One thing that gives me a lot of trouble is participating in unplanned activities—like taking a walk or bike ride with a friend—when I still have meal-time insulin on board. There are times I though I’d compensated well only to go low midway through the activity. So generally I declined those kinds of invitations but I’d like to change that up and would sure appreciate any suggestions to help me meet my goal of having more FUN!
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Is it always going low?
I don’t mean you always go low. I mean, is it either low or no problem? As opposed to going high?
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I have the same issue. I can handle planned activities good, unplanned are problematic. Lunch and 8 units on board and then the “hey lets go for a walk” will be a disaster about 10 minutes in.
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If I were to go for an unplanned walk with a friend and have meal insulin on board, and have BG 120-160, then I’d go low. If my BG has spiked above 160 after a meal, a brisk walk will usually get me back in range but sometimes I can overshoot and need to take in some carbs.
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Yeah, this is one thing I’ve found it difficult-to-impossible to manage. If I have a decent sized meal I had better know exactly what’s planned afterwards. If I know how far I am going and what I am eating I can (probably) handle walking to and from a restaurant. But I’ve had many occasions where a spontaneous post-lunch walk on a nice day was proposed and I’ve had to decline. A bike ride would be out of the question, fun as it would be to cycle out for a burger some nights like in the pre-T1 days.
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When you have IOB and then start doing something, I think a zero basal helps for things like that. It does not make the problem go away completely, but it makes it a lot less worse.
(The phrase “less worse” sounds silly, but you know what I mean!)
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How willing would you be to monitor a little extra during an unplanned activity? I would try temporarily setting my CGM “low” alert way higher than usual (like 125). It looks like my Dexcom app will let me set my low alert as high as 150. Then if my CGM signals “low,” I should still have time to “pivot” and avoid a real low by eating something. When I’m having fun, I might not check my CGM as often, but I’ll always check it when it beeps!
I always carry at least 15 g. of carbs with me during any activity, but probably would do more like 45 in these cases. If the activity might last an hour or more, I’d bring 60-90 g. of carbs. (Hopefully I don’t need a whole meal after my meal – but better to be safe!) Just knowing I have it can bring a lot of peace of mind.
It might also help to just share status updates with the folks you’re out with. I go on a mile walk with a friend every day, sometimes broken into half a mile in the morning and half a mile after lunch. She knows that my BG is dropping if I pull out my fruit snacks. And if we need to slow down, or stop, she’s more than willing. We’re just happy to be spending time together – that’s the most fun part, not counting our steps or timing ourselves!
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My understanding metabolically, and from experience as a T1D, is that exercise shifts the body’s mode from digestion to muscle (movement) - hence “rest and digest”. Eating complex foods (to counter unanticipated exercise) that require digestion takes a back-seat during exercise. Duration and exertion dependent, returning to rest may bring on the post-exercise BG surge. In such spontaneous circumstances I tend towards small regular doses of simple sugars, eg glucose-barley sugars, to keep bumping the BG while exercising. The “micro-doses” would depend on IOB and exercise intensity, etc.
[edited for clarity and grammar]
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I definitely experience this. I’ve figured out what will and will not digest while walking.
Apple - No , Applesauce- Yes
Kind Bar - No, Cliff Bar - Yes
Glucose gel- always Yes but too many on a empty stomach 
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I expect an insulin dose to lower my blood sugar about twice the normal amount if I am exercising. And since digestion takes a back seat to muscle that makes normal snacks really slow to bring it back up. I get spikes after the bike ride ends because I stuffed too many carbs to overcome that. Like the others who are commenting I am surprised that even moderate effort like walking or raking leaves brings me crashing down if there is IOB.
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Yeah i have that problem too. Usually the short answer is more sugar. Can you carry around a bottle of juice or something?
The nice thing about exercise is if you go too high its easy to correct toward the end of your activity. But yeah I find it frustrating to focus so much on glucose levels during unplanned activity.
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Couple of thoughts, too much IOB can have a significant impact and sometimes food is the best counter to bg drop. The type of food makes a difference a when the digestion slows it does present a challenge. Eating a known food going into the activity with fluids like water,
can help get that digestion started faster. If using a pump reducing basal pre activity can help minimize the IOB. During activity a food that can be absorbed in the mouth can be more effective, such as apple juice or glucose/dextrose mixed with water, can help keep bg up. On bike rides due to varying intensity of activity I use apple juice and water 50/50% has worked well for me as well as looking ahead and using the CGM to help predict bg impact and to help stay ahead of a drop. Not reducing basal during the entire activity helps post activity, or even a bolus to bring back up the lowered or missing basal insulin.
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Thanks, everyone, for your replies and suggestions. I will follow-up when I have a little more time. 
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I aways carry skittles or grapes or a small kids juice box with me. Never pass up activities. Engage a friend for some trial and error. You got this!
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