Blood Glucose and Exercise

Gentyl

Hi everyone.. I was diagnosed with diabetes T2 almost 4 months ago with a 10.5 A1C. With Metformin and diet, I've managed to get my blood glucose under 100 pretty consistently, and lately, they've been mostly in the 80s, even after meals (with the occasional 90s or low 100s after a particularly large holiday meal, let's say. I've also lost about 43 pounds since diagnosis. The thing is that I am a Very sedentary person (and rather the hermit), or I have been the last few months. Initially, I walked a lot, but then I just stopped... lacking in motivation, I guess. I didn't make a New Year's resolution to exercise because I just didn't really want to let myself down since the drive just wasn't there. Being diagnosed with diabetes was a big hit, and I still struggle with it.

In any case, today, for some reason, I just felt great. I woke up with an 83 BG, and I've been pretty consistently in that area in the mornings, but I felt more energetic.. so, I decided that I would go for a walk this morning. On my walk, I decided to jog (I used to love to run, especially in my teens and 20s -- I'm 46. now.) It was exhilarating. Of course, I couldn't jog the whole mile and a half, but I may have jogged for a quarter of it. When I used to walk for many miles in the first month and a half after diagnosis, my BGs would go down a bit, or only have a slight rise, but this time my BG went up from 83 before my walk/run to a whopping 120! That's nearly 40 points and I was only out for 30 minutes. Does anyone else experience this? I am always well hydrated, and I did push myself on the jogging parts, but 120?

BigG59

I am not 100% sure, but, I seem to recall reading that intense exercise will cause the body to release glycogen for fuel which can raise BG levels. However, I understood that needed to be intense exercise. If as you say you were pushing yourself it could be this. I am no expert so perhaps someone with more experience can clarify,

Personally I would not be too concerned as the benefit I have found with exercise is that those glycogen stores need to be replenished so overall exercise should reduce your BG levels. I remember reading that the effect of exercise on reducing BG can last for up to 12 hours.

I'd be interested to see what your levels are in an hour or so.

Gentyl

An hour after exercise - 97

LauraDotts

I am not 100% sure, but, I seem to recall reading that intense exercise will cause the body to release glycogen for fuel which can raise BG levels. However, I understood that needed to be intense exercise. If as you say you were pushing yourself it could be this. I am no expert so perhaps someone with more experience can clarify,

Personally I would not be too concerned as the benefit I have found with exercise is that those glycogen stores need to be replenished so overall exercise should reduce your BG levels. I remember reading that the effect of exercise on reducing BG can last for up to 12 hours.

I'd be interested to see what your levels are in an hour or so.

Yes. Exercise causes your body to release glycogen. It also produces more ketones. Both can increase BG. The benefits of exercise, however, far outweighs the temporary increase in BG.

CRody44

Back when I was tracking exercise, my BG would rise 10-20 points after brisk (brisk for a fat boy) walks. In my opinion, 120 is not high enough to be worried about.

Gentyl

Two hours after exercise - 73! Wow, that sure did take a while to come down. Thanks you guys. I guess I need to research this a little more so that I know what to expect from which exercise.. i.e. running a short distance vs. walking for hours. Walking for hours tends to lower my BG right away, pushing myself in the running, I guess, does something quite different.

pennell12

The same thing happened to me. I started a one hour weight training/Pilates class and ehrn I got home my BS really spiked. It did not do that when I was just walking on a treadmill or in the neighborhood. IO am trying to find out more ab out this, too.

MonsterToBe

This article details research on the effects of strength training on insulin resistance. http://bit.ly/RxRgiD

As diabetics, we need to keep an eye on post-exercise blood glucose -- if nothing else, to make sure we don't go hypo in the hours following. But despite the immediate spikes that are sometimes seen after exercise, overall exercise improves glucose control. Cardio is great, but strength training is even better.

