Type 1 Short intense depression after exercise & BG drop

[mentat]

Does anyone else fall into a short (1-3 day) depressive hell if their sugar drops during exercise?

Two days ago my sugar dropped from about 8 to 5 within 20 minutes of exercise. I consumed carbs and did not go hypo. 15 minutes later I had a sudden profound mood swing, then I recovered, but over the next 36 hours I slowly sank into an intense depression and dysphoria. This morning I'm feeling better.

This is about the 3rd time that I'm certain about, but I have a feeling it has occurred many more times without my noticing.

Is this a familiar occurrence to anyone? Any tips on how to deal with it?

 

[tim2000s]

I'm afraid that I can't say that it's something that I've ever experienced. Bumping the topic to see if anyone else has.

 

[mfactor]

Yep weird , I suffer from depression and use exercise as a coping aid, i always feel good after a workout , all those feel good endorphins being released, I consume some (15g) carbs beforehand as that seems to help.....but thats for heavy resistance training


5.0 is a good figure, so cant see why you ate some carbs, that is what exercise is supposed to do (drop your levels), , could you not eat carbs next time and see if it stays at 5.0...................


Could it have been you were at 8.0 then exercised and dropped to 5.0 then ate some carbs so it shot back up............a bit of a yo yo that might not of helped ....what/how much carbs did you eat and did you test again after...................

Also what type of exercise , how hard , long etc....


Just looked on Wiki and Hypoglycemia can cause dysphoria (had to look that up ) .... but as said 5.0 is not really low ??

 

[Mep]

I used to work out a lot, probably excessively before I got quite sick. I was doing 2 hours per day... I'd start my day with 1/2 hour weights, and 1/2 hour cardio at the gym, then I'd come home from work and do an hour power walk. I used to feel good after workouts, until I realised that my sugars weren't improving and last amount of weight i needed to lose at the time wasn't budging. I got to the point where I was feeling depressed about exercising. But then I got so sick suddenly that I was too sick to exercise at all. I haven't really been able to do what I used to do ever since. I've had one thing after another. It takes me a lot of energy just to work part time these days. If I do any walking at all... eg. shopping.... I come back home in pain and suffering other symptoms which I don't care to mention here. So I hear you re: depression. I did have a few hypos when I exercised... well usually straight afterward and I then took longer to recover I noticed and my mood was affected. Maybe it has something to do with the chemical balance when you're working out or something? I'm not sure.

 

[mentat]

Thanks for your perspectives!

Exercise has never been a mood booster for me. It's funny, everyone sees me struggling and pressures me to exercise, when I give in and do it I come out sore and irritable. It's kind of like people handing out diabetes advice--"I know my body better than you!"

Still, the depression thing takes it to a whole new level. I am starting to suspect I have something similar to PTSD that is triggered by the hormonal mix that arises when exercising without a surplus of blood sugar. I'm going to bang down the doors of my medical professionals until something gets done, because the experience is beyond unbearable...

 

[mfactor]

Don't feel pressured to do anything , its your body, do what you feel best for you..... if its causing you problems just leave it out and find your own path...........

Personally cardio gives me nothing , just bores the hell out of me so I dont do it............( but do walk instead of using the car as much as poss)

ATB

 

[RuthW]

When I was younger sudden or unexpected hypos did drastically affect my mood for a few days. I think it was just an emotional reaction to the fear I felt in the hypo and, when you are hypo you get a rush of adrenalin too. That may leave its mark. But I think it can be triggered by exasperation too. Nowadays hypos don't really affect my mood at all. But they're not as fast or severe as when I was young, to be honest. And they don't scare me any more.

 

[mentat]

When I was younger sudden or unexpected hypos did drastically affect my mood for a few days. I think it was just an emotional reaction to the fear I felt in the hypo and, when you are hypo you get a rush of adrenalin too. That may leave its mark. But I think it can be triggered by exasperation too. Nowadays hypos don't really affect my mood at all. But they're not as fast or severe as when I was young, to be honest. And they don't scare me any more.

Hi Ruth, sounds like a similar sort of thing! I avoid hypos like the plague because they can mess with my moods for several days. In addition they have always made me feel quite dysphoric and violated.

 

[RuthW]

Mentat, I also did loads of sports when I was young and got no help at all with dealing with it - the bad old days of diabetes. But nowadays all the necessary info is available and loads of support. But you don't usually get it directly from your DN and consultant. It is all in books and on the Internet (including here on this site). In fact,mint has turned out to be quite easy! I asked a lot of questions here on the Sports thread, and I bought Diabetic Athlete's Handbook (which I keep rereading) and Think Like a Pancreas and I have learned my "patterns" during different types of exercise (I am planning to keep learning for different activities), and while I may occasionally approach the border of Hypoland (just below 4) at the end of exercise, it is never out of control now and I am prepared to deal with it, so I get less of the sweaty adrenalin rush which is part of a hypo but exacerbated by panic, if you are not expecting it.