Howdy from Atlanta, and Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!!!
I hope your holidays rocked! I am still off the bike due to hamstring strain. The first few days the split dose of Lantus continued to work, as I went a little higher day by day. But about 4-5 days into being off the bike, the split dose quit working, and I went high in night. It seems when I am not riding, I need that hit at night. As soon as I went back to a much heaver dose at night (10 units) then I was back to normal in the am. The other difference I noticed was that I was having to bolus a lot more for anything I ate. Diet was pretty simple. Fruits and salad for the most part, and some sushi. When I was training, I would bolus 1-1.5 units for the salad, and not go over 150 before coming back down. On Tuesday, I had to give a shot of 4 units. I think this further proves the value of exercise to both people with and without diabetes.
How is that? When I was exercising, and eating about 2000 calories a day, I was doing less than 20 units of insulin for the day (basal and bolus.)
Not training: eating a restricted diet, and doing appx 25 units of insulin total.
For the non-diabetic this would be very similar. Not exercising your body may produce 30 units throughout the course of the day to cover all of your food intake, but if you began to exercise 1 hour a day, you may be able to cut that # in half. Type 2 diabetes is essentially caused by using up all of your insulin (every one has a pre-set amount-genetics) too early. So if you can cut down the amount of insulin production by 33%, theoretically your pancreas will function that much longer. This is my theory, and I could be way off, but I think I am right.
There are currently 50 MILLION Americans with Pre-Diabetes- Just think if everyone hopped on a bike, or went to the gym, then we could cut that number in half, if not make it dissapear.
I am thankful for all of my family, my friends, my health. Do you know someone who would be thankful in 1 year that you pushed them to exercise today? Just a thought.
Going to try accupuncture tomorrow. Never done it, but I got some good news, and am extra motivated to train, and ensure good health. Riding is my biggest stress relief, and the thing I enjoy doing more than anything, and not doing it has been tough. I am eager and anxious to get back, so I can start saving money on insulin again...ha
Thanks for reading. Have a great holiday, and I appreciate all of your support for the Tour of California! Hopefully good news to share soon!!
Philpott
www.TeamType1.org
www.TeamType2.com Yes you read it right, please check it out. Exciting for 2009!!! site under construction!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
less exercise, more insulin...
Howdy,
Last week, I have had a minor set-back in a strained hamstring. I am going to see the doc again today, and will hopefully get clearance to train. It has now been 4 full days with no riding. I am thinking the strain may have been due to gym work, cold weather, riding a bit, who knows??
It hasn't been all bad, as I have made a lot of work progress, and had plenty to do. On Saturday, I flew out to San Diego in the morning, went straight to the TCOYD conference. It was a great event and I was thrilled to be there. I got to catch up with a lot of old friends, and meet some new ones too! Andy, Morgan, and I were at the event which had over 2000 attendees. We then attended the snack bar, and went to a great sushi restaurant with Eric, Jessica (of Sanofi) and Doug of Euro, who is in charge of the media team over there. He and his team have been a dream to work with.
After dinner, straight to the airport, and red-eye back. I slept the ENTIRE flight, which rarely happens.
What happens to the metabolism when you go from 2-5 hours of exercise a day (9 units of Lantus- and less than 10 of Apidra) to 0 hours of exercise?
More insulin is what happens. I had noticed that I was having to do a little more Apidra/carb than normal, and instead of a very slight drop in blood sugars, there was a very slight rise. This meant the metabolism was slowing quickly. Surprisingly though, I stuck to the 5 units of Lantus in the am, and 5 at night, and last night was the first time, where I started going high. It was mildly frustrating, and I had to do a lot more boluses than normal for the amount of food I was eating.
So this morning, I woke up at 6am at 198, did 3 units, went back to sleep, and then woke up at 8:45 at 109. Last week if I would have been 198 in the night, I would have done less than 1 unit, and woke up at 70. This morning I increased my basal to 6 units of Lantus, and I think I should be back on track. I was somewhat surprised that the very low basal rate lasted until Sunday night. I think it means my body is working well.
