The Decision: Getting An Insulin Pump (I think)

I set a new 10K personal record yesterday – 45:10 – shaving 1 minute and 36 seconds off my previous record set last year at the Nike Human Race.

I know I should be happy with the result, but I’m not. I thought I would do better. I had hoped to at least break 45 minutes.

I had planned to meet some of the guys from my running group at 7:45am, 45 minutes before the race started, so I set an alarm for 6:00am giving me enough time to get myself ready and avoid any blood sugar disasters. When I woke up I was surprised to see my blood sugar was 208. I had gone to sleep 113 and taken 14 units of Lantus.   I didn’t eat anything. At 7:20am I checked my blood sugar again.  It was 174.  I didn’t understand what was going on (still don’t) but was happy to be under 200.

I got to the race area, met up with my friends and headed out for a mile and a half warm up. The weather was great and I felt fine and ready. The race itself was hard, as it should be, and I gave it my all. I’ve never liked 10K races probably because it is so hard to keep the fast pace up for such a long distance.  I was hoping to do better but being only one month after the TA marathon I should be happy with the result – and I’m sure I will be in a few days (it just kind of sucks to miss your goal by 9.5 seconds).

But forgetting running for a minute (is that possible?), I am very unhappy with my blood sugar. When I got home after the race I checked my blood sugar again. I expected to be anywhere between 70 and 150. It seems like every run has a different affect on my blood sugar. I know it has to do with so many factors that it’s impossible to predict, but as a general rule running lowers blood sugar levels, at least for me. That is why I was stunned when my glucometer read 280.


I checked again and got the same result so I took 3 units of insulin (Apidra). I checked again two hours later. I was 220. Scared of over loading my body with insulin I decided to eat something (the first food of the day actually) and take 4 more units. This time it worked and two hours later I was 107.

This was the last straw. I have decided to make an appointment with an endo and ask to go on the pump. I don’t know if it will solve anything but it’s definitely worth a try.

 

 

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Liz
Liz
13 years ago

I am a runner and use a pump.  Running and my high level of physical activity in general was the reason I switched to the pump.  Like you, I had unexplainable highs after runs, and sometimes my body would absorb all my basal insulin too quickly during a morning run and I would go horribly low.  It was too tough of a balancing act and required more planning than I could manage.  With the pump, I am better able to fine-tune my basal and bolus rates around my activities.  When I know I’m going for a run, I turn down… Read more »

Sean
Sean
13 years ago

Second getting a pump. Personally I use an Omnipod because I can’t stand the idea of tubing. Overall using the Omnipod is MUCH better on a day-to-day basis than manual injections of Novalog/Humalog and Lantus, as I had been on. But as an athlete is where I appreciate the pump the most. I’m a cyclist and swimmer, and before a workout, I can just turn down the basal and go to town. Sometimes on long-term intense rides, I turn down the insulin and make sure to eat enough every hour. I can then choose or choose not to bolus, as… Read more »

Michelle S
Michelle S
13 years ago

It’s definitely worth a try.  You still have to make all the decisions about how much insulin to take, and when to take it…. but you can fine tune and plan ahead.  I realized when I ran some 10K’s last summer that I needed more insulin than before a practice run because the adrenaline from the race would raise my BG.  So I could set my basals accordingly and then disconnect right at race time, making any last minute boluses needed right before.  And if I wanted to take a tiny amount, like half a unit, I could.  Good luck!

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