I have a theory that when you exercise when you blood sugar is elevated,... you are MUCH more prone to muscle soreness and fatigue. I'm thinking over 250... and wonder if anyone else has had this experience or can weigh in on the issue. I worked out with a trainer this week, one session produced slight soreness, the other one has me almost unable to walk down stairs.
Anyone? And, thanks in advance. You guys are amazing. I've learned more here than from any other source!
I don't know anything for sure - but I can say that when I have played basketball when my sugars are high, besides suffering performance wise, I am MUCH more tired, and sore the next day.
When your BG is high, you're starving your muscles and organs of nutrients because the glucose in your blood is impeding the oxygen from doing its job. So, yes, the theory makes sense. I believe this is also why it's not advised to work out with a high BG. (Someone please correct me on the scientific side if what I said isn't true... that's my understanding but I'm not medically or scientifically inclined in any way!)
Better, of couse to get it down, then exercise. If wearing a CGM, as soon as the trend is down is good time. Dont forget the increase water needed for both highs and workouts...that too makes a difference.
I was always told No exercise over 250!
I've exercised many times with high blood glucose and I never felt anything different
Yep, I've heard the same (no exercise when high) because your heart has to work harder to keep your muscles from getting deprived of oxygen.
Hi Carolyn :D
I definitely notice a difference when exercising with elevated bs levels. I usually try to get it trending down before strenuous exercise. If it's over 140 and going up, exercising makes me really tired really quickly. My heart starts pounding too hard and it freaks me out. If My blood sugar is, say, 200 and trending downward, I can exercise and usually feel okay. It's strange and I have a feeling that everyone is a little different but for me, if I exercise over 250, my heart pounds so hard and my upper back starts to hurt and I run out of breath after only a few minutes. I think to be safe, you should always stabilize your bs or at least get it under 200 and trending down for exercise. Sometimes, exercise can make it go higher! There are so many variables involved I sometimes feel like the same thing never happens twice with this disease!
Absolutely Carol! never the same...can only do the best we can do on any given day. We are lucky to have this site to share .
Knowing that others are going through the same trials make it more peaceful.
My husband and I can tell if my son is playing basketball or soccer high from watching him on the sidelines. We couldn't in the first couple of years, but now I'm almost as good as a Dexcom! Not really, but every time I've said "he's high" because he looks more exhausted than usual, whiter, and like he just isn't playing as well as he can play - when we've checked him, he's high. We used to let him play high so we didn't have to worry about lows, but now we aim to be in target and make sure he's drinking gatorade throughout the game.
I'm sure many of you will know this, but it never hurts to remember the risks of high BG during exercise. If you're exercising or planning to exercise with high(..er than usual) BG, you really need to check for blood ketones first!
If you're showing significant blood ketone levels (generally >0.5) this can suggest you've insufficient active insulin on board (exercise or not). If that's the case, your muscle cells won't be able to accept free glucose from your bloodstream; so basically, your fuel filler cap will be locked!
Instead, your body will look to release glucose from stored fatty acids. Unfortunately, this process produces ketones as a byproduct and, with no active IOB, all that happens is the amount of glucose in your blood increases even further but your muscles still can't do anything with it. And you guessed it, as your muscles still aren't getting the fuel they need you'll just burn even more fatty acids and the cycle will continue until you either take some insulin and allow your muscles to use the fuel that's now flooding your system, or your ketones go so high you go acidotic. Not nice!
So, exercise with high BG really can be very dangerous, even more so if you don't take precautions. If your BG is higher than 12-13 mmol and you're showing significant blood ketones the best option really is to take a correction dose (remember that ketones are highly acidic and reduce the action of insulin) and drink loads of water to flush your system. If you're exercising and your BG is rising beyond the anticipated adrenal response (pre-game buzz, etc.), consider taking more insulin. This can be counter intuitive but without insulin you're gonna flake out pretty quick.
Also remember that blood ketones may take two hours or more to show in urine. So, if you want to know what's happening right now it really needs to be a blood ketone test. Not sure which Kb meters are available stateside but I use the Abbott 'Optium Exceed' and it's pretty good. If I'm planning to exercise with high BG (>12mmol) I check for blood ketones first to make sure I'm not causing more problems than the exercise would cure. If the Kb result is more than 0.5 (which it rarely is, thankfully) I'll take a correction and drink more water until it drops.
great wisdom.
thanks for sharing. What does the BG in mols translate to in mg?
1 mmol/l = 18.0182 mg/dl.
thanksfor info!
GREAT info, Pete! Thanks!!
Precision Xtra is the blood ketone meter we have - it's by Abbott also.
It's probably a whole combination of issues leading to muscle fatigue and soreness. One definite concern with high BG is dehydration that occurs with the increased urine output (glucosuria starts around 160 - 180mg/dl in general, and as the glucose spills into the urine it pulls water out of the blood stream with it increasing urine output). Muscles do not work well in a state of dehydration.