32 Comments
Have you ever been an athlete with T1D? Tell us about your experience in the comments!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
© 2023 T1D Exchange. All Rights Reserved.
I played water polo in high school and a bit in college in the days before pumps, cgm, or blood test strips
I was a cheerleader for 3 years of high school
Played high school football and bareback bronc riding in rodeo in college and a while after college. Quit at age 30. Of course before pumps and cgm’s! Lots of finger pricks and I had trainers in football that would bring out juice for me to drink during timeouts when others were drinking water. In rodeo, just made sure blood sugars were good before the ride and monitored for a couple hours after because the activity and adrenaline really played with them.
HS football, wrestling, track. College football. All before CGM. Coaches had boxes of sugar cubes with the training equipment. One of the difficulties was predetermining extreme bursts of energy. Another was basic instability during my teens & 20’s. Things have stabilized as I’ve aged.
I’ve been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunities to participate in numerous sports over the years. I was diagnosed 47 years ago and I found that T1D never ever interfered with my ability to participate in any sport(s) that my mind on. Preparation is of the utmost importance for me especially due to my hypoglycemic unawareness. Admittedly the advancements and combination of a pump and CGM sure helps life potentially alot easier if well prepared. Love sports all sports…….
I continued to run competitively after my diagnoses at 57. At age 61 I won my age group at the Akron Ohio marathon. I broke my neck in 5 places in 2011 and although I ran after recovering it took the edge off. Today I bike, hike, walk- all for enjoyment and fitness. I use a tandem pump and dexcom G6 cgm.
Played tennis in high school and college. Could not tell if blood sugar was low then. No cgm or blood test meters. Used to notice that the ball I hit did not have the penatration that it did when blood sugar was normal. Coach would ask if I wanted some Pepsi.
When I was diagnosed 64 years ago, things were a lot different. My father always encouraged me to be active, but it was rough at times with out a CGM. OJ traveled with me everywhere. Now when I cycle, I use my exercise basal rate and all is good.
I played soccer my whole life until college. I also got into other sports here and there. I would usually suspend my pump and take it off while playing. The exercise was enough to keep blood sugars good, even while replenishing water and electrolytes. I also didn’t like risking falling on my pump. I would test and reconnect when on the sideline. Now, most of my activity is biking working out. I usually do a temporary basal for biking. I start it a little before the ride and carry it on through the ride. I do try to have minimal insulin-on-board when I start riding. CGM’s help a lot, but I don’t have good success with them staying on me. My strength training workouts are usually short, less than an hour. I just keep my pump in my pocket and don’t make any changes. I have always used Medtronic. I have a 670G now.
I was diagnosed with LADA, so was beyond athletic competition. However when our son was diagnosed and was playing on the golf team, I kept encouraging him to stay active and physical. One of the One of themost famous T1D atheletes is Gary Hall who was diagnosed before going to the Olympics. He found a Dr. who was willing to travel with him to Australia for competition, and he returned home with a couple Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. JayCutler was the quarter back for the Chicago Bears football team, Catfish Hunter played for the Yankees, Mark Andrews played for the Baltimore Ravens, Ryan Reed competed in Nascar, Kendall Simons played on the Steelers, and the list goes on. I don’t know how they do it; the attitude of never giving up!!!
I was dxd 43 years ago. I was always active growing up – swimming, ballet, etc. I started running at age 37 and have since run many, many races including 3 marathons. Using a pump and CGM have helped me keep my blood sugar stable while running for hours.
I have been diabetic for 56 years, since I was 6 yo. I swam all summer, participated in school sports: track and basketball in junior and high school. I even went to states 3 times. I skied and golfed through college. Now, I’m in my 60’s, I run, hike, backpack and mountaineer. I climb high peaks all over the world. I usually wear a pump and CGM but many times, due to temperatures and difficult climbs I’ll switch to pens and a Libre sensor. Only to switch back when I’m on easier turf.
I was a swimmer and a runner before the advent of pumps and cgm. I kept glucose tablets handy, and I ran cross country and 5K races; I swam with my college team. Now, I bike and do Zumba!
I have continued to play competitive sports for the 34 years I have had T1D. I deal with it by wearing my CGM and always having orange juice or a coke or pepsi with me should it be necessary to add some sugar to my system. I rarely if ever have a serious low. It is all about monitoring and awareness.
Yup, and when I asked my endo for helping in learning how to juggle my insulin doses around competitive powerlifting, he basically laughed at me. I