The workout felt great, but when I finished my CGM showed me above 200 with double up arrows. I know that exercise can sometimes cause blood sugar to rise, but it never has for me. I’m always dropping by the end of a workout. I debated if I should take a correction or not. Surely the exercise would have me dropping soon. (Spoiler: The exercise did not drop me. And don’t call me Shirley.) My gut told me to go ahead and correct - and it’s a good thing I did.
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| This was just the beginning!! |
I don’t know what the worst thing is about a blood sugar that is stuck up high. Sometimes I think it’s the fear I feel when nothing I’m doing will bring it down. The terror when the ketones start showing. The feeling of helplessness and failure. The physical effects of achiness and thirst and headache and nausea. Or the frustration of trying to figure out what caused this marathon of highs.
Yes, maybe that last one is the worst. I don’t know what exactly caused the hellish afternoon I had yesterday. It could be some weird response to the exercise, even though this has never happened before. It could have been that my site went bad, even though the site change didn’t seem to help. It could have been some rouge germs that my body is trying to fend off, because I do feel like I’m coming down with something. Or it could just be that diabetes is messing with me and my friends. Because Kelly had a weird high streak too. And George was flat-lined.
Nope, I guess I’ll never actually know what happened to my blood sugar yesterday. And that is very discouraging - because how can I work to prevent it in the future if I don’t know what caused it in the first place?
I try not to analyze the highs too, too much. Makes me crazy. If I can't determine the cause, then onward to the next challenge. Cuz we know, there will be a next one. Well, unless they cure it?
ReplyDeleteIt IS so frustrating when you can't figure out the whys. And even if you do make it the part-time job that it can sometimes require, you still aren't guaranteed to figure it out. I think that's the clincher for me - even when I knuckle down, although I can clean up the loose ends, some things just cannot be figured out and I just don't like the answer of "well that's diabetes".
ReplyDeleteYour story makes me think of the times that Caleb doesn't correct and I try to be patient and say, 'it's okay - no problem, we'll correct and WAIT TWO LONG HOURS." Sometimes I even calmly repeat that process. But when the third one comes around panic does set in. All too often it ends in rage bolus lows. That'a a puzzle I can't figure out. How to stop or improve that pattern, particularly when the ominous ketones show their face. Grrrr..
But here's to today and starting anew...I hope it's a no hitter for you Karen!
I have the same problem sometimes when I exercise. I usually take less insulin at breakfast and then exercise after I eat. Most of the time it works perfectly, but there are those days that I finish about at the same number you did and it ruins the rest of the day. I will spend several hours combating a high. I don't know why it happens either, but I assume it has something to do with the way the body works when you exercise. So frustrating!
ReplyDeleteI hate this stuff. This is, in my opinion, one of the most important things Non-D folk need to understand.
ReplyDeleteDIABETES IS SCREWY!!!
#LYLB
I think Diabetes wanted a rumble in the DOC jungle!
ReplyDeleteLove ya girly!
I've been having a stubborn streak of highs recently that nothing seems to help. It is too frustrating!
ReplyDeleteFrustrating for sure when you are trying to do something healthy for your body and this is the response "d" gives you...it is like "D" is flipping you the bird for trying.
ReplyDeleteHang in there...let us know how it goes with round two of exercise!
I never used to get highs after working out either, but lately I've been running anywhere between 4-8 miles, and I'll keep my pump on suspend and watch the Dexcom as my sugars stay right at 110... (good you think)...then I finish the run and within half an hour I begin the infamous SPIKE up to about 200. So I had to start unsuspending my pump and giving about a unit of insulin 20 minutes before the end of my run and this seems to take care of it. If you notice a pattern of this spike after exercise then you might want to consider something like this?
ReplyDeleteIf I'm high when I start exercising I will just go higher, and if I'm low I will go lower and crash. My endo has explained that it's the adrenine interfering with the action of the insulin which causes me to go high. He said that their molecules are roughly the same shape, so once you get bunches of adrenaline in your bloodstream, it enters the cells in a similar was as does insulin. Thus, insulin can't enter the cells! So I go high! :(
ReplyDeleteLots of good options but here's what I do: 1/2hour before the end of my workout I turn off my low temp basal and immediately put a 140% TBR on for about 5hours. I resist eating carbs for a few hours. So far it's been working for me.
ReplyDeletebut yeah, overall - D SUCKS
That is SO frustrating! So sorry you felt crappy - not fun.
ReplyDeleteK2's comment cracked me up - rumble in the DOC jungle. bahaha!! Awesome!
AWHEW! Something is in the DOC air!!!! My daughter sat in the mid 200's for no good reason yesterday...and damn if that freaking number wouldn't budge.
ReplyDeleteIt's so reassuring to know we aren't alone in this jungle!
Crappy, nothing worse then the unexplainable high, I have gone as far as taking an IM shot only twice but with ketones and desperation it was a good call, used the shoulder muscle and brought it down. I agree with the others diabetes is sooo unpredictable at times.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Karen-
ReplyDeleteI hate diabetes and the unknown. Like you said-how can we fix it or know what caused it if it happens out of the blue. Very unpredictable.