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Started running again -sugars going high!

drahawkins_1973

Well-Known Member
Messages
452
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all. I've just started running and I'm finding I get a really sharp rise in my sugars when I stop. I'm only doing 2 miles and my sugars are fine during the jog but the minute I stop my sugars shoot up (from about 6 to 11 in about 5 minutes!).
How can I manage this? Any thoughts. I currently just take a shot of novarapid as soon as I get in the door and my sugars come back down within an hour but I'm worried this spike isn't good. I was wondering if I should eat something and bolus for this before I start but it makes me a bit nervous as I don't want to go low when I'm out.
It's giving me the perfect excuse not to carry on
and I have given up a few times previously due to this but I really want to stick with it this time.
Any advice welcome!
 
I have the same issue if I take a break from exercising for more than 3-4 days. Fortunately, the problem goes away within 2-3 days after I start working out again.

I find that there's a strong correlation between glycogen storage and hyperglycemia after exercise. If I'm eating lot of carbs and not exercising my muscles are able to replenish their glycogen storage over that 3-4 day break. After I start running again for 2-3 days my glycogen storage becomes depleted.

What does that mean in layman's terms? When I eat lots and don't exercise, the glucose in my blood has nowhere to go so it either gets stored as fat or my blood sugar rises. When I regulate my eating and exercise frequently, that glucose can get stored (as glycogen) in my muscles which acts almost as a buffer for my blood sugar levels.

If you're running 2 miles/day, try to be consistent about running for 4-5 days in a row and keep an eye on how many carbs you eat. I wouldn't be surprised if the problem goes away after that.
 

Thanks, I think 4-5 days in a row might be a bit ambitious at the moment
but it makes sense what you've said so I will keep it up and see how I go!
Edited to add- Thinking about it a bit more I eat pretty low carb, would this still apply?
 
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walnut_face said:
@drahawkins_1973 I have the same problem, but I am type 2. I either a) put up with it or b) warm down by walking for ½ hour
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I have just joined a beginners running club,, I am type 2 but hba1 is much improved, so metformin down to 500mg. I don't eat before a run, but my BG is higher after the run than at any other time! Am worried that if the metformin is stopped I won't be able to keep my levels down @drahawkins_1973 , @walnut_face
 
Hi Teammidwife. I haven't found a way to stop this rise. As type 1 as I can take some quick acting insulin when I've finished which does bring my levels back down within an hour or so, but I wouldn't know what to recommend for you...sorry
 
A bit late to this thread, but ... I run up to 120km a week. My BGLs will rise quickly after a run. However, a few hours later, BGLs will start dropping as muscles start sucking glucose out of the blood stream to replenish glycogen stores.

The initial rise is probably from counter-regulatory hormones (adrenaline, cortisol, etc.) generated during the run. I treat this with insulin in a pre-emptive way. That is, I don't wait for BGLs to go up, I just give a few units shortly after the run is finished and monitor BGLs closely. Once the fast acting insulin has worn off, I keep an eye out for dropping BGLs, as this is when the counter-regulatory effect has also worn off and BGLs may start to drop. The length of time this happens may depend on how far and hard you ran, your fitness and physiological factors specific to you.

Stick with it - eventually you get things right by trial and error!

Just my two cents.

T1D since 1972.
 
What time of day are you running ? I need to bolus for pre breakfast morning runs, this keeps me relatively flat throughout and after.
 
Thanks both for your replies.

I currently run in the evening about 6pm, but I don't see a difference if I run earlier on the weekends.
I am currently taking some quick acting as soon as I get in the door form the run but I still spikes up to about 11 or 12. they do come back done afterwards but I'm a bit worried having spikes that high even for short amount of time.

I was wondering whether I should try and eat a small snack before and bolus for it and hope that having some insulin on board would help....?? I'd be a bit nervous about bolusing with no food but @Wurst do you find that's ok., no lows?

I'm only doing 3 miles at the moment, and would like to build on this but want to figure out how to manage the highs first.
 
drahawkins_1973 said:
I was wondering whether I should try and eat a small snack before and bolus for it and hope that having some insulin on board would help....?? I'd be a bit nervous about bolusing with no food but @Wurst do you find that's ok., no lows?
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HI Drahawkins_1973,
This only works for me in the morning i.e. when dawn phenomenon is in play. If I ran in the evening (which is very rare) I would typically see a BS drop and would not need to bolus before. This is the same for cycling. A few weeks ago I ended up going for a longish ride > 70 km in the afternoon versus the morning and ended up hypoing, not very pleasant.

How intensely are you running the 3 miles, a really hard run for me (i.e sprint training) can result in spikes even with some bolus onboard.
 
Wurst said:
How intensely are you running the 3 miles, a really hard run for me (i.e sprint training) can result in spikes even with some bolus onboard.
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Not very
I've only recently upped to 3 mile from 2 so I'm still only going at about 10 minute miles.

I think I might try a snack an pre-bolus this evening and see how that works...
 
Couldn't be bothered going our yesterday as it was too wet. I have however been reading on here about Fiasp as a very rapid insulin. People have reported its very good for correction doses and it does indeed kick in much quicker than novorapid. I think I could prob live with a very short duration spike and so I'll see if I can get my GP to prescribe it for me.
 
Going for a walk later and I would like to know if I should lower my basal by 20% and should I do this as I've never done it before. I'm interested what results will show at the end of the walk x
 
Try walking for the last 10 minutes, I expect that the body has decided you need a lot of BG for running, but the body can't instantly turn of the production of BG.
 
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