General Cycling Discussion - Anyone here with Diabetes?

My mom was diagnosed with adult onset diabetes last year, this past week my dad was also diagnosed with diabetes.

Anyway, I'm supposed to go get checked for it too.

I'm pretty active and workout 7 days a week now. I've been athletic my entire life, but for the last 6 years have been mainly doing office jobs and gained a lot of weight.

Anyone here with diabetes?

How does it affect your life, your training, etc.??

My old Aikido instructor had his leg amputated last year from diabetes. It's scary.

Yes....I'm diabetic.

It really depends on how bad your diabetes is. Mine is pretty mild (just take the pills).....I just cut down on sweets and carbs and got active. In fact....that's probably "one of" the things that got me into cycling.

In Dr. Edmund Burkes book "serious cycling" thier is page or two about diabetis and if I recall he says that regular excercise and a heathy diet are the key to fighting diabetis. It has been shown that some forms like
IDDM can be reversed with sports like endurance cycling.

Me too! Adult onset type 2.

for the most part being diabetic has been good for me. I used to feel like I was dieing and did not know why. I had no energy.

since being diagnosed I have been watching what I eat, avoiding carbs, and fat. I have lost around 40 lbs. I got lots more lbs to shed.

I take my pills.

I do all the things I used to do and more. I commute 16 miles a day on my bike (8 miles each way)
I am very carefule about my feet.
I take care of any scratch on my feet or legs

Joe

Don't ask, but I was diagnosed with Type 1 later then I should have been. Four shots a day and numerous finger pricks for blood glucose. Still, that doesn't stop me from riding hard, taking long day tours, riding centuries, and working full time on bikes. I've never had problems while riding, but a few times after a hard training ride.

You may want to check out "The Genetics of Diabetes" at the American Diabetes Association web page.

http://www.diabetes.org/genetics.jsp

It notes that there is a strong correlation between your chance of getting diabetes if you have a family history of diabetes(type 2) and your diet. That little extra weight and your diet may do more harm than good.

My mom was diagnosed with adult onset diabetes last year, this past week my dad was also diagnosed with diabetes.

Anyway, I'm supposed to go get checked for it too.

I'm pretty active and workout 7 days a week now. I've been athletic my entire life, but for the last 6 years have been mainly doing office jobs and gained a lot of weight.

Anyone here with diabetes?

How does it affect your life, your training, etc.??

My old Aikido instructor had his leg amputated last year from diabetes. It's scary.

i have type 1 diabetes (like the poster above). this is genetic and insulin shots are required.

type 2 is much different. this is genetic, but you're more prone to have it with a bad diet and sendintary lifstyle. if you're active, working out, and eating well you should be fine in life overall, but work on getting the weight down, and test your blood sugar every few weeks of test it a few times a day once a month

both types of diabetes can be easily managed with good eating and exercise. sometimes having type 1 diabetes is a pain -- i always have to take food with me if going on a long hike, and keep check on blood sugar when eating unknown meals (at restaurants), but overall if i had any illness or disease to pick from, diabetes would be it. 5-10 minutes a day dealing with blood sugar is nothing compared to some folks who lost limbs, or terminal illnesses.

oh and unlike the movies, the most critical problem with diabetes is LOW blood sugar, which makes food immediately needed. (the movies are always desperates for INSULIN RIGHT AWAY!!!). you do need insulin to survive, but that's to correct HIGH blood sugar, which isn't immediatly cricital

HIGH blood sugar, over a period of time, months, years, etc. is what causes poor circulation and eye problems.

if you think it's a concern, again get a blood sugar meter, pick one day a month and test before and after normal meals. if it's around 80-100 before means, and 90-120 after meals, everythings a-ok.

hope that helps! james...

My wife is a diabetic. She was Diganosed with Type 1 when she was around 30.

She thinks there is a stigma too it (there isn't) and never told me about her condition until we were already dating for a year.

She's on a pump, but she is also a luddite, that can't even figure out cell phones, answering machines and TV remotes. I have a feeling her settings pon her pump are slightly off because every two weeks or so her blood sugars are all over the place.

I think its important that our friends know she is diabetic, and know to get sugar into here if she goes into a low blood sugar seizure. Again she gets made at my that our friends know.

But sometimes are friends can be rather patronizing. Making sure that ice tea contains splenda (we like to drink it black anyway) or cookies and cakes are made of nutra sweet (yeech).

