anyone know best resource for figuring out how to deal with low blood sugars that come a couple hours after the workout??? i need good info on how to eat to fit my 2-3 hour workouts!!
im pretty sure that these low blood sugars arent residual from the humalog i take.
i asked my dr for advice on what to eat and he just said i needed to experiment what works for me but i at least need a direction to head!
protein helps to stabilize your blood sugar, so maybe have a protein shake, or a peanut butter sandwich after the workout to avoid the lows.
Are you on injections or a pump? This is one (of many) areas where a pump can make a big difference, because you can tell it to reduce your basal delivery around a workout.
If you’re using injections, I suggest a healthy snack like fresh fruit right before you start working out. When I was still injecting I always had a banana or granola bar or similar if I was going to work out for more than 1/2 hour. Even now, on a pump, I still keep something like that in my gym bag at all times just in case.
One is your current approach? Like Eric asked, are you doing injections or pump? If injections, when are you taking them in relation to when you are exercising?
thanks ive started eating protein afterwards and it’s helping!
thanks!
i do injections b/c i dont want something hanging on me all the time!
ive eaten bananas before workouts and then ended high afterwards so i assumed it was from the banana. so then i quit that. i ve been doing some research and heard on this site that intense exercise raised hormones which raise your blood sugar too so maybe that’s part of it???
i rarely take injections after 3p or occasionally at 5p. My workouts last from about 6/7 to 10p and i’m getting my low blood sugars anywhere from midnight to 2a and then again at 4a
i need some sleep!!! 
what basal insulin are you taking? It sounds like you may need to reduce your overnight basals or long-acting insulin when you plan to do long evening workouts. Eating a well-rounded meal can also help. If I skimp on my post-workout meals (especially for long workouts), I am more likely to have delayed-onset hypoglycemia. Keep in mind that short-acting insulin peaks about an hour post injection so you would start reducing about an hour before you are going low. Of course, you will have to fiddle around to see what works.
Bananas are pretty high in carbohydrates (higher than I expected before I first looked it up), so maybe you should try something a little less sweet (peanut butter is a good one because it has some carbs and some protein; chocolate milk is also a good mixture of the two as long as you don’t drink too much).
As for having “something hanging on all the time,” I was turned off by pumps for 20 years because of the same mentality. Then I discovered the OmniPod and now, a year later, I can’t imagine how I had any control of my diabetes without it! Going on the OmniPod system has genuinely changed my life, no bull. Because you are having lows so much later than your workout, you might be a good candidate for a pump; it’s “constant drip” basal delivery is much more reliable and closer to a healthy pancreas than the long-acting insulins like Lantus or Levemir. As a result, hyopglycemic episodes are often much less frequent for pump users. I know that is definitely the case for me; and my overall control is much, much better (not that it was horrible before, my HbA1C before the pump was below 7.5).
It’s a big, personal decision, I’m just offering some personal experience to give you something to think about.
Not to repeat myself, but these kinds of adjustments are exactly what a pump makes so much simpler. You can easily adjust your basal any time based on what you’re doing and what/when you’re eating, which makes an enormous difference in overall control. Heather, I know exactly how you feel about pumps (I felt the same way for a long time), but it might be worth taking a look if these kinds of issues are important to you.
OK, I’ll shut up now about pumping insulin… 
Andy,
Is there a particular reason you don’t see an endocrinologist? Even T2 patients can benefit from that expertise, in my opinion.
Hey anne!
I was taking 20 units of Lantus and then when i started having all the lows i dropped it down to 15. it has helped!
I actually quit taking humalog after my workouts even if i ended up high. It has helped a bit.
thanks so much it’s good to hear you’re thinking the same thing… good affirmation!
hey andy what is T1 and T2- i’m new to this site and i’m not up on the lingo.
My Endo said the same thing about trial and error and that makes sense since we are all different but didn’t give me a direction to head. Thanks for the insight!
what is a HR???
cool shirt on your profile pic!
hey eric thanks for talking about the benefits of the pump- i’ll prolly break down and do it one of these days. i’m willing to listen to your thoughts on pumps… however i prolly wont get one soon
LOL cool i just saw your pic! wow that lighting really brought out your… eyes haha. that’s a sweet jersey!
