I've been reading the forums for awhile now and thought it would be useful to have a thread where people can talk about their experiences of swimming with diabetes.
I was diagnosed with Type II last summer and started Metformin. I've had conflicting advice about diet and have found that what works best for me is low carb. I had been swimming about 1500 meters three or four times a week prior to diagnosis. As I have increased my yardage to 5000 meters five or six times a week, my blood sugar has been easier to manage (down from 196 to 105) without hypoglycemia. I am still learning about supplements.
I am very interested in other people's experiences and that you have found helpful. Thanks!
I've got Type-II diabetes. My hemoglobin A1C was 6.7 in 2011 and I had two other readings of 6.5. I weighed 232. I swam as a youth and decided to go back to it, since I hate running. I started with just about a half a mile a few times a week. In the last 2-3 years, I have increased my yardage to 2-3 thousand three times a week, sometimes four. I don't do super long distances, but I tend to do sprint workouts with a lot of near race-paced sets. My last three A1C readings were totally in the normal range (between 5.2 and 5.5) and I now weigh 193 with 14% body fat. Recently, I had a neck injury (old disc herniation that flared up) and didn't swim for six weeks. I had a MUCH harder time controlling my sugar, and was even getting some readings over 200 and morning sugars of 125-135. Once back in the pool, my morning readings are back in the very low 100s or even mid to high 90s.
I presently take metformin 500-1000 per day (extended release)
I also take:
Losartan (blood pressure, but also protective of kidneys against damage from diabetes)
Pravastatin (same idea...don't really have high cholesterol, but it's the standard of practice)
Chromium picolinate
Cinnamon extract
Alpha-lipoic acid
a bunch of other supplements, like Co-Enzyme Q10, a multi, etc.
I've got Type-II diabetes. My hemoglobin A1C was 6.7 in 2011 and I had two other readings of 6.5. I weighed 232. I swam as a youth and decided to go back to it, since I hate running. I started with just about a half a mile a few times a week. In the last 2-3 years, I have increased my yardage to 2-3 thousand three times a week, sometimes four. I don't do super long distances, but I tend to do sprint workouts with a lot of near race-paced sets. My last three A1C readings were totally in the normal range (between 5.2 and 5.5) and I now weigh 193 with 14% body fat. Recently, I had a neck injury (old disc herniation that flared up) and didn't swim for six weeks. I had a MUCH harder time controlling my sugar, and was even getting some readings over 200 and morning sugars of 125-135. Once back in the pool, my morning readings are back in the very low 100s or even mid to high 90s.
I presently take metformin 500-1000 per day (extended release)
I also take:
Losartan (blood pressure, but also protective of kidneys against damage from diabetes)
Pravastatin (same idea...don't really have high cholesterol, but it's the standard of practice)
Chromium picolinate
Cinnamon extract
Alpha-lipoic acid
a bunch of other supplements, like Co-Enzyme Q10, a multi, etc.
