Type 2, Diet controlled, Playing football spikes

[eddymyers]

Hey there,

I am still struggling to get my head around how to deal with my diabetes. I don't really have a specialist from the NHS to rely on for any help guidance or advice.

I recently purchased the Libre2 freestyle sensor and downloaded the app. I have set my 'range' to 4 and 9. I cna spend most of my time in that range, but then i play football on the weekend and i end up at over 24 for about two hours and then the coming down time of about another hour - So i am out of range for about three hours....Is this bad as it is sports and an adrenalin spike rather than a foody sugar/carbs spike?

I also have been having a salad for my lunch - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cheese, olive oil, salt/pepper and have been fine - but today I also had an apple - not a massive one, and my BG rose to 9.7 1 hour after eating and just now down to 8.7 2 hours after eating.

My questions are many! For now - is there a way to stop my BG rising so much when playing football or should i consider stopping playing?

Can an apple really be 'unsafe' to eat with a salad?

Am i micro analysing everythng too much? I am looking at pre eat, 1 hour poost eat and 2 hour post eat. I keep trying to get rid of things that put me out of range after the 1 hour mark as it is a 'spike' and therefore will count negatively towards my A1c and future health concerns...

Still learning, trying and getting frustrated...Eddy

 

[Deleted member 21371]

What's your hba1c?
Are you normally on a low carb diet?

 

[eddymyers]

What's your hba1c?
Are you normally on a low carb diet?

My last HBA1c was 50 on 21/11/2022
i have been trying low carb for last couple, maybe three months or so - trying to keep BG under 9. I do not need to lose weight though, i am close to being under weight so i am also trying to add weight!

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Anaerobic exercise does push up BG's short term.
But low carb also has an input as well.
Personally I'd keep playing.
Exercise makes a good difference to insulin resistance.
Watch the trends, watch the hba1c, and see how it goes.

 

[eddymyers]

Does low carb make my body worry about not getting enough energy so therefore overproduces during exercise? Should i re-introduce carbs? even if it makes my general BG levels higher?

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Aerobic (gentle) exercise lets your body use oxygen to fuel the muscles.
So it great for a cardiac workout.

Anaerobic is when your muscles have to work overtime, and your body can't sustain the oxygen requirements.
(So brief sustained dashes in football)
The muscles switch to burning their own glycogen reserves.
This needs replacing, so your liver dumps glycogen to start to replace it.

(There are other energy systems in play as well, but this is the one that matters)

If you keep doing it, it will normally improve your insulin resistance, (but not guaranteed to), which is why you need to watch the trends.
It's also the way to build muscles, which again helps insulin resistance.

I used to go to the gym, and start aerobic, doubling my resting heart rate, but then did a stint of anaerobic, tripling my resting rate. (I don't even vaguely recommend this to anyone)

But, it has to be a personal, and educated choice, and you need to find a way that gives you a sport you enjoy, balanced against a BG you are happy with.

 

[rebrascora]

Have you double checked these high BG levels that Libre reports with a finger prick? If they are genuine then I would be concerned particularly as they are sustained for several hours.

Personally I would not do any exertive sport/exercise if my levels were mid teens or above. Your body is under a lot of stress in that situation, particularly your heart and you are clearly not producing enough insulin to cope, I would be looking to ensure you drink plenty and go for a walk to try to reduce those high levels.

If you are slim and struggling to maintain your BG levels in range with a low carb approach and an apple is spiking you several points and explosive exercise sending your levels this high, then I wonder if it is possible you may not be Type 2, but a slow onset Type 1..... Just going to read your previous posts to see if there are any clues there...

 

[eddymyers]

Have you double checked these high BG levels that Libre reports with a finger prick? If they are genuine then I would be concerned particularly as they are sustained for several hours.

Personally I would not do any exertive sport/exercise if my levels were mid teens or above. Your body is under a lot of stress in that situation, particularly your heart and you are clearly not producing enough insulin to cope, I would be looking to ensure you drink plenty and go for a walk to try to reduce those high levels.

