Hypo advice please

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lucy123

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Type 2
Hi All - still having a bit of trouble with hypo's when training.

I saw the nurse last week for my usual check and she still insists I can't have hypos as I am not on meds...however I then told her my GP had actually witnessed me whilst in recovery from one (gp is member at club too) and has referred me to a dietician so they can advise on how to eat around the gym.

Nurse was a bit hufty and said all I needed to do was to drink a carton of orange juice half way through training. I did this but it made me feel very sick and gave me a headache - although i didn't hypo but not sure if coincidence.

Last week when hypoing my PT was feeding me jelly beans (actually pushing them in my mouth). She said I was happily accepting them but wouldn't chew and when she was telling me to chew faster, apparently I tried to run thinking she was telling me to run faster! Quite comical I suppose!

PT has bought me some lucozade gel today that says carbohydrate energy. sugars are 8g - we want to know is this the correct gel to take if hypo? Also would it make sense to have it anyway half way through?

Its so difficult trying to have the right food when trying to lose weight too..

Still completed my run today with no stops (first run in the wind and rain!) and no hypo after!

Any advice on the gel or other greatly appreciated. Also what are your views on nurses suggestion of orange juice?

I don't expect the dietician to help much but will give it a go.
 
Hi Lucy, it's difficult for me to advise as I'm more likely to hypo because I've injected too much insulin and there's clearly nothing you can do to avoid your pancreas being over keen! There is a gel called Hypo-fit which you might like to try: http://www.hypo-fit.arcticmedical.co.uk/ I tend to just chew jelly babies although if your instinct is to be reluctant to chew when hypo, you would probably be better with a gel, or indeed fresh OJ which I know some others use.

I think I've suggested before that it might be due to your pancreas not quite getting things right to keep your blood sugar stable as you have rapidly increased your exercise and weight loss (although I'm not a doctor so that could be complte poppycock!). You probably need to be testing at half-hourly intervals during exercise so that you can try and establish patterns, which may differ according to what form of exercise you are doing, and taking on some carbs if you appear to be dropping low.
 
Hi Alan, yes you have suggested the confused pancreas before and I am grateful for your comments. The GP is tending to agree with this theory although big words were used. Sorry if I keep asking about these and I am sure you are correct re the weight and exercise. It generally always is around high intensity exercise. I am hanging on to the hope that when I get to target things will improve as I may be able to lower the intensity a little - a catch 22 situation a bit.

I think my problem is I feel so good until I hypo, that I forget all about the testing and eating etc...I will definitely try this week to be more in control of my figures around the exercise.

Thanks again for your response.
 
Also..and agains sorry for asking...
does anyone feel tired before a hypo, or fall asleep before during or after?
Just wondering if this may give me a bit more of a clue as to why happening.
 
Hi Lucy,
The children on the other forum who are into competitive sports use 'sports beans' - they have a much longer profile than normal jelly beans and they last for a good couple of hours. Only problem with them is that they have to be ordered from America I think it is.

I know its different for type 1's but we are told that for every kg the child weighs they need 1 carb and this should give them 1 hours worth of exercise to help avoid a hypo situation - but not entirely sure whether this would be the same for a person with type 2 though. The only other suggestion is to eat a fairly high carb meal 1 hour before you do the exercise and this should help with the exercise. You use up fast acting carbs (coke etc) within the first hour of exercise - but then you move onto the slower carbs - so things like porridge would be better for endurance exercise and running. Also full fat milk has a slower absorption rate and might help for the exercise.

Not sure if that helped - but well done for trying to find the right way of doing it.🙂Bev
 
Yes a lot of this makes sense Bev.
I think the problem is I am not sure if to have slow acting or fast acting jsut before I go in the gym or for a run...and I think I have realised after the one i have jsut had, I must make sure I eat properly and in a timely manner after exercise,
I will work it out though - I love the gym too much to stop!
 
Hi Lucy. Tiredness is a real symptom of hypos. Your body can feel like it's just run out of fuel (which it has!) and you may just want to snuggle down into the nearest soft thing and let the world pass by.

> Bev. I was told a few years ago that honey is very good for endurance and it was tested out (not by me) in a half marathon and seemed to give energy to the runner over a longer period. Maybe porridge with honey mixed in would be ideal. Certainly making me hungry. 🙂

Rob
 
I eat porridge at the moment Robster so it may be a good idea to add a spoonful of honey..I hate the taste but will try anything at the moment. Thanks for the idea.
 
Hi Lucy

It is a real pain when trying to lose weight to have hypo's:( I've had a quite a few myself again recently. I tend to drink orange juice if my bg's is a bit low before exercise because it raises my bg to a nice level but everyone is different it might bring you up too much if you were to have it. Probably a silly question but are you able to test your bg's before you exercise? x
 
I would agree with the testing, before, during and after exercise.

If you have a set routine, duration, intensity etc you should be able to spot patterns and then you can adjust cho intake accordingly.

Its difficult when trying to loose weight i know, but you need to prevent these hypos too Lucy.
 
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