Exercise & normal BG level

[George83]

If my blood levels are normal and say I wanted to go for a run, what would the best thing to do, have a snack before I run, if so what should I eat, my blood glucose is currently 7.1 mmol/L and should I snack after the run.

[HelenM]

I wouldn't snack at 7mml, but I would test during the run and correct with dextrose if necessary. I also check after the run. I may need to snack and/or lower the bolus with the following meal. Different people react differently to exercise and you need to test to find out what your own BS does. Good info on running and diabetes @Runsweet.com-diabetes and sport (http://runsweet.com/6163/index.html)

[George83]

Thanks for that Helen, ill do some testing, but where do I get dextrose from, can I get from a health/supplement store?

[Handybear]

You can get fast acting glucose and glucose tables at any local drugstore. I use it to correct for lows. Look in the "Diabetic" section.

[xMenace]

If my blood levels are normal and say I wanted to go for a run, what would the best thing to do, have a snack before I run, if so what should I eat, my blood glucose is currently 7.1 mmol/L and should I snack after the run.
For a There's runs and then there's runs.

One key question to ask is whether your run is intense enough to trigger a liver dump. If you stay in the aerobic zone, you'll drop. If you get into the anaerobic zone, you MAY spike very high.

I think the typical treatment is 15g of carbs per 1/2 hour. For a 20 minute jog, I take nothing. For 1.5 hours of recreational tennis, I take about 15g per 1/2 hour. For an hour of hockey, I take nothing then bolus for a spike afterwards. In all cases I lower my basals somewhat for a few hours following.

It depends on your meds too. If you're not on insulin (type 2's reading this), don't worry. If you are, test and learn.

[George83]

Please explain, anyone!!!!

I went for Jog/Run tonight, before going my BG was 5.3mmol/L, half an hour in it was 5.9, then at the full hour it was when i finished it was 9.7.

All I did was have 2 jelly beans before because I haven't bought any gluose tablets yet, could 2 jelly have had such an affect, I didnt think they would??? confused.

[Emm]

Is one hour your usual running time?
Would you normally test half way through or were you feeling odd?
Are you running a simple around town sort of thing? Or something more hectic - like up hills etc?
Do you know for sure that your insulin doses are correct, in particular your basal?

It's possible that your liver kicked in to avoid / correct a low (5.3 is a little too low to start exercising on if you expect to drop).

Or, it could be that your run wasn't so aerobic and caused a spike in BG instead of lowering it.

2 jellybeans shouldn't push you more than maybe 1 point (in my experience, and naturally we're all different.)

Could it have been a delayed effect from something you'd eaten earlier?

P.S do you really need glucose tabs if you have Jellybeans? I find JBs pretty good, and very fast... not to mention cheap & easy!