OldsCOOL

No neuropathy, thank God. So far, so good. I have been a road rider since the early 70’s but laid off in adult years until 2005 when a friend gave me a classic/vintage Trek road racer and I recaptured the race heritage of those early years. Getting conditioned will take you a while but for this season of a new insulin learning curve, keep close tabs on your numbers. You will need less insulin as stated in earlier posts. Be patient and you might find yourself with a new passion.

bjjoondo 

My wife, JoLynn had a heart attack in Jan. and that brought on Type II diabetes, she's taking a "sliding scale" insulin and a Jovia pill. We carry her insulin in a bag with a small ice pack to keep the temp below 86 degrees (F). So far we have to worry more about her Blood Sugar going "TOO LOW" with the exercising! I make sure she has something to eat "every 10 miles" to keep the blood sugar level up above 90 as she seems to get ill and weak if it goes below 90!! You have to just, bring your "tester/strips/insulin" and test yourself till you find out how YOU do when exercising. We eat a low carb diet for both her heart rehab and her diabetes. It's not easy but it's doable! FYI.

alloo

I take 10 units less of Humulin R. Also Humulin N has been reduced on both ends to 108 Breakfast and 88 Dinner.

Sojodave

Three years ago, I was diagnosed as a type 2 Diabetic. I had an A1C of 8.9 and I weighed 250. I went low carb/high fat and took up cycling. I lost 50 lbs, and my last A1C was 4.7. I ride endurance ride including a 140 mile charity ride last year. On that ride during lunch, my wife brought me a steak salad. People were saying "dude, you've gotta carb up or you're gonna die". I did fine eating low carb throughout the day. I was on Metformin initially but went off it after 3 months and I take no drugs or use insulin and I am able to keep my BSugar under 100.

oldfatboy

Congratulations sojodave, and thanks for sharing.
I thoroughly enjoy reading about experiences dealing with diabetes and riding. Very encouraging.
lol, today I rode for 17 miles and an overall elevation of 450'. My legs were very tired at the end
I have a long ways to go to get in shape and learn how to adjust nutrition/insulin for my system.

EaOutlaw1969

Sorry guys I am not 50 yet July 12th will be the big day for me, I have a bad back and neck, stents, and lots of hardware in my neck and back from surgeries on top of this I have type 2 diabetes which my A1C from my last blood test was 9.7.
It has been hard to stay active because of my spine problems and out of control blood sugar. I have been doing my best lately to keep up with my meds and I try everyday to get some sort of work out in but I will say with neuropathy from both my spine problems and diabetes I find it impossible to ride more than 2-3 miles every other day and even then it is so easy to over do it which can take me down for weeks at a time or longer I end up not pushing myself to avoid adding to the everyday pain I have to endure.

I did buy a cheap pedal machine that I keep near the couch for days when it hurts too much to ride I can at least get a work out while sitting on the couch.

I will say when i found out how high my A1C was I went on a low to no carb diet but I was loosing too much weight too fast, So I have been trying to balance my food- carb intake which seems to help some.

slowpacer

Hi, i'm a 60 year old male and i have type 2 diabetes and neuropathy (pain in my feet). One year ago i was rushed to ER because i could hardly breath. Turned out i had congestive heart failure accompanied with a couple of heart attacks. I was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, A1C of 11. They put in 8 stents in my heart arteries because all 3 of them were 90% blocked.

I had so much pain in my feet because of diabetes that i used a cane to walk for a few months after my procedures. And was prescribed insulin injections 4 times a day along with 2000mg of metformin per day. I still have pain but much much much less and i don't inject insulin anymore, nor take metformin on regular basis. I walk 2 miles a day since then even when i had to do it using a cane, and now i'm able to ride my bike.

I attribute my comeback mostly to vegetarian diet and regular exercise and of course to medical field. That said i do have a big burger and ice cream every now and then.

oldfatboy

EaOutlaw1969 and slowpacer, thank you for your posts.
I have friends and family members that don't understand the neuropathy pain.
So glad you guys are doing better.

