The Before-During-After Glucose Check

This is a short placeholder story generated for the design demo. Replace it with a real interview.

Use it when

You have type 2 diabetes, or prediabetes, and want to run. Exercise lowers blood sugar, which is the point. But some medications can make it drop too far during or after a run. The fix is to measure, carry carbs and adjust with your doctor.

Step 1: Set your numbers with your doctor

Omar was diagnosed at 37 and was on medication. Before his first run he asked his doctor three questions: what pre-run reading is safe, what reading means don't go, and whether to change medication on run days. Your answers may differ from his. Get your own.

Step 2: Test before and after, every time

For the first two months he checked before leaving and again within 15 minutes of finishing. He logged the reading, the run time and his last meal. After 30 runs he could see that 30 minutes dropped him by a fairly steady amount, and that runs right after lunch behaved differently from morning runs.

Step 3: Carry 15 grams, always

He kept 4 glucose tablets in a zip pocket on every run. Twice in the first month he felt shaky late in a run. Both times he stopped, took the tablets, rechecked after 15 minutes, and walked home. "I took it to my doctor. We adjusted the timing of my morning dose."

Step 4: Build slowly, using the log

He started at three 20-minute runs a week. He added 5 minutes to one run per week, only when the previous week's readings were steady. In month seven he started a 12-week half marathon plan. On long runs he took a gel every 40 minutes, as agreed with his care team. Two years in, his doctor took him off medication.

Try it this week

Book a short appointment to agree on your pre-run range. Then run 20 minutes three times. Test before and after each one, carry 15 grams of fast carbs, and start the log.