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Level before exercise

Siobhan

Well-Known Member
Messages
71
Hi

What is the highest your blood can be before you exercise I was told by someone 13.7, any higher and the body just keeps producing glucose, any thoughts...

:D
 
I have taken BS & exercise more seriously since I became aware of complications earlier this year.

I'm been surprised that BS increases with exercise, whereas I thought it ought to drop.

Starting tennis at 6-7 I maintain about 7 by eating 1 dried apricot between sets, & plenty of water. Starting above 8 its gone up to 15, & my game quality has fallen.

I usually wear a heart rate monitor, & the range is 120-150 or 80-100% of the maximum for my age.

I think 13.7 is too high a BS ever to have.

I'm T2, not on insulin. You will need to control your levels more carefully to avoid hypo.
 
These are the instructions I've been given and the reasons. If blood glucose is > 13 before exercise, check for ketones. DO NOT EXERCISE UNTIL KETONES ARE NEGATIVE.(ie take insulin and delay exercise until ketones are negative).
If there are no ketones then you can do gentle exercise checking BG frequently (but not anaerobic exercise as that is likely to make your BS higher.)
The reason is that if you have high BS and ketones it is likely that you have too little circulating insulin . If this is the case your muscles will not be able to access the insulin in your blood and your liver may release even more glucose making your BG rise.This can result in dangerously high ketone levels and DKA.

This happened to me immediately prior to my hospitalisation/diagnosis. I went for a mountain bike ride on a hilly trail , after about 1km my breathing became very rapid and I became confused.I managed to get back to the car but really don't know how.
 
I was also told that I had to wait until my levels were below 13 before I could go back to the gym. I was also told to start with short sessions - pre diagonisis I did 30 mins twice a week and I was told to start back at 15 mins each session and then build up. I am currently on 20 mins and can't seem to master the backlash as seem to drop by the late afternoon so need to learn to adjust my lunch insulin to revent this then I will go on to 25 mins.
 
I wouldnt exercise unless I'm between 6 and 11. I know I've been when about 30 mins before it was 4 and even though had something small and sugary to eat it seems to hang around quite low.
Maxs you feel rough as during and after and harder to get back up - so to speak!

Over 11 can just trigger more glucose stuff from the liver - thats what I've been told anyway. I also know when I've had a high day cos its harder in the gym too!!1
 
wELL, I had a sugar of 12.6 and done 40 dance aerobics (sweated buckets!!) about 45 min later had a sugar of 5.6.
 
Well, so much for having a 5.6 last night, had two hypos during the night! One at about 1/2ish and the other half 5 each time downed a carton of orange juice, I think I need a bigger snack after exercise, will try tonight and see...
 
I've read-and experienced, that it depends on the level of the activity as to which way your BS goes.
When I do very extreme exercise (e.g. a spinning class), my BS ALWAYS goes up. It can sometimes stay up for quiet some time too. If I'm doing a more moderate class (e.g. body pump), I usually have to take dextrose half way through because I've dropped.
Overall though, the exercise is lowering my overall readings and making them steadier.
As for what readings should be before exercise, I will do the exercise anyway. Obviously, if it's low (below 4) I wont, but that is the only exception. I'm not advocating that everyone should do this!
I also think there is a lack of research into this area. Has anyone read any papers on the effects of exercise with diabetes? I mean the physiological aspects-not just 'yes do it, it's good for control'. I also am pretty sure that these effects will be very different for T1 versus T2.
 
I found a really useful website that explains IN DETAIL how exercise affects BG. Basically it says our blood sugar levels will go up if we are doing Anaerobic exercise and down if doing Aerobic exercise,its anaerobic if your heart rate is 85% (or above) of your maximum. See the attached link. There is a lot more info on it - including some quite detailed explanations with diagrams etc :!:

http://www.runsweet.com/HeartRate.html

Hope this helps
 
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