Exercise and Blood Glucose

When I exercise, I have to check my BG before, during, and after. This is supposed to give me an idea about how my BG changes and whether or not I will have a low BG before I complete my workout. Unfortunately, though, my BG usually goes up. Why?

In September of 2011, I started a workout program that was the most effective to date. It is the program that lead to me losing the most weight ever and helped me gain control of my BG. At that time, I was beginning to run and it was something that I enjoyed. I wasn't very fast, but I completed my first 5k (Torrance Turkey Trot) with my aunt; this was also my motivation. The training was done using an app I downloaded for my phone: Couch-to-5k. Overall, I was doing 2-3 hours of cardio a day. 

My BGs became quite good, up to the point that I wasn't taking very much insulin (I was using the pen injections). I was also going to a weight loss centre where they gave me appetite suppressants and most importantly B-12 injections once a week. The injections gave me a lot of energy, and the appetite suppressants helped me to not eat out of boredom, hence why my BGs were so good.

Come the day before the Turkey Trot, my BGs were becoming more difficult to control. At first, I believed it had something to do with travelling, but once I came back home to Mesa, I could not gain control. After a month of high BGs and a SEVERE tension headache, I finally saw the doctor and he explained that my pancreas had completely stopped producing insulin and stress was NOT helping. That doctor was a fantastic doctor, and I would trust his word over any one's, as he actually assisted in studies of both Type I and Type II Diabetes for about 20 years, and helped in the development of Januvia.

In that time, I started to feel down again because who wouldn't be upset that the disease they thought they'd gained control over, took control over them? I completed my exams for the semester and passed all my classes with good grades, but the tension headache would not go away. I later found out that I was experiencing cluster headaches, meaning that I would have a migraine on top of my tension headache. So, once I got those under control with muscle relaxants, I was able to think again.

I went to see an Endocrinologist for the first time because my lovely doctor (whom I miss dearly) suggested I begin insulin pump therapy. When he told me this, I was upset. I was naïve and believed that insulin pump therapy was for people who were too lazy to bother controlling their diabetes. I made the appointment with the Endocrinologist and he made an appointment for me to see a Medtronic representative. Still resenting the idea, I went anyway. I was able to do a dry trial for three days (without insulin) and I must say, I was rather quite excited about the idea. So, I did what I needed to get this new magic.

I was required to attend a carb counting class to learn how carbohydrates work in the body and how insulin works. I learned about carb ratios, which determine how many units of insulin I should take based upon how many carbohydrates I consume. The class was not only good for me, but my mum was visiting me from Australia and she learned a lot, too. After that, I had to wait almost two months before I could start using the thing, as I then had to learn how the pump itself worked, and I had to gather enough information for the Medtronic Diabetes Educator to set my pump. That, and I had to actually wait for my insurance to accept to pay for it and then have it delivered to me. Those two months were long and hard as I wanted it so bad.

I see that I have gotten off topic here, so I guess I should veer back to the point. The insulin pump was meant to help me have a stable flow of insulin through my body to keep my BGs down. In all the time mentioned above, I continued to exercise, just not as frequent or as hard as I had before the Turkey Trot. I guess you could say that I was still upset over the BG changes. However, once I got my pump, I began to get back into my old routine- for about a month.

When I was back to my old routine of exercise, I struggled with many low BGs because my pump settings were not finalized yet (not that they will ever be "finalized" I guess). It was really hard to exercise for long periods of time all at once, but I learned to spread it out more. Then I found out I was pregnant. 

In the short week of pregnancy, I learned much about pregnancy and diabetes, but I will have to save that for another time. The point is, I became really depressed and stressed out, AGAIN. I know, recurring theme. I stopped going to the weight loss centre and I discontinued exercise for a long period of time. My BGs? They sky-rocketed. I found out a couple of weeks after the pregnancy that my hA1c was at 7.1. AMAZING! Well, for me at least, as I haven't had such a low hA1c in the time that I've ever had them checked. The 7.1 is an average of 176 mg/dL over a 3 month period.

So, since then (which would be about late May) I have had more ups a downs. However, the overall outcome has been a downward spiral. These days, I do wish to get control again, but it will take a lot. I have been working out each day- not long, but enough. I am hoping to go back to the weight loss centre and get B-12 injections again to get my energy back up.

In the beginning of this post, I said that my BGs tend to go up when I work out. Why? It is not the exercise itself as exercise utilizes the glucose in the blood much faster as the muscle requires it for energy. It is the stress associated with it. However, if I wasn't so stressed out without exercise, I would not have high BGs after a workout.

What is my exercise routine? I currently use the BeachBody product: Shaun T's Rockin' Body. This is a fun DVD to workout to as it is just dancing, which keeps my mind off of the exercise itself. A workout can be between 17-33 minutes, depending on which video I choose to workout to. My BGs before workouts tend to be in the high 100s and low 200s, and so I do a very small Bolus ("inject" insulin) before the workout, do the workout, and provided I remember - something I suck at lately - check my BG again afterwards. When I do check after, though, it is disappointing to see it in the low 300s. Once again, this is due to stress aside from exercise. What do I hope to do to correct this? 

As mentioned before, I will go back to the weight loss centre and get the B-12 injections, this Thursday to be exact. I believe that with more energy, I will feel less stressed because I won't procrastinate as much, even if it's as simple as straightening up the house. I also believe that the greater energy will help me to exercise more, to WANT to exercise more, which will make me feel better all around., as my moods also effect BG levels (to be left for another post).

YAY for health!