Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Prev Next
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
i found a CGM to be "too much" diabetes, it's delayed which makes it pretty meaningless in terms of alerting you to potential hypos and looking at it rarley told me what i didn't know. Sometimes you'll be high, or low and you don't need a little vibrating box to remind you of it you just need to HTFU and pedal!
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [jamesstout] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
hey James, cheers mate. Thats what i was curious about re: the delay. I understand the dexcom 4 platinum is 5 minutes, i guess my plan was to stop testing and pricking my fingers all the time from the bike onwards and just attach this to the bike and run with it in a belt. Its all about the trends i guess, to keep it in that 'sweet spot'.
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I don't think the monitor is waterproof so most people sync the sensor and the monitor out of the water...I think.

I don't see how it could hurt to have a CGM like Dexcom G4, especially for racing and training. I think the sensors is where you will see biggest cost, pretty sure a monthly supply is about $300

I am likely going to get one in 2014...ironically my deductible is $1500 and so is the unit...so I will be shelling out $1500 either way but at least if its 2014 it will satisfy my deductible as well



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
oh ok. So you cant sync the sensor and place it on your bike in T1, then go swim and it 'detects' it when your in range?
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [jamesstout] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I think that my Dexcom has been a tremendous benefit when racing. I have it attached to the top of my stem and can view it easily between my arms when aero. I agree that many of us can use our experience to know what our BS is currently, but 20+ years after diagnosis and still I can't accurately predict with consistency which direction I'm trending, and that's where the CGM earns it's keep! - KP
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
There's a sensor that secures to you. YouTube it, looks kinda painful but hear it's not. The sensor is attached by some sort of adhesive patch your the abdomen (or possibly other areas). The sensor is waterproof (I believe) w dexcom G4. The monitor unit is not water pproof. Think the range is like 10th or something between monitor and sensor. So I think most folk just sync the monitor and sensor in to a bond attached the monitor to the bike



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I've been using Dexcom for a few years now, so I'm experienced with it. The new G4 Platinum has a range of about 20 feet. The sensors are designed to last 7 days and the adhesive they use is good, but depending on your skin, it may not last the full 7 days. My race routine is this: I put on a new sensor two days prior to race day (Sunday race = new sensor on Friday). As a general rule, you should calibrate at least twice per day, which requires nothing more than using a standard monitor and entering the result into your Dexcom. On race morning, I wait until the last moment before transition closes and then test with a monitor, enter the result and then attach my Dexcom to my bike. I put it in a snack sized zip lock back and it stays dry. After the swim, it takes about 5 minutes for the receiver to connect with your sensor...after that, you have your Dexcom with you for the duration. In T2, I simply pull the Dexcom receiver off my bike and stuff it into the pocket of my jersey (still in the zip lock bag).
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [KP-NJ] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I see . So when ur in T1 do u have to recalibrate or anything or it just takes 5 mins to pick it up with nothing else to do?
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I basically do the same with my medtronic cgm. Calibration is every 12 hours so I make sure I calibrate fairly close to the start of the event. I'm wanting to do a finger prick then anyway so no problem. Then I remove the pump at the last minute before the start.

the sensor will hold about 20 mins data before dropping so if you are doing a short swim you are back in time and the sensor and pump will rejoin without doing anything. Longer than 20 mins and I need to do a calibration in T1 to get them back together.

Some people disconnect the pump and put it in a plastic bag inside their wetsuit so that the sensor and pump are always in contact - I haven't been game enough to try that yet.
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [davet] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
wow. Does it take you ages to put the pump back on? Do you run into trouble with longer swim events taking the pump off?
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
coates_hbk wrote:
wow. Does it take you ages to put the pump back on? Do you run into trouble with longer swim events taking the pump off?

Pump only takes seconds to disconnect/reconnect. The canula has a quick release attachment so you leave the canula inserted and just disconnect the tubing from it.

Never had problems with having the pump disconnnected (or connected but turned off) on longer events.
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [davet] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
awesome. I do think about getting one quite a bit. Feels like kind of a big step. I hear people put on quite a bit of weight when they get on a pump. Plus there is trying to learn basal/bolus routines all over again whilst trying to exercise at the same time. I probably will one day. The dexcom seems quite valuable too, but again i guess it depends on that lag. Trending data is good though.
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Medtronic makes a pump/cgm combo

Theres another pump that is actually waterproof(omipod I think) but it has no CGM

I'm going to try and go without a pump and just do injections with a CGM.

Wouldnt a CGM basically give you the same data as a pump?



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
runnerwv wrote:

I'm going to try and go without a pump and just do injections with a CGM.

Wouldnt a CGM basically give you the same data as a pump?

The CGM is doing data collection. The pump enables you to change to smaller doses. They are separate functions and there is no need to have them together.

