Help, How do I do exercise with diabetes?

[Afsd A]

Sometimes I go low after exercise, but other times I actually end up going higher. It freaks me out so I always drink an OJ before exercise but sometimes that takes me really high, and other times it does the trick and I am at 100 afterwards. Please help I am actually afraid of exercising now!
I have a pump as well but lowering basal just is not enough. If I lower my basal by 20% for 2 hours that is only like .4 units which is close to nothing...

[Em_nz]

What kind of exercise are you doing? Aerobic exercise should drop your BG, while anaerobic exercise my raise it to start with but in the long term its great for helping your insulin absorption. Both are great for diabetics but you need a different plan of attack for them.

For aerobic exercise you can either lower your basal about 45 mins to an hour before you start, or have some slower acting carb. For anaerobic you may want to have a *small* shot of short acting at some stage - but test your reaction to the exercise first!

Of course you need to consider what number you start at... try to be at the higher end of normal, and don't exercise if you're over 200 (though gentle exercise is ok at that rate - like a casual walk) because exercising while high will almost certainly increase your blood sugar and can cause muscle problems and ketones. Over 230 you should definitely not do anything until you've got those numbers down!

Whatever you do, test regularly - before you start, half way through, straight afterwards and then again a while after that. You need to figure out your trends - everyone is different, and every day is different! But with some info about what your body does with certain exercises, you're off to a good start.

Always have some fast acting carb on hand... but where possible, try to avoid the lows by regular testing, and eat something slower acting if you're heading for low to avoid it, rather than catching it too late. This offers a more even BG rise which is much more beneficial to your energy levels.

[georgestraitfan]

I wouldn't necessarily choose OJ as my first choice to get my BG up while exercising (even though exercise lowers your BG.) I usually eat a sandwich before I go on an exercise routine. I ride 10-12 miles on my bicycle. Sometimes my BG gets low, but most of the time it doesn't. I have an insulin pump which pumps insulin into my abdomen every 3 minutes in small amounts and then I can give myself a bolus (insulin you give yourself after you eat) and for the basal rate (insulin I get every three minutes), I can decrease that amount of insulin I get. So usually, I don't even have to eat before I leave. I can go to my temporary basal rate and decrease it anywhere from 10-100%...usually decreasing it 20% for 1.5 hrs.

[yeperdoodle]

I had the same problem, but this seems to have worked for me: As often as possible, start your temporary basal rate 30-45 min. before you start exercising. For most exercise, my temporary basal is only 10-15% of my normal one. Keep it going just until you're done exercising. Some people will tell you to keep it going 30-60 min. after you're done, but I ended up with high BG's later when I did that. Don't eat or drink any carb to supplement, just bring something in case you go low. Exercise and insulin don't always go well together because of all the stress hormones that figure into it. Many times you just have to do your best and correct later. But hopefully this will help you. Also remember to check yourself before you start exercising...I make sure I'm over 100, maybe even 120 to be safe.

[DIALL911FOREMERGENCY]

You DON'T need to be drinking an entire glass of juice before you work out. Test your blood sugar before and if its normal, you shouldn't worry. If you take your pump off when you work out try giving yourself 2 units of insulin after your done. That works for me! Also, if your high afterwords I find that you can double your basel rate for a half hour and that should do it.

[Abbey]

use temporary basals on days you work out

[MamaSmurf]

I usually eat some peanut butter on graham crackers before I walk. It usually keeps me good and stable.