Hi,
Need some help with exercise.
I was diagnosed 2 years ago with RH and I follow a low carbohydrate diet, eat every 2 to 3 hours and take 1000mg of metformin.
I used to be able to exercise for an hour and be fine (before RH) but nowadays I really have to watch the amount of time and what I do. The more cardio intensive it is the worse my blood sugar drops. I can now only manage 5 to 10 mins of cycling or just 20 mins of weights. And I always have low blood sugar afterwards (between 3 and 4.1) and need to do a recovery which consists of 3 dextrose tablets followed by peanut butter on wholewheat toast.
It feels very frustrating and a little counter productive when I have to do a recovery every time. I want to be healthy but my Endocrinologist doesn't offer up much help with this matter, he just says do a recovery if needed and only do small amounts of exercise and keep the weight down.
So I was wondering if anyone had any success with exercise and how you go about reducing the need for a recovery afterwards.
Thanks,
Lisa
Hi and welcome to our forum
After diagnosis I still had quite a bit of weight to shift and I then didn't have full time work to help. So I thought do more, do some running, do more of anything to help with getting good control by using exercise as part of my treatment and management of RH. Of course with dietary adjustments and my endocrinologist insisting I do more.
But , like you, the more exercise I did, regardless of dietary changes, I could not get control. It wasn't until I read about how the body works when doing too much, did it occur to me that depending on how your body copes with strenuous exercise and how it can effect your blood glucose levels.
For me, if I do too much even though it can be stupid, I get a liver dump, and that triggers the high blood glucose levels enough to cause the hypo afterwards.
If, like now, I can work all day, have great energy levels, keep my good control because of having very few carbs, if I eat, then go home and go for a run, then my body reacts similar if I had eaten a high carb meal.
So, since then, I have found that doing quite gentle exercise on a very low carb diet is easier to keep better control. I walk more, and found that doing fifteen minutes walk fifteen minutes after a low carb meal is absolutely great for control.
Swimming is good, as is some weight training.
Now working full time and no need for doing extra because my weight has stabilised and using a Keto diet along with intermittent fasting, have not had a hypo for ages.
You have to be aware that the recovery for the hypo you are taking will almost always cause the trigger for another hyper/hypo rollercoaster ride, this is called the rebound effect. By treating the hypo by what triggers another episode with high carbs, you will cause another overshoot of insulin.
The only way to treat a hypo is by nudging your blood glucose levels back into normal levels by a few carbs, then testing fifteen minutes after, if it is in normal levels then eat a small low carb meal, if it is too high wait until you feel the hypo coming back, then eat a low carb meal. Don't have dextrose tablets, find another food by testing to get your blood glucose levels back into normal, a single plain biscuit does it for me or a piece of fruit(small) others use cheese if you can tolerate dairy, carbs will not help.
Do you keep a food diary, this will help with dietary choices. If you are still having episodes of hypoglycaemia other than exercise, a Keto diet is recommended.
If you are told that low GI foods are okay, if you are like me, there is no difference, it is too much, so called healthy low GI foods are not healthy for me or probably you, you have to know which foods you have an intolerance to, mine are quite a lot and finding out what you are okay with is so important.
Most RH ers, have an intolerance to wheat, starchy vegetables, rice, tropical fruits and so on and anything that is manufactured and most oils that have been used for cooking.
A balanced low carb diet is a must, getting your fat intake right will help with portion control. And you may discover like I did that you don't have to eat every three hours because being in normal levels, you won't go hypo.
No carbs, no hyper, no trigger, no overshoot, no hypo.
My endocrinologist took me off metformin straight away, on my first visit to him.
I can understand if it is necessary, but I have not seen any reason for those with RH to take the drug. Have you been told the reason for taking it?
Stay safe