If you are doing fingerprick tests you are getting maybe 10-15 data points a day, which means that there can be long periods where your BG is fluctuating without you realising. With a CGM you are getting 288 data points per day (every 5 minutes). This gives you much better analysis. And you don't need to have a cgm on all the time to get the benefits. At the moment I tend to put on in for a couple of weeks every 2 months, normally when I have a big event coming up or a significant change in my life (travel, food, exercise program etc). The CGM helps me track how those changes are affecting my body.

The pump allows you to switch from having long acting basal in your system to being able to microcontrol your base insulin levels. You have different basal needs throughout the day and the pump allows you to set a dosing schedule to match that. Also for longer events, being able to reduce basal levels is great. You can have fine control of your bolus with MDI but a pump gives you the ability to fine control your basal also.

There are advantages to having both - if you can see how your BG levels are moving about every few minutes you can adjust the amount of insulin to match, but you can use either independently.
Quote Reply
Post deleted by oceanlife [ In reply to ]
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [davet] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
How about some Turkey Trot race reports?

I did a local 10k. I've been a little ill over the last week, so my hopes weren't high for a great race. My mother was doing her first 10k ever, and there was a fastest mother/son category, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

BG was 136 when I woke up, better than normal. Breakfast was about 2 hours before the race, a small bowl of raisin bran, taken with 2 units of Apidra and 10 units of Levemir.

Warmup was... minimal. Less than 2 minutes of jogging. It was about 18 degrees out, so I didn't want to spend too much time outside before the race. The field was fairly competitive, lost of sub-36 guys toeing the line. The course is shaped like a P, with the first 5k mostly downhill and second 5k rolling and then uphill on the way back. Went out just a little bit too hard, 5:35, and slowed back just a little bit to come through 5k in 17:40 or so. Next two miles were a little tough with a couple of rollers, and I ended up being caught up by a couple of guys who I didn't recognize. Making the final turn, I was running just off the shoulder of a guy in a Boston Marathon shirt with another guy just off of my shoulder. Just after the 5th mile, I noticed my legs starting to get a little heavy just as Boston man made a little push up a slight hill. I hung in there, and just as I pulled even, the second guy made a harder move and dropped the pace down in the 5:15 range. Boston guy dropped off, and the pace eased up slightly. Up the road, I could see the police car blocking off traffic where we turn into the finish, and I estimated we had about 3/4 mile to go. I didn't think I would have much of a kick from my legs being heavy, so after a minute of futzing, I broke for home and dropped the pace back down again and put in a good burst for a minute. I managed to create a little gap and I held it all the way into the finish. Crossed the line at 36:06, so a pretty healthy positive split, wah wah :(

11th place overall, and my Mother finished in 58:30, top 25% of her age group in her first race over 5k! To top it off, we won the Mother/Son division by over 5 minutes :)

Tested my BG after the race, and it rang up at 253. I have to imagine that contributed to my heavy leggedness, as well as racing in a trainer instead of a racing flat.


How about you guys? Any Turkey Day reports?
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [RFXCrunner] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Nice job! Thats great both you and your mom raced!!

I had planned on a 5k pushing my 18 month old but it was too cold so I stayed home and rode an 1:30 on the trainer

I hear lots of folks say their BG goes up when going anarobic. I am just now starting to test the anarobic waters.

On Friday I planned a 13 mile run but ended up having to cut it short due to low bg. I screwed up at lunch, took 2 units Humalog which is fine unless Im going to run. Just poor planning on my part.



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
So now that winter is here I have my bike set up on trainer and using trainer road.

I am now some anarobic work on the bike and will be starting on the run soon.

Just curious how anarobic work effects your bg? I hear folks say by goes up during anarobic work



"Keep those feet moving!" Me
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
everyones a bit different, but most people find the bursts type of workouts raise blood sugar, atleast for a while. I sometimes find during TR workouts that have VO2 max intervals, that my bs will be trending down during the easy cycling parts, but will shoot through the roof when i do even a few minutes of over threshold stuff.
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
runnerwv wrote:
So now that winter is here I have my bike set up on trainer and using trainer road.

I am now some anarobic work on the bike and will be starting on the run soon.

Just curious how anarobic work effects your bg? I hear folks say by goes up during anarobic work

My understanding is that anaerobic work can
a) trigger the liver to produce glucose to satisfy the need for energy
b) trigger the production of hormones that will increase insulin resistance

My BG definitely goes up. I am T2 so don't have the ability to cover with insulin. Given insulin resistance possibilities I am not sure how T1s handle this.

When racing 10k to HM, my BG is always through the roof at the end of the event, and I take 0 carbs many hours before.
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [runnerwv] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Did a sprint tri last weekend, so ill post up a bit of a report, albeit short.