While I can't train, I am going to diet heavily. A friend labeled this "manorexia" which is fitting.
Here is the thing: We find out this week if we get into the Tour of California. I am really hoping we do, and think it would be a very big day for Team Type 1.
If we do get in, I will get to race against many riders who have won stages at the Tour de France, and many of the best riders in the world. I know to have a chance of success I have to be my best ever, which means getting the power to weight ratio as high as possible. 2 ways to do this.
One is to gain more power, which I will work hard on.
Two: lose weight.
Also working hard on this. If I can gain a little power, lose a little weight, then all will be good. If I were not planning on having a stellar year on the bike, I would be more than happy with where I am now. So please cross your fingers for us for the ToC, as that is one huge step to getting to the Tour de France by 2012.
Have a great day!
Philpott
www.TeamType1.org
Last week, I have had a minor set-back in a strained hamstring. I am going to see the doc again today, and will hopefully get clearance to train. It has now been 4 full days with no riding. I am thinking the strain may have been due to gym work, cold weather, riding a bit, who knows??
It hasn't been all bad, as I have made a lot of work progress, and had plenty to do. On Saturday, I flew out to San Diego in the morning, went straight to the TCOYD conference. It was a great event and I was thrilled to be there. I got to catch up with a lot of old friends, and meet some new ones too! Andy, Morgan, and I were at the event which had over 2000 attendees. We then attended the snack bar, and went to a great sushi restaurant with Eric, Jessica (of Sanofi) and Doug of Euro, who is in charge of the media team over there. He and his team have been a dream to work with.
After dinner, straight to the airport, and red-eye back. I slept the ENTIRE flight, which rarely happens.
What happens to the metabolism when you go from 2-5 hours of exercise a day (9 units of Lantus- and less than 10 of Apidra) to 0 hours of exercise?
More insulin is what happens. I had noticed that I was having to do a little more Apidra/carb than normal, and instead of a very slight drop in blood sugars, there was a very slight rise. This meant the metabolism was slowing quickly. Surprisingly though, I stuck to the 5 units of Lantus in the am, and 5 at night, and last night was the first time, where I started going high. It was mildly frustrating, and I had to do a lot more boluses than normal for the amount of food I was eating.
So this morning, I woke up at 6am at 198, did 3 units, went back to sleep, and then woke up at 8:45 at 109. Last week if I would have been 198 in the night, I would have done less than 1 unit, and woke up at 70. This morning I increased my basal to 6 units of Lantus, and I think I should be back on track. I was somewhat surprised that the very low basal rate lasted until Sunday night. I think it means my body is working well.
While I can't train, I am going to diet heavily. A friend labeled this "manorexia" which is fitting.
Here is the thing: We find out this week if we get into the Tour of California. I am really hoping we do, and think it would be a very big day for Team Type 1.
If we do get in, I will get to race against many riders who have won stages at the Tour de France, and many of the best riders in the world. I know to have a chance of success I have to be my best ever, which means getting the power to weight ratio as high as possible. 2 ways to do this.
One is to gain more power, which I will work hard on.
Two: lose weight.
Also working hard on this. If I can gain a little power, lose a little weight, then all will be good. If I were not planning on having a stellar year on the bike, I would be more than happy with where I am now. So please cross your fingers for us for the ToC, as that is one huge step to getting to the Tour de France by 2012.
Have a great day!
Philpott
www.TeamType1.org
Thursday, November 20, 2008
FreeStyle Navigator on a bike ride-diabetes tool
Howdy again,
Training has been going good as of late. I have my system pretty down now, and am enjoying life. I wanted to give a post not so much about the wacky basal rate changes, but more about an actual bike ride.
