I know, it’s horrible! That’s the only thing I really struggle with so I’m hoping that the libre will make it a lot easier! How did you deal with exercise? I want to keep active, my job is rather active but I’d love to start running but I’m afraid that I’ll go into a hypo!
Thank you, that’s a great idea! I’ll give that a try as well! Let’s hope I have an appointment soon!
I personally build up any exercise I do a bit slowly if I haven't been used to that level of movement for a little while. I find if I do it gradually, as I'm building up my exercise my basal requirements go down, but bolus ratios stay the same in the longer term.
I'm afraid the easiest to avoid a hypo is to test test test. The Libre 2 alarms can be set at a level which suits you, so I set the low alarm to sound at a higher level when I'm exercising so I know to have some juice etc and avoid going officially hypo (below 4).
I haven't been as active in lockdown so when I started exercising again I first tried a few times after I'd eaten, and only took half my usual bolus for the meal. I used the libre to wait until my bloods had started rising a bit, I then scanned and was able to exercise until my blood was back to a better range. This worked well for about a week until I noticed my basal requirements had started decreasing. I then get to a point where my body is used to a certain level of exercise so I don't need to decrease my bolus any more. I've then been gradually increasing the exercise I've done.
I always have glucose tablets with me (at least) if I exercise away from the house. Longer stints exercising away from the house I'll also chuck in some different types of carbs so I can choose what I fancy depending on my levels and how much more exercise I am planning. Eg small carton of juice for proper hypo, cereal bar if I'm slowly dropping but don't need the instant sugar rush.
I won't correct for a high until I've been home for a bit/def stopped exercising (within reason). Depending on what exercise you do and how long for, it can cause your bloods to drop up to 48hrs later so be a bit aware if you eg. suddenly do a full day hike out of the blue for example. The libre has made it so so so much easier to catch hypos and the libre 2 even more so, such a game changer! I've always been more careful because I hate the hypo feeling so much, but you might find you don't need to be as cautious as me of course.