Glucose level the day after exercise

[SimonR]

I was diagnosed with type 2 in December. Struggling to regulate my glucose levels but I am trying to do the right things, e.g. lose weight, exercise, drink and avoid bad carbs. I sent to an 8 mile walk yesterday (We live in Tenby so we have loads of space to do that without meeting too many others) and after the walk my glucose indicator showed 150 (8.3), which is good for me pre-meal. This morning it had rocketed up to 258 (14.3)! You would have thought it would stay low but the walk seems to have had the opposite effect. Any one know why, please? This has upset me a lot, oddly enough.

 

[Kaylz]

May I ask what you define as bad carbs? May I also ask why your using the mg readings and putting the UK mmol measurement in brackets when we are a UK based group?
I wouldn't expect it to be the exercise, but anything can effect levels from weather, stress, illness lurking etc so I'm afraid nobody can give you a clear cut answer and its just something you'll have to keep an eye on xx

 

[SimonR]

Hi Kaylz,

Thanks for the quick reply. I didn't mean to cause offence by using mg readings. I was living abroad when I was diagnosed with type 2 and the endocrinologist gave me an Ascensia Contour glucose meter and set my target "bands"in mg. I relocated back to the UK in January and the local doctor gave me a different kit with readings in mmol. I prefer the mg readings since they are more specific. I take readings from both machines. Like I said, I didn't mean any offence. I am still very new to this.

I have a lot to learn. I think of bad carbs as food like honey, jams, bread, pasta and rice. I think of good carbs as food like porridge with slow energy release. I then learn that food combination has a part to play.

I will keep a better record of food, exercise and weather (I hadn't thought of that) and see if a pattern emerges. I have medication for Atrial fibrillation but no stress (I am lucky there).

Thanks once again.

 

[Kaylz]

There's one problem to start, there isn't a list of "good" and "bad" carbs, carbs are carbs no matter what form they present themselves and as a diabetic its carbs you struggle to tolerate, many Type 1's cant even handle porridge without a large spike and that's with the benefit of insulin and injecting in advance to try and match the peaks with each
other

Have you ever tested any of the meals you have to see what effect they have on you?
xx

 

[SimonR]

I hadn't thought about testing meals. That makes a lot of sense. I do miss honey!

What is the ideal time after a meal to test myself? 30 mins, 1 hour?

 

[Kaylz]

Well generally you test before eating and then again 2 hours after but be aware this isn't always a definitive way of saying whether something is "safe" for you as different foods have different rates at spiking and what you eat alongside it also has an impact so there are some that will test every hour for 4 hours to see if they can catch a spike, ideally though at 2 hours your looking for no more than a 2-3mmol rise, I did it religiously when I was first diagnosed but me being Type 1 and having a top notch diabetes team I now have the Libre so don't have to prick as often xx

 

[Ralph-YK]

I suggest keeping a food diary, along with a record of your levels. Hopefully after a couple of weeks you'll start to see a pattern. It will show you the affect food has on your BG, along with any changes you make. As well as anything else you do, such as walking.
I have heard the weather (hot/summer vs cold) can make a difference.
2 hours after eating is the standard time given. As Kaylz said, the peak can come before or after that. My old breakfast (ceriel) gave me a 11.7 (5.6 rise from 6.1) after an hour. After 2 hours it was 8.4.

I didn't mean to cause offence by using mg readings. I was living abroad when I was diagnosed with type 2 and the endocrinologist gave me an Ascensia Contour glucose meter and set my target "bands"in mg. I relocated back to the UK in January and the local doctor gave me a different kit with readings in mmol. I prefer the mg readings since they are more specific. I take readings from both machines. Like I said, I didn't mean any offence.

Less offence; more wondering what is going on. We do get a couple of people from different countries posting, using local scales etc. You might not have been UK based.
With the different tests and scales, it can get a little confusing.

Do you have results from an HbA1c test?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @SimonR

Well done for the determined start you have made so far. And don’t give up on the exercise - it may have been a freak effect of something unrelated, a dodgy strip or all manner of other things.

I understand what you mean about choosing carbs carefully, and if it helps you to think of ’good’ and ‘bad’ ones, then go right ahead - but as has been suggested it’s important to check for yourself, rather than going by reputation.

Even things like porridge which have a firm ‘slow release’ reputation can be like rocket fuel for people (and completely fine for others!).

