# T1 and sport



## BucksMum (Nov 14, 2013)

Hi everyone!
My daughter was diagnosed as T1 in March and is nearly nine. She is coping very well with everything and is keen not to let diabetes rule her life. She is very sporty, enjoying cricket, hockey, football, rugby, tennis etc etc etc....! I was wondering if anyone can give me some tips/advice on managing her blood glucose levels when she is doing sport.
Last weekend she played in a hockey tournament one afternoon. We have her pasta for lunch as I thought that a low GI carb would be good given that she would be running around for 2 hours! However, we tested her BG after the warm-up (around 2 hrs after she had had lunch) and she was 3.8! We managed to get it back up to 6 before her game and tested again at half time and it was fine. 
She's playing again this weekend, only her game will be from 12:15-1:30, ie lunchtime!  I don't know whether to leave lunch till after she's played, or give her an early, small lunch at 11:30.....
Any ideas??
Thanks!


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## Copepod (Nov 14, 2013)

Most people with type 1 diabetes need to reduce their insulin dose before exercise. Lots of useful information at www.runsweet.com - all sports, physiology etc.


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## HOBIE (Nov 14, 2013)

Hi Bucksmam, tell your Daughter well done & keep at it. Everyone is a little different & there is not a perfect answer. I dont know how my perents put up with me in my early 20s, Windsurfing, Catamaran & jetski. 6 mile out in the North sea. Have Jetskid around the Bass Rock off Edinburgh on a stand up ski & done over 100mile on one in a day.     LIFE is for living.    Keep us informed how she & you are getting on


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## delb t (Nov 15, 2013)

Hi Bucksmum-Are you still on fixed amounts?/ been taught carb counting yet?
For us sport has been the hardest to get our heads around...H does mainly footie/ running- the running seems straightforward the footy nearly there.Ok what we do is reduce the mealtime before by 25%-30% depending on how strenuous it is-test before  activity/ top up if needed .Drink lucozade sport during match /run. think its 2/3 of a  bottle maybe a nibble on a ceareal bar{12/15g bar] after and then bread with a bit of cheese/nuts before bed...
OK - This works for us.. but Im not sure if you are on fixed amounts how it all works so I would ask your team/ dietician for advice it is a case of trial/error 
Good luck with the match at the weekend


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## BucksMum (Nov 15, 2013)

Thanks everyone!
My daughter is on novorapid & glargine & we are carb counting. I have had a look at the website suggested above & it looks full of info so I need to have a good read of that. I also had a chat with our paed diabetes nurse today and she talked me through setting the exercise function on the BGM so we will have a go at that. I think it will be a bit of trial and error but hopefully we will get a better understanding of what we need to do to keep her sugars up while she's running around.
Will keep you posted!


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## Northerner (Nov 15, 2013)

You might find the Diabetic Athlete's Handbook useful in explaining a lot of the science behind what happens when you exercise. I was diagnosed the week before I was due to run a marathon, having been a recreational runner for many years, and it helped me a lot when I was trying to get back into it post-diagnosis


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## bev (Nov 15, 2013)

Hi BucksMum,

Have your team mentioned pumps at all? My son uses a pump and we found this the best way of dealing with exercise as we can reduce his basal insulin to avoid the lows much better than when he was on injections.Bev


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## HOBIE (Nov 16, 2013)

I agree with bev, after 40 odd yrs of mdi a pump is a great tool in the battle with the big "D".


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## Hopscotch (Nov 17, 2013)

Hi Bucksmum - we're new too - my ds11 was diagnosed in September. still on MDI, carb counting and hoping to get a pump ASAP. I did the same thing with pasta - it always gives him a hypo a couple of hours after eating then hyper later! Have been told it's slow absorbing so need to inject after eating (but we're not that confident yet!). So now, I always give him garlic bread with the pasta and that keeps the hypos at bay.
He is also learning about exercise and diabetes and swims competitively. He always tests before and after, and has snacks, lucozade, glucose tabs to hand and uses as and when. Sport over lunchtime - now that's tricky and I'll be interested to see how you get on.  Good luck - they do us proud with their determination and resilience!


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## BucksMum (Nov 18, 2013)

Hi again,
We haven't thought about a pump yet; it's still early days for us. I have a feeling that in our area the diabetes team tend to wait till kids are a little older and then ask them if they want to try a pump (ie so that it's their decision, not the parents').
Anyway it went OK on Sunday - we set her meter to reduce the insulin dose slightly (only by 10%) and she had a small lunch at 11:30 that included something sugary to keep her BG up; we tested her before the first game and she was 4.8 so she had a couple of glucose tablets, and then a couple of bites of a cereal bar 20 mins later. Had another snack when everything had finished but then had a hypo just before dinner (well she was jumping around on a pogo stick for quite a while)! It's another learning process, I suppose; I think we need to reduce the insulin a bit more but we'll see how things go.
Thanks again for your suggestions!


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## HOBIE (Nov 18, 2013)

It sounds like you are doing things well in my book Bucksmam. Well done & keep at it. The big "d" isnt an easy thing to sort at times & can be different day by day. Some times you think you have nailed it & "wham".  Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the woods    Good luck


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## HOBIE (Dec 14, 2013)

How are things Bucks mam ?


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