Yesterday, on the phone by 8am doing the usual. At 9:30 eat breakfast (2 packs of oatmeal) with 3 units of Apidra. Apparently I misjudged as I went up a bit, and had to do a correction of 2 units, which at 11am had me dropping. I think at one point I was 142 with an arrow straight down, so I snacked on some juice, had an apple, and leveled off at 107 by 11:15. I had a conference call set up for 12, and then planned to hit the bike for a 4 hour training day immediately after. At 11:45 I had 2 more packets of Oatmeal (no bolus,) or 60 gms of carbs, and the arrow began to go up. By the time I left the house at 12:15, I was at 148 with an arrow pointed slightly up.
Quick arrow definitions:
If it is going straight up or down, it means blood sugar is change at least 2 points per minute, sometimes more.
If it is at a 45 degree angle, then it is changing at 1 point per minute. Very helpful to plan ahead.
I knew I was going up. I set out on the ride with 3 almond bars, at 160 calories each, a banana, a cliff bar, Dex4, 1 bottle of water, and 1 Gatorade.
25 minutes into the ride I was 160, with no arrow. This meant that I was leveling off, and I was thinking I would either flat line, or begin to drop. 15 minutes later, I checked the Navigator, and I was at 148, so the drop had begun. I drank some water (fluid before food helps digestion) and then ate the banana. 1 hour into the ride, I was at 118, so I ate a almond bar. 20 minutes later, was at 111, so I ate another almond bar, this time with Gatorade in advance. I am not riding a real fast pace right now, so I am very comfortable riding with a blood sugars between 90-160. If I were racing, I would want them higher, say 130-180. At 1.5 hours I was at 99, with flat arrow, but noticing a slight downward trend. I ate my last almond bar (these things are really good!!!) drank some Gatorade, and I knew I would be good. I did not look at Navigator until about 2 hours 20 minutes into the ride, when it got to 91. I stopped as I needed fluids, got a coke, and Gatorade. I drank about half the coke (40 gms carbs) on the spot, and then put the rest in my bottles. I rode the rest of the way without looking. I knew I was good, felt good, and continued to take a coke/Gatorade mix in for the last 1-1.5hrs. Should have had more though, as when I got home I was 88 with an arrow pointed straight down.
The recovery process: 88 arrow straight down: Went straight for about 45 gms carb/15 gm protein from Chocolate milk, then put 162 gms of pasta on the stove. This is about 120 gms of carbs. I ate the pasta, and then bolused 5 units of Apidra. Blood sugar went up to 148 before dropping, and 1.5 hours after my ride I had some Dex4, and an apple which leveled me out, before grabbing sushi with my brother Jack at 7:30, or 2.5 hrs after my ride. Typical dose for sushi would have been 5 units, but I did 2, and blood sugar was great!
Before ride carb/insulin ratio seemed to be about 15/1, and after ride 30/1.
Exercise does make a difference.
Last night continued on my split dose Lantus, with a 4 unit bolus of Lantus at 10pm.
Then Southpark, and asleep by 10:35...
That is a very typical day, and how "my" body works for training. I hope this helps.
Have a great day.
Phil
Team Type 1
Training has been going good as of late. I have my system pretty down now, and am enjoying life. I wanted to give a post not so much about the wacky basal rate changes, but more about an actual bike ride.
Yesterday, on the phone by 8am doing the usual. At 9:30 eat breakfast (2 packs of oatmeal) with 3 units of Apidra. Apparently I misjudged as I went up a bit, and had to do a correction of 2 units, which at 11am had me dropping. I think at one point I was 142 with an arrow straight down, so I snacked on some juice, had an apple, and leveled off at 107 by 11:15. I had a conference call set up for 12, and then planned to hit the bike for a 4 hour training day immediately after. At 11:45 I had 2 more packets of Oatmeal (no bolus,) or 60 gms of carbs, and the arrow began to go up. By the time I left the house at 12:15, I was at 148 with an arrow pointed slightly up.
Quick arrow definitions:
If it is going straight up or down, it means blood sugar is change at least 2 points per minute, sometimes more.
If it is at a 45 degree angle, then it is changing at 1 point per minute. Very helpful to plan ahead.
