Low blood sugar

[Lee1978]

Hi I'm very new to this and every time I walk up the shop with in half a mile away my blood sugar drops to 3 ish ..
I do lift weights to if I'm goiny to exercise should I not take metformin I'm really confused as I need to lose 10kg but every time I exercise I go to low then need to take glucose tablets

 

[Lily123]

Welcome to the forum @Lee1978 . Are you on insulin or just metformin?

 

[Lee1978]

Metformin really confused

 

[Lily123]

Metformin isn’t what is lowering your blood sugar - it’s normal for certain types of exercise to drop your blood sugar. But in someone not on BG lowering medicatication then anything below 3.5 is hypo and if on BG lowering medication then anything below 4.0 is hypo

 

[Lee1978]

Ok thanks so how do I get fit and lose weight..

 

[Lily123]

Ok thanks so how do I get fit and lose weight..

It’s carbs you need to cut back on - so not just sweet things like cake but things like bread,pasta and rice. Hopefully some knowledgeable Type 2s will be along with better advice

 

[Deleted member 21371]

It’s carbs you need to cut back on - so not just sweet things like cake but things like bread,pasta and rice. Hopefully some knowledgeable Type 2s will be along with better advice

Bad advice without knowing why BG is dropping.
Or anything else about the op at the moment.
Cutting carbs could make BG fall even further.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Hi I'm very new to this and every time I walk up the shop with in half a mile away my blood sugar drops to 3 ish ..
I do lift weights to if I'm goiny to exercise should I not take metformin I'm really confused as I need to lose 10kg but every time I exercise I go to low then need to take glucose tablets

What's your normal sort of food, and do you have regime of eating before you walk to the shops, or go to the gym?
Any particular foods you normally have?

 

[Lily123]

Bad advice without knowing why BG is dropping.
Or anything else about the op at the moment.
Cutting carbs could make BG fall even further.

I assumed it would have been the OP doing exercise but I shouldn’t have assumed - sorry

 

[Leadinglights]

How long have you been diagnosed, what was your HbA1C which gave you your diagnosis, I assume you are testing your blood glucose with a home monitor so what are your levels the rest of the time, for example 2 hours after eating and in the morning. Have you had those symptoms for long.
Sorry for so many questions but it will help people make suggestions.
Metformin does not act directly on the food you eat but helps the body use the insulin it produces more effectively and therefore not taking it or taking it randomly will make no difference.
What sort of meals are you having?

 

[grovesy]

Although Metformin does not in theory cause hypos, it seems for some to seem to do so. I say this because it does get reported by some to do so.

 

[Inka]

Hi I'm very new to this and every time I walk up the shop with in half a mile away my blood sugar drops to 3 ish ..
I do lift weights to if I'm goiny to exercise should I not take metformin I'm really confused as I need to lose 10kg but every time I exercise I go to low then need to take glucose tablets

Welcome @Lee1978 🙂 Can you give us a little more information? When you say “3 ish”, what actual numbers are you getting? What meter are you using? How often do you test your blood sugar and what would an average day’s blood sugars look like for you? What’s the highest blood sugar you’re currently getting? What are you eating in an average day?

Lots of questions above! But it’s hard to comment without knowing a little more information. Looking forward to hearing more from you 🙂

 

[pondita]

Ok thanks so how do I get fit and lose weight..

I've had LADA for about 14 months now, and have slowly but steadily gained weight. I had lost about 6 kg (from about 58 to 52 kg) before being hospitalised with DKA. I've gained that back and am going beyond that, and I want to put the stops on it. But I'm like you, how to get fit and lose weight?

Before LADA, I could exercise or not eat, and lose weight that way. Now, when I exercise, I have to drink juices or eat snacks to keep my BG up. I know the key thing to do is to eat less to lose weight. It's all about numbers, I've always believed. But it seems harder to just eat less and still get feel ok with my diabetes.

So I'll watch your thread, Lee1978, and see what suggestions people have! All the best to you.

 

[Inka]

@pondita Have you tried reducing your insulin before exercise? You will have probably been at an artificially low weight before diagnosis because you wouldn’t have been able to use your food properly, so do bear that in mind 🙂

 

[pondita]

@pondita Have you tried reducing your insulin before exercise? You will have probably been at an artificially low weight before diagnosis because you wouldn’t have been able to use your food properly, so do bear that in mind 🙂

Thank you Inka. I've tried different strategies of exercising / food / insulin to try to find a fit. What I'm currently doing is to eat my meal about 1 1/2 hours before exercising, and take slightly less insulin than what I would take if I wasn't exercising. I take about 6-8 units NovoRapid before eating, so I may decrease by one unit if I'm going to exercise. My sugar does go above 9, and usually drops down to high normal by the time I get to the gym. I drink organic fruit juices during exercise to keep my sugar in the normal range.

Before LADA, I didn't eat before or during exercise, so that the exercise would shed any extra weight. Hum, I wonder if I can skip a meal/ insulin before exercising, but I feel that I'll go to the gym feeling weak. Thoughts?

I don't mean to hijack Lee1978's thread ! But maybe we can learn together. 🙂

 

[Inka]

You could try a percentage reduction of your bolus rather than just knocking one unit off. As an example, before I used to go swimming in the evening, I reduced my evening meal bolus by 1/3. How far away is the gym?