If you are slim and struggling to maintain your BG levels in range with a low carb approach and an apple is spiking you several points and explosive exercise sending your levels this high, then I wonder if it is possible you may not be Type 2, but a slow onset Type 1..... Just going to read your previous posts to see if there are any clues there...

My niece and sister are type 1 and they immediately thought maybe i was MODY or LADA type of diabetes - due to the weight, non-smoker, active(ish) lifestyle etc etc.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Have you double checked these high BG levels that Libre reports with a finger prick? If they are genuine then I would be concerned particularly as they are sustained for several hours.

Personally I would not do any exertive sport/exercise if my levels were mid teens or above. Your body is under a lot of stress in that situation, particularly your heart and you are clearly not producing enough insulin to cope, I would be looking to ensure you drink plenty and go for a walk to try to reduce those high levels.

If you are slim and struggling to maintain your BG levels in range with a low carb approach and an apple is spiking you several points and explosive exercise sending your levels this high, then I wonder if it is possible you may not be Type 2, but a slow onset Type 1..... Just going to read your previous posts to see if there are any clues there...

Good call.
Glad we have such a good mix of good people on this site.

 

[eddymyers]

before eating my salad i took a freestyle Libre scan at 8.3, then an hour later i was up to 9.7, then an hour later again i was 8.4, an hour after that one i was 8.6...

I generally seem to wake up at low/mid 6 then before breakfast i rise to 7ish, then after lunch up to 8ish with the possible spikes of up to 9/high 9 before coming down to 7s again until tea time when i will go back up to 8ish with a low carb meal (recipe says roughly 30g or less of carbs).

I do feel as though 7/8ish throughout the day is high baring in mind i have salad for lunch and a less than 30g carbs for tea. I used to have full fat greek yoghurt with strawbs, rasps, blues and blacks for breakfast but that made me go from 7.3 to 9.2 after 1 hour and then 7.4 after another hour. This was with a black coffee - I have since read that caffiene can make you go high so i have changed to decaf coffee now.

So many different variables it is so difficult to get my head around!!!

Thank you every one who takes any time to read let alone reply! hahahaha

 

[rebrascora]

I see you have family members who are Type 1 but your Dad was diagnosed Type 2 decades ago. Is your Dad on insulin and is he also slim..... Just wondering if he may be a misdiagnosed Type 1 and there is a predisposition to autoimmune diabetes and perhaps other autoimmune conditions in your family?

Seriously, I would be very careful if those levels of 24 during and after football are genuine and not some "quirk" of the Libre system, so do double check them with a finger prick to make sure they are accurate. Levels that high during explosive sport are putting your system under way too much strain in my opinion. I know you probably really enjoy it and exercise and keeping fit is very important but maybe do something less exertive for a while and discuss it with your GP. I think you need further investigation of your diabetes because those levels are unsafe.

 

[eddymyers]

thank you for your words of advice - my dad is not on insulin and he has an old man beer belly worthy of his 70-odd years drinking the occasional guiness!!!

I have a phone appoitment tomorrow with specialist gp about going for a blood test to see whether MODY is likely. I will also be asking about LADA.

What is the likely treatment if i am diagnosed with MODY - do you know?

 

[rebrascora]

MODY is quite rare and I believe it is usually managed via oral meds, but as with everything diabetes related there is a lot of variability.
Do mention to the specialist that your levels are going this high during and after football. They do really need to know that and they are the best person to advise you whether it is safe to continue.

Obviously, if you are LADA, you will eventually need insulin and I think this is the more likely scenario in my non medical opinion. Generally it is better to start sooner rather than later with small doses of insulin to try to preserve your remaining insulin producing beta cells. You should not be frightened of insulin and it will certainly enable you to eat a more varied diet as well as curb those high levels during football but it will take time to find the right balance with doses.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

before eating my salad i took a freestyle Libre scan at 8.3, then an hour later i was up to 9.7, then an hour later again i was 8.4, an hour after that one i was 8.6...

I generally seem to wake up at low/mid 6 then before breakfast i rise to 7ish, then after lunch up to 8ish with the possible spikes of up to 9/high 9 before coming down to 7s again until tea time when i will go back up to 8ish with a low carb meal (recipe says roughly 30g or less of carbs).