I knew I was going up. I set out on the ride with 3 almond bars, at 160 calories each, a banana, a cliff bar, Dex4, 1 bottle of water, and 1 Gatorade.
25 minutes into the ride I was 160, with no arrow. This meant that I was leveling off, and I was thinking I would either flat line, or begin to drop. 15 minutes later, I checked the Navigator, and I was at 148, so the drop had begun. I drank some water (fluid before food helps digestion) and then ate the banana. 1 hour into the ride, I was at 118, so I ate a almond bar. 20 minutes later, was at 111, so I ate another almond bar, this time with Gatorade in advance. I am not riding a real fast pace right now, so I am very comfortable riding with a blood sugars between 90-160. If I were racing, I would want them higher, say 130-180. At 1.5 hours I was at 99, with flat arrow, but noticing a slight downward trend. I ate my last almond bar (these things are really good!!!) drank some Gatorade, and I knew I would be good. I did not look at Navigator until about 2 hours 20 minutes into the ride, when it got to 91. I stopped as I needed fluids, got a coke, and Gatorade. I drank about half the coke (40 gms carbs) on the spot, and then put the rest in my bottles. I rode the rest of the way without looking. I knew I was good, felt good, and continued to take a coke/Gatorade mix in for the last 1-1.5hrs. Should have had more though, as when I got home I was 88 with an arrow pointed straight down.
The recovery process: 88 arrow straight down: Went straight for about 45 gms carb/15 gm protein from Chocolate milk, then put 162 gms of pasta on the stove. This is about 120 gms of carbs. I ate the pasta, and then bolused 5 units of Apidra. Blood sugar went up to 148 before dropping, and 1.5 hours after my ride I had some Dex4, and an apple which leveled me out, before grabbing sushi with my brother Jack at 7:30, or 2.5 hrs after my ride. Typical dose for sushi would have been 5 units, but I did 2, and blood sugar was great!
Before ride carb/insulin ratio seemed to be about 15/1, and after ride 30/1.
Exercise does make a difference.
Last night continued on my split dose Lantus, with a 4 unit bolus of Lantus at 10pm.
Then Southpark, and asleep by 10:35...
That is a very typical day, and how "my" body works for training. I hope this helps.
Have a great day.
Phil
Team Type 1
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Platinum Baby!! a little diabetes stuff
Howdy again,
Platinum?? So today I hit the mark, 75,000 fly miles on Delta this year which is the mark to hit their Platinum status. I think I have been on 65 separate flights with them this year, and it gave me some time to reflect. What exactly do you do when on a plane this much. Let's look at some #'s: 65 flights with average of 1.5 hours on the runway per flight not counting fly time. =97.5 hours
Then 75,000 miles at 500mph = appx 150 hours of fly time.
Then time before check in: avg 1hr, and 45 minutes spent at airport after flight or 105 hours
for a grand estimated total of: 14.7 days spent at airports or on planes. Not factoring in delays, driving too, and from airport.
Which begs the question: What in the heck do you do? So I went and took a look at my book shelf, and counted 34 books read this year. Some great ones, some not so good ones, and some that just pass the time.
I really don't mind all of this fly time, as it does give me a chance to escape into the world of words. I have no contact with email/phone while flying, and I get to read, which I love to do. I am on book #35 right now, and kind of half-way reading 2 others, and have another 10 or so that I want to read before the year is out.
So I would say that if you tend to get stressed out when jumping on a plane, grab a book in the bookstore that every airport has. It really takes a lot of the stress out, and also makes it easier (for me) to fall asleep on the plane.
Now for diabetes... I am still splitting my doses of Lantus. Doing 5 in the am, and 4 at night. I didn't work out yesterday, and that was too little. Woke up a little elevated at 4 am, did a small correction and woke up at 78. Plan is to hit the gym, and then ride in the 45 degree weather, and will stick to 4 tonight thanks to the elevated metabolism.