For glucose top-ups when exercising, I use Dextro tablets (and water for hydration). I find juices don’t work as well and I wonder if having Dextro would reduce the calories for you.

Another thing to say is not to let the need for glucose when exercising get to you. It used to annoy me a lot when I went to the gym, but needs must, and you have to put it out of your head. Exercise is good for you and good for your insulin sensitivity. Glucose doesn’t detract from that.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thank you Inka. I've tried different strategies of exercising / food / insulin to try to find a fit. What I'm currently doing is to eat my meal about 1 1/2 hours before exercising, and take slightly less insulin than what I would take if I wasn't exercising. I take about 6-8 units NovoRapid before eating, so I may decrease by one unit if I'm going to exercise. . 🙂

Hi @pondita , my Endo in Oxford told me that a 50% reduction would be an appropriate start point for my bosul if I'm going to be active. I'd expressed concern about too little control when exercising.

I'm over 70 so my level of exercising is centred around activities such as walking, gardening, "jobs" etc. At first, I cautiously applied a lesser reduction and multiplied my bolus dose by 0.7, but this was too soft. So I bravely tried 50% and that worked - just; could have gone further. So your remark that you may decrease by 1 unit might prove to be overly cautious.

I've since seen an article on exercise and DM which also said 50%. Incidentally, that was half of my total bosul, ie food, corrections and anything else that could factor in. Are you aware that intense (or hard anaerobic) exercise can initially bring about an increase - as your body thinks you need to be in "fight or flight" mode and releases more glucose into your blood; in due course that extra gets soaked up and I then drop a fair amount later that day. Intense activity also carries on affecting my BG for 2 or more days; but I'm T3c and my diabetes is very brittle (erratic).

I have relative who has been T1 since age 16 (now late 40s). He goes Munro walking and frequently takes what he call a diabetes holiday - skips one or more bosul and walks off his meals, with supplementary protein snacks as he goes. So while I wouldn't recommend going that far, it does seem to be OK for him. I have a high carb breakfast and if very busy regularly skip lunch (so no bolus) and take a couple of snacks during the afternoon; the snack might be a couple of JBs and a slower GI choc biscuit, plus plenty of fluid to keep myself well hydrated. Dehydration noticeably affects my BG. My alarms let me know when I'm dropping and when I'm in a low zone.

 

[Inka]

Thanks for that @Proud to be erratic It reminded me that I’d forgotten to say that as well as my bolus reduction I also ate a snack before my swim. I preferred the staggered boost, so to speak - ie 1/3 less bolus plus a snack boost prior to exercising. The snack was literally just before I got in the pool and I found that kept me going.

 

[pondita]

You could try a percentage reduction of your bolus rather than just knocking one unit off. As an example, before I used to go swimming in the evening, I reduced my evening meal bolus by 1/3. How far away is the gym?

For glucose top-ups when exercising, I use Dextro tablets (and water for hydration). I find juices don’t work as well and I wonder if having Dextro would reduce the calories for you.

Another thing to say is not to let the need for glucose when exercising get to you. It used to annoy me a lot when I went to the gym, but needs must, and you have to put it out of your head. Exercise is good for you and good for your insulin sensitivity. Glucose doesn’t detract from that.

Hi Inka, and thank you. The gym, from our door to starting the workout, is about 25 minutes, and I work out for about an hour. What would you do if you were me re: timing for food and insulin? So do you start your exercise with your BG above normal?

Dextro tablets. I've calculated the calories of those vs the organic juices I drink, and Dextro tablets are slightly less. I'll keep that in mind, thank you. I've found the juice, with my body metabolism, works quickly enough so that that's never been a problem.

I don't mind needing glucose during my exercise. I understand the rationale. I just am trying to figure strategies to lose weight, and it seems if I replace what I'm burning off with exercise, then I'm not getting the benefit of losing weight.

 

[Inka]

Hi @pondita It will depend on you as an individual, but you could try slightly shortening the time between your meal and when you start exercising. I’m trying to remember how long I left, but struggling as I haven’t been swimming in the evenings for years. I remember I left long enough to be comfortable but not too long. The point of that was to make sure I started exercising with higher sugar and with rising sugar from my meal.

Yes, I started my exercise higher than normal. It depends what you class as normal, but I started with a higher sugar than I’d usually have in the evening. Again, I’m struggling to remember, but I think it was between, say, 8 and 10. I then judged my snack on what end of the range my blood sugar was, eating more if it was near the lower end of my target.

I personally see exercise as more of a way to keep fit and healthy and increase/maintain insulin sensitivity. To me, the best way to lose weight is to moderate your food intake slightly.

However, unless you’re very short, I don’t think you sound overweight. What I alluded to briefly in my first response to you was that it’s very possible the loss of your beta cells took place over a number of years. This would have caused higher and/or erratic blood sugars that you wouldn’t even have noticed. These would have meant your weight may have been artificially lower than your natural weight. So, when you talk about going beyond your pre-diagnosis weight, just keep in mind that that weight might not have been your ‘right’ weight due to erratic higher sugars. If you eat well, your body should find its own natural weight.