# Getting blood sugars down after exercise



## Davids64 (Oct 11, 2021)

i am type 1 and go to the gym on  a regular basis but the problem i seem to have is when i exercise, my sugar levels shoot up and even afterwards when i give myself a shot to balance, they still remain stubbornly high for quite a while - anyone else suffer the same and have any ideas how best to counter this?


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## everydayupsanddowns (Oct 11, 2021)

Sorry to hear about the BG upheaval you are getting after exercise. Must be very frustrating for you - especially as exercise is supposed to help!

I think generally it is anaerobic exercise that stimulates the liver to release glucose (weights / sprints).

Maybe www.extod.org might have some pointers?


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## Davids64 (Oct 12, 2021)

Benny G said:


> Hi @Davids64, if you can give a bit more information about yourself we might be able to help.
> What type of insulin do you take? What kind of workout do you prefer at the gym: cardio, weights? Do you eat before, during, or after your workout?
> I have always preferred outdoor cycling and running rather than indoor gym, and for me high glucose levels have always been a result of trying to balance the reduced insulin requirements of endurance sports against food for fuel.
> Exercise is always a bit tricky.


i take novorapid and prefer to do cardio at the gym ie spin / run or circuits - in the morning i am generally between 4-4.5 BS and have a small bowl of cereal and maybe 2 or 3 units because of exercise (reluctant to give myself anymore just in case) yet after gym session yesterday i was up at 19 so gave myself a 15 unit shot and was only down to 13 three hours later so completely agree, exercise is indeed tricky


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## Davids64 (Oct 12, 2021)

everydayupsanddowns said:


> Sorry to hear about the BG upheaval you are getting after exercise. Must be very frustrating for you - especially as exercise is supposed to help!
> 
> I think generally it is anaerobic exercise that stimulates the liver to release glucose (weights / sprints).
> 
> Maybe www.extod.org might have some pointers?


that is the most frustrating point i agree when advised to exercise and this happens - have been told also it does result in release of glucose but not helpful if body cannot produce correct level of insulin to auto correct the levels - just took a sneak at extod, looks very helpful so much appreciated


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## Davids64 (Oct 12, 2021)

Benny G said:


> I think glucose levels can go up or down depending on how strenuous your workout is, which is tied to your level of fitness and how regularly your perform that specific type of exercise.
> So when you switch up your exercise routine you will feel the difference more; when you start a new sport your body needs time to adapt, and your glucose and insulin levels will need to be watched closer than usual.
> 
> A couple of things that really helped me, are Libre/testing more; and doing exercise without any rapid insulin on board. So, skipping breakfast before going to the gym will give you a more accurate picture of what your body is doing (on basal alone), and what corrections may be required for similar gym sessions.
> ...


thanks again Benny, valuable information -  i will skip breakfast next time and see what the effect is


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## mark king (Oct 17, 2021)

Hello @Davids64 this is very unusual but very interesting.
I am someone who did much more exercise in the past than I do now but I mainly covered my Diabetic effects by the use of Lucozade.
You say you go up when the expectation is that you should go down as you use up your energy reserves.
Things I noticed when exercising.
My digestion and take up carbs improved. [I ate the same snack food before training as a constant] could this be happening to you.
I did rotate my injection sites and used my body core [tummy] as limbs distribute the insulin differently when whirling them about or running.
With care and monitoring of your BG, eg I have the Libre 2 sensor which gives an easy to read out of my BG, you could try no food and no insulin before your training and watch what happens.  Best to make someone where you train aware of what you are doing and have some quick carbs handy.
At the moment doing the same things brings about the same results so I suggest you change something and look for changes in your results.
Then you & your medical team should analyse those results.

Good luck


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## Davids64 (Oct 18, 2021)

mark king said:


> Hello @Davids64 this is very unusual but very interesting.
> I am someone who did much more exercise in the past than I do now but I mainly covered my Diabetic effects by the use of Lucozade.
> You say you go up when the expectation is that you should go down as you use up your energy reserves.
> Things I noticed when exercising.
> ...


thanks Mark, appreciate your feedback. Fully expect them to go down when exercising as you say which is all very strange - working on various options now to see if i can improve them one of which is no food, no insulin although I have a real need (maybe just habit) to eat before i exercise  - all very odd but', I'll get there


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## Hoppo97 (Oct 19, 2021)

Hi @Davids64. I'm a 24 year old type 1 diabetic. I experience it similarly. I am very sporty and have to change my long acting dose based on the level of aerobic exercise I do. Also, I find that when I do short intense workouts such as an interval session running or prolonged 'tempo' efforts, that my blood sugars will spike too. I think this is due to work rate and body releasing glycogen faster than usual. The danger I find is 4+ hours afterwards I have noticed my bloods have spiked and have corrected with insulin (less than usual due to exercise) later resulting in some nasty hypos. Unfortunately, depending on the body is feeling, the outcome can vary quite a lot.  For me, often I will leave my bloods slightly high, anticipating them to drop, purely to sleep safely. Has anyone overcome this problem. 
Best wishes


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## Davids64 (Oct 19, 2021)

appreciate your reply @Hoppo97 - even with a correction dose it does not always come down to the levels i would expect. they shot up to 19 recently after exercise and as mentioned previously even with a large correction dose they still remained stubbornly high - such a lottery unfortunately so still trying


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## pat7762 (Oct 25, 2021)

hi, i'm type 2 diabetic and 75 yrs old,i do nintendo ring fit,and my blood count goes up when i exercise,i take glicazide,
my diabetic nurse couldn't tell me why this was happening.


