I normally exercise AFTER eating but, if I exercise BEFORE eating how long should I wait to test and bolus for an upcoming meal? Wouldn't my BG continue to drop for a while after exercise?
That depends on whether or not you are one of those people who's bg goes down after exercise. Many of us have it go up. I would suggest blowing some test strips and do some experimenting on what works for you.
Sorry I can't be more specific. Hope you find out easily what works for you.
Hi Cora!
I am one of those people who's bg's go way down after aerobic exercise and it goes up after anaerobic. Sometimes it will go up for aerobic if I exercise too early in the morning hours. I suppose it's the Dawn Phenomenon thing.
I've been testing more than usual like you said. Test, Test, Test! Guess that's the only way to really know for sure since we're all different, huh!
My levels can go up after heavy exercise. They decrease if I go with a milder workout.
Oh, to add, when I was trying to learn about my body, I did extra checks...just before and just after. A lot of times I felt very weird afterwards and learned my levels were increasing instead of decreasing.
I would always check before a meal and before exercise then 1.5-2 hours after a meal. And Endocrinologist would be the best source of your information though since they understand metabolism well.
Thanks 1DebY,
I realize testing is my only true way of knowing. But, if I exercise right before a meal and test my bg immediately after exercising, I won't be getting a stable reading. I would be still trending downward, right? So, should I wait to eat when my bg is stable so that I can correctly bolus?
This might help - - lots of good tidbits of info
http://www.tudiabetes.org/video/tudiabetes-live-interview-the-athletic-diabetic-with-gary
These days I almost always exercise before and not after eating dinner, and I don't wait to bolus. Just shower, test, inject and eat. If I exercise for more than a half hour, my BG is more likely to be dropping. If that's the case for you then you might want to delay your injection a bit - maybe right before eating if you normally pre-inject, or after your meal has started if you normally inject immediately pre-meal.
All in all, I far prefer exercising before eating; I think it's more predictable and easier to track what's going on with my insulin and BG.
Thanks 2hobbit1,
I LOVE Gary!!!! So informative!!!
Thanks Jag1, that makes sense to me. Since I usually bolus 20-30 minutes before eating... I'll delay my bolus right before eating. That should give a little extra time for my bgs to stabilize. I'll give it a try, Thanks again!
I have had problems with pre-bolus even with normal activity lately, after exercise like a 2 mile walk, I don't pre-bolus now before dinner or whatever meal and I reduce my bolus. I have to remember to do this and to prepare everything before injecting because I can start dropping very rapidly as soon as I inject and not have all my food ready. I can also go low much later on at night from a more active day. If I'm higher and at some other weird times exercise can raise me or have no effect of lowering me.
Hi meee!
As I was reading your post it reminded me of the times I pre-meal bolused on the way to a restaurant. Thought's popped into my head....what if we wrecked on the way and I was unconscious. How would anyone know that I just bolused for a meal. Crazy stuff PWD have to deal with!!!
omg- if I prebolused on the way to a restaurant, unless I were above 200 maybe, I would prolly be unconscious before we got there! I am getting sooo sick of this, not knowing how I will react to the insulin etc.