Has anyone experienced this one before??? BC its brand new to me:
When I used to be more active (before my surgery, obviously), at the end of my exercise my BGs would continue to go lower for the first half hour since I finished. It was predictable. it happened EVERY time, and I could count on it.
Lately, I am only walking. I am not using a TB bc its not that strenuous as swimming or running and seems to only require a few extra grams of glucose (2-4gms) before heading out. Now I know that I am only walking, but it is very challenging for me. My muscles have not healed yet, and even a moderate pace walk takes the breadth out of me. My legs get very tired very easily. Some days I only walk for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, and other days I will walk for 4 hours. I test my BGs as I go about every 1/2 hour, and feed my BG as needed. ( usually 4gms will last me about an hours worth and keeps me in really great TR.)
But here’s what’s happening and unexplainable to me:
AFTER I finish my walking and go back upstairs to my apartment , my BGs start to spike. I can go from a sweet 65 to 130 within 15-20 minutes! And sometimes I will continue to climb.
I have done basal testing to see if this is the problem bc I walk at the same time every day, and no clues there If I stay at home all day my sugars remain perfectly flat.i dont eat junk food, fatty foods, fried foods that would linger in my body and just decide to spike me up just when I am working out. I am utterly baffled.
Anyone have this happen to them? And if so how do you handle it?
all suggestions and ideas, however crazy they may b, are welcome!!!
I can’t be much help, as I haven’t figured out a fool-proof way of dealing with it. But this happens to me often. My body can treat exercise as added stress, and spike quite easily from a walk if my hips or back are hurting. I tend to treat it as a stress spike, as its not consistent enough to try bolusing for. I’m sure others will have more detailed/better plans of action.
Glad to hear that you’re still plugging away at recovery!
It isn’t just how fast you are going, it is what your body has to do to accomplish the walk.
If there is pain involved, stress, difficulty in moving, all of those things make it a hard workout.
Did you know that if you are in pain, your HR can increase 10-20 beats per minute, just from the pain?!?
So this is a hard workout. Whenever your body has to work hard, above a certain level, it responds with both glucose and stress hormones.
You said “My legs get very tired very easily.” That means…it’s a hard workout!
When you are walking, your body is using your insulin more efficiently. But when you stop and go back to your apartment, all of the glucose (from your liver) and stress hormones cause your spike.
What did I tell you to always do after swimming? Always, same thing, I’d say take insulin and carbs.
Same thing here. Take insulin! Wait a bit, and then follow with the carbs.
Eric, what confuses me about this is that I am on 100% basal for the entire time. When I was swimming, I was on zero basal for 4 hours and needed to replace it right after my swim. If I am on 100% basal, how do I know how much insulin I need when there is nothing to replace?
Please help a gal out here. I am baffled and dont know what to do.
I am still a little confused bc BEFORE I finish, my BG is in perfect TR. its the minute I STOP that I begin rising, I have gone as crazy as from 40 to150 within minutes. How would I know what to correct when I am just at 40 and have no idea how high I will spike?
However, on another note, today, after walking, once I was in the door and home, my BGs were 160. I took an IM shot to correct the 160, and then I used my pump to do a manual bolus for my snack. It worked out seamlessly. My BGs started coming back into range very quickly, and I was able to enjoy a nice snack just like when I was swimming. (except I bolused for the full ICR; when I was swimming, I just bolused 1:10 even though that has never been my ICR at that hour. I dont know why; it just kinda ended up that way, and since it worked, I kept it up. Go figure.)
so I am looking forward to your next post so I can figure out how to go from here.
A spike to 140, 150, or 150… Those are all pretty much the same.
You could bolus a correction for any of those numbers - and do it while you are still walking - and be better off than if you wait until you finish walking!
If you want to play safe and conservative, bolus for 130. If you want to be aggressive and don’t mind a snack, bolus for 160.
While you are walking, your body is pushing out glucose and you are burning it off. When you stop walking, you are not burning it off as quickly.
Also, I bet when you stop walking you are worried about spiking. The anxiety of that could also cause you to spike!
Don’t worry about little numbers like that. A 150 or anything like that is no big deal.
After I snorkel I automatically take a unit of insulin as soon as I stop, as long as I am above 90, and if I notice a climb, I take another unit. Like Eric I prefer to be aggressive about it and just eat something if needed. I’m usually hungry anyways by then!
I am sorry bc I dont think I am being clear so I am getting very confused. What happens to me is that WHILE I am exercising at the END of my workout, my sugars are usually very low (below 90). If my BGs are 60, do I just bolus a unit anyway in anticipation of the spike?
