It is a well-known fact that exercise is crucial to anyone, with or without diabetes. I have been working out/running for a while now and cannot seem to keep my blood sugars up. I have tried taking in less insulin, eating (and not covering) lots of carbs, eating protein, taking the pump off, drinking juice/Gatorade during the workout, and so forth. Yet nothing seems to work, for 99% of the time I end up low. This also makes it hard to workout, for I have to eat before and after I workout, basically eliminating the purpose of working out to lose weight. If you have anything that works for you, please share below.
i am sorry in advance to post in this forum.
I am not a doctor. try to get help from your endo or cde on this one, but I do have an opinion.
it is my opinion that your basal insulin is what’s killing you. I pump, so I can work out and not get low, by adjusting my basal rate. this is much more difficult when you inject a long acting like levemir or lantus, because your adjustment will last 24+ hours.
I can set a workout basal rate, about 45 minutes before a workout, to allow me to not have to carb up, then I watch my sugar about every hour to know when to switch back. typically my temp basal is active from 2-4 hours after really heavy exercise. it’s the top 1 reason I pump. this works for me, your mileage may vary.
good luck.
i eat a high protein snake before and a Gatorade when im doing a work out
There are possible a lot of variables here. 1st and probably most obvious, what is your pre workout glucose #? I have good luck starting an intense workout around 180. I think with you though, workout consistency may be an issue. Technically a moderate intensity workout can can effect you metabolically for up to 72 hours. So you may be having an effect from the previous 3 days of working out. So maybe try to stagger strength training and cardio training on different days. Also, try the marathon approach. Meaning carb load the day before your intense cardio work outs, by increasing complex carb intake on the day before, and expecially the night before your runs. Just keep a close eye on the peaks in blood sugar for the day of loading. And last, either adjust your basal delivery for a decreased dose, or suspend it all together prior to workout. Also, remember a lot of the Apidra/Humalog insulin peak in approximately the 2 hour range, so adjust accordingly to that. Good Luck