Now, I know it seems like I make a lot of changes, but I think that is the bike racer in me doing it. If I did not change training every day, I would probably do the same amount of insulin give or take a few units of Apidra day after day. But when riding/racing a bike, you have to be on the lookout for new ways to improve, which is why I am always switching things up. It may seem from some of my last posts, that diabetes is the most complicated disease in the world (which it can be at times...) but to me I go by feel. I am CDE's worst nightmare, because I do not carb count, and I wing it every time. It just so happens that I can look at a plate of food and judge what I need, which I bet you can too.
My challenge to you: Before factoring carbs, correction, and bolus needed next time, take a guess at what you think you would do. Then compare to what the "real" calculations say. I would say you can probably do it by feel as well. At Camp Kudzu a few years ago, I worked with our clinician Susie Smith. She was cool with me not carb counting, and playing the guessing game, but she wanted to expirement. So I counted the carbs, told her what I ate, while giving the amount of insulin I thought I needed. It just so happened that 98% of camp I was on a carb/insulin ration of 18.75/1.
Internally I knew, and I bet you can too. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.
If you do this, please double check afterwards to ensure you did it right.
Thanks for reading!
Have a great day.
Philpott (yes, this is in fact my middle name. Thanks mom...)
www.teamtype1.org
Platinum?? So today I hit the mark, 75,000 fly miles on Delta this year which is the mark to hit their Platinum status. I think I have been on 65 separate flights with them this year, and it gave me some time to reflect. What exactly do you do when on a plane this much. Let's look at some #'s: 65 flights with average of 1.5 hours on the runway per flight not counting fly time. =97.5 hours
Then 75,000 miles at 500mph = appx 150 hours of fly time.
Then time before check in: avg 1hr, and 45 minutes spent at airport after flight or 105 hours
for a grand estimated total of: 14.7 days spent at airports or on planes. Not factoring in delays, driving too, and from airport.
Which begs the question: What in the heck do you do? So I went and took a look at my book shelf, and counted 34 books read this year. Some great ones, some not so good ones, and some that just pass the time.
I really don't mind all of this fly time, as it does give me a chance to escape into the world of words. I have no contact with email/phone while flying, and I get to read, which I love to do. I am on book #35 right now, and kind of half-way reading 2 others, and have another 10 or so that I want to read before the year is out.
So I would say that if you tend to get stressed out when jumping on a plane, grab a book in the bookstore that every airport has. It really takes a lot of the stress out, and also makes it easier (for me) to fall asleep on the plane.
Now for diabetes... I am still splitting my doses of Lantus. Doing 5 in the am, and 4 at night. I didn't work out yesterday, and that was too little. Woke up a little elevated at 4 am, did a small correction and woke up at 78. Plan is to hit the gym, and then ride in the 45 degree weather, and will stick to 4 tonight thanks to the elevated metabolism.
Now, I know it seems like I make a lot of changes, but I think that is the bike racer in me doing it. If I did not change training every day, I would probably do the same amount of insulin give or take a few units of Apidra day after day. But when riding/racing a bike, you have to be on the lookout for new ways to improve, which is why I am always switching things up. It may seem from some of my last posts, that diabetes is the most complicated disease in the world (which it can be at times...) but to me I go by feel. I am CDE's worst nightmare, because I do not carb count, and I wing it every time. It just so happens that I can look at a plate of food and judge what I need, which I bet you can too.
My challenge to you: Before factoring carbs, correction, and bolus needed next time, take a guess at what you think you would do. Then compare to what the "real" calculations say. I would say you can probably do it by feel as well. At Camp Kudzu a few years ago, I worked with our clinician Susie Smith. She was cool with me not carb counting, and playing the guessing game, but she wanted to expirement. So I counted the carbs, told her what I ate, while giving the amount of insulin I thought I needed. It just so happened that 98% of camp I was on a carb/insulin ration of 18.75/1.
Internally I knew, and I bet you can too. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.
If you do this, please double check afterwards to ensure you did it right.