Pre-race I was around 6mmols (108) after bolusing 2units for breakfast (i normally have 1 unit, but had 2 to counteract those pesky adrenaline highs) and most of the insulin was out of my system. I had my normal 9 units of lantus on board. The race was a sprint distance, so much of this was going to be a crap-shoot. I had 3/4 of a powerbar gel prior to the swim.
Swim: 160/286 (20/30 in age group). I have swim issues obviously. Believe it or not i was very much back of pack at one stage of my tri life, but made a bit of an effort with my swimming, hence am about middle of the road. The swim itself was rather uneventful except for large swell and rolling waves with the usual elbow's here and there.
T1: had my accuchek mobile glucometer there which makes testing pretty quick. Did this while i got out of my wettie etc, and i was 6.5mmols (117). jumped on my bike and away i went
Bike: 31/286 (3/30 in age group) Had a decent bike. Being in the second last wave and a slow swimmer meant noone passed me on the bike and i passed a fair few. As for blood sugar, i just had a glucose tab every 10 mins. Biking doesnt smash my blood sugar too much at that intensity.
T2: After finding my stuff in which i ran past (first time i couldnt find my belongings in transition!), I grabbed my glucometer and a gel and was off for the run. Tested while running and leaving T2. I was 6.5mmols again which is great!
Run: 51/286 (6/30 age group). Run time for me wasnt great. Im usually a better runner and actually ran just over 4mins per km which i wasnt pleased about. I had half of that gel i carried with me at the turn around point 2.5kms in.
I came 61st/286 and 8th in my age group.
When i finished my bsugar was 6mmols, but 20 mins later it peaked at 12 mmols (216) so i prob over compensated with the gel, but my numbers were stable during the race and not peaking high or low. I find i need more sugar during swimming than anything. In 70.3 and olys i put a gel in my cap or up my sleeve and stop about 3/4 into the swim to suck one back. In fact olys i might now be able to get away with one gel prior to starting because im a bit better swimmer than before.

I have a few olys coming up in the next 6 weeks, as well as a 70.3 in may. Im going to experiment giving myself a quick bolus of 1 unit during 70.3 bike training to see how it effects me.
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
You should be very happy with those blood sugar levels. I've had diabetes for 23 years and wish my levels were like that all of the time in races!

I'd probably be scared if I started the swim with a 6.0 though...I like to give myself a bit of a cushion on the swim,

How did you find testing during the race?
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [fulla] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
It would be a nightmare normally, but my glucose monitor is an accuchek mobile , it's 50 tests on a type of tape- I push back the cover and a test strip appears, no unwrapping single strips and inserting etc. the 'pricker' is attached to the unit as well. They are good for sport because they don't take much time to suss it out. I test on the aerobar a etc in long races and keep it in my bento.
I normally wouldn't swim with 6 mmols either hence the gel, plus I know nerves etc hold me steady for a bit. If I start the swim too frantically I can blow my race though and my bsugar skyrockets towards 13mmols plus. If I start out easy, bilateral breathe and relaxed, my bs behaves a bit better. It costs me a bit of time on the swim coz I'm faster swimming breathing every second stroke etc, but I swear the intensity isn't good for blood sugar!
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [coates_hbk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Congrats. That's very well managed. I love reading what works for everyone and how each of us has to get to know our bodies so much more than non-diabetics. I like the look of your accuchek mobile, the preloaded coil of strips is a good idea. For my last race I kept the meter velcro'd to my stem and then had my stabber and strips on tethered lines, but stored in my bento box. I've often wondered why more units are designed with built in stabber jabbers and strip dispensers.
Quote Reply
Re: The Official Diabetic Triathlete Thread [non_sequitur] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
its funny how we manage blood sugar on things like bikes. I remember in an oly once, i passed one of my friends while i was stabbing my finger and fiddling around with the accuchek. He thought i was texting someone during a race haha.
Like yourself, im looking into buying a dexcom 4, and am trying to figure out the most 'aero' ways of storing it on my bike (similar to your meter velcro'd to your bike). We have to pay out of pocket for these in Australia, so im not sure if they can be something i can substitute for a glucose monitor in a race. Some people give feedback that they are great because there is only a 5 minute lag, some say they are horrible for sport when blood sugar doesnt 'match' interstatiol (spelling?) fluid. Im trying to set up a loan one to use during a race and see how it goes. I guess the unit could be stored in the bento and i can just bring it out every now and again to glance at, but it would be great if it was something i can just look at it like my garmin. Again, i would have to have trust in it too, so thats another thing.

Im really keen to hear from people who race with CGM's, particularly this model mentioned, to see if they are worth it.
Quote Reply

Prev Next