General Cycling Discussion - Diabetes

I was recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes. With me, it was genetic. I am in good shape, eat correctly, maintain my weight and have a good BMI. But, the nasty disease runs in my family.

Of course, most of my fitness comes from riding. I typically try to get in between 3,500 and 4,000 miles a season. I am a roadie, I should note.

At any rate, right now, dealing with the disease is not a problem when it comes to cycling. As I live in the frozen north, I am in my winter program. I usually do about an hour on trainer five days out of the week. I also lift weights and do Yoga. As I said, no problems right now.

But, when Spring rolls around and I head outdoors, what do I need to do and what do I need to watch for? The thought of having problems on a long ride concerns me.

I do not want to cut my mileage down. I plan to do two or three centuries next year.

Any information would really be welcomed. Thanks.

Keep Glucose tabs on hand for the bonk. You will bonk easier, but this isn't something that you can't overcome. Stay away from HFC Sweetened sports drinks, they will stimulate a sugar spike and insulin crash. Use something like Accelerade or Heed, with Maltodextrin/Protein complex in a 4:1 ratio and monitor the blood sugars fanatically! Follow your diet carefully and you'll never have an issue. ;)

I've spent a fair bit of time hiking with a friend that was diabetic. The biggest problem I noticed with him was that if his blood sugar started running low, it would also affect his thinking, so that it just wouldn't occur to him what the problem was, and consequently he would be slow to fix it. I guess a similar thing to a drunk person who has a hard time understanding that they are too drunk.

Another issue he had was that to keep things under control, it helped him to follow a regular routine of eating and activity, but long hikes upset that routine and made problems more likely than they might have been at home.

Anyway, it would be ideal to ride with a friend or a group, although that is oftentimes easier said than done. Whoever you ride with, let them know that they need to speak up and/or act if they see you having any problems. If you're unusally tired, lost, or losing coordination, whip that meter out and make sure that isn't the problem, even if you don't think it is.

Each diabetics' needs are different from another. Hopefully you have a good doctor that understands cycling and can help you create a plan that keeps you up and going and keeps your cycling up. My advice, get a large seat bag to carry your extra stuff. I have a small meter that fits in my large Topeak seat bag fine with my insulin and syringes.

be sure to wear your medic-alert identification.

I was recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes. With me, it was genetic. I am in good shape, eat correctly, maintain my weight and have a good BMI. But, the nasty disease runs in my family.

Of course, most of my fitness comes from riding. I typically try to get in between 3,500 and 4,000 miles a season. I am a roadie, I should note.

At any rate, right now, dealing with the disease is not a problem when it comes to cycling. As I live in the frozen north, I am in my winter program. I usually do about an hour on trainer five days out of the week. I also lift weights and do Yoga. As I said, no problems right now.

But, when Spring rolls around and I head outdoors, what do I need to do and what do I need to watch for? The thought of having problems on a long ride concerns me.

I do not want to cut my mileage down. I plan to do two or three centuries next year.

Any information would really be welcomed. Thanks.

The most common sense response to your question is......
"What does your doctor advise you to do to manage your "Type II diabetes" ??

Your doctors advice is more imprortant here than a jail house advices you'll get here. ;)

Why do people always come to bikeforums.net for medical advice? I wonder if they go to webmd.com to ask bicycle related questions?

Generic common sense advice like StephenH offered is probably OK but offering specific advice on diet, supplements while well intentioned is simply irresponsible.

Not at all sure I agree. I've probably learned more from shared experiences from fellow diabetics than my doctor. He's a good doctor. As such, he has many patients and limited time. Anyway, any doctor treating a number of patients with diabetes sees a1c numbers all over the place. He just might indicate that your numbers aren't all that bad if he's seen two others with really high numbers the same day. Sorry, but diabetes is probably the disease most subject to patient control. You are in charge of it. Not your doctor.

Like others, I say that the problems of hypoglycemia are the biggest problem involved in riding. You have to know and recognize the symptems.

First, thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

Second, as for asking fellow cyclists, let me say this:

My doctor is a nationally known diabetes researcher. He has supervisered numerous trials for all kinds of treatments, many of which he came up with. However, he is not an athlete not has he ever been.

He would also be the first to tell you that the disease treats everyone differently. When my son was diagnosed almost 14 years ago with Type I, it was this same doctor who encouraged us to join support groups where we could pick up lots of information. We learned a lot from other parents about how to deal with diabetes.

That's what I want to do here - ask fellow cyclists about how they deal with the problem. Don't assume doctors have all the answers because they don't. An informed layman can every bit as informative as a trainined professional in many cases. If there is a doctor out there who works with diabetic riders, wonderful, I would like to hear from that person.

But that doesn't mean diabetics themselves don't have a lot to offer.

Again, thanks.

I am a type 1 diabetic for over 50 yrs. Early in the season take frequent blood glucose measurements while doing long rides and after the rides, so you will know how your metabolism reacts to the exercise. When I was younger I found the blood suger dropped while exercising, but now I find that it happens much later.

That's interesting, AndrewP. I have heard that after time, some of us lose the ability to sense low blood sugar. That is kind of unnerving.

First, thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

Second, as for asking fellow cyclists, let me say this:

My doctor is a nationally known diabetes researcher. He has supervisered numerous trials for all kinds of treatments, many of which he came up with. However, he is not an athlete not has he ever been.

He would also be the first to tell you that the disease treats everyone differently. When my son was diagnosed almost 14 years ago with Type I, it was this same doctor who encouraged us to join support groups where we could pick up lots of information. We learned a lot from other parents about how to deal with diabetes.

That's what I want to do here - ask fellow cyclists about how they deal with the problem. Don't assume doctors have all the answers because they don't. An informed layman can every bit as informative as a trainined professional in many cases. If there is a doctor out there who works with diabetic riders, wonderful, I would like to hear from that person.

But that doesn't mean diabetics themselves don't have a lot to offer.

Again, thanks.

Sounds like you have your doctor in the loop which is good. You would be surprised at the number of people that will take advice from an anonymous person and never run it by the doctor or ignore the advice of the doctor and go with the advice of that anonymous person, simply because that us the answer they want to hear.

Here's hoping we all are able to deal with our various medical problems and are able to ride well into our old age.

I must be spoiled, as my family practice doctor rides with my usual Tuesday night group and has given me some excellent on the road advice.

Ozrider, I have been Type II for 12 years. It really depends on your body and how it responds to what your are eating. If you are controlling it by diet only you should eat small portions more times per day. Keep away from depending on sugar to get you through when you feel faint, you waited too long. Watch out for sugar free items that can mess up your digestive system.

RonL

Thanks, RonL. "Sugar free" is possible the most meaningless phrase in advertising, unless you include "naturally sweetened".

Thanks, RonL. "Sugar free" is possible the most meaningless phrase in advertising, unless you include "naturally sweetened".

I always thought "lite" or or "low cal" were...;)

Aaron:)

Sorry, I should have said sugar free that have sugar alcohols like sorbitol. No sugar added products are fine. "Lite" or Low cal" contain 25 % reduced calories from a standard calorie food.

RonL

I'm saying I look at carbohydrates, rather than simply sugar. Sucrose is not the high point on any glycemic index. Naturally sweetened usually means pineapple juice, if they're talking about pie. It is not that good. Fiber can be very good. I've tested Dreamfields against conventional pasta with a glucometer, and the results were consistant with their advertising.

Why do people always come to bikeforums.net for medical advice? I wonder if they go to webmd.com to ask bicycle related questions?

I think you are not looking at the true intention of these types of questions. People aren't looking for "medical advice" as much as asking for advice regarding experiences those with similar problems have had and how they addressed them.

Yes, everyone is different so it's important to be careful. If a type II with the same problem I'm having tells me what their experiences are, that gives me additional discussion points with my doctor. Also remember that if a doctor doesn't ride, they may not have a truly full understanding of what it entails. How often do you hear things like..."I rode a bike all the time when I was a kid, 50 miles is nothing."

Happy New Year!