Thanks for reading!
Have a great day.
Philpott (yes, this is in fact my middle name. Thanks mom...)
www.teamtype1.org
Sunday, November 16, 2008
split dose basal- Diabetes game again...
Howdy from Atlanta,
I like saying "from Atlanta!!!" As of tomorrow night, it will be 2 full weeks, yes 14 days that I have not stepped on an airplane. I believe this is the single longest stretch since mid February, and it rocks. It is good to be home, see friends, and have a semblance of a schedule. Life is good, and biking is great!!
So last time, I think I made the cut to 9 units Lantus. That was a bit too much still for the early part of the night, but a touch too little for the night. When my metabolism is going, it goes, and a bigger dose almost feels like rapid acting insulin plus. So about 4 am, I saw 155 with an arrow trending up, did a .5 unit of Apidra, and woke up at 80. I decided it was time (thanks Dr. Howard Zisser) to go to split dose. I did 3 units the next morning, and had a good day. Friday was I able to train for 2 hrs, and felt decent. Then Friday night, laid low, and did 6 units for a total of 9 units of basal. Had to eat extra at night due to the pop. Saturday went for 4 units in the am, had a big bowl of oatmeal, with no bolus, and then hit the road for 4.5 hours. Got lost, which added the extra hour. Blood sugar went up to 220 in the early part of the ride, but 2 hours in I began dropping, and eating. Stabalized at 110, and kept eating and eating. Got home with a bg of 77, did 5 units Apidra, and had 160 gms of carbs (pasta and chocolate milk) and 40 gms protein. After 1 hour, I began to drop again, so ate some fruit. Dinner consisted of a salad, fruit, and steak.
Last night I went to 5 units, still having the 9 units of basal, but thanks to the split dose, I have had no hypo's. This morning, it was 5 units of Lantus, and tonight I will do 3-4. It has been a slow transition, but I think I have finally found the sweet spot. Curious to see if with the split dose, my basal will decrease much more??? The lowest I have ever gotten was 6 units of Lantus split 3 in am, 3u pm.
Today is another 4 hour day on the bike, and tomorrow a day off! Time to get dressed, and see if I guessed right today!
I hope all is well.
Have a great day.
Philpott
www.teamtype1.org
I like saying "from Atlanta!!!" As of tomorrow night, it will be 2 full weeks, yes 14 days that I have not stepped on an airplane. I believe this is the single longest stretch since mid February, and it rocks. It is good to be home, see friends, and have a semblance of a schedule. Life is good, and biking is great!!
So last time, I think I made the cut to 9 units Lantus. That was a bit too much still for the early part of the night, but a touch too little for the night. When my metabolism is going, it goes, and a bigger dose almost feels like rapid acting insulin plus. So about 4 am, I saw 155 with an arrow trending up, did a .5 unit of Apidra, and woke up at 80. I decided it was time (thanks Dr. Howard Zisser) to go to split dose. I did 3 units the next morning, and had a good day. Friday was I able to train for 2 hrs, and felt decent. Then Friday night, laid low, and did 6 units for a total of 9 units of basal. Had to eat extra at night due to the pop. Saturday went for 4 units in the am, had a big bowl of oatmeal, with no bolus, and then hit the road for 4.5 hours. Got lost, which added the extra hour. Blood sugar went up to 220 in the early part of the ride, but 2 hours in I began dropping, and eating. Stabalized at 110, and kept eating and eating. Got home with a bg of 77, did 5 units Apidra, and had 160 gms of carbs (pasta and chocolate milk) and 40 gms protein. After 1 hour, I began to drop again, so ate some fruit. Dinner consisted of a salad, fruit, and steak.
Last night I went to 5 units, still having the 9 units of basal, but thanks to the split dose, I have had no hypo's. This morning, it was 5 units of Lantus, and tonight I will do 3-4. It has been a slow transition, but I think I have finally found the sweet spot. Curious to see if with the split dose, my basal will decrease much more??? The lowest I have ever gotten was 6 units of Lantus split 3 in am, 3u pm.