Today I got on one of my unicycles that have been in storage for quite a while. Don't know if I'll do any good riding them due to theloss of feeling in my feet, but I'm trying any way
I'd love to ride them, but if not, I'll still be riding my bikes.

alloo

After a couple month of commuting every other day. My insulin doses are being decreased. My blood sugars are hitting more lows. I finally bought my ebike and it has cut my commute down to 50 mins each way. Previously, I was commuting 50 mins, and 1 hour 10-20 mins. The ebike is a lot easier on the ride home. 15 MPH is fast on a bike trail. I started weighing 255 lbs, now I am near 248 lbs and it's decreasing. My goal is to lose 100 lbs by next summer.

My endochronologist has adjusted my insulin levels 3 times to lower it. My current insulin units are: Humulin N dose is 90 Breakfast, 80 Dinner. Humulin R 16-18 if I meet my carb limits B 65g, L, D 40g. On Biking days B, L Humulin R 12-14; D 10-12 units. I also take glipizide, lasinopril and 1000mg Metformin.

Took my A1c on Friday 6.1 down from 7.4 3 months ago. I am stoked. I commute 2-3 days a week and ride my regular bike on my days off if the trip is less than 6 miles in one direction. So cycling and diet do help.

I am thinking about selling my Sixthreezero EvryJourney 7 Speed and replacing it with a hub driven ebike to compare the mid drive and hub drive. We will see.

Steve B.

[QUOTE=Wilmingtech;20943136]

"There is a sugar free (Stevia Sweetened) electrolyte powder called ultima available on Amazon."

Any chance this is called Optimal Electrolyte ".

My doctor recommended Optimal to me, it might be the same stuff.

Thx
SB

oldfatboy

Congrats alloo. I love reading how other diabetics are improving their lives. You didn't say, so I hope you don't have neuropathy also. That is miserable.
Good report. Keep up the good work.

Wilmingtech

[QUOTE=Steve B.;21029563]

30 servings


90 Servings

They look similar. The amount of and type of electrolytes might be slightly different but the 90 servings is a little cheaper at 34$ per container

Steve B.

[QUOTE=Wilmingt
They look similar. The amount of and type of electrolytes might be slightly different but the 90 servings is a little cheaper at 34$ per container[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I'll place an order and try it.

SB

tmac100

Hardly!

A wrong attitude to have. Considering what will happen to you IF you did not take the meds, I would be more positive and say it was a "Life Saving daily ritual". Your attitude towards diabetes management IS important

I say this as a 71 y.o with Type 1 diabetes since 1964. Glad to take my insulin several times a day along with other meds - and pricking my finger at least 6 times a day. Still doing unsupported bicycle touring - with a very short 7-day one in France next month.

rseeker

Impressive. So that's before there was home glucose testing. Were there disposable syringes, or was it boiled glass and stainless steel?

tmac100

State of the art stuff was little tablets (Clini-tabs I think) you placed in a test tube AFTER adding 10 drops of water to 5 drops of urine. The color told you qualitatively if you were spilling sugar or not. Later came the Clini-sticks where you just "pi**ed" on the stick and it showed a qualitative color change.

I used 32 units of NPH every morning in a glass syringe with reusable SS syringes. By 1971 they saw that "Toronto" insulin before each meal gave better control than just 1 bolus of NPH. AND, when I was in medical school in the late 1960s, there was no better info regarding management. I did leave medicine and moved on to a different calling.

Later in the early 1980s they had portable blood testers from Germany. Things have progressed since then - like the affordable disposable syringes that I use (1 daily) and cheaper blood testing strips etc.

Then the synthetic insulins came out. In 2006 I was in a research project with inhalable insulin. Too many side issues was the result.

I use Humulog before each meal (and if my blood sugars are like above 10), a split Lantace (morning 16 units, night 6 units). Glargine and asprin, etc for other issues...

