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Preventing Hypos After Exercise

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
T

Tony R

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
My son is quite sporty and one issue has always been low readings long after exercise.

I know a lot of people in gyms take protein shakes within 20 minutes of exercise as that's when muscles repair themselves the most. As I understand it if you do manage to take something in that 20 minutes the demands aren't so great later on.

Just wonder if anyone knows anything particularly suitable for diabetics and whether you should bolus for them.
 
Tony our son plays alot of footy etc.This is what we do
1- He eats 2 hrs before sport
2- he takes a unit off meal dose
3- Tests on route to match/training - will make sure he is a 7 before starting -ie dextrose
5- will drink/sip lucozade sport during match-think he has 2 thirds of a bottle
6 .will have a slice of bread with cheese/ham no injection before bed.whatever the reading this is the only thing that works for him because even when hes gone to bed with a high reading he dips in the night
eg the other day he did a cross country thing at school decided no bread /cheese needed went to bed 8.0 3.7 at 1.oo am
so this works for us anyway hope you get there -it took us a while to
 
I think it is very much a case of trial and error as far as exercise is concerned. I find that my levels can actually rise slightly after exercise, but then my insulin requirements will reduce for up to 40 hours afterwards if I have been for a long run, for example. Going against natural logic, I find that a small amount of carbs after a run e.g. a small glass of fruit juice or a biscuit, will stop my levels rising immediately afterwards -no bolus required. I think one of the mechanisms to bear in mind is that exercise will deplete the muscles of glycogen, and they will attempt to replenish this after exercise, which is one of the things that can cause a low. The liver will usually try to 'assist' by releasing some of its stores of glycogen, which in my case is where the rise soon after exercise comes from - if I eat something then this 'switches off' the liver's assistance. After all this, the liver will normally need to replenish its own stores so this can lead to lows further down the line, made more likely by increased sensitivity to insulin! A complicated business! So, basically, you need to find the balance between keeping your blood sugars topped up and reducing post-exercise insulin doses. It sounds like delbt's son has this off to a tee (so to speak!)
 
Hi Toney, unfortunaly there isnt a rule book for proper exercise. I did the c2c years ago & didnt have any bolus, yes basal & bg was good (still ate). Everyone is different & works harder/less. T1 is a joy 🙂
 
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