Very active and newly diabetic...where do I begin?

Hi all,

I was diagnosed as a T1 diabetic two days ago. I'm 34 years old and I'm a vegan athlete. I've played roller derby for 5 years now, and I'm on the all star team. Up until this diagnosis, I was on skates 10 to 15 hours a week. I ate quite a bit before as I consider myself an athlete and wanted to ensure I was fueling enough for my training schedule.

Now that I'm diabetic, I don't even know where to begin! I won't be working out for about two weeks, to stabilize. But what happens when I'm ready to go back to skating? Our practices can be three hours long. Do I try to begin workouts with a higher blood sugar? Help!

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Permalink Reply by Janie G on December 19, 2011 at 2:13pm

Donna, this is really great information! It's good to hear from someone else who is new at this. It seems so overwhelming! I did go skate yesterday for a couple hours, but I was really taking it easy...not my usual punishing pace. It felt great. I drove my BS up a bit beforehand and surprisingly, it continued to rise throughout my workout. I'm not skating the next few weeks, so I'm going to take that time to experiment with running, to see what my body does with varying levels of exertion.

And I'm thinking that once my body recovers a bit (and stabilizes) I'll be feeling tons better while skating. I can't wait for that. The past month has be SO exhausting!

I can't wait til it's second nature too. I was so paranoid about getting a low during practice that I brought a veritable feast for my first workout back...and tested every chance I got! It may have been overkill, but it gave me piece of mind. It's crazy, I play roller derby and get knocked around quite a bit, but I think this diagnosis makes me feel a bit more fragile. I'm looking forward to overcoming that feeling.

Thanks again!
Janie

Permalink Reply by anotherbattlewon on December 19, 2011 at 7:22pm

My first Krav workout, I think I tested about four times - I wasn't sure what was muscle fatigue and what was low sugar level. Now I'm much more comfortable with it. I work out HARD and that's when I see the levels drop. I think it helps keep me stay within my range too. I am on a low dose of insulin and mostly control it with diet and intense exercise. I can usually tell when I've reached a level of exercise that is good for me - I sweat like it's summer time! If I don't break a good sweat, levels aren't going to change much. I keep a one carb snack handy. I quickly discovered that when levels drop too low I am tempted to stuff my face with too much. Eat one carb and wait 15 minutes...if you need more, do it again. Taking in too many too quickly can send your levels up too high. But you probably already know this.
Like I said, I'm new at this - but I plan on staying active for a long long time. You'll find me running a marathon when I'm 90 if I have anything to do with it. ;)

Permalink Reply by Amy on December 28, 2011 at 9:09am

Hi Janie,
I had trouble controlling sugars in my triathlons and it took me a while to figure things out. So here is what I know: 1. gatoraide and poweraide are too sugary. I used GU and Hammer products. They are carb based and have all the nutrients and salt you need just not the sugar. I ate 1 Gu Gel before a race - then one every 45 min and ate something after.
2. Watch your sugars closely the day after - I always lowered my insulin the day after just for that day so that I wouldn't crash.
3. You can absolutely keep up your activity - you just need to figure out what the signs are when you are low while exersicing. I used my practice runs to do that so that during races I knew what to expect and when a sypmtom happened I could eat to correct for it. Jelly beans are easy to eat while running if you are low so I suspect they will be easy enough skating too.
4. Since you are a new diabetic and an athlete I would recommend seeing a dietician just to sort out what to eat and ask for a sports dietician specifically - they will understand your needs better. I loved mine - she was great. I considered her as important as my Endo.
5. what worked best for me was to start a race with my blood sugar at 12 - a bit high I know but any lower and I would have problems. Starting at 12mmol or a little higher worked best (for my American buddies normal is between 4 and 7mmol not sure how it would work with your system)
6. You are diabetic - but that doesn't mean you can't do something - you can do anything in the world, go anywhere, just remeber to check your sugars and continue on your way. I'm 34 and was diagnosed at age 5 - trust me you will be fine. Ask any questions any time - that's what this forum is all about.
HUGS!!