Has your total daily carb intake increased in the past few weeks?
not really anything significant. maybe it was just a D fluke. today i have been completely back to normal. 125 before lunch and 99 post after 1.5 hours. maybe the highs were b/c i swam much harder yesterday???
i know that sometimes i can get either insulin resistant or insulin over-sensitive from time to time. but iāve never put much thought into it. now that i am swimming, everything seems to be different. i feel like i should not do anything yet, not make any changes until i see a pattern emerging. if this happens again tonight, i might make a minor basal change for the later evening and overnight.
any other thoughts?
Basal rates can change from season-to-season and year-to-year. Itās one of the more tricky things to establish.
Itās useful sometimes to do a proper basal test. Itās not fun, but the way to do it is to see exactly what your basal needs are when no food and exercise are in the picture. So thatās something you wouldnāt want to do a swimming day. But it would mean you skip some meals and see exactly how much insulin you need when you have no food and no food bolus. Sometimes part of our basal is covering our meals, and sometimes part of our meal bolus is making up some of our basal.
But in the meantime, you should just keep an eye on it and adjust if you need to. It might be something simple, like hormones from your exercise yesterday.
i HATE doing basal tests. but, i have found that i am pretty decent at making minor changes in my basals when i make only one change at a time. i look for patterns whenever i can put 2 consecutive days (or more) together and then assess them. my BGs have been excellent all day, with only one exception which i think is due to an over-load of peanut butter without taking any insulin (157). other than that, all BGs are around 100.
i will definitely keep on top of it and track it carefully. i am hoping its just a fluke, or the typical D being unpredictable on certain days. at least today and tomorrow are rest/recovery days where i will be doing pretty much the exact same thing (not much of anything), so perhaps something will reveal itself to me.
thx for getting back to me. so many new changes in my lifestyle lately. perhaps my body is still adjusting 
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will let you know asap.
YES!!! that MUST be it. since this swimming, i have slowly been increasing my carbs so that it is almost 2X as much as it was just a month ago. maybe i am reacting to that???
Yes, thatās probably why.
Itās not a bad thing, you just are adjusting to it differently.
Before, you were running a big carb deficit. Your body had to pull glucose out of your blood to replace muscle glycogen. The reduction in blood sugar equated to less basal needs.
Now you are fueling with meals. Your body is no longer pulling as much sugar from your blood to restore. Does that make sense?
Ideally you want to be neutral. Take in enough to restore what you burn. Not too little. Not too much.
As long as you are not gaining a lot of weight, you are ok.
since i began swimming i gained weight, but for the past 2 -3 weeks i have evened out at 105 lbs. iāve never had a weight problem in my life (lucky me, lol) i donāt count calories, either. i just count carbs, protein and fat.
i wanted to ad
i think that the PB was the culprit. my BG is back down to 73 and i didnāt even take a correction. (maybe it was a bad test strip when i checked my BG earlier???) either way, i think i will supplement with some delicious chocolateā¦iāve become addicted to this LINDT dark chocolate with sea salt mmmmmm 
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to everyone following this thread, i thought i would also report on the things that can go wonky over the days that there is no exercise. maybe this will help some and maybe you can interact with us about the things that go wonky in your experience. i certainly know that your experiences help me tremendously 
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basically, what i am talking about are the erratic, seemingly unexplainable highs and lows of our BGs when there doesnāt seem to be any obvious reason for why they are happening. i was encouraged to watch out for BG lows following a strong swim. instead of that, my bgs went high overnight. this was consistent once i got into the regular groove of my swimming. (it did not start out this way.)
now, taking 2 days in a row off from the pool, my BGs have been unusually high and quite stubborn; they are resisting my best efforts with correction boluses and refuse to come down into an acceptable range. my last bg 2 hours post correction was 167. i was surprised so i double checked with another meter. the other meter gave me basically the same read. i did not eat anything very unusual today, just eating a bit more carbs than usual, but bolusing for them all the same.
