# Randomness of exercise



## imtrying (Jan 9, 2012)

Hi all...for once I am actually posting in the relevant area (!!) [gold star please  ]

I think this is more just a moan than anything else as I don't think there is an answer, but end of November, I finally joined the gym again! This is my first stint of exercising since going on my carb-counting course...and has proved very interesting.

On the whole, I've been testing before starting to exercise, (doing weights first) then testing before moving onto cardio) then testing when finished and testing 1 hour after.  Largely these have followed the same patterns that I have slightly increased levels just after weights, and this then drops after I've done half an hour or so of cardio. 

However...I have had 2 very opposite, scary instances. 

1st was during a Body Combat class - high intensity, high calorie burn class. To be honest this was really my own fault as I'd spend all day in high double figures and they only came down just before the class, but I went ahead and did it anyway, having drunk a sugary drink first. After 15 minutes I felt hypo. Tested and was 3.3, drunk a BOTTLE (not a carton) of orange juice, and tested again....2.7. I then ate the remainder of my lucozade tablets (about half the pack) and tested again. 3.3. Thought I was going up now. tested again, and it had dropped down to 2.4. By now I was running out of hypo treatments and was scared I wasn't able to get my levels up. I phoned my husband and got him to come and pick me up. Back home (just round the corner), bloods were still in the low 2's  hubby sat me down at the kitchen table with the sugar pot and a teaspoon! lol I think i ended up eating about 8 or 9 of these. tested again 10 minutes later - 3.1. At this point I burst into tears. We found some old lucozade and I drank some of that too. Eventually, after spending over 40 minutes with hypo readings, I finally got up to 4.6. Sadly that scared the hell out of me and I haven't been able to face going back to that class since. It took me over a week to get back into the gym.

Second bad experience was last week. Went into the gym with levels of 10.3 (this is more than ok given I usually drop). After weights I was 12. I drank a small carton of OJ (again, normally fine) and worked by butt off on the treadmill, cross trainer and bike. This would normally send me low. When I finished my workout I was 14. went home, had a NO-CARB dinner. I tested an hour later to make sure I wasn't hypo only to find out I was 31.6!!!!!  After 2 hours I'd only managed to get it down to 17 (strangely enough I felt worse at 17 than I did at 31!) Gave up then and went to bed! 

Off to the gym again tonight, so will see what my levels hold for me today!!! 

Thanks for listening


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## Copepod (Jan 9, 2012)

Glad you have rediscovered "Exercise / Sport" section 

Yes, effect of exercise (and life in general) on blood glucose levels can be a random at times.

I've found that exploring the underlying principles of how the body uses energy sources from food and / or fat / liver stores helps - try http://www.runsweet.com/StartingSports.html as a start, then http://www.runsweet.com/DiabetesAndSport.html (and follow links through the articles) and http://www.runsweet.com/Gym.html (for your specific activity)

Personally, I find that if I need to load some carbohydrate before exercise (in my case, more usually running / orienteering / kayaking, so slightly lower intensity than gym, but for longer, usually 1 - 2 hours, plus cycling 15 - 30 mins each way to / from), then a muesli bar suits me better than sweets alone, as it contains some longer acting carbohydrate (grains) as well as sugar.


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## imtrying (Jan 10, 2012)

Hi, and thanks for the links. I'm going to print them off now and read them tonight.

Last night I ended up with levels that are what I'd consider 'normal' for the workout I do, and what most people experience. I was 13.6 before walking to the gym, didn't take any carbs this time given my 31.6 last time (!!)and was 6.1 when I finished my workout. Got home, showered, tested and was 6.4. so far so good. had dinner and injected straight away. 5.9 before bed 

12.30am - 2.2 

But I get this...I know if my levels were to play the game, I should have been able to reduce my dinner units, but having gone up to 31.6 last time, I didn't feel like I could. 

I'm going to Body Combat tomorrow night, so will see if the effect is the same when doing a class (though this will be with OJ given the intensity) and reduce my dose with my evening meal. 

I'm hoping I'll find patterns as I build on my results. 

Thanks again


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## imtrying (Jan 10, 2012)

oops...think i just about printed off most of the website!! Got some great stuff off there so going to have a read through it all tonight and tomorrow hopefully


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