Looking For An Explanation

[gobbly2100]

Ok so you take insulin to make sugar in the blood into energy your body can use but my question is this:

If you do exersize your blood suger go's down so does that mean it is using sugar the insulin has not touched right?

if there is any links to explain in greater detail what I am trying to work out that would be great thanks.

[DeusXM]

Insulin is like a 'gateway' - it allows your muscles and liver to extract glucose from your blood and either use or store it. When you exercise, your muscles need more glucose so as to function, so a larger volume of glucose from the blood passes through the gateway created by the same amount of insulin.

Think of insulin like a door and your muscles as big vacuum attached to the door. When you take more insulin, you make a bigger 'door', causing more glucose to pass through into your muscles and liver. When you exercise, the 'door' stays the same size but there's a much stronger pull from the vacuum, forcing more glucose to pass through.

[gobbly2100]

So would I be right in saying that exercise makes insulin work better therefore you would need less insulin than usual to do the same job?

[JediSkipdogg]

I wouldn't say it works better. Using Deus's lingo.....

Think of when you are not exercising the insulin only opens the door for one piece of sugar to get through before it closes and dies off. When you exercise, the cells pull more sugar in therefore they allow 2 pieces of sugar through the door before shutting.

When exercising you need some extra sugar to go into the cells, but with insulin and the diabetic body it doesn't correctly compensate when artificial insulin is given. Therefore you need to take less insulin so that the correct amount of sugar gets through the doors.

[BlueSky]

So would I be right in saying that exercise makes insulin work better therefore you would need less insulin than usual to do the same job?
Sounds right to me. Exercise forces blood through the muscles, increasing their insulin sensitivity. Which reduces the amount of insulin you need to clear glucose from the bloodstream. Exercise also accelarates the rate of insulin absorption, increasing the downward effect on blood sugar. Exercise raises your metabolic rate, making all your cells more receptive to glucose. This effect lasts for up to 36 hours after you have stopped exercising.

Having said all that, If you don't have enough circulating insulin while you exercise, you will run out of steam and your blood sugar will go up. Finding the right dosage can be challenging, especially if there is some insulin resistance. We are all different. So you just have to test and measure until you figure out how how much carbohydrate and insulin you need before exercise. :wink:

[gobbly2100]

My blood sugar can go up with doing exersize? Oh dam this suddenly gets me so furustrated, I am having such a hard time in controlling blood sugars.

Am on 100 units of Mix 25 a day and am only 5ft 6 and 112 pounds :(

The doctors are not very helpful here, is there a good site where I can really begin to understand the science behind all this?

[Just_Plain_John]

What I found helpful was to adjust my mealtime insulin dose downward to leave me at an elevated blood glucose number +1hr after my meal. Then I exercise strenuously for 1/2 hour either a very fast walk, weightlifting or body-resistance type workouts. My pre-exercise readings are usually 190-210 or so, and I burn down about 90 points in a 1/2 hour exercise session, whichever type it is.

Some people get increases in BG readings from extreme exercises, but it doesn't seem to affect me that way. Try my method and see if it works for you - remember to always have some fast-acting carbs with you, and test a lot ! I'm not familiar with your particular insulin's action - I take Lantus for my basal dose, and fast-acting Humalog for mealtimes.