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spike after exercise

I

infinitemantra

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Apologies if this has been covered elsdewhere - thought I remembered a discussion but cant find.

After I do some sports - usually games like badminton or squash - rather than lone exercise like jogging or swimming - my bollod spike. Juts now after an hour of badminton I am showing 11.5 from 7.2 before.

Is there any evidence or views as to whether these spikes should be avoided in favour of doing less stressful exercise - or whether all exercise is good in the longer run?
 

Hi, different exercise types affect your blood glucose in different ways whether it is aerobic or anaerobic, and your body responds accordingly. As you've already found with jogging and swimming, consistent exercise at the same pace tends to bring BG down, whereas high energy sports can cause them to rise. Your body basically goes in a fight or flight mode whilst doing certain sports/activities and this causes the liver to produce glycogen (a bit like how stress/adrenaline can cause the same effect).

I've always went with the mantra that all exercise is good for me, and it's better to have high BG for a short time after exercising than not exercising at all.

I actually no longer have this problem (I used to go terribly high after sports a few years ago), however I used to remedy this by taking a unit or 2 of insulin before sports, then would eat something to cover the insulin after the activity. This worked for me for years.

I don't know if my body just got used to the high activity but I haven't had this issue for a couple of years now. Are you newly diagnosed?
 
just over a year H1AC of 147 at diagnosis 35 last week. I have been pretty on off in terms of exercising so my body wont have got used to it. I instinctively feel that exercising should be the right thing to do even if there is a BG rise. However I hear people talking about the spikes being the thing that is the most damaging \ risky - I sort of think that my bg might be lower after the spike than if I hadn't exercised - but this is very hard to show with data (too many variables - too few data points)
 
I agree. I miss exercise but something says I don't like those fast fluctuations in either direction. And both. So I e resorted to just walking. Even house cleaning like washing floors raises me.
I know exercise has loads of other benefits than controlling bg ( even though it makes it worse) but the spikes and drops aren't beneficial IMO
 
I always go up slightly even just walking. The quicker I walk the higher the spike! If I do anything really strenuous or even a hike (short 4 km) which I am now able to do (yay) it goes up more. But I have taken it and think all exercise is good for you!
 
How do you manage it. I find if I take even the smallest dose of insulin I'll plummet somewhere sometime but that's random.
 
Kristin251 said:
How do you manage it. I find if I take even the smallest dose of insulin I'll plummet somewhere sometime but that's random.
Click to expand...
It's true what they say, we are all different and one thing doesn't suit all
 
I overdid it a little on the weekend... spinning into Bodypump. My body did not like me and my libre showed some serious yo-yoing!

Dropped drastically before the end of spin class because rocketing 15 minutes into pump... lesson learnt.

1) I should perhaps stick to one class at a time

2) The basal reductions I used for spin/aerobic exercise were not enough/I need to reduce my bolus with breakfast or have a snack

3) I need to avoid reducing my basal so much for anaerobic exercise like Bodypump

Yesterday I managed to get it perfect (may be a fluke!)... i reduced my basal an hour before the class and ate some nuts. I worked out for 30 minutes (GRIT, high intensity training) and ate my low carb meal an hour after the class. My BS remained in between 6 and 7 before during and after. I wasn't sure if my BS would hold overnight as I've been suffering with overnight nights so I had some Greek yoghurt and raspberries. My BS remained consistent overnight and I woke up around 7.

It's different for everyone but consider the timings of your insulin and what you eat before/after. Keep trying until you find what works.
 
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