Hi, has anyone ever been experienced their blood sugars shooting up right before a competition situation? I had this in the weekend, I'd only eaten minimal carbs and had dosed for these, and even when I gave myself an extra shot to correct, they remained high. Was scared to take too much insulin in case I plummeted while I was competing. I'm putting it down to a stress response, but no idea how to deal with it!
I always run up before races. I usually try to get up nd eat early (since I'm bouncing off the walls anyway...) and take a "normal" bolus, rather than cutting it, so there's a bit of extra insulin floating around. I also try to test every hour as sometimes it seems to spike rather steeply. As the race gets closer, even if it's a bit higher than I want, I'll start cutting any corrections to prevent too much insulin floating around. That being said, I'm definitely a middle-aged runner and am not winning any prizes or even coming close to placing in my age group! I still run against my own times though.
Yes when I race cyclocross bicycle races or criterium races with my road bike, I get an adrenaline surge (along w/ things like cortisol), which causes my insulin to not be as effective. I also tend to race more anaerobically during these races, which means my body is not utilizing the same glucose metabolizing mechanism as it does when I am aerobically exercising/racing (for example a more endurance event like a long distance triathlon or long bike race).
When I race these type of races I typically increase my basal profile and also may take a bolus prior to the start of the race so I have more insulin on board to help combat this.
That is, however, somewhat of a gamble and is counter-intuitive to the "reduce insulin before exercise" theory. I try to not stack a whole lot of insulin as it gets closer to time for the race so as to minimize my risks of hypos. But because each race experience is different and each individual responds differently in each setting, I don't really have any solid fool-proof recommendations.
I believe that emotions have a big effect on blood sugar - besides all of the other stuff! If I'm really stressed right out about something, I'll go low right away. If I'm really angry abut something, it will go high. You are probably getting some type of adrenaline rush in order to ready yourself to compete which is making it skyrocket. That's my guess!
Nope, never had a history of running high BGs during competition. I was pretty consistent about eating and dosing before competing. I did run high occasionally, but, if anything, it would be in response to popping glucose tabs because I had more of a tendency to run low.
Last year I competed for the first time since going on a pump and I was running extremely low. I had to seriously readjust my basals for the hour prior to competition when I'd generally start warming up.
Yes. It can be tough. Besides adjusting your insulin differently for competition as compared to training, you can do some of the same things that anyone would do to reduce their level of stress. Meditate, listen to soothing music, close your eyes and try to relax. If you're planning to compete more, you'll get used to being in that situation and be able to take it easier.
As a runner, I might enter a couple of races I don't care about just to be in a race, to help me adjust before a race in which I want to do well.
Don't let one stress increase another stress, like stressing about how your competition stress will affect your blood sugars. Try to let it go and have fun.
Thanks everyone! So glad I found this forum, I've been struggling for ages not really sure who I could ask!