so, why the high BGs? is my body expecting me to be swimming laps, rather than to be sedate and enjoying NetFlix with my husband? its pouring rain here where i live; who wants to go outside for a nice walk? donāt i deserve a day to be lazy? of course i do 
. the question is, how do i get my BGs in line with my real life.
so that is the report on my last 2 days. i have been having so much success that i donāt want this to discourage me from my swimming. ANY info and/or ideas from this community would be very much appreciated and very helpful. i definately need all the encouragement i can get !!
thanks in advance, Daisy Mae
I think you had the same thing last weekend too, right? It is actually very helpful when you start to see a pattern, it makes it easier to predict and fix. It is quite likely your body is responding to a difference in rest versus exercise.
If you see a pattern on Sunday, then just attack it ahead of time. Preemptively set a higher basal rate, and enjoy the rest!
EXPERIMENT # 11:
at 11:15 my bg was 107. i gave myself a manual bolus of .2 units and turned my basal off.
at 12:15 my bg was 134 (after just 1 hour )
at 1:15 my bg was 173 (spiked ???)
at 1:40 my bg was 206 pre-swim
at 2:15 my bg was 203
at 2:45 my bg was 183
at 3:15 my bg was 186
at 3:45 my bg was 183 post-swim ( 2 hours swimming) i gave myself 1.5 units of replenished basal (a manual pump bolus; i was off my pump for a total of 4.5 hours, and since my bg was high, i thought it was safe to over-bolus, as you always encourage me to do .)
okay, so yay for me, another flatline . BUT, WHY SO HIGH??? why did i spike so much before my swim? i started out so even ( 107) i slept very well last night, my overnight bgs were perfect . my bfast was the usual/normal. but it seems that the minute i turn off my basal, i begin to climb climb climb. and by 2.5 hours, my bgs have doubled from where i have started from.
now for the good stuff (besides the flatline):
for my first 1/2 hour, i swam at a comfortable pace, easy does it; then i began to swim harder/faster until i could feel the searing in my legs ; a good kind of pain . then i had to share the lane with another breaststroker; i get competitive, so i upped the anti. i swam faster/harder, then after about 1/2 hour of this, i realized that i was out of breath, so i got out, tested my bg and went back into the pool for the last hour. for 1/2 of it i swam comfortably and for the last 1/2 hour i swam hard again. i really pushed myself, which felt great and totally EGO boosting .
so, endorphined out as i am, i am home now, and all i can think about is how to avoid that initial spike.
ERIC, I BELIEVE YOU NOW ABOUT FLATLINING, BUT PLEASE HELP ME AVOID THAT INITIAL SPIKE. I am no longer afraid of getting into the pool at 120. truly. i feel complete confidence in you. you helped get me this far; help me get to the next step. (and no, i forgot to bolus before the end of my swim. one thing at a time.i am eager to see what happens throughout dinner, post meal, and through the night.
and BTW, i think that this past w/ends rest and refueling really benefited me tremendously.
Eric, please get back on line and share with me your wisdom and experience.
and to all of you that continue to root me on, a huge thank you. i never thought i would be able to be doing this, but heres the evidence; iām taking chances and i am able to do it. i am looking fwd to tomorrows swim, and to see how i can achieve what i want ( a lower starting bg ! )
yours truly, DM
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So the good news is not a big drop, but you went a bit higher than you wanted to in the first two hours.
Letās make a mental note of this one - it was on Monday, after a couple of days of rest. Is it just a Monday thing, or is this type of climb a normal thing?
It might just be because after two days of resting your body needs more basal and you will spike faster. So maybe on Mondays you would want to try only 1 hour of cutting basal instead of 2 hours? Or a bit more than the .2 units of pre-basal you took today.
If you climb that quickly tomorrow, maybe you can get in the pool a little sooner and see how it works. Maybe 1 1/2 hours or 1 hour after you cut your basal?
