars bouncing around because of exercise, but like you said, it’s so good for so many reasons! Good luck on Saturday!!

  8. What a wonderful idea to number topics and briefly cover them! I often skip out on wiring about something because I can’t figure out a good way to introduce it or transition to it. I am going to borrow your technique! Thank you for writing and you’re a rockstar. <3

  9. I like the picture of “4 simple rules”. I should print it and post it to my bathroom mirror, and my phone. I feel so much better after taking a walk in the mornings, just getting up at 5:30am when my head hit the pillow at 1am is extremely difficult.

    You’ll do great on your bike ride Saturday!!

  10. I’m kinda where you are on #3. At this point I think I’d take the plunge/leap just to see if I could do it. I need to do some more research before I make a somewhat-final decision. #check

  11. Check! Exercise is tough to manage, but you’re right that it’s essential. I, too, dislike when the news gives diabetes devices more agency than they really have (which is very little, most of the time. It’s on us).

What do you think?