Diabetics can eat sweets, and a diabetic diet is the heathiest way of eating, even for non-diabetics (many elite athletes are on diets created by the American Diabetes Association)

if you think it's a concern, again get a blood sugar meter, pick one day a month and test before and after normal meals. if it's around 80-100 before means, and 90-120 after meals, everythings a-ok.

.
90-120 after meals is a pipe dream. Eating such a low carb meal can cause hypoglycemia, better known as bonking. Anything below 190 within 2 hours after a meal is fine.

if you think it's a concern, again get a blood sugar meter, pick one day a month and test before and after normal meals. if it's around 80-100 before means, and 90-120 after meals, everythings a-ok.

hope that helps! james...


I have a family history of Diabetes and bought a blood sugar tester due to my worries. They are fairly cheap now days and its hard to come up with the money to pay the doctor to check it on a regular basis. So far I have been lucky have not seen anything over 119.

90-120 after meals is a pipe dream. Eating such a low carb meal can cause hypoglycemia, better known as bonking. Anything below 190 within 2 hours after a meal is fine.

fair enough- being type 1 i didn't realize normal person's sugar could be a bit higher

i agree with the poster agove about people going overboard. i eat sweets on occasions and when low - but usually i have one scoop of ice cream instead of 2 :)

You didn't say how old you are, but type 2 USUALLYhits you in your 40s. I am a 60 year old who has had diabetes about 12 years. I have been priviledged to have had a doctor who was eminently qualified to give me advice (an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at a medical school and a specialist in diabetes). His advice, other than keeping my blood sugar under control, was to lose as much weight as possible (the skinnier the better - my goal is 178 at 6'2") The first words out of his mouth when I saw him was, "SELL YOUR CAR. RIDE A BIKE!".

diabetic here, type II. Didn't stop me from touring this March, in fact I was able to eat things during my tour that I can't eat normally. I look at this way, I control the diabetes, I don't let it control me.

Cheers

diabetic here, type II. Didn't stop me from touring this March, in fact I was able to eat things during my tour that I can't eat normally. I look at this way, I control the diabetes, I don't let it control me.

Cheers

Bravo...I am also Type II and I have lost 86lbs. Cycling has been a blessing for me, and besides it is fun. As the poster above said....don't let it control you. You control it!

Best to you,

Brian

Type II here. Used to come close to bonking when cycling hard while taking medication. Had to be real careful. lost a good deal of weight and no longer use meds. Still cycle though. Quit smoking after 42 years last Christmas. Gained some weight back. On the downward weight trend again. Sugar is at safe level.

If you have, or are genetically disposed toward diabetes, I recommend you get an HbA1C test every so often. This test tells you what your sugar has been doing over the last quarter or so. You may have "normal" glucose ranges at certain times of the day and widely variant ones at other times. Also the glycemic impact of different foods can have widely varying effects. Since the heoglobin in blood "hangs on" to the impact of glucose levels over its lifespan of about 90 days the HbA1C is a good test.

i have type 1 diabetes (like the poster above). this is genetic and insulin shots are required.

type 2 is much different. this is genetic, but you're more prone to have it with a bad diet and sendintary lifstyle. if you're active, working out, and eating well you should be fine in life overall, but work on getting the weight down, and test your blood sugar every few weeks of test it a few times a day once a month

both types of diabetes can be easily managed with good eating and exercise. sometimes having type 1 diabetes is a pain -- i always have to take food with me if going on a long hike, and keep check on blood sugar when eating unknown meals (at restaurants), but overall if i had any illness or disease to pick from, diabetes would be it. 5-10 minutes a day dealing with blood sugar is nothing compared to some folks who lost limbs, or terminal illnesses.

oh and unlike the movies, the most critical problem with diabetes is LOW blood sugar, which makes food immediately needed. (the movies are always desperates for INSULIN RIGHT AWAY!!!). you do need insulin to survive, but that's to correct HIGH blood sugar, which isn't immediatly cricital

HIGH blood sugar, over a period of time, months, years, etc. is what causes poor circulation and eye problems.

if you think it's a concern, again get a blood sugar meter, pick one day a month and test before and after normal meals. if it's around 80-100 before means, and 90-120 after meals, everythings a-ok.

hope that helps! james...


I have news for you, Type I diabetes IS a terminal illness. Last time I checked diabetes was rated the 4 or 5 leading cause of death. Behind accidents, it is also the leading cause of blindness and amputations, not to mention kidney failure, nerve damage (not just in the appendages), episodes of low blood sugar have the same effect on your brain as having a mini stroke as well. Then there is the high cholesteral and blood pressure that if you don't have it yet, you will, it is a given eventually.