I check my blood sugars 6X daily, and more if bicycling.

gios

Do read either (or both of these books):

Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It

Good Calories, Bad Calories

this just in

Defeating type 2 diabetes with help from Virta and the Veterans Administration 7-17-19

Want to start? Try

“No Sugar, No Starch” Diet

or

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution

rseeker

I remember those tablets. They'd foam up and then tell you what your blood sugar was doing four hours ago. Not so great if you wanted to know what it's doing right now. Then after the Clini-stix came the stick you bled on then waited (60 seconds?) to wipe off the blood then another 60 seconds to see the resulting color. That was better. I didn't ride back then, but I took those with me on kayak trips, with a couple cotton balls with the sticks in the tube in a zip-loc in a dry bag clipped into my kayak. I think, but I'm not sure, that those were the same sticks I used with my first meter. Treatment options really have improved.

Same here. One reason (out of many) that I ride solo is I'm stopping every half hour to test. I had a big ride a week ago where I had to stop for 25 minutes and wait for food to digest and get ahead of my burn rate. I can't see that working in a group setting. That's fine, solo's great.

I wonder if anybody's worked on correlating power meter data with glucose burn.

OldTryGuy

MY attitude is spot on for my personal health. The Metformin that I take is not for diabetes but instead aggressive Prostate Cancer and as far as I am concerned it is a life sentence not a death sentence.

p.s. -- I am back from 75 miles riding so far today, quick bite and kit change because of temps/humidity and back out for 50+ more miles.

ENJOY YOUR TOUR.

tmac100

Yes, I now better understand your "life sentence" comment. Positive, positive. We are all on a slightly different journey and must make all sorts of different efforts to extend out journey.
And, YOU enjoy your trip too 🤗👍👏

Last ride 76 

I will hopefully have something useful to post here in the future. Right now , I'm just checking in to say me too. I've been uncontrolled for two years, after a short time of being controlled. Stopped due to insurance issues and depression. I started riding again , in April, it was an existential struggle, but now I'm up to 3-4x weekly, 10-20 mi per outing. I'll get batteries on my way home, and call new insurer about endocrinologist appt. Thanks for starting this thread, and to all posters. One foot in front of the other...
Eric

rudypyatt

I got diagnosed in June with an A1C of 7.4. Been on 1000mg Metformin daily since then. Been back on the bike for a bit less than a month. I know that will bring my numbers down: it’s just frustrating because I have been away from riding for a couple of years due to other problems. I used to do 25 miles without a thought. Yesterday I did about half that and it was work. But I am sticking with it; birthday coming up means more motivation.

richardwill

Hello I too and Type2, 75Years old and would like to know what's involved in getting a Dexcom CGM. Are they only allowed for Type 1's that use insulin with a prescription? Thanks for your response. Rich

dagray

I am type 2. Diagnosed in August 2012 by the VA who basically said "here's your pills (Metformin) go home so I cut out sugar, starch, alcohol, bread and still made my diabetes way worse in three months by drinking no sugar added fruit juice (not making the connection between fructose and glucose). That is when the VA said here is your meter and insulin... keep increasing insulin until your sugar is below 120.....

When I go riding I don't take any extra medication for my diabetes. I do take Nuun or Hammer Nutrition hydration tablets and some Hammer Nutrition Gels incase I start getting a bonk (loss of energy). I plan my rides so I can refill water every 10-15 miles and get a snack if I need one (an apple, banana, cliff bar, sandwich).

Good luck with your riding.

TheDudeIsHere

57, type 2, refuse to take medication!

Doc offered the meds as my A1C was 7.5. Forget the meds, I will control my diet. Dropped down to 6.1, no meds, all eating right and exercise.

I go ride 45 miles, drink 1 or 2 large bike bottles of Gatorade (powder mix). Eat a balanced meal then a couple hours later, my meter reading is 100-105.

I will not take meds unless it is positively mandatory.

From a family of diabetics, they all encourage me to take the meds. DOES ME GOOD they say but looking at them, most being amputees and other more serious problems, no thanks, I'll control my diet and exercise!