Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • Diabetes and cycling
  • O
    Free Member

    hello,

    I'm an insulin dependent diabetic (2 and a bit years), and I'm getting back into cycling, MTB and road.

    Seems like there's a few other riders with experience/know someone with diabetes, so I was wondering what food/gels/drinks you use to avoid drops in blood sugar?

    I've found that sipping a carb drink on the road bike keeps me topped up, but I've been a bit wary about using them in a camelbak due to the faff of cleaning them.

    Also, do you ride on your own much?

    So, any practical tips on eating/drinking before/during/after?

    MrTall
    Free Member

    There are quite a few diabetics on here so somebody should be along shortly to give better advice than me….

    I was diagnosed type 1 in January (aged 37) but my 'honeymoon period' kicked in shortly afterwards so at the moment i don't have to inject at all but just monitor my blood sugar levels everyday until they start to rise again and i have to go back to insulin. (I think i've been pretty lucky to get the 6 'bonus' months so far – long may it continue).

    My riding buddy is a lifelong diabetic and uses High 5 in his camelbak and stops a couple of times a ride to check his levels (although sometimes not at all if he feels fine). I personally prefer water in my pack but have an energy drink in my bottle cage to take regular sips from.

    With regards to riding on your own, i have to admit it's a concern for me (or will be in the future) but if you are sensible in your approach and know the signs of your own hypos then you should be fine. Would be smart to tell somebody of your intended route and ETA though, and also have something with you that shows you are diabetic should you have an accident or diabetic episode.

    Same process as pretty much anything really – preparation is the key – diabetes should not stop us doing anything – it's just a pain to have to prepare for any eventuality that non diabetics don't have to worry about. Can't wait for mine to start again….. 🙁

    Edit – The 'Runsweet' website is also very good for all types of exercise – loads of info on there.

    votchy
    Free Member

    I am MrTall's riding buddy, be back in a bit to post something worthwhile.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    O
    Free Member

    Cheers, be interested to hear what you do votchy

    P20
    Full Member

    I asked a year ago for a mate, some useful replies:
    http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/diabetic-trail-food
    Hope that helps

    votchy
    Free Member

    First off, I am on an insulin pump, something that has revolutionised my life and the way I have to or can manage my diabetes. Would thoroughly recommend pump therapy for everyone (my eldest son is also on pump therapy and he is much better for it).

    anyway, for me I reduce my basal rate by 50% 2 hours before I ride and maintain this until the end of the ride (typically 3hrs). As soon as I finish I revert back to my normal basal rate. During the ride I tend to drink between 1.5 and 2.5 litres of drink. I use SIS electrolyte mixed at 60% to which I add an extra litre of water, takes 2 mins to clean camelbak, empty, half fill with hot water, shake about and force through tube, empty and leave to dry or alternatively empty and fully fill with hot water and leave til next ride. If I need any extra carbs during the ride I have 4 jelly babies at a time. as stated above I only usually test if something feels wrong, I have fairly good hypo awareness so am not worried about an accident due to hypo. After the ride I eat and bolus as normal until I go to bed, I then reduce my basal by 40% overnight to allow for recovery.
    This may seem a bit gobbledygook if you are on injections but the basis is you will need a reduced amount of insulin for the carbs you take on when riding. When I was injecting and riding I never managed to get a good balance and regularly went hypo or hyper, you will need to test at least hourly while you are first getting back in to it to see how you react, you will probably find a difference between road and mtb due to the different amounts of aerobic and anaerobic exercise (if I ride on the road I only reduce my basal rate by 25% as I am working more aerobically so hence not burning as many carbs).
    Enrol the help of both your diabetes specialist nurse and the dietician (or whatever they are now called) as my dietician has attended seminars given by olympic level athletes who are also type 1 diabetics, information and knowledge that many dieticians (in my experience) have not had so have not been much help to me.
    As stated above, I have good hypo awareness so regularly ride on my own and have done so on rides up to 5hrs (albeit all within 15 miles of home), however I always let my wife know where I am going and roughly how long I will be, always carry test kit and hypo treatment and always carry identification detailling my diabetes. In 6 years of riding I have only once had to be helped home due to my diabetes.
    E-mail is in profile, feel free to mail any further questions you may have.

    Good luck

    Mark

    O
    Free Member

    Thanks everyone, STW search function is a bit shonky so hadn't seen your thread P20.

    Votchy, my control is generally OK so I hadn't really thought about pumps, for some reason I thought they'd be worse for control if you're active (note in true STW style this is based on something I just thought, not fact).

