Hey guys, I posted this in the main discussion forum, but thought I'd post here in case anybody had any similar experiences.
So, in the last maybe... couple of months, but definitely the last month, I've been having a really hard time getting my I:C under control. I've been training for a half marathon, and until now, whenever I exercised a lot, I would need LESS insulin to cover the carbs. Now, it's ridiculous how out of whack my levels are. For instance, today I'm working at a coffee shop, and I had an apricot scone. I figured, pretty carby, right? So I guessed about 50 g of carbs. I've already changed by I:C for the afternoon to 1:5 (it was 1:7). Now here I am two hours later, and I'm at 265, steadily climbing. So far, I've given 17.35 units to cover 1 scone (and the subsequent BGs.) Even if it was 70 g of carbs, that's still a hell of a lot of insulin. I'm just so frustrated because not a day goes by when I don't hit at least 200. I should probably just commit to doing lower carb, but I still don't understand why, when I'm running like 13-15 miles a week, I'm needing MORE insulin! Maybe there're some runners out there who've had this experience before. Any input would be appreciated.
well, this may be worth trying. I found when I got past a distance with a faster speed, I started to burn body fat. I use a running watch with GPS which provides a fairly accurate number of calories and percentage of fat burned. My BGs seemed to do their own thing until I upped my protein intake. I needed the extra protein for muscle repair and noticed that it helped me to level out.
Another thing that has helped me, is to create a running basal rate that reduces the basal rate while I do my long runs, but adds what I took off for 2 hours back starting the hour after I stop running. So, for me, I normally have 1.05 units per hour in the morning. When I run, my run program lowers my basal to 0.05 per hour for two hours. One hour after I stop my run, my basal adds the 1.0 unit I took off for two hours so that I have 2.05 units for two hours then return to my usual basal rate.
It has worked for me. I can start my run in the 5.5 to 6.5 range (sorry, I’m Canadian and don’t know the equivalent) and actually finish with almost the same reading. I do take gel mixed in water during the run, which seems to help keep the energy and BG level.
Hope you find the answer that works for you. I’m sure more will share what works for them.
Hi, I don't have very much advice to add, but I definitely go through the same problem. For me it seems almost random if exercising a lot if it will raise or lower. I try to just check it every two hours and correct. I'll let you know if I find anything, but at least it's good to know multiple people are having the same problem.
Hi. I just joined this group. I'm a runner and also trying to get up to a half marathon. I've been running for a good several years now, but get confused when I start upping my mileage of how to deal with that. Your response, Truffle, was really informative. Thanks! I looked up the conversion so you're running 99 - 117 mg/dl on your blood sugars, which is great! I actually get a bit nervous below 100 when running. And that is also where I run into my confusion about when to supplement carbs during long runs.