Using before and after meal checks to find the ‘meal rise’ and then reducing the carb load, or swapping types is a great strategy.

This blog post gives a useful framework if you are interested in giving it a go.

Test, Review, Adjust

Managing blood glucose levels for type 2 diabetes. Learning how to achieve long term control by testing and diet.

loraldiabetes.blogspot.com

 

[rebrascora]

Fruit, in all it's forms ie. fresh, dried or juiced is another otherwise healthy food which needs to be restricted for many Type 2s. People often cut the obvious sugar and cakes and sweets/chocolate but then eat more fruit, thinking they are doing the right thing but it can defeat the object.
Most people can tolerate a few berries like rasps or strawberries or rhubarb stewed with a little sweetener since it is in season at the moment, but the exotic fruits like bananas and mangoes and pineapples are pretty carb heavy. Apples can vary a bit depending upon size and variety and pears tend to be higher in carbs than apples. You need to be careful with grapes as they can be real sugar bombs and of course it is so easy to start eating them and lose track of how many you have had, so the carbs can really add up.

I had butter beans for lunch today (with salmon and asparagus and broccoli) as a new experiment with an alternative carb source and despite using insulin to cover them, I have been high all afternoon/evening, apart from an hour after eating them when I had a pretty bad hypo, despite splitting my insulin dose for them, so you really do need to test to see how your body responds to particular foods. Generally doing a reading before eating and then two hours after will give you a good idea of how you coped. It really helps to keep a food diary along with the readings and any other info like exercise you did etc. There are apps like My Sugr or Blood Sugar Tracker which you can use to record everything on your phone which I find really useful.

Your high morning reading may have been due to something called Dawn Phenomenon. Do you normally test on a morning and did you test as soon as you got up or had you been up a while and pottered about a bit before you tested? Some people test before they get out of bed as their BG starts rising the minute they put their feet on the floor with DP. Other people find that it starts to kick in during the early hours of the morning and is peaking when they get up. I am lucky and find it starts just after I get up, so as a Type 1 I can inject some insulin to counteract the effect, so even if I don't have any breakfast, I usually need 2 units of insulin which is the equivalent of my BG rising about 6 mmols to keep my BG steady.

Hopefully with some testing you will figure out what is going on but it may be that some of the "healthy" carbs you are eating are causing you a problem

 

[trophywench]

I do like a butter bean - but they don't like me so much either - I have the same trouble with the majority of pulses - it's something to do with the speed at which they release their carbs into my body, However since Pete isn't as keen as me on them (except when they are baked and in tomato sauce LOL) it's not a subject I've studied a lot to bother to find out what I ought to do about them, since first husband was similar. Easier to just not bother.

 

[rebrascora]

@trophywench
I needed 2 corrections during the afternoon/ evening to try to bring my levels down and whilst I didn't feel any need for dinner because those beans kept me feeling full for the rest of the say, managing my levels was a battle. I still needed one more unit correction at bedtime which was after midnight and I increased my basal by one during the night. Must have got it right though because I woke on a decent 6.5.
It will be a while before I experiment with butter beans again. They were nice but there are plenty of other carbs which I also enjoy and are easier to bolus for.... Will be going back to sweet potato with my salmon next time or perhaps new potatoes from the poly tunnel by then.

 

[Toucan]

Hello @SimonR and welcome to the forum.
You certainly live in a great place with plenty of sea and space around you for going for walks. I have many happy memories of holidays in Tenby.

As you can see from the messages therer is a great deal of help available on the forum.
You certainly seem to be on the right track with things, with reducing your carbs and plenty of exercise.
There will always be ups and downs with readings, but it the overall trend that really matters.

People's reaction to different carbs varies a great deal, as does the time of day and combinations in when you eat them.
As @everydayupsanddowns says the way to find out what is right for you is by testing their effects on you.
It can be tedious for a while but you will eventually work out your own good food list, and learn to limit the ones that put your readings up.

Best wishes, and I hope you will keep posting, ask any questions and let us know how it's going.

 

[brisr949]

I may have this wrong but the OP heading said high reading the day after..
I dont think anything you would do exercise wise would have any effect on the next days lvl as presumably you would have eaten two or three times by then.
P.s welcome to the forum Simon.

 

[trophywench]

The effect of exercise in lowering/regulating BG can last for approx. 48 hours Adam.