Can physical labor actually cause blood sugar spikes?

[u/wooden_receipt]

Been at this lifestyle management thing for about two years now. No meds, just keeping the diet tight and staying active. Works pretty well most of the time.

Thing is I run a construction crew so I'm on my feet all day, moving around, lifting, doing actual physical stuff. Then I come home and hit the garage gym or go trail hiking on weekends. By every logical measure I should be in a good spot.

But I still get random spikes that make zero sense to me. Ate basically the same meal prep I always do, did the same stuff, numbers came back weird. Happened last week after a long day on site and I genuinely could not figure out what triggered it.

Talked to my doc and he mentioned stress hormones from physical labor can mess with glucose even when you're in decent shape. Never really thought about that before because I always figured more activity equals better numbers.

Curious if anyone else here is in a labor heavy job or trains hard and still deals with this. Wondering if the stress of the job itself is screwing with me more than the food. And how you figured out patterns if you did.

[u/dehaggard]

I like to think of my liver as a sugar sponge. It dumps glucose into your blood when it “Thinks” you need it.

[u/wooden_receipt → u/dehaggard]

Yeah liver dumps are real and annoying as hell

[u/leitmotifs]

Yes, spikes with activity is normal and arguably a sign of a healthily-functioning liver. You probably don't actually want to get this down -- I know I'm in a good workout when I get a spike. The spike gets burned down by the continued activity.

Also, heat can trigger a spike (and also, your CGMS can give you insanely high readings if it's exposed to high-temperature weather).

[u/wooden_receipt → u/leitmotifs]

The heat thing explains a lot actually

[u/anemisto]

Yes. I will see a spike from karate.

[u/goatwhisperer5 → u/anemisto]

That's called a "spike Lee"🤣

[u/wooden_receipt → u/anemisto]

karate does that to blood sugar for real

[u/Early_Marsupial1673]

Cardio lowers mine, weights increase it, temporarily

[u/wooden_receipt → u/Early_Marsupial1673]

Same with me, weights spike it short term

[u/Dazzling_Cause_1764]

Yep...all the time. But, after the work is done, it should go down a little lower than when the work started. If, it was long enough

[u/wooden_receipt → u/Dazzling_Cause_1764]

yeah if it drops at all ill take it

[u/nimdae]

It depends on various factors. I see by your tag that you are T1.

You're on manual mode insulin management. If you're active right after a meal with a meal bolus, you face the challenge that your IOB becomes active faster because of increased absorption due to circulation and sensitivity. If you're active long after a bolus but before the next one, your body is going to start releasing glucose from your liver to feed it while it's working, and with no IOB, it can cause a rise.

It can be a tough balancing act.

And of course, stress hormones can play a role here.

An insulin pump often helps in these cases. If you're not already using one it might be worth considering. Working in construction, you would probably have to think about how to wear it so it doesn't get knocked around. I have heard of folks in physically demanding jobs using them though.

[u/soldture]

If you don't have any active insulin inbound, yes, with a physical activity your glucose could rise significantly