One reason that I know of that exercise helps in diabetes is that during exercise, the muscles import glucose directly from the bloodstream to fuel the effort, without needing insulin to make it happen.

Putting all this together, it makes me wonder if testing an hour after a run with only a brief cooldown would show higher blood sugar than testing an hour after a run with an extended cooldown. If I remember, I might try doing a half-hour walk after one and see what happens...

BigGuy47

Cardio is great, but strength training is even better.

Agreed.

I do strength training 3 days a week and light cardio 3 days a week.

Here's another article on the benefits of strength training:

http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/18/2/71.full

The most important thing is to get out and exercise - cardio and/or strength training.

jessiekanga

One other thought... have just a small snack before you exercise so that you're not going straight from a place of fasting. It can help stabalize the drops and spikes. I also think that the 120 is pretty normal for the exercise you had, so I wouldn't worry, but having a small snack could be a nice "prevention" strategy to consider.

pennell12

\Good idea! Thanks!!

travisseger

Exercise always temporarily spikes my blood glucose. Always. However, it always comes back down within an hour or two, and my morning numbers are always 10-15 points lower if I have exercised the previous day. The benefits far outweigh the temporary spike, especially if you are not spiking to an unhealthy level.

Gentyl

Ok, I didn't exercise yesterday because I just couldn't get my BGs out of the 60's, except 2 hours after I ate I would hit the 70's. But, then last night, I hit the 40's and low 50's.. At midnight, I had a piece of chocolate because that's the only real sweet thing I have in the house. At 5 AM (my normal wake up time) my BG was 61. This has never happened to me before, and I wasn't too worried about the 60's until I hit the 40's. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen on Metformin. I have been following this VLCHF diet since September and this has never happened. The only changes I have made is the walk/run, and that was only 3 times. Ok, I did make one more change yesterday.. I started taking potassium and magnesium. I know that exercise is supposed to last up to 24 hours, it's effects on blood sugar, but so much? And, I know that Metformin is not supposed to cause lows, is not supposed to lower blood sugar. This all seems so 'all-of-a-sudden'.

reerazzle

Hello, here is my two cents worth. As you know I have been trying to get my fasting BG down. Although I have lowered my carb intake to about a 100g, the real change has come about because I have added 20 to 40 mins of exercise before I sleep. I either do the 30 day Shred or an aerobic type DVD. Since I have been doing that I have seen a significant fall in my morning BG from142-165 to 107 to 126. I am thrilled! So exercise after the spike, I my case brings my BG down. I think in your case you have done two thing together which have lowered your BG tom the levels you saw yesterday: one the exercise, and the other adding magnesium to your supplements. There is some research out there that suggests adding Vitamin D and Magnesium lowers sugars. There is a good thread on this on the lower carb forum. Have a look. Hope this helps!

LauraDotts

Call your doctor and let him/her know about your low blood sugar. Those are life threatening lows.

CRody44

What Laura said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gentyl

Ok. I called the doctor and was surprised that she wasn't at all surprised. She said, "I expected this from you." lol! I guess I'm a trouble maker. But, I did seem to sell her on the very low carb and high fat diet to aid in the treatment of diabetes. I gave her page after page of research, the poor woman.

In short, she wants me off of the Metformin. So, I begin to cut the dose in half today or skip it altogether tonight if my BGs are borderline low. She also was not at all alarmed at the 120 spike after my first walk/run. She urged me, as you all did, to continue, but to make sure I have eaten something high in protein before I exercise, since protein is now my energy source. And, of course.. test, test, test.. whatever I do, test.

Just under four months ago I felt I was nearly dead, took the year off of work.. And, now, I am thinking about training to run a half-marathon with my daughter in August before she goes to medical school. If that is even possible with diabetes, I cannot say just yet. I'm just happily in shock at how my life is changing, and, indeed, has changed over four short months.

Thank you, everyone, for your care, your patience, and your input. I could not have done this without all of my friends here on MFP.

Bree