Stay at home dad

[viranth]

So for the last 7 weeks I've been at home during the day, then working nights and weekends (exhausting btw).

Anyway, I've noticed that if I stay still after taking my insulin, I almost always go a bit higher, than if I'm active.

I'm in great shape, I work out 4 times a week at the gym. I walk my kids to daycare in the morning (about 30 minutes) and remain active throughout the day.

But if I decide, today I'll relax a little bit, and stay on the couch for example, how come my insulin sensitivity can change so fast?

I thought if you're in good shape, your insulin sensitivity will stay the same most of the time, but no matter how great shape I'm in, if I stay on the couch after I eat highish carbs, I will go a little bit higher than normal.

[betsyz]

I think most of us experience this effect one way or the other. For me, although I'm by no means inactive (I exercise for about an hour almost every day), I typically see a difference between my insulin needs and/or my post-meal BG readings between M-F when I am mostly sitting at my desk from 9:30am-7:00pm with an hour of serious exercise in the evening and Sat-Sun when I am out walking around getting as much fresh air as I can throughout the day. I also notice the change on vacation when sight-seeing between meals. I've found that it helps me balance this out if I lower my Lantus doses on the weekends and on vacation. For the past two years I have been splitting my basal dose between the evening and morning, so on weekdays I usually take 10 units at night and 8 units in the morning, but on weekends/vacation I'll take 9 units at night and 7.5 units in the morning. You might consider upping your basal or your bolus just a bit when you anticipate lounging around for the day (though I bet that's hard to predict when you are looking after kids). But your A1C numbers look great, so I can't imagine you are or should be too concerned.

[Subby]

Is is just that your insulin sensitivity changes, or is it that the insulin is working a bit slower when exercising? A bit of both would be completely typical as far as I understand. You could try prebolusing more when inactive, to see if that helps the improve the onset time and avoid some or all of the spike.

You don't say how much sleep you are getting or how regularly, but your schedule sounds like a risk to your health, if you are active all day then working at night. If you are often tired and fatigued, you are stressing your body and I have found that leads to breaking natural body patterns and possibly confusing internal blood sugar regulation. That may well be having a big impact on your blood sugars in itself. Something to keep a close eye on.

[Grunch]

It's not about insulin sensitivity. It's just that when you exercise you burn some of the carbs that have to be covered by insulin when you don't exercise.

[TommyC1]

I don't know the why's but I very definately need to eat fewer carbs and or use more insulin when I'm getting less exercise. Or visa versa.
That is an hour by hour situation for me. Active in the AM means more carbs/less insulin. Inactive in the PM, less carbs more insulin.
The only time that changes is when I'm doing prolonged hard exercise like all day paddling/hiking/biking/skiing. Then it seems to carry over sometimes as much as a whole day.

Gotta love the D! The only consistancy is the inconsistancy.