Discussion Board

I have been going to cardiac rehab since the end of June. I go three days a week for about one hour each day. The exercises consist of treadmill, arm bike, stationary bike, stair climber, rower, weights on pulleys and dumb bells. The exercises on each get progressively more strenuous and we monitor our pulse and choose a number on a scale to describe how difficult we felt each exercise was.

I have been a member of a gym and have been using weight machines, stationary bike, walking around the track and sometimes the elliptical. I thought the exercise I was doing at the gym was more strenuous in that I use heavier weights than at rehab and ride the bike for longer periods than at rehab.

Yet, my postprandial blood sugars since doing the rehab have been amazingly low. This has been quite a surprise to me. I was mainly surprised because even though I spend an hour at both gyms, each exercise at the rehab gym is only between 4 and 9 minutes so far. (They will get longer, I assume as I progress. The duration of rehab is twelve weeks altogether.)

I think I am going to try to duplicate the program at the rehab when I am on my own. It seems that several short exercises are doing me more good as far as blood sugar is concerned. Is there a reason for this? I surely do like the results. While my sugars are never as low postprandially as 83 which is where Bernstein says everyone should keep their sugars ALL THE TIME, they are usually in the range that I have read prevents complications--Both fasting and postprandial.



Didi

Didi,

Several short exercises in contrast to long, continuous may well be allowing for recovery between bouts, giving you more stability. You didn't say what happens with the continuous - do they drop too low? What do your trainer and doc advise?

Lani

Lani, I am not measuring postprandial sugars after exercise but occasionally measure one and two hours after meals. Before I started the rehab, even with going to the gym and walking each day, my post prandial sugars after eating oatmeal and banana or potatoes etc always were up close to 200 depending on the amount. Now with rehab, (which is from ten to eleven on Mon Wed and Fri) my post prandials, even after my four oclock meal and my 8 pm meal remain below 150 and sometimes lower at one and two hours. I am very happy with this.

My cardiologist has said not one word about my blood sugars but she knows they were normal in the hospital and even insisted I am not diabetic but pre diabetic (which I am not). I told her I was upset because my meds are raising my sugars a bit and also my lipids and lowering HDL. She just said--your life is changed now and she wanted to give me meds to counteract the damage being done by my meds and I assume she will find something when the counteracting meds cause more mischief. Of course I refused.

The trainers only test the blood of the people who are on meds or insulin and never inquire about my sugars. I think I will bring my monitor to rehab and test after exercise. I think that exercise is the elixir of life along with diet and if it could be bottled a lot of people would see improvements in their health.

I did have my D3 tested and it was only at 11 so she wanted to give me a shot of 50,000 units which I refused.

Didi

Didi,

I see - I wasn't sure if the testing was also happening during your exercise or just postprandial. I'll be interested to learn what you find out.

Lani

Scooterpie, I want to underscore what you said. PT in any realm always makes such a difference and you are right, many people just figure 'crisis over!' and get back to things as they were. It is such an opportunity to make lifelong change.

Lani