Dr. Heile’s Wisdom

A week and a half ago I was able to go to a presentation by Dr. Heile, a doctor in Cincinnati who has diabetes and has run marathons. The diabetes center that I go to sponsored the event, which my endo. encouraged me to attended since I run a lot. Here are some of the most beneficial things I got out of his presentation:

Interesting fact: 1/10 of 1% of the population runs a marathon. Hopefully I will be part of this small percentage soon!

Hypoglycemia is a cycle. If I go low today, I am more likely to go low tomorrow as well. I had never thought of this before, although I firmly believe it. Going low is a bad cycle to get into, which I have been in and constantly struggle with.

Diet, insulin,, exercise and testing are like four legs on a chair. If one is missing, it is hard for the chair to balance. Being in control of your diabetes means effectively managing all four parts of it. This is easier said than done!

Some ways to avoid hypoglycemia are to decrease insulin (basal) before and after exercise, pre-treat exercise with carbs and test 1 hour before exercise. To put it bluntly, I am failing miserably at these things. I do not touch my basals, except in the morning on the weekend, where is need more insulin. I always test my blood sugar before I exercise, but it is right before I exercise and never an hour before. I treat with carbs if I am not at a high enough number (in the mid-100s). Testing 1 hour before is hard for me. Many times I do not know exactly when I’ll be exercising.

Exercise makes diabetes more forgiving. I totally agree with this because I do not have to be as strict with my when I exercise a lot. Exercise makes everything more forgiving I think.
The more you control diabetes the easier it is to control. If I test my blood sugar a lot, then I have better control because I always know where I am. Right now I am filling out a log sheet for my endo. because my blood sugars have been unpredictable. He is awesome and gives me feedback. I have been keeping track of everything to try to get things back to running smoothly before summer begins. Although it is a lot of work and not enjoyable for me, it is necessary. I am working hard to control my diabetes even better so it does not control me, my life, and things I want to do.

Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint. I thought it was interesting Dr. Heile said this because I have a magnet that says “It’s (meaning life) a marathon, not a sprint.” Diabetes takes time to figure out.

If you ever get a chance to hear Dr. Heile speak, I would recommend it.