Could anyone explain how excercise raises blood sugar, please? I thought it always lowered it.

When you excercise moderately to strenously, the body releases stress hormones such as epinephrine and cortisol. Both of these have the effect of signaling liver and muscles to release stored glycogen into the bloodstream for energy use which in turn raises blood sugar. In a normal person, the body then responds with a small shot of insulin to keep the blood sugars stable. In a type 2, blood sugars may rise for a short time and then drop if the excercise continues and insulin production kicks in to help the body use the glucose present.
In a type 1, (not enough insulin, remember), the body has no way to get that glucose converted from glycogen from the blood stream into the cells where they are needed and so blood sugars continue to rise unless insulin is injected, but too much insulin and your blood sugars will crash.
This is why, especially in a type 1, it is very important to know what your blood sugar was before you started excercising and what it is doing while you are exercising and it can be quite tricky to balance correctly (neither too high nor too low).

Ah, thank you!

I sure wish she would read Dr. Bernsteins book. In his own story he tells how the wonderful ADA diet almost killed him. Doesn't make sense for a person whose body doesn't tolerate sugar to be told to eat sugar-in any form--potatoes or fruit-At least not to me anyway. But then what do I know??

It's my understanding that the onset of type I need not happen in childhood. It's nicknamed juvenile diabetes because MOST type I diabetics get it under age 20, but it CAN (and does) onset as late as mid-30s. That's when my brother got it.

About 5 years ago, my great uncle was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes - at age 65. My neighbor just a week ago, at age 40- both of them found out they were diabetic when they out of the blue lost their sight with no explanation. A trip to the ER and a whole bloodwork showed diabetes. Both had no signs of diabetes in the past - and had regular medical checkups. It can happen at any time to anyone, really. Both of them have a history of it in their families. I am checked every 6 months for diabetes per my doctor's request. I don't mind one bit - if I never have to wake up blind, it'll be too soon.
My doctor was confused about ketosis/ketoacidosis - they sound so much alike, I was confused about them at first. We sat down with my internist who explained the difference, and how they are very, very different.

That's correct, rottnhombr. While the vast majority of type 1 diabetics become diabetics as children or teenagers, it is possible to become a type 1 diabetic at a later age. Conversely, even though type 2 diabetes was originally thought to be an age-related disorder reserved for those over 40 (and commonly referred to as "adult onset diabetes"), we are now seeing it increasingly in children under the age of 12. I think this is, in part at least, one of the reasons that type 1 diabetics who develop it at an older age are frequently misdiagnosed at first as type 2. There are, however, specific antibody tests that can be done to determine with certainty if one is type 1 or type 2 even if you are insulin dependent as a type 2.

Okay, I'm not questioning the difference between Type one or Type two diabetes, or the difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis....

I'm just curious about something...

With my second pregnancy (my son is now 8 months) I developed Gestational Diabetes (Diabetes also runs in my dads side of the family). The nutritionist I saw had me on a diet of 12 to 15 servings of carbs a day, including bread, bananas and milk... I could also eat pasta etc, but limited, of course. Neither that, nor exercise ever got it under control and I ended up having to take two types of insulin three times a day.

All through the end of my pregnancy, they'd raise the levels of insulin because it never brought it down to the levels they were aiming for.

What makes me wonder is, wasn't the amount of carbs a little high if that's what was causing the problem in the first place?

It really makes me wonder ... I followed their instructions and trusted what they said, although now, after reading so much about LCing, I wonder if the solution wouldn't have been to cut out some of the carbs. But, all through the whole thing, they kept stressing that I follow the diet the nutritionist layed out.

Nonnie

You're right on the money, Nonnie (love the name, BTW...we called my youngest that as a nickname until she was old enough to insist otherwise. ).
Diabetes is by nature a problem with carbohydrate metabolism. It makes absolutely no sense to me to take a person who has difficulty with metabolising carbohydrates and insist that they eat primarily carbohydrates. It's equivalent to telling a person who is lactose intolerant to eat a diet that consists mainly of dairy products!
12-15 servings of carbs per day was more than "a little high". IMNSHO, that was insanely high and yes, you probably would have fared much better by eating more vegetables (dark green ones, preferably), some low GI fruits such as melons and berries, maybe one or two servings of whole grains, some dairy such as full-fat plain yogurt and cheese, and making up the rest of your caloric needs from fat and protein.

And these are licensed Diabetic educators and nutritionists that had me on this diet. I didn't understand the whole metabolism and carb mess then, but I'll tell you one thing...if and when I have more children, IF I develop it again (which, God willing, I'll lose the weight first and won't) I'll sure as heck just nod and say yeah, yeah, but then follow my own diet!!! Jeez!!!

It's amazing to me how things could be so screwed up and how licensed professionals are missing these connections!

Thanks for confirming that for me, Lisa!

Nonnie

P.S.-Yeah, I tried the whole 'insisting' thing too, but since it's my real name, I didn't get very far! LOL!

That's not a sporting challenge. There is no chance for the other side to win!

haha! you need to read up a bit. it's not at ll dangerous

I bet they thought you were cheating because the diet could not possibly be at fault. They had you eating very healthy foods, no junk foods, low sodium and low fat I assume, so in ther minds, the fault must have been coming from you because you must have been cheating.

Someday, I hope soon, health professionals will begin to understand that what is good for one person may not be good for another. If you have insulin tolerance issues, of course you need to be eating fewer carbs. Or, if not fewer, then different ones, like subbing berries for bananas. I was so glad to discover that my weight was actually a genetic problem that could be controlled by what I ate! I liken it to the same feeling that people with bad eyesight have when they put on their glasses. Imagine how you could have felt through your pregnancy if they had recognized that you were honestly eating the diet they reccomended and they realized you needed fewer carbs.

Eyesight can be tested at a very early age now, and I hope that someday some form of nutritional testing will take hold so people will learn what they can and can't have. Of course, no one should ingest white powders except for very occasional instances.

A woman I work with is pregnant. She's also hypoglycemic. Her doc put her on LC to regulate her BS, then she got pregnant.

Her baby doc doesn't want her to limit her carbs, so she's been instructed to have a "concentrated carb" snack if/when she gets hypoglycemic symptoms!

During her first pregnancy she "almost" had to go on insulin. But she went into premature labor. The baby was on the upper end of "normal" weight for full term....but was born 5 weeks early! Her sister (3yrs older), brother (1yr older) and mom are both diabetic.

Of course she's following doctor's orders! I'm not sure how much she's gained....but she looks like she's due any day, and is just going into her 5th month!

Oh yea....since there's a "good chance" she'll end up with gestational diabetes with this baby, and the potential damage to kidneys, the nutritionist told her to limit her protein intake.

Don't forget, she's already supposed to be limiting fat, so she's supposed to get pretty much all her calories from carbs!

Of course she's going to end up with diabetes.