spike after exercise

[bfc]

Sometimes after I work out my blood sugar spikes and I feel really sick.  The other day when I left the gym my blood sugar was normal but when I got home it had doubled (from 7 to 14) and I was burning ketones.  Any ideas?  It only happens once in a while! What is the recommeded way to treat this?  I find giving an insulin bolus and eating something helps but would like to avoid the whole situation from happening!

[JDRF-VOL-RL]

Hello!  It's great to hear how well you are taking care of yourself.  I'm not a medical professional, just the parent of a kid with diabetes.  Understanding blood sugars is a chore.  As you likely know, pretty much everything you do affects your blood sugars.  Stress can make your blood sugar rise.  Have you noticed your blood sugars rise when you do one type of exercise as opposed to another?  I'm just curious if you've seen any patterns.

[jcok]

I am not a doctor, of course. But I do work out and know what your talking about. My doctor says that once during the day, your body spills out some hormones (normal) and this will effect the level of bg and during the work out, this is common. Just letting you know what my doc said and not to get to worried about it. Of course ask your own doctor.

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

When you exercise strenuously, your body produces adrenalin. This hormone can block the effectiveness of insulin, causing a temporary rise in glucose. That is why stress or sickness can cause blood sugars to rise, also. I don't know that there really is any way to stop this from happening except perhaps to ease up on the workout some. A brisk walk won't stimulate adrenalin production like a sprint does. All in all, it sounds like you have great workout habits to keep your heart and lungs strong, and it also sounds like you are doing exactly the right thing in order to try to stabilize the blood sugar to control this temporary rise. Kudos to you. Yes, it is a pain, but what you are doing sounds perfect.

[bfc]

Thanks for the input.  Yes, it usually only happens when I push myself pretty hard at the gym or work out strenuously with a trainer.  I pretty much thought it was the result of adrenalin but wondered if anyone knew of a way to stop it from happening.  I guess I'll just keep monitoring different ways of dealing with it. I don't want to leave my pump at full basal, as that results in lows.  I usually drop to 25% and it keeps me level during my workouts, the spikes usually happen when the workout is over...