I do not take any medication but can I go too low also? Normal people can go without food and their bodies just go to their reserves right? Like if one were lost in the woods for three days.
I want to know if I am no longer normal in that way either. I drop to 70 after about 20 minutes of exercise. I haven’t waited around to see if it would go lower than that, but will it???
Hi Carol, most likely, from what I have read, you can’t be dangerously hypoglycemic. If you are not taking medication. Your body should start to burn reserves and your liver will start to release sugar and you should be fine.
There are cases of phenomena where the body makes too much insulin, on it’s own. If you have this you can get dangeroulsy hypoglycemic. There are also cases of tumors that happen to secrete insulin, same result. I think these are rare, so consult your doctor. Since you are testing, you should be able to determine what happens after an hour of exercise unless your doctor told you not to exercise for an hour?
Cheers!
Joe has said it all.
The only thing I’d add is that your body is unique. Your body should kick in and take care of the low with stored glucose. Give yourself something to eat - I’m not talking about a meal. Give yourself some grams of carbodydrate to keep yourself from going down to 70 before you start working out. I’d suggest one or two bites of a cereal bar so it doesn’t go up fast - you won’t get let down as fast. I also time myself with the type of exercise I’m doing and so that I would know, I kept a record of what I tested with the type exercise, time, and grams I ate. That isn’t necessary always, but while you’re figuring out what your body is doing, it’s an idea so you have information when you do want to consult your doctor.
Hi Carol,
Joe is correct about possibilities of the body making too much insulin for some people. My daughter is hyperinsulinemic without any medication. Your doctor would be able to tell you if you are. We keep her on an extremely low carb diet with absolutely no refined sugars. Her pancreas is under attack right now and the doctor tells her it is a matter of time before it switches on her. As long as we keep the carb level low and her protein level high she does fine. if we slip up she crashes very badly and has to be brought back up very slowly.
If you worry about your blood sugar going too low I would suggest a small protein snack about an hour before you work out. If carbs are not a problem for you then go ahead and try the carbs. I would just check BG closely and then write down what works and/or what doesn’t. Good luck.
I have that too, and my endo told me I’m not diabetic… When I was diabetic, I used to have a snack an hour before working out. It worked well for me, so I’ve stuck to the habit.
Dear Carol. Even I as a diabetic can go on forever as long as the insulin dosage is low. My wife was on the Elliptic machine and nearly lost it the heart rate went to the moon and he felt hot and sweaty. In hind sight a reading to see if she she was having a low would have been great… The symptoms are dead on. I dont bring my meter to the gym as a rule but in the future not for the diabetic but for the non diabetic it my be life saving. Ironic