    I know that there's a lot of people with diabetes who carry on with sport quite happily, so it's interesting to hear peoples routine – although I know that works for some won't work for others

    PJM1974
    Free Member

    Hi O,

    I'm PJM's girlfriend – he's given me permission to log on because he can't reply from work…

    Anyway, one of my 12 year old twin boys is Type 1 Diabetic, diagnosed in March this year. We've found that MTBing tends to keep his levels really well in check. He's on injections and we simply test before we go out and if necessary he'll have a cereal bar then just to keep him going. He carries his testing kit on him in a camelbak and a hypo kit. We also all carry additional lucozade or dextrose tablets and cereal bars in our bags too.
    We tend to test when we stop unless he feels hypo and so far that's worked – in fact I don't think he's ever been hypo while biking yet.

    A couple of weeks back we were in West Yorkshire and we did half of the red route at Gisburn – he did brilliantly apart from the daunting stone staircase which his twin brother had just bombed down!
    I however was found crying in a large puddle next to a bit of North Shore – this is usual for me – the crying over NS – not the puddle, that was caused by the rain!

    Heidi

    missingfrontallobe
    Free Member

    O, insulin pump therapy would really be the insulin therapy of choice for a very active person as Votchy says above it is almost the ultimate in control, but the ultimate will be closed loop pumps when they arrive – worn in conjunction with a subcutaneous glucose monitor the technology is under development to mean the pump works with the monitor etc – still a little way off, but semi closed loop pumps that turn off if a person is hypo are out there now. Much less used in T2 DM than T1 DM, you might struggle to get the appropriate funding secured.

    What treatment are you on, have you progressed to insulin or are you still on oral hypoglycaemic agents? For T2 it's a balance between maintaining an adequate carb intake without excessive calorie intake, and preventing hypoglycaemia whilst maintaining control at a good level to prevent long term complications.

    datsunman
    Full Member

    I'm similar to Votchy, been diabetic for 28 years and been on a pump for 2 now. Ride both mtb and road. FWIW I would fight to keep my pump, wouldn't live without it now. It's great. 😀

    Unlike Votchy I don't use energy drink at all, I tend to use water and Nuun instead and take a variety of food with me. There's no real reason for this, just prefer it that way.

    I actually find I need to lower my basal more on the road than I do on the mtb, so like most say, test, test and test again to see how you react. When I first got my pump I jumped on the turbo trainer and tested every 20 mins for two hours to see what was happening. Probably a little overkill, but hey, it worked!

    Good luck, mail in profile if you ever want to ask anything.
    Dan

    O
    Free Member

    Interesting to hear people's experience of pumps.

    Currently on a combo of metformin, novorapid insulin and levimir insulin. Think my main thing about pumps (again based on no facts at all) was that its a technological solution with the potential to go wrong – where as injections are low tech with less potential to go wrong up a hill somewhere?

    I'm pretty good at spotting hypos, I think having spent a while cycling and running meant that I could tell the difference between being a bit hungry and bonking.

    I found that when running if I had a dextrose tablet every 20 mins it kept my blood level, but cycling has been a bit more up and down. Will keep trying though 8)

    doctornickriviera
    Free Member

    your lucky to get an insulin pump. Cant get them in our local hospital as the trust wont employ enough dieticians for education on carb counting etc.

    as said before runsweet.com

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    Been diabetic for almost 34 years now (16 more until I get the chocolate medal for long service!!!) and I'm pretty active but don't use a pump – 5 injections a day and it works well for me…the pump does sound a good idea but personally I've not seen a problem with injections so haven't pursued it (to be honest the thought of being wired 24/7 to a machine doesn't sit well with me for some reason).

    Jelly babies are my secret – 1 every 10 minutes if you can or 3 every half hour (don't go overboard the secret is to keep yourself topped up not carrying extra just in case). I don't do energy drinks as I don't like the taste but plenty of water and spare supplies of food.

    Let your riding buddies know what to do and just go and do it…check your blood before you go out and take some extra if you are a bit lower than expected but don't worry too much about it.

    Welcome to the club, it used to be a real select few who were in it but it appears they let anyone in these days (which is a shame!).

    Suspect Votchy is the best source for advice but feel free to email if you want.

    househusband
    Free Member

    …to be honest the thought of being wired 24/7 to a machine doesn't sit well with me for some reason…

    Ditto – I'd find it a bit invasive having a small needle/catheter permanently attached. But am open to hear how others get on with pumps.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

The topic ‘Diabetes and cycling’ is closed to new replies.