I was diagnosis in my early 70"s very active and excellent shape and physical condition. what a shock, no blood pressure problems but do have typical Type One symptons. Had my first bout with EMT’s middle of the night. typically I catch my lows, but this time I was not able. Thankfully my wife called 911 - and they got me back. I’m still an active dude. would love to have someone to discuss this with that has been there or that understands.
thanks John
@johnoakes hi John
Type 1 doesn’t care what your diet or exercise regimen was and it doesn’t care what your family history is. You can get diagnosed right up until the day you die.
You got a whole community here to talk to. Glad to hear you got through that tough spot ok. If you have a question or comment then by all means go ahead. If you don’t then Welcome to the TypeOneNation community and the club no one wants to be in!
Hi John,
I was recently diagnosed with T1D at 26. While I wasn’t as old as you, I, too, was in complete shock. I always thought you got T1D at a younger age; however, I have learned it’s an auto immune disease so it can happen at anytime. My brother has an auto immune disease so they think there might be a connection. I’m also active so hearing this was difficult because you always have to check and make sure your sugar is at a level where you can workout.
Meghan
Hi John,
To use the old cliche, “it takes one to know one”. I did a posting about a month ago. I’m 75 and just became a Type 1 in Sept 2018 as a result of a side effect of Keytruda immune therapy. I like you am “very active and excellent shape and physical condition”. Exercise 2 solid hours seven days a week. Have also been experiencing hypoglycemia. So far fortunately have been able to catch it. This morning had it at 0300.
Found that being active with cardio exercise may have an negative effect on hypoglycemia.
"The risk of nocturnal hypoglycemia has been estimated to be as high as 30% when individuals perform moderate-intensity, steady-state, aerobic exercise for 45 minutes in the late afternoon (http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/1/55#ref-24),25).
This morning I was doing my 2 hour “snail paced swim”. (I mention that because I do my best thinking during that time of cardio.) That the days I swim, I am less likely to have a problem, but when I do an aggressive elliptical workout for an hour and then lift weights for about an hour, it is more likely, even if I pop some glucose before and after the workout. Will be discussing this in more detail with my next endocrinologist visit. Should I up a pre-sleep treat or should I reduce my Lantus dosage on those nights.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Be well,
Harvey
John-
You don’t mention whether you are on a CGM or not. It really makes all the difference in the world in regards to nighttime lows. Im not a big fan of technology or having stuff attached to my body but I finally caved in and got one.
Yes, it buzzes and beeps (and then starts screaming) at inconvenient times, such as 2am, but that’s its job. I would strongly recommend investing in one. It beats 911 calls or trips to the ER…
Hi Harvey, will I don’t work out as aggressively as you. The past 18 to 24 months my energy level has dropped and it’s been tough emotionally to get back into the grove. Road Cycling is my #1 go to, and a number of competitive years prior
to Type one and the gym tends to be my #2 exercise activity. I’m still working, a consulting business so I can manage my activity as I have the energy to engage in it. I find this a rather lonely road as others outside the Type One community don’t get it
when You share something with them. I just have to let it go. You are new to this community of type one’s I fought it hard the first couple of years tried to think it would go away, well here I am 10 years later it is a survival battle. My encouragement
is to really connect with Type One peers and get some folks that really understand and are there when you need them. This darn thing real throw curve balls when you are expecting a slow pitch.
OK to stay in touch,
John
Hi Andy, I don’t have a CGM I’ve been going it without the device. Typically my body wakes me up when it starts to go low at night. However there was the one exception and it did take my by surprise. I’m always in sync when I head to
bed or stary up until I get myself to a safe level. Well, I’m not sure that methodology is still working. I’ve been wanting to go down the CGM path, but like you said I don’t relish the idea of another thing hanging on my body. That said, difference between
life and death.
Thanks for sharing if you want to reach out direct, I’m john@sblco.com
Im a bit of a newbie to all of this as well but the way it was explained to me is that our bodies eventually lose the ability to recognize lows (when they are still a bit on the higher side of low, if that make sense) and our bodies work up a resistance to letting us know when a low is starting to occur.
I don’t know the science behind it but before I was on a CGM, I did notice that I was no longer getting the sweaty shakes at 60 like I used to. I started getting the sweaty shakes at 50, then closer to 40. Lowest I got was 36 in the middle of the night before I woke up drenched in sweat and shaking uncontrollably.
For me, I just got tired of going to bed and laying there thinking that maybe tonight was gonna be the night I didn’t wake up.
The CGM fixed all of that. Damn thing goes off at 70 and then really starts coming unglued at 55.
John,
I am lifelong competitive athlete with T1D, understand how you feel, and applaud your keeping fit and active. Diet and exercise are critical tools for proper management of T1D. Whilst you will no doubt find many folks here to speak with, perhaps the most important connection for you to make is with your Endocrinologist. You should discuss strategies on diet, timing, and basal and bolus adjustments for days when you exercise. If your Endocrinologist can’t or won’t, find a new one.
Likewise there is a lot of material on both the Joslin Clinic and JDRF sites that discuss diet and exercise management. IMHO, I would not bother with WebMD.
You don’t mention whether or not you are using a pump or CGM. You might find that these tools make it easier to tweak dosages taking into account exercise, and meal timing, and to continually monitor your blood sugar levels. If you are not using them, you might want to at least explore the ideas and ask your doctor about them.
Even if you choose not to use a pump or CGM, there are simple strategies to employ to adjust basal (long acting insulin) and bolus amounts (short acting insulin) along with the timing of snacks during exercise. Again, I suggest that you discuss that with your doctor.