Yesterday, my BGs were VERY high (160) so the second I walked in the door I took an IM correction dose of 1 unit (my normal dosage for that level), plus I bolused my regular ICR bolus for my late-lunch (1:14 ICR) .
It was perfect. My sugars came down quickly and stayed in TR all throughout the night.
Today, I have raised my basal rate for the hours that I typically go out for exercise. It could simply b a sheer coincidence that I am spiking at that hour. Who knows. As I have said before, a gals gotta experiment and I love a good one. I’m always up for anything.
Hi @daisymae
I snorkel for 2-3 hours. Usually my climb starts before I stop swimming. But it can be unpredictable, ocean conditions or ??? and every once in a while I can drop. So I delay my dose if I am under 90 when I get out, to try to see what is going on and wait until my climb starts before I take any insulin. That is rarer though. A climb will always start at some point so that’s a given.
I guess we’re all different, but seriously, your numbers are so great! I wouldn’t even consider 160 a “spike.” That’s just a normal peak after a meal for me.
My docs are much more concerned about me going low than going high, so I do a sloppy management job of avoiding the lows and minimizing the highs as they come. If I have a “bad” food (bagels are especially bad) and I don’t move around too much, I can sometimes go up above 250 for an hour or two after lunch. Certainly I bolus and all my devices start beeping at me, but it doesn’t bother me too much.
I learned a long time ago that one of the problems ive had with bagels is that they are made with malt, and that is an ingredient that always spikes me (ive tried scooping out the inside dough and everything you can imagine, but I just cant maintain a TR BG with a bagel) I switched over to Biallies and have never once had a problem since. Just FYI.
So my BG was 97 when I decided to go out for a walk. I was all prepared to do the bolus and carb thing post exercise. I walked for 45 minutes. It was a tough walk but comfortable enough that I didnt feel particularly strained.
After 30 minutes, I tested my BGs and they were 62. Instead of taking carbs and keep on going, I decided to call it a day (I was utterly exhausted, but thats a story for another time). By the time I got home, my BG was 52. I waited 15 minutes to see if I would spike but nothing happened, and I had to get out to the grocery store to pick up some junk food. So I waited. But no spike. My BG went even lower.
I thought it prudent to have some fresh apple cider( delicious). I had 1/3 Cup and went out to the grocer assuming that my sugars would come up shortly, possibly even spike.its a 10 minute walk in each direction. Easy peezy.
When I got upstairs, I washed my hands and tested and my BG was 64. So I still hadn’t spiked, and to top it off the 1/3Cup of AJ barely raised my sugars.
So, I am just writing this bc I am so confused. Why no spike? Why did I continue going lower post exercise? I am trying to figure this out, like I did with my swimming, so I will continue experimenting. I just dont know which to do? To bolus, or not to bolus? that is the question
I get it now. Today I did a very intense 2.5 hour walk. God only knows what kind of maniac I looked like behind the walker just pushing it along . But I pushed and pushed till my legs were burning and my entire body was aching. It felt like I used to feel when I was swimming (of course it wasn’t as luxurious, but ive gotta work with what I have.)
well 15 minutes before I stopped, my BG was 91, so I gave myself .5 units through my pump. I thought that was reasonable bc when I began my exercise my BG was 123 and I took NO glucose along the way. I tested about every 20 minutes, and my sugars remained above 100 the entire time. I figured if my BGs were remaining that high for over even one hour, a 1/2 unit would b perfectly reasonable to prevent a spike.
well now its been and hour and a half since that bolus and my BG went down to 64. I had some delicious, fresh apple cider to bring me up to my comfortable TR (80-ish) (although anything under 110 will do) SO needless to say, I didnt spike. Now I have a little more info on how much insulin to bolus for next time.
And the funny thing is that I actually have a runners high. I have not felt this good in 2 years (when this all started). Also, I did this all myself; no husband to escort me. so, it was extremely meditative and allowed me to have all my thoughts meander through my brain, not having to talk to anyone (except myself ). Also, being alone was VERY self-empowering. I didnt feel like I NEEDED to learn on anyone for support. I could get out there and just do it. Im a big girl, and I am a lot stronger than I had been giving myself credit for. Wow.
And now I am really looking forward to tomorrows workout.m
Today I will have to come up with a more modified plan of post-exercise action. Yesterday, after the first BG low, I continued to go low and could not dig my way out of it.
I think the best next action for me to experiment with will b a temp basal post workout. Nothing big to start, but maybe 90% TB. (I went low all evening long and it was uncomfortable and very frustrating. )
I will post again after the experiment and give a detailed report.
Those are all pretty much the same.