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## Davids64 (Oct 25, 2021)

thanks pat7762, looks like quite a few of us are in the same boat - my diabetic nurse has no idea also


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## counsellorneil (Nov 7, 2021)

This thread gives me some reassurance, that I'm not alone in experiencing high glugose levels following aerobic exercise, which I had expected to reduce glucose levels, but doesn't seem, to be happening for me. I've been doing the C25K, which found levels all over the place. Though certainly seem worse when exercising late morning after having breakfast, whilst not so bad before eating. Like this morning I ran/jogged 10k, which I'd have expected a reduction, found me at 14.8 immediately after the 10k, which rose to 15.7 an hour later!! I get frustrated that the Fiasp en with aspart is supposed to be fast acting! Haha, well not for me. I'm still at 9 despite taking several units. Oh and I'm 64 and slowly getting more fed up with this diabetes crap. Seemed to have better control not doing exercise!!


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## Davids64 (Nov 8, 2021)

counsellorneil said:


> This thread gives me some reassurance, that I'm not alone in experiencing high glugose levels following aerobic exercise, which I had expected to reduce glucose levels, but doesn't seem, to be happening for me. I've been doing the C25K, which found levels all over the place. Though certainly seem worse when exercising late morning after having breakfast, whilst not so bad before eating. Like this morning I ran/jogged 10k, which I'd have expected a reduction, found me at 14.8 immediately after the 10k, which rose to 15.7 an hour later!! I get frustrated that the Fiasp en with aspart is supposed to be fast acting! Haha, well not for me. I'm still at 9 despite taking several units. Oh and I'm 64 and slowly getting more fed up with this diabetes crap. Seemed to have better control not doing exercise!!


and quite refreshing to read you are experiencing the same! I tend to agree having far better control if i do not exercise - how very bizarre! as mentioned previously i can go as high as 18 afterwards and even with a 15 / 16 unit shot, will still be 13/14 one or two hours later so completely clueless for now


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## helli (Nov 8, 2021)

counsellorneil said:


> I get frustrated that the Fiasp en with aspart is supposed to be fast acting! Haha, well not for me. I'm still at 9 despite taking several units.


I have been using Fiasp for a couple of years now and find the speed at which it works is dependent on my starting blood sugar levels. 
If I take a bolus when my levels are in the 4s and 5s, Fiasp works instantly. However, if I take a bolus when they are over 10, it can take an hour to start working. 
Unfortunately, I haven't worked out a way around this but at least the knowledge has stoped me rage bolusing for a correction dose.


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## rebrascora (Nov 8, 2021)

I can be at 5 when I wake up and still need to wait 45mins before I eat breakfast with Fiasp if my liver is pumping out glucose (DP/FOTF) as it is essentially swimming against a strong current. It sounds like your running is triggering a similar liver dump of glucose but added to that your levels are ending up very high which will cause increased insulin resistance so the Fiasp when you inject it is working against a double tide. What sort of levels are you at when you head out for exercise. Have you tried alternating walking and running to help use up some of the glucose and reduce the liver dump. 

I agree with @helli that once my levels get above a certain level (about 8 for me) it is almost as if I injected water and I often end up stacking insulin to get it down which is discouraged but works for me.

The other thing to consider is whether your basal dose is high enough? If you are on a long acting basal like Tresiba, that might be causing difficulties because it might not be providing you with enough through the day to keep your levels steady but be fine for night time. I find when I run regularly I have to reduce my evening basal dose (split dose Levemir) quite significantly but keep my daytime one quite high. Of course we are all different but perhaps a change of basal insulin might give you more flexibility for exercise if you are on a very long acting basal like Tresiba or Toujeo or maybe even Lantus..


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## counsellorneil (Nov 12, 2021)

helli said:


> I have been using Fiasp for a couple of years now and find the speed at which it works is dependent on my starting blood sugar levels.
> If I take a bolus when my levels are in the 4s and 5s, Fiasp works instantly. However, if I take a bolus when they are over 10, it can take an hour to start working.
> Unfortunately, I haven't worked out a way around this but at least the knowledge has stoped me rage bolusing for a correction dose.


Thanks for sharing your experience. That kind of makes sense, as when I am between say 5 to 7, on reflection it does work faster than when my levels are over 9. Hadn't really connected those dots before. Thanks. 

Another note, that keeps me wondering what's actually going on with exercising. On Wednesday and today (Friday) I ran 5k and this time my glucose level did not rise either time. Today actually dropped a little. I'm wondering if my body is getting used to things? I think someone above in this thread mentioned something about that being a possibility? I'm curious what will happen on next Monday when I plan a 10k run. Will the longer distance and time it takes, make a difference? Appreciate everyone sharing their exercise and glucose experiences.


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