I do feel as though 7/8ish throughout the day is high baring in mind i have salad for lunch and a less than 30g carbs for tea. I used to have full fat greek yoghurt with strawbs, rasps, blues and blacks for breakfast but that made me go from 7.3 to 9.2 after 1 hour and then 7.4 after another hour. This was with a black coffee - I have since read that caffiene can make you go high so i have changed to decaf coffee now.

So many different variables it is so difficult to get my head around!!!

Thank you every one who takes any time to read let alone reply! hahahaha

That certainly shows there is some insulin at work, but I'm freely going to admit I'm way in over my head now.
I would certainly say it needs more investigation, but always be upfront that you are low carbing.
It slews the BG, not bad, not good, but it's a curve ball you HCP needs to take into account.
Let us know how you are getting on, and keep enjoying that football!

 

[Drummer]

@eddymyers - you list the carbs you eat, but not the protien and fat - are you trying to eat just the foods which would elevate blood glucose, or actively avoiding meat fish eggs etc?
I know that my first meal should be the lowest in carbs but should have some to stop my liver being helpful.
Usually I have two normal meals, so it could be steak and mushrooms or a chop and stirfry early on, and I eat again 12 hours or so later and might have the yoghurt and berries for dessert in the evening.
Exercise elevates my BG but not as much as it used to - but I have slowed down quite a bit in the last few years.

 

[Kreator]

@eddymyers all I'd say is I tried Freestyle Libre as a free trial in the summer - just to see what was happening (In Remmision by the way)

My BG spiked after exercise, but then dropped to normal levels again - I did notice also that every time I'd check and I didn't like the number, this would start to stress me out...which would then naturally inrease by BG due to stress!!

After a few days, I relaxed with it and took it all with a pinch of salt - the main thing is trends - not the actual figure at any one point - that's how I viewed it in the end...

It helped me understand a little more overall too..

Keep up the football tho!

 

[eddymyers]

@eddymyers - you list the carbs you eat, but not the protien and fat - are you trying to eat just the foods which would elevate blood glucose, or actively avoiding meat fish eggs etc?
I know that my first meal should be the lowest in carbs but should have some to stop my liver being helpful.
Usually I have two normal meals, so it could be steak and mushrooms or a chop and stirfry early on, and I eat again 12 hours or so later and might have the yoghurt and berries for dessert in the evening.
Exercise elevates my BG but not as much as it used to - but I have slowed down quite a bit in the last few years.

Drummer - I didn't have any protein with my salad lunch - in the original post, what i wrote is what i had.

 

[eddymyers]

That certainly shows there is some insulin at work, but I'm freely going to admit I'm way in over my head now.
I would certainly say it needs more investigation, but always be upfront that you are low carbing.
It slews the BG, not bad, not good, but it's a curve ball you HCP needs to take into account.
Let us know how you are getting on, and keep enjoying that football!

I am only low carbing as i saw that as the best/easiest/quickest way to reduce my A1c??? If carbs elevate it....reduce carbs...right??? I don't necessarily WANT to low carb - it is tricky to work out what to eat all the time rather than pasta/rice/potatoes. I don't see the point in reducing the amount of/portion size of these...unless it is unhealthy to stop them altogether?

 

[eddymyers]

I am still unsure whether to continue with football?

@rebrascora as you say - at 24mmol/L it is stressing my organs etc.

But i thought exercise was good. I have been playing for months now, before getting Libre freestyle - so god only knows how many times i have een spiking up over 20mmol/L .

Is it dangerous to keep playing and putting this much stress on my body?

 

[rebrascora]

Is it dangerous to keep playing and putting this much stress on my body?

Have you double checked those high levels with a finger prick because Libre can exaggerate at higher levels?

You said that you have a phone appointment with the specialist today, so they are the person to ask about this, so write down a list of questions and make this a priority because it is a safety issue.

Personally I would not do high intensity exercise if my levels were that high because I know it puts a strain on my body.