And donāt worry, as much as I try, I canāt always be flat at 100 or 90. So itās not always perfect. But you got 2 hours today without a crash, so thatās great news!
Also, did take enough insulin so you could get carbs soon after you finished? That will help you quite a bit! Was that 1.5 units just correction? What about the carbs?! Fueling right after you swim will help you for tomorrow!
You donāt have to believe me 
, look what Dr. Colberg says:
So having high BG after you have finished is not helping you restore. You gotta hit that post-swim bolus right away, and take enough so you can take in carbs. I do this to the extreme. Sometimes I drink a sugar soft drink right when I am done. A quick 45 grams of straight sugar. But I take enough insulin to cover it. That helps me make sure I have enough restored for the next day.
1st i took the 1.5 units as a correction, then when i got home i bloused again and had tuna salad with rye bread and a salad. i did this definately within the time frame you mentioned to me. my BGs had come down to 165 by the time i took that bolus. and, i let my WIZARD pump function to determine the units i needed. i would have over-ridden the bolus, but i remembered that the past couple of times, i went low after dinner (about 4 hours after dinner).
i cannot begin to tell you how enormous my appetite is 
. i feel like i could eat a cow and drink a lake. so much refueling to do.
i think that tomorrow, i will increase that early bolus when i turn off my pump from .2 to .5 units and see what happens. the spike comes on pretty quickly, so i am not so certain that i should lesson the time that i am w/out my basal. i think that the problem is happening beforehand rather the length of time off of my basal. weāll see. its just another experiment.[quote=āEric, post:413, topic:894ā]
You gotta hit that post-swim bolus right away, and take enough so you can take in carbs. I do this to the extreme.
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i was just thinking of something that i can do post swim: i have these high carb/chocolate protein drinks that are delicious. i could bring one of them with me to the gym and keep it in my locker so that it is right there when i get out of the pool. i have always spiked on this drink, but when my gastropareses was in poor form, it was the only thing i could hold down. maybe now is the time to try it out again and see what happens. any thoughts?
I think that is perfect for post-swim. But you just gotta make sure you have insulin to cover it. If you have high BG, the carbs arenāt helping you, they just get wasted!
How about the pen injection when you have 30 minutes of swimming left? Depending on how high your BG is, of course!
when i got out of the pool my BG was 183 (at 3:45pm); so even if i bolus for the protein/carb drink, it wonāt help b/c my BGs are too high?
i dont understand.[quote=āEric, post:415, topic:894ā]
How about the pen injection when you have 30 minutes of swimming left? Depending on how high your BG is, of course!
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i see my endo next week, and i am going to ask for a sample of a novolog pen; and in case he doesnt have one in his fridge, he can call it into the pharmacy for me. i think thats a great idea that might just help a lot.
So what is wasted is any carbs that are more than you have insulin for. This is an interesting topic and I felt like it needed a good write-up, so here it is!
https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/post-exercise-wasted-carbs/
Lemme know if it needs any explanation!
Make sure you get 1/2 units!!!
Canāt wait to hear about your conversation with him!
eric, my bgs were high all night (146). when i woke up this morning, i was at 167. now my bg is 189 (w/ a little IOB left over from bfast.)
if they donāt come down before 11:15am (when i normally shut off my basal ) should i give myself more upfront insulin (like 1. unit) and wait to see if i donāt spike for the 2.5 hours i am not on any basal? or do i go to the pool after 1 - 1 1/2 hours after turning off my basal? or, do i bag today b/c my BGs are too high?
SOS, DM
just tested 2 1/2 hours after last bolus; bg was 163 w/ 1 unit still on board. i am hoping that my BG will come down to about 130. then i will feel comfortable peeping and turning off basal and getting ready for the pool. cross your fingers. i am crossing mine. 
Hi DM,
Lately you have been running much higher than normal. What would you think about doing a 20% basal for 2 hours instead of zero?