Resistance and strength training exercises are more likely to increase BG. So will high intensity aerobic exercise. I find 20 minutes on the elliptical at a steady low-to-moderate pace works best for me.
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Hi Lrod08,
Check this link out - you may find the Diabetic Warrior inspiring. I have been D1 for longer than not, and it has been a rollercoaster ride. My advice generally is to keep your carbs as lows possible and keep doing exercise. The the diabeticās two best friends, next after insulin http://typeonediabeticwarrior.blogspot.ca
Hi @halvdan. Thanks for the link to the blog. I will check it out. I tried super low carb before, but since I do quite bit of intensive exercise (high intensity interval training and strength training) I just felt like I had no energy to do the workouts and my body wasnāt repairing very well after exercising with too low carbs. I do about 100g mostly in the form of non starchy veggies, but I may have to cut back a little bit more until I find something that works. Thanks for the support!
I am not an expert but it sounds like your bolus dose is too high to me. Do you know Dr Bernstein? One of his podcasts or videos was all about intense exercise. I canāt find it now but he talks about exercise in several videos on his YouTube channel. In case you are not familiar with Dr Bernstein, he is an octogenarian who has written much about diabetes and still holds a monthly webinar of sorts. His story is pretty amazing and is pretty much THE authority afaik.
How would her bolus dose being too high give her blood sugar spikesā¦
Like I said, I am no expert. For me a spike can follow a low seemingly āout of the blueā. The body can extract glucose stored in the muscles and when you top up with sugar to compensate you get a spike. For me I can sometimes consume large amounts of sugar to compensate for a low during hard exercise only for the spike to happen one or two hours later. I donāt know what it is she does, exactly, but when I do extreme exercise there is nothing worse than plummeting blood sugars to ruin the fun.
Halvdan
Thanks @halvdan. I will have to check and see this video. I have seen some of his videos before, but havenāt seen the one on intense exercise so I will have to take look. Thanks for the suggestion.
What I used to do was eat a snack that was a good combo of protein carb and fat without bolusing. And this would work well, I would drop about 50 or 30 points, but I still would have enough protein and fat to keep me stable and avoid dropping too quickly. I would end up in perfect range before dinner. Sometimes I would have an adrenaline spike, but it wasnāt very big and easily handled by the mealtime insulin. Eventually, I noticed that I was starting to go way too high without bolusing, and then I would end up with an adrenaline spike that would make me go even higher. So I started doing a half unit bolus for the snack to avoid going up too high (the minimum bolus I can do), but sometimes I end up dropping too quickly if my pancreas happens to spurt out enough insulin and I think that ends up triggering the adrenal response anyway. So I think my issue with my numbers isnāt just about figuring out a new basal and bolus dose. I think itās figuring out how to manage exercise now as what I had been doing for a while just isnāt working anymore. It has been making me scared to exercise.
Oh sorry Lrod08 and Tslimshady. I said bolus but I meant basal. Oops! I meant to say it sounds like you basal dose is too high. When I do intense training I have to adjust my bolus dosed quite significantly. It can be hard to manage. I find that intense exercise can affect sensitivity for two days. It can happen that I have to reduce my basal dose. Then, during a period of non activity I only look at food and my bloods go sky high. I thing regularity is the key, but unfortunately my life is anything but.
Ok, got it. Oh, and I edited my message as it seems things got shifted around in the wrong order so it probably didnāt make much sense when reading it the first time, lol.
Thanks for the idea of the basal adjustment. I havenāt done much tweaking around with it previously so itās a new variable for me.
You message made senseā¦ I think. I am interested because I find exercise while being really helpful in all sorts of ways also causes difficulties. Understanding and controlling blood sugars is pretty complex as it is. Here are the videos I mentioned. I should definitely watch them again myself. There are so many Dr Bernstein videos on YouTube!
Yes, I have been finding intensive exercise more difficult to manage as well now that my pancreas isnāt helping out as much to cover adrenaline spikes and whatnot. I also feel that intense exercise now seems to be causing me a ridiculous morning spike sometimes the next day despite being the meal where I eat the least amount of carbs (even though I donāt drop low at night). I then become ultra insulin sensitive the rest of the day though. I guess it must be an effect of hormones released during exercise that lingers around for a while. Iāll make sure to watch these. Thanks for the links!
Hi @CatLady06. Thanks for the tip. The type of exercise I do is quite intensive and involves strength training and resistance so I guess that explains why the adrenaline spikes have just been getting crazier. I guess I may have to start thinking about doing more steady pace exercise for a change until I figure things out.
Really looking forward to getting a pump. I think it will make basal adjustments much easier as it seems thatās something I am struggling to figure out right now. Managing BS at night is becoming difficult. I never used to have high blood sugars at night and now thatās something that is really affecting my numbers. I think my body isnāt producing enough ābasalā of its own to control overnight blood sugars anymore.
Iāve been T1 for almost 2 years, so not very long. My piece of advice is not too feel bad about adjusting your dose. In the beginning I felt like I was failing if I had to up my basal insulin. What Iāve learned is that if an adjustment keeps me feeling good and my numbers is range, then thatās ok. Iāve gone up and down on my doses to adjust for activity, illness, etc. You will do great!
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Thank you for the encouragement @Gabe8! I guess I have to get used to the idea that dosage changes will happen all the time. I am very resistant to change, but have to remind myself that I must do it to stay healthy. Thanks for the support! 