Exercise and extreme lows

[Wolfhelm]

whenever i exercise i drop really low for while, its a running joke in my house, " oh ___ is going low, he must of exercised".

A good example is a week or two ago i was 200 and rising (rising was cgm, i did a blood check), so i aalked my dog for an hour, by the time i made it back home, my cgm was saying 100isg and dropping fast, bloodchecked and was about 70ish. I was about 50-60 for the next hour despite treating.

In short any exercise makes me drop like a rock, and all my doctors have recomended is eat more protien, which i am (about 1-2 eggs with breakfest, coldcuts with lunch, meat/fish with dinner, and nuts for snacks). I am not fat, but am trying to start exercising, and i dont want to have to run 250-300(i would most likely still drop) before i start inorder to avoid a low.

 

[andcol]

Hi there are many T1s that run on the site. I will tag a few for you so this comes to their attention and also a couple of experienced pump users
@ElyDave @tim2000s @donnellysdogs @Spiker

 

[Bebo321]

Hi @Wolfhelm
It could be that your doctors are suggesting to eat more protein as a way of curbing the amount of carbohydrate you eat. If you are blousing for your meals and exercising within 3 to 4 hours afterwards, the insulin you still have on board will cause a rapid fall in blood glucose levels. If you know you're going to be active, try to take this information of board and exercise either away from meal times, or keep your meal low carb if you know you're going to be active soon afterwards.

Take a quick look at this video which explains the basics.

Other resources include: www.teambloodglucose.com, www.runsweet.com and www.excarbs.com

 

[RuthW]

You are having the problems I used to have before I went on a pump and learned how to plan for exercise. But whether you are on a pump or not a bit of planning can help you. There are the sites the others have mentioned, plus there are a couple of books that helped me - Think Like a Pancreas, and Diabetic Athlete's Handbook. I learned how to alter either or both of my basal insulin and bolus insulin for exercise. Basically you need to reduce your insulin quite a lot in advance, and sometimes afterwards, if you don't want to be stuffing carbs down you all the time and keeping your blood sugar high constantly.

The thing is that if your blood sugar drops very quickly, it means you have high insulin sensitivity. But your Hba1c might be running high because you are keeping your blood sugars high as a defense against hypos. But usually doctors will then think that you spend all your time sitting around eating cakes, and they won't give you good advice that fits your lifestyle.

From what you are saying it really sounds like you have increased your insulin sensitivity lately by exercising, so you probably need insulin dose reductions across the board. You may need to do a whole set of basal tests first, then rest your carb:insulin ratio.

 

[ann34+]

whenever i exercise i drop really low for while, its a running joke in my house, " oh ___ is going low, he must of exercised".

A good example is a week or two ago i was 200 and rising (rising was cgm, i did a blood check), so i aalked my dog for an hour, by the time i made it back home, my cgm was saying 100isg and dropping fast, bloodchecked and was about 70ish. I was about 50-60 for the next hour despite treating.

In short any exercise makes me drop like a rock, and all my doctors have recomended is eat more protien, which i am (about 1-2 eggs with breakfest, coldcuts with lunch, meat/fish with dinner, and nuts for snacks). I am not fat, but am trying to start exercising, and i dont want to have to run 250-300(i would most likely still drop) before i start inorder to avoid a low.

i think you are on the pump - do you plan for exercise, as RuthW mentions? It will be trial and error at first if you dont, and if you already do, maybe revise your plans?. the video posted by Bebo321 is very useful, i wish it had been available 25 years ago when i was swimming, PS remember to consider cutting the base rate back for the first few hours of the night after exercise - depending on its intensity. If you dont usually exercise you may need to cut your base rate more, even for light exercise, remembering to adjust for the time lag in action of the particular insulin you use in your pump . I also find that i need about 15 carbs beforehand, for a walk, even if reduce the pump to just 20%, a piece of fruit first may be an idea, with a few glucose tabs mid walk?