I hear ya, Svati! I have had the same challenge at my last two powerlifting meets, but I'm so scared of dropping low (because that would KILL my strength), that I'm too careful about bolusing extra to combat with the hyperglycemia caused blatantly by adrenaline and stress.
At my last powerlifting meet, I was over 300 almost all day despite all the extra boluses I kept taking. Afterwards, i came right down to 140 when the event was over and I had won.
Next time, I think I'm going to take a little extra Lantus insulin to help combat the adrenaline.
The first thought that came to my head after reading your article was, "Thank god I'm not doing cross country anymore". Stuff like this seemed to happen every race. It's good to know that I'm not the only one!
Person above: Lantus definitely helps. I do gymnastics, which is a strength-oriented sport that doesn't actually burn many calories but requires being unplugged from my insulin pump for a long time. This used to cause major problems before I started using lantus to make up for that missed basal. However, I would caution anyone before using lantus if you will be running, because that always made me go low, as it burns many more calories per minute than strength-oriented exercise.
Abby, those are very good points. I think it's important to recognize the difference between exercise that lowers bg dramatically and exercise that doesn't do that so much. Referring to "calories burned per minute" is a good way to explain that.
For more info on this, I recommend checking out "The Diabetic Athlete's Handbook," by Sheri Colberg. I am actually featured in it - under the section about cross country running!
Also, I forgot to mention in my post that I checked for ketones as soon as I could once I realized that my blood sugars had been so high for so long. They were negative, as usual - for some reason I NEVER get ketones, even when sick - but I know I did the right thing by checking. Testing for ketones is so much more convenient now that I have a glucometer that can do it.
Congrats on your racing- it sounds incredible! A college sport is no small accomplishment. Hopefully as you get more familiar with crew, as opposed to running cross country, you will figure out a pre race routine.
On a side note, I never seem to get keytones ever. I test often when I am high, but I have never really gotten more than "trace" keytones.
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aww that stinks : ( i have a continual glucose monitor. it definitely helps me keep an eye on my blood sugars, but it's still not 100% and I do go high here and there. No one believes me when i say that adrenaline jacks up your blood sugar like during a race or something. However, it is an outcome sometimes. If I know my blood sugar is spiking before a race or exercise, i bolus a little bit and then make sure I have protein and carbs before the event.
liked the article!!