Avoiding Hypos

Hollieo4 said:

Hi all!

It's been a while since I last posted but I was looking for some advice and know that this is the best place to ask. So I'm almost 8 months in to diagnosis now and only had one Hba1c 3 months in which came back at 41 (5.9). Since then I am having a lot more hypos. I am now actively trying to lose weight and feel very resentful every time I have to eat to treat a hypo! Every time I take my baby daughter for a walk in her pram, I am guaranteed to hypo after it. I feel so frustrated. I have read that some people purposely run high to avoid a hypo but isn't that damaging to the body? I have also read that some people eat 15g of carbs half way through exercising but that totally defeats my object of trying to lose weight...help!

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Hey @Hollieo4

Regarding people going high before exercise, I believe that slightly higher BG for a short period of time will do no harm, it's more if they are really high and/or for a prolonged period of time.

Good luck with your weight goals!!

hey there @Hollieo4
exercising can be a bit more difficult with D

do you have a pretty set routine for taking your baby for a walk in the pram ??
if so then lowering your bolus insulin prior to the meal before the walk ( if that makes sense ) could help

so if the walk is after breakfast perhaps taking 1 unit less bolus could help the hypo not to happen

( obviously we can't give specicific advice - you should speak with your DSN to review actual doses )

I prefer to lower my insulin doses than feed them. I’d rather errornon the high side and not eat than hypo. I hate those and it seems when I feed them I feel worse than if I’m a tad high.

I agree with @himtoo and try taking less insulin.

Hollieo4 said:

Every time I take my baby daughter for a walk in her pram, I am guaranteed to hypo after it.

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There's your answer right there! Insulin works as a "key" to let glucose go into cells to be used as energy to keep you going.

But exercise (and that includes pushing a pram) brings into play things called glut4 - it's short for glucose transporters. Those are chemicals within cells which let glucose in when exercising.

So, if you've got some insulin in you and you're exercising, you can end up with a double whammy of both the insulin and glut4 lowering you.

When I'm getting ready for a meal, I'll think about the carb content, will figure out how much insulin I need for that, but I'll also think about how active I've been in the last few hours (you can get a thing called "after drop" from glut4 still doing their job after exercise) and how active I'll be in the next few hours (remember that insulin works for about 4 to 5 hours), and if there's been a fair amount of activity involved, I'll shave a few units off the dose because glut4 will be taking care of the rest of it.

Running high to avoid hypos is a mugs game - you won't notice any major ill effects in the short term from running high, but longer term, it's quietly putting pressure on your eyes, kidneys etc. in the background and can end up doing serious damage to them.

Same here - eating a lot to fix hypos, and having trouble with exercise. My solution is to 1) set a temp basal well in advance of the exercise (if you have a pump). I do -100% for 30 min to 1 hour, so the pump is not giving any basal at all during that time 2) make sure you exercise at least 2 hours after a meal so bolus insulin isn't affecting you 3) split up your mealtime carbs so you eat 15g less for a meal before or after your exercise, and instead eat the 15g immediately prior to exercising, without bolusing.

I've had loads of hypos too and sometimes I get them at work but what I do now is eat something at work so that it doesn't get low anymore

Hollieo4 said:

Hi all!

It's been a while since I last posted but I was looking for some advice and know that this is the best place to ask. So I'm almost 8 months in to diagnosis now and only had one Hba1c 3 months in which came back at 41 (5.9). Since then I am having a lot more hypos. I am now actively trying to lose weight and feel very resentful every time I have to eat to treat a hypo! Every time I take my baby daughter for a walk in her pram, I am guaranteed to hypo after it. I feel so frustrated. I have read that some people purposely run high to avoid a hypo but isn't that damaging to the body? I have also read that some people eat 15g of carbs half way through exercising but that totally defeats my object of trying to lose weight...help!

Click to expand...

I was always taught to have carbs before exercise, not many for a small walk, more for longer, or split - so some in middle also, and if on pump cutting base rate as well. Depends how sensitive you are to exercise. I was always very sensitive . At least in my experience , re calories, i just redistributed. A minor irritant, overall. The snacks to prevent hypos had to be prioritised. I had loads of problems re everyday hypos even so - it is difficult. And if you have a small baby, snacks would probably be essential, at least if you have none of your insulin left. (after only 8 months you may have some). Take care re diets, as even a tiny weight loss may temporarily make you super insulin sensitive - this can be dangerous if not expected as a possibility....