Diabetes

[galaxy]

Hi All.
Anyone who read mt first ever thread will know i have came back to cycling after a 20 = year lay off to help with my recent diagnoses.
With a mixture of medication, diet and cycling my blood sugars have reduced from 37 down to average of 4.2.
While this is down to a mixture of the above, cycling in my eyes have has been a huge help. With the other half we are now averaging 10 miles each ride, approx 5 times a week. Now the bum is used to the saddle we just keep enjoying our rides even more.
If anyone knows a Diabetic they would do well to try some cycling, we have only been pottering gently, as my race days are over and at most i just enjoy going for a ride.

 

[ScotiaLass]

That's great!
I too started cycling for health benefits and it's paying off for me with a total weight loss of over 3 stone so far, (another 4 or 5 to go!) improved stamina and fewer Fibromyalgia episodes. The arthritis in my neck and spine plays up but I take a painkiller and carry on riding!

Keep up the excellent work

 

[Bryony]

It is great for diabetics! I'm type one diabetic, I was diagnosed on my 12th birthday! Since taking up cycling I have been able to reduce my insulin doses, which is great!!

 

[galaxy]

Wow, thats good News Bryony.

 

[galaxy]

That's great!
I too started cycling for health benefits and it's paying off for me with a total weight loss of over 3 stone so far, (another 4 or 5 to go!) improved stamina and fewer Fibromyalgia episodes. The arthritis in my neck and spine plays up but I take a painkiller and carry on riding!

Keep up the excellent work

Thats intresting, my wife suffers with Fibromyalgia, be intresting to see if she improves.
Thats a excellent weight loss, well done.

 

[fossyant]

Are you a 1 or 2 Galaxy ? My lad is recently diagnosed Type 1 and his dose has been coming down as he keeps going hypo. Cycles to school everyday and does PE - so we've got to plan what he eats. Needs a good breakfast on PE days.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

I was also diagnosed with diabetes type 2 last February, since I went on the tablet plus being a bit more careful with the diet and cycling, I'm glad to say I have the diabetes under control. I check the sugar level in my urine every day and for the last 3 1/2 months it's been negative. When the weather is nice riding a bike brings me so much pleasure, it's a bonus the health benefits I think. For the last two months I've been riding an average of 100+ miles per week and it all seems so easy I also enjoy walking and running but I have to go easy on the running because of dodgy knees.

Diabetes seems to be on the news a lot lately, the number of people with diabetes has risen 3 times in the last year or so. My doctor tells me I have nothing to worry about if I continue living my life the way I'm doing now. Doctors on TV keep painting a very different picture and they almost say that at some point I should expect to go blind, have a limp amputated, heart attack or a stroke. I attended a workshop when I was first diagnosed and I think as long as I look after my diet, exercise and take my medicines I should stay clear of serious complications but maybe that is just my wishful thinking

The important thing is to realise that diabetes is a serious condition that requires changes in your way of life. I saw people at the workshop that didn't get the seriousness of the illness and weren't making any changes, my guess is that they are heading for serious trouble.

 

[fossyant]

How did your lad get on at the scout camp Fossy?

Great other that the BG meter playing up at midnight first night. He got it working and I went up first thing with new batteries and his spare monitor. We dropped his ratios too so he didn't go hypo.

 

[galaxy]

Glad to hear ypur coping well, diet and light exercise seems key to control.
I am type 2.

 

[Yorksman]

Cycling is excellent for control of type 2. It is one of the best exercises regimes. Firstly, it improves insulin sensitivity so, however bad your insulin production/response is, you make better use of what you do produce. Secondly, the effect on your blood lipid levels is noticable and it is the accumulation of certain lipids in the liver and, later, pancreas, which is what gave you type 2 in the first place. So, in addition to making more out of what you do produce, you can stop it getting worse, as long as don't compensate by eating more. Cyclists always seem very hungry and quick to snack.

 

[Monsieur]

I've bought a blood sugar tester and mines roughly 6.5 - anywhere near pre-diabetes?

 

[Rustybucket]

Hi All.
Anyone who read mt first ever thread will know i have came back to cycling after a 20 = year lay off to help with my recent diagnoses.
With a mixture of medication, diet and cycling my blood sugars have reduced from 37 down to average of 4.2.
While this is down to a mixture of the above, cycling in my eyes have has been a huge help. With the other half we are now averaging 10 miles each ride, approx 5 times a week. Now the bum is used to the saddle we just keep enjoying our rides even more.
If anyone knows a Diabetic they would do well to try some cycling, we have only been pottering gently, as my race days are over and at most i just enjoy going for a ride.

I agree - Im diabetic too (Type 1) and cycling has defiantly helped me. Was abit trial & error at the beginning getting my blood sugars at a decent level and not getting low everytime I went out. Glad to see you are doing well Galaxy!!!

 

[Yorksman]

I've bought a blood sugar tester and mines roughly 6.5 - anywhere near pre-diabetes?

Well BG levels are up and down all the time so it depends when it is 6.5. First thing in the mornings, it wants to be 6.0 or below and 2 hours after a meal, it wants to be below 7.8. The home test meters have a plus or minus 10% error though and, the blood sample from finger pricks isn't as good as blood from a vein. It's just a quick and easy cheap test. I have noticed over the months though that 30 mins will drop my levels two whole points. The glucose in your blood is your main fuel supply.

For most people, including type 2s not on medication, when your BG level drops much below 4.0. your liver converts various fatty acid stores and adds extra glucose to fuel your body. It doesn't however carefully measure it out. It literally dumps a whole lot on a 'that should keep you going' basis. Your insulin response is responsible for regulating it but the problem that many type 2s have is that the insulin response doesn't work properly.

If you are regularly arround 6.5 early in a morning, that is normally regarded as prediabetic, but it could just be meter error. However, even if it is prediabetes, watching what you eat will generally bring it back under control. Avoid highly refined flours and foods. It goes straight into the bloodstream.

 

[fossyant]

I'm lower than 5 in the morning - two recent blood tests. If you've tested any time after eating anything with carbs, even orange juice, you'll be higher. So keep an eye on it ! Watch your diet and exercise regular. You can do loads to lower BG. Pre-diabetic Type 2 !! Type 1 is worlds apart.

My son is a Type 1, so we have to keep his bloods a good way above 4. 4-8 is ideal. Below 4 and a Type 1 is hypo and needs a sugary snack, as well as a long acting carb.

 

[galaxy]

When i was diagnosed i was over 19 on both fasting bloods, with peaks of 35. Cant stress enough how cycling has helped.