Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, can occur due to excessive food intake, illness, stress and/or insufficient insulin. American College of Sports Medicine guidelines indicate that a blood-glucose reading of greater than 300 mg/dl, with or without ketones present in urine, or greater than 240 mg/dl, with ketones present in urine, represents an elevated risk for participating in exercise, and a physician's approval should be obtained before proceeding with exercise.
Blood-sugar levels, if already high, may increase with exercise. Exercise can stimulate the liver to break down stored glycogen to make glucose. Testing of blood glucose after exercise may reveal that the blood-glucose level is even higher than the "before-exercise" reading. If enough insulin is available, blood-glucose levels will recover rapidly, but if insulin levels are too low, the person could start producing ketones. Although exercise-induced hyperglycemia can occur in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, problems with ketones only happen in type 1 diabetes.
You'll want to stop exercising and consult your doctor if you experience any of the following:
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling dizzy, faint or tired
• Blurred vision
• Headache
• Fast heart rate, chest pain, back pain, jaw pain
• Swollen ankles
• Any other signs of discomfort
Source: New Jersey Department of Health
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Health Connection, April 2013
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