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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes High Blood Sugars While Running?

Hi I am a type 1 diabetic and long distance runner. Generally my control during runs is good and I always have my glucometer with me on runs exceeding 30kms as well as enough glucose and snacks. As you can guess, low blood sugar occurs more often than high blood sugars during a run, which is fairly easy to correct as I simply take some glucose and carbs. However, while running the Two Oceans ultra marathon last Saturday I had EXTREMELY high blood sugars for the entire race - normal before the race and I took 1 unit of Apidra with my slice of toast as I normally do. I was not able to eat anything until I had tun 40kms, since my sugar levels dropped to about 9mmol/litre at that point only. While I have no idea what caused it and probably never will, I would like to know what are the risks associated with exercising while my blood sugar is so high (I am talking about 17-22mmol/l)? Since then I have been struggling terribly to get my sugar levels unedr control - could that still be related to whatever hapenned last Saturday? Do I need to be checked out for any damage that may be been done? Thanks Heidi                                                                                                                                                         
Wed, 15 Oct 2014
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Dietitian & Nutritionist,  's  Response
Being a Type-1 diabetic person, it is very likely that you were lacking in sufficient insulin due to which your blood sugar soared so high. When you are depending entirely on insulin from exogenous source, you need to make adjustments in insulin to make sure you have enough of it to manage blood sugar levels while exercising. Lack of enough insulin leads to hyperglycemia or high blood glucose levels during exercise. if you continue exercising even with high blood glucose say > 250-300 mg/dl, then you run the risk of getting DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis), a potentially fatal condition if left untreated, due to increased levels of blood ketones resulting in symptoms like nausea, vomiting, dehydration, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, difficulty in breathing and a fruity odour or acetone breath. If DKA occurs, hospitalisation maybe required to prevent any casualty. You must consult a doctor for adjusting your insulin dose. Hope this answers your query.
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What Causes High Blood Sugars While Running?

Being a Type-1 diabetic person, it is very likely that you were lacking in sufficient insulin due to which your blood sugar soared so high. When you are depending entirely on insulin from exogenous source, you need to make adjustments in insulin to make sure you have enough of it to manage blood sugar levels while exercising. Lack of enough insulin leads to hyperglycemia or high blood glucose levels during exercise. if you continue exercising even with high blood glucose say 250-300 mg/dl, then you run the risk of getting DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis), a potentially fatal condition if left untreated, due to increased levels of blood ketones resulting in symptoms like nausea, vomiting, dehydration, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, difficulty in breathing and a fruity odour or acetone breath. If DKA occurs, hospitalisation maybe required to prevent any casualty. You must consult a doctor for adjusting your insulin dose. Hope this answers your query.