BG REACTIONS

I play golf regularly, and afterwards I have two pints of fresh orange and soda mix. Prior to going on a DAFNE course I was quite cavalier, in then getting in the car and driving home.
Now I check my blood glucose level when I finished golf. This was about 4.1, so by pure coincidence the drinks were moving me into a safe level to drive.
When I returned home I checked my BG level prior a snack and it was 10.6. I have never registered that high a level before, so I scrubbed my hands again, and retested with the same result.
This reading was 7 hours after breakfast and both QA and BI injections.
I decided not to eat, and wait until my evening meal to retest and apply any correction.
3 hours later, prior to eating, I checked my BG and it was 5.3.
I would not have thought that the Background insulin could dissipate over 5 units of BG in 3 hours.
I could have assumed that excess glucose is absorbed by the liver, but my experience of the DAFNE course is that most of my assumptions tend to be misguided.
I am looking for some explanation as to where all this glucose has disappeared to, on the basis that if I understand the mechanics, I can manage the situation properly

Hi Alan,

It would be helpful to see your BG diary. Is there any chance you can record it for a few days and then share it in this forum post?

It's really hard to tell from what you have said.Do you know how many carbs would be in the orange and soda mix? Is it mainly soda, or a lot of orange juice. Being only 4.1 would seem to indicate that you might have had a hypo and were recovering from it.

Are you allowed to drive in the UK at 4.1? Here in Australia, the law is that we have to "Be five to drive" and we can't drive for an hour after a known hypo (<4).

Do you know what your BGs were before the drink?

If your basal insulin is too high, then it can easily drop your BGs by 5 units over three hours. Exercise has a similar effect, and often hypos occur post-exercise because the muscles are converting the blood glucose into glycogen to store in the muscles after the exercise has depleted muscle stores of glycogen.

Cheers,
Warwick.

Hi Warwick.
Thanks for your response.
The rules in the UK are similar to Australia, less than 4 you take fast-acting glucose and then recheck after 45mins. Between 4 and 5 you eat sufficient glucose to push you above 5, and off you go.
The orange/ soda mix I have is 50;50 , and therefore I estimate 2 pints as 5CP. I had not considered this before the DAFNE course.
I have a tendency on a limited activity day to reduce my BG during the morning, and I am doing some evaluations to try and isolate which insulin needs to reduce.
I have moved from QA at 1:1 to 0.75:1, and the BI level from 12 units to 10 units. When I play golf, I drop the BI to allow for an activity level. On the particular day I took QA at 3 units for a CP intake of 3.5, and a BI of 7units. All at 7am. I finished golf and checked my BG at 13.00 at 4.1.
After my 2 pints and returning home I checked my BG at 14.30 as 10.6.
Without any intake of carbs. I rechecked my BG at 17.30 as 5.3, so I am really confused as to where the glucose disappeared to.
The main activity between the two readings was pottering in the garden.
I will start to record my BG Diary on-line to build up a better picture.
Regards
Alan

Cool. Will look forward to seeing the diary when it gets posted.

I have now entered the first diary week of DAFNE results, and as it contains the Saturday incident after golf. I am posting that for now to see if there is any sense in the results.
I am now progressing to week 2 (last week)

Mate. I think your BG diary would make most other DAFNE users weep. All that green, and hardly any red. Are you sure you didn't make it up? :-)

Seriously, I would not worry about it. If it becomes a regular occurrence then that is the time to start looking at it. Can I ask what your HbA1c is? Your blood sugars are so close to perfect that I am keen to know.

One-off random results are really common.There are so many things that can affect our BGs that it is completely expected that there will be some outliers. And pottering in the garden can drop BGs. Sometimes stress makes them higher, but if you are enjoying your pottering and feeling peacefuk while you do it, then it is perfectly possible for them to drop. I find that having a day time nap is dangerous as I often wake with a hypo.

Take care,
Warwick.

If I'm starting to doze off in the day my Wife gets me to go and check my BG.
9 times out of 10 I'll be low and I'll get "I told you so".
So I'm like you Warwick.
Regards
Garry

Hi Warwick.
Thanks for your response.
I think there is a pattern emerging now I am testing more. Golf seems to drop my BG to mid 4's. Surprising as a round of golf is like a 5 mile walk in 4 hours - hardly strenuous. I think I shall reduce my orange/ soda to 1 pint, and then settle for diet coke (or beer). Even though my reading is high when I get home, it seems to dissipate of its own accord, and I certainly feel ok.
I was thinking of reducing my am QA insulin on a golf day, either drop the ratio to 0.5:1, or reduce the calculated dose by 2 units. Any thoughts?
My latest HbA1c results from a couple of weeks ago was 42 - pretty good eh?
All the best
Alan

I must eat on the way around the course alanG. I can need to have 5 CPs during a round. Slows me down a bit I have to say.
I'm a lot less insulin sensitive than yourself however.
Regards
Garry

Hi Garry.
Do you adjust your doseage prior to golf, or do you operate normally and take plenty of supplies? Since I moved onto carb counting in November last year I have had no problems with any hypo issue during golf, but the other Saturday was the first time I measured my BG after golf. I did once measure my BG when I got home after my normal routine of 2 pints of orange/soda,
and the reading was high then. However, as I had recovered by dinner time, I "solved" the problem by ignoring the reading at the time, and subsequently not bothering to measure until the next meal in the evening. If I did have something to eat, I used a QA in line with the specific intake.
Clearly, I would feel more comfortable to be able to explain the readings, and where the glucose had dissipated to.
Regards
Alan