Looking for other Type 1 diabetics

I am a GOD ... Girlfriend Of Diabetic. Not quite a Wod yet I adapted it.

My boyfriend has been insulin dependant since he was 9.

My desire to be healthy has been good for him but he's not great at motivating himself. Hopefuly I can help you too!

I have been a type 1 diabetic for the last 43 years. On an insulin pump and have a hard time keeping weight off and blood sugars stabilized. I need to lose at least thirty lbs.

I have had type 1 diabetes for about 15 years. The pump does help!

I just posted the following in response to another post, and thought it might be helpful to some if I re-post it here too? I'm always looking for suggestions/tips on what's worked for others too!

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One of the things that I've learned is there is a direct link between my heart rate (HR) and my blood sugars. BRIEF EXAMPLE: Lets say I do a 30 min cardio workout, here is (very generally) what will happen depending on where my HR is at...

HR 120-140 = pretty quick fall in blood sugars
HR 140-155 = blood sugars will stay the same (maybe drop a little the closer I am to the lower HR of this range)
HR 155+ = blood sugars will rise

A couple of years ago I was able to get this down to a science for my body. It was really amazing. I was able to decrease a lot of lows and frustrations when it came to working out by figuring this out. However, it does take a lot of work (comparing HR's and blood sugars multiple times pre, during, and post workouts... I was doing at least 15-20 blood sugar checks a day at the start ). Things have changed a little over the last couple of years (my weight, insulin requirements, age, etc.) and I haven't kept up with making adjustments as well as I could, so I don't know the *exact* correlations any more. But, I still am able to use general guidelines to help me. For example: If my blood sugars are lower at the start of a workout than I would like... I have the option of working extra-hard and making sure my HR is kept at a high level. If I do this, I know my chances of dropping too low are reduced. If my blood sugars are a bit higher than my ideal starting point, I have the option of doing a less-intense workout knowing it will help bring down my blood sugars faster - which means I may not need to take a correction bolus/shot. SIDE NOTE: When I was a kid I remember coming to the conclusion that different activities would impact my blood sugars differently. For example: When I swam I would go low during the activity, and then about 8 hours later. When I played basketball for fun I would drop during the activity. When I played basketball competitively, my blood sugars would rise. At the time I never considered HR, but looking back I'm thinking it was probably a big component of that equation.

The other thing I TRY and do (obviously doesn't always work out this way) is to plan meals/snacks around my activities (or vice versa). Starting a workout 30-45 mins after a meal or snack that I would have anyway has been helpful because I consume less calories overall. I won't take as much/any insulin for the food, and the exercise I do soon after seems to do the job of what the insulin would have. This means I don't need to eat any extra food just because I want to workout. But, this isn't always possible, as we all know!

The one other thing I have found (and am still learning) is that if I do take insulin directly before a workout, it seems to go about 3x's the distance! So... if I was to have a meal and then planned to workout, I might still want to take some insulin to cover the food if I know my exercise won't cover all of it. I then need to take some insulin. I learned that, for me, I need to cut the amount of insulin down quite a bit for it to cover the carbs that I want (and not more)... if I'm following it immediately by exercise (no matter what HR range my workout is in).

These are some things that have helped me. I don't know many T1s, so I'm not sure if the above strategies work for more than just me (diabetes is so fickle). But, they might be some strategies to consider if you haven't already.

Please continue to post anything else that works (or doesn't work) for you... I'm always looking for ways to improve (and decrease the Diabetes frustration ).

A little about me:
Diagnosed at age 10, have had T1 for 25 years
Have been on the pump for 15 years (or more maybe?)
A1c is usually in the 6's (not nearly this low in my teens & early 20's) - my goal is to hit a 5.something at some point in my life

Hello. I'm Jillian. I've been a type one since 1994. I am on an insulin pump and CGM.