Yes, i'm a type I diabetic too. No I try not to let it get in the way or slow me down. If you are not on a pump yet, look into it, it is the best thing you can do for yourself.

I have been a Type 1 diabetic since I was 12 years old. I am now STILL in good health and 53 years old. Don't be so paranoid, but follow the suggestions of your doctor. Keep your weight in a healthy range and stay active. You don't have to monitor your blood sugars and the other 'stuff' suggested here. IF your ever show symptoms of diabetes tell your doctor (so learn what they are). Otherwise quit fretting and get on with your life. Oh and after I took 35,000 (yes thats thousands) insulin injections I finally got a pump. ALL diabetics on insulin should find a way to get a pump too. (They are expensive, $6000, plus dollars a day for the canulas, insurance companies are helping more now than before) Pumps provide FREEDOM! I can now, after all these years, eat When and What I want to within reason. Find out what the symptoms of low blood sugar are and MAKE SURE your parents know them. PEACE

Wow, there are a lot of diabetics around I guess, there are a couple of people I work with who have diabetes, one guy has to take shots around 9pm each night.

My parents are 59 and 70 years old and just got diagnosed (my mom last year and my dad last week!)...

... I'm just worried because I gained a lot of weight from the time I was 23 to now (I'm turning 29 this year).

But like I said, I'm active and try to live healthy (I quit smoking over a year ago too).

My parents don't need shots, they just have to maintain their blood sugar level, my brother knows more about it than I do though, but we have dinner together every Sunday and my parents are able to eat normal foods.

Thanks for all the replies, hopefully I'll get insurance one of these days and find out.

My sugar is normal but diabetes runs in my family and I have seen tremendous suffering from the complications, and premature death. (But also others whose lives were not severely affected by it.) I share your worries. In the meantime, it's one hell of a motivator for watching what I eat. I particularly try to avoid high sugar foods (which I love!) since there is a theory that consuming a lot of simple sugar contributes a lot to making one insulin resistent.

I have news for you, Type I diabetes IS a terminal illness.

Life itself is a terminal condition. We are dying from the minute we are born

Thanks for all the replies, hopefully I'll get insurance one of these days and find out.
If you know a diabetic (like ones at work), ask them if you can check your blood sugar level. It doesn't mean anything if its normal....could just catch it at the right time, but if it is really high, its a good sign to get on meds ASAP.

Ask your friend to check your blood sugar. Normal range is like between 90 and 120 (give or take...almost all change that range slightly).

Also....if you happen to go to the doctor for anything, ask for a blood test and tell doctor you'd like to get your Hemoglobin A1C tested. That's the more accurate measure....long term blood sugar. If I remember (and I probably don't), the A1C number is supposed to be less than 6 to be passing (normal range).

I was a diabetic for 35.5 years. I received a simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant 4 years and 3 days ago. Conditions like diabetic skin and retinopothy are still present.
The strange part is I was slow and reluctant to change my diet.

I'm a type II. I use to love walking and hiking but my feet have just not been real comfortable for a while and just get too tired and ache with too much time on my feet. Biking has been a godsend. It's been only two months yet I feel much better and some weight and inches have been shed.

One piece of advice that no one has mentioned that I think is the best advise that can be given to a diabetic is to take the basic diabetes education course given by the American Diabetes Association. It's cheap and covered by most insurance policies. Call your company, your local hospital or check the ADA website. Diabetes is no joke. It's important to distinguish fact from fallacy.

I'm a type 1 diabetic. I was diagnosed about a year ago at the relative old age of 21 after I didn't have the energy to ride 2 miles and essentially collapsed. It really can happen to anyone. I wear a cozmo insulin pump and am very thankful to avoid shots!

I make sure to ALWAYS carry glucose tablets, a meter (freestyle flash), lancet device, and test strips in my saddle pack at a minimum. I also carry a cell phone most of the time and am waiting for my Road ID (http://www.roadid.com/) to show up.

I've found consistancy to be my best ally. My numbers were bouncing all over the place before I set into a routine. Much better now.

I have been a Type 1 diabetic for over 50 years. I am sure the cycling has helped me keep healthy. I have a 17 mile commute and dont usually do it 2 days in succession. If I do several days in succession, I find that after a few days my blood sugar level crashes from a delayed effect of the muscles suddenly trying to recover their glycogen levels.