Thanks for the t1/t2 info- i’m actually type 1 i just didnt understand what terms they were short for.
no i do not wear a HR- why??
are you a hardcore cyclist?
yes andy, youre definitely a hardcore cyclist! that’s a lot of miles. Some people dont even drive that much in a year haha
i’ve been in the gym a lot- weights, running, other cardio machines. for 3 months now my friend has been teaching me martial arts too so we were doing a lot of punching/kicking, plyometric drills, core strengthening exercises.
As of this week though the martial arts are over 
i’m considering looking into crossfit b/c it is shorter periods of time in the gym which is better for my body but i get results and it’s really intense.
do they have crossfit where you are?? arent you over in europe or did i mix you up with someone else
At my last appt. with my CDE, she was saying to take snacks like a banana + Almonds(21), or an apple + peanuts. Apparently, a combo snack is better to regulate the BS levels. She gave me a handout with more sugg.'s, but I can’t find it right now. I believe that in class they said the exercise stimulates your muscle cells to absorb more sugar than usual, I think the muscles do this for up to four hours after you finish your exercise. If I do a walking/hike up a gradual mountain climb for an hour/one day, I sometimes have lows(below 70) for up to four or five days, even with the same diet and taking less medication. If your pancreas is putting out any insulin, the exercise I believe stimulates it to put out more. Also, Coffee, other drinks and foods stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin. You might want to check how long your humalog (2-3 or 4-6 hours) is working and if you are taking Lantus( or another long lasting insulin) which is 24 hours. You could ask your doctor to send you to a Diabetes Education Class, my insurance paid for an pre and post - class appt. plus 4 classes.
Hello Heather - I’m fortunate to have an endo who is also a competetive runner. Even though he’s not diabetic, he does “get it” on questions like this. If you have not already read “The Diabetic Athlete’s Handbook” by Sheri Colberg, I’d highly recommend picking up a copy of it. Dr. Colberg is a Type-1, and is and has been active in many different sports. In this book, she has compiled accounts of how many athletes in a variety of activities deal with the ups and downs of blood sugars, insulin dosing, as they relate to intense athletic activities. Check it out!
Heather,
The heart monitor helps keep you from “overtraining”. If you read through the instructions that come with the monitor, you can determine your Fat Burning Zone, Aerobic Zone, etc. and most important, your anerobic zone. I set mine a couple of beats per minute under my anerobic zone so that it beeps at me before I get into the serious huffing and puffing. I find that when I train in the anerobic zone that I pay for it in pain and misery the next day. That is not to say that interval training doesn’t have its’ place, but I don’t do the hard stuff more than once a week. By the way, the chart put out by the Heart Association that tells you to subtract your age from 220 and multiply by your I.Q. etc is pure hogwash. Your maximum heart rate is governed by genetics, and not much else. It will change slightly with your fitness levels. I am 58 years old and my anerobic threshold is 168 BPM. Kind of gave the doctor a start when he put me up on the treadmill.
Exercise depletes glycogen in your muscles, and is replenished by the glucose in your blood. This conversion can take as long as 48 hours after a hard workout. There is a trick to balancing your insulin dose, your food intake and the intensity of the exercise. There are books about it, but the best method I have found is to listen to your body. If you are waking up in the middle of the night with low glucose levels, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. It sucks. I usually don’t feel like eating a big meal after a hard ride, run, or swim. I eat a balanced meal with a moderate amount of protein and some complex carbs. I often skip the evening insulin dose of Apidra and scale back slightly on my dose of Levimir.
The most important thing I learned was that food, exercise and insulin form a triad, each interconnected with the other. If you wake up in the middle of the night with low glucose, you are either not eating enough or taking too much insulin. Notice I did not say, “getting too much exercise”…
Good luck.
Rock
thanks rock you have great advice and i can tell you speak from a lot of experience!
i like your last sentence the best
i have a hard time listening to my body because if it did, i wouldnt get out of bed in the morning… so i’m really bad at knowing my limits.
my body crashed a couple months ago and i am now only walking about 2 miles 5x a week. i’m in the throws of finding a new endo, getting on the right thyroid med and right dosage, and looking into adrenals and pituitary.
as soon as i can i’ll be back in the gym hitting it hard and i definitely will get a hear monitor and learn how to best utilize it.
i might be asking you a ton of questions are you up for it?