Today is another 4 hour day on the bike, and tomorrow a day off! Time to get dressed, and see if I guessed right today!
I hope all is well.
Have a great day.
Philpott
www.teamtype1.org
Thursday, November 13, 2008
diabetes daily dose... a tiny rant too
Howdy again,
I think I have now posted more in last 3-4 days, than in the last 3-4 months. It is fun being at home, with a schedule, and having time to think for myself vs always being on the run.
Sometimes thinking is not so good though. Since I had been cutting my Lantus doses way down, I have not been feeling great on the bike. This could mean one of two things:
1. I am tired from the training, and am in an adaptation phase
2. Not doing enough insulin, so muscles are not getting fueled.
So I sent an email to my buddy Howard Zisser, who is one of leading diabetes researchers in new technology in the US. A brilliant guy, even though he is a gator fan...ha Howard said that you should do 1/4 unit per kilo of body weight. I am at 64 kilos, so one would guess that I should be doing 16 units of Lantus as my basal. I explained that I was doing much less, and he said numbers should run high. I responded that #'s are as good as ever, and in fact my 21 day average is 101 (on a continuous basis!) That is better than most non-diabetics.
Needless to say, I figured I try to give a little more. Last night, I was in a heated debate with myself between 9 and 10 units. I had did 10 the night before, and woke up perfect at 78, but had also ridden 3 hours (55 miles) yesterday. I decided to eat a little extra at night, adn go for 10. WRONG answer. Should have done 9. I woke up a bit on the low side, and had a lighter day of training today. I did a 2 mile run, 1 hour in the gym, and 45 minutes on the bike, and my legs felt ok. So tonight I am going to cut to 9 units, and I think I should be good. No debate, the decision is made.
I really do appreciate the comments. Mike I am glad that this has helped. There are always 2 ways to look at everything. I could look at these decisions I have to make, and always looking at my FreeStlye Navigator, wondering how much Lantus, or Apidra (Rapid Acting Insulin-very fast) and say poor me. But as of now, I cannot control the fact that I have diabetes, so I have decided to emrace it with open arms, and use these learning experiences to be better tomorrow than I was today. I do have highs, and I do have lows. Impossible to avoid all the time. But with a conscience effort, I am able to control diabetes, not the other way around. It is fun for me, and I hope it always will be. I hope that Team Type 1 can help people with and without diabetes to embrace your challenge, overcome it, and be better tomorrow thanks to the work you did today.
Thanks for listening to my rant. Any questions, please let me know, and I will try to answer.
Have a great day.
Philpott
Team Type 1
www.teamtype1.org
I think I have now posted more in last 3-4 days, than in the last 3-4 months. It is fun being at home, with a schedule, and having time to think for myself vs always being on the run.
Sometimes thinking is not so good though. Since I had been cutting my Lantus doses way down, I have not been feeling great on the bike. This could mean one of two things:
1. I am tired from the training, and am in an adaptation phase
2. Not doing enough insulin, so muscles are not getting fueled.
So I sent an email to my buddy Howard Zisser, who is one of leading diabetes researchers in new technology in the US. A brilliant guy, even though he is a gator fan...ha Howard said that you should do 1/4 unit per kilo of body weight. I am at 64 kilos, so one would guess that I should be doing 16 units of Lantus as my basal. I explained that I was doing much less, and he said numbers should run high. I responded that #'s are as good as ever, and in fact my 21 day average is 101 (on a continuous basis!) That is better than most non-diabetics.
Needless to say, I figured I try to give a little more. Last night, I was in a heated debate with myself between 9 and 10 units. I had did 10 the night before, and woke up perfect at 78, but had also ridden 3 hours (55 miles) yesterday. I decided to eat a little extra at night, adn go for 10. WRONG answer. Should have done 9. I woke up a bit on the low side, and had a lighter day of training today. I did a 2 mile run, 1 hour in the gym, and 45 minutes on the bike, and my legs felt ok. So tonight I am going to cut to 9 units, and I think I should be good. No debate, the decision is made.
I really do appreciate the comments. Mike I am glad that this has helped. There are always 2 ways to look at everything. I could look at these decisions I have to make, and always looking at my FreeStlye Navigator, wondering how much Lantus, or Apidra (Rapid Acting Insulin-very fast) and say poor me. But as of now, I cannot control the fact that I have diabetes, so I have decided to emrace it with open arms, and use these learning experiences to be better tomorrow than I was today. I do have highs, and I do have lows. Impossible to avoid all the time. But with a conscience effort, I am able to control diabetes, not the other way around. It is fun for me, and I hope it always will be. I hope that Team Type 1 can help people with and without diabetes to embrace your challenge, overcome it, and be better tomorrow thanks to the work you did today.
Thanks for listening to my rant. Any questions, please let me know, and I will try to answer.
Have a great day.
Philpott
Team Type 1
www.teamtype1.org
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Insulin guessing game- diabetes is fun...
Howdy again,
On a roll now... So yesterday was a day off. Having backed Lantus down to 9 on Sunday, was great for Monday am. Woke up with perfect BG, but as the day wore on, and I was inactive, it became apparent that I needed more basal. I had my usual salad, chicken, fruit during the day, and then had a salad with fruit for dinner. If it was Saturday or Sunday, I would have bolused 1 unit of Apidra for the Salad, but knowing I took the day off, I went for 3 units, and my blood sugar...
skyrocketed!!! So I ended up doing an additional 4 units, and new the metabolism had slowed. Instead of just going to 10 units for Lantus, I decided to make the jump to 11 units. This was a bit of an overkill, and I touched on the low end in the am. I think 10 units would have been wiser.
Today, I woke up, ate, went to the gym, ran for 15 minutes, worked out, then came home ate some oatmeal, and out on the bike for 1 hour. Felt really tired for a while, then halfway through, the legs woke up and life was good. Looking forward to a 3+ hour ride tomorrow...
So tonight, what should I do??? I am thinking 10 units initially, but then again, if 10 would have been perfect last night, and I did jump start the metabolism with gym/riding, then maybe I should go back to 9 units of Lantus. I am undecided at this point, and will make the call depending on the trend at 9:30-10:30pm. Let's see how I react to the salad tonight.
Thanks for reading, and if you have any specific questions I could address, please feel free to comment, and I will try to get to them.
Have a great day!
Philpott
On a roll now... So yesterday was a day off. Having backed Lantus down to 9 on Sunday, was great for Monday am. Woke up with perfect BG, but as the day wore on, and I was inactive, it became apparent that I needed more basal. I had my usual salad, chicken, fruit during the day, and then had a salad with fruit for dinner. If it was Saturday or Sunday, I would have bolused 1 unit of Apidra for the Salad, but knowing I took the day off, I went for 3 units, and my blood sugar...
skyrocketed!!! So I ended up doing an additional 4 units, and new the metabolism had slowed. Instead of just going to 10 units for Lantus, I decided to make the jump to 11 units. This was a bit of an overkill, and I touched on the low end in the am. I think 10 units would have been wiser.
Today, I woke up, ate, went to the gym, ran for 15 minutes, worked out, then came home ate some oatmeal, and out on the bike for 1 hour. Felt really tired for a while, then halfway through, the legs woke up and life was good. Looking forward to a 3+ hour ride tomorrow...
So tonight, what should I do??? I am thinking 10 units initially, but then again, if 10 would have been perfect last night, and I did jump start the metabolism with gym/riding, then maybe I should go back to 9 units of Lantus. I am undecided at this point, and will make the call depending on the trend at 9:30-10:30pm. Let's see how I react to the salad tonight.
Thanks for reading, and if you have any specific questions I could address, please feel free to comment, and I will try to get to them.
Have a great day!
Philpott
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