Hypos and physical activity
Physical activity will nearly always have an effect on your blood glucose. Because you are being active, your body uses up more glucose as fuel.
If you have taken your usual dose of insulin and then do some activity, you will have less glucose than normal, and this can lead to a hypo.
How to stop them
These are the ways you can prevent hypos happening when you're active:
- You could reduce your dose of insulin and increase the amount of food you eat beforehand. (Have a chat with your diabetes specialist nurse or doctor about this.)
- Check your blood glucose before and after activity – that way you can stay in control.
- Changing your injection sites may help.
- Always keep something sugary nearby, such as glucose tablets, in case you feel hypo.
Delayed hypos
Hypos can happen up to 36 hours after a lot of physical activity. This is because when you’ve stopped being active, muscles will still continue to use extra glucose to replace their stores.
How to stop delayed hypos
This means that it’s important that you have plenty of starchy carbohydrates at your next meal or snack, such as a sandwich or pasta.
It’s a good idea to eat within an hour after finishing an activity, and always have a good supper at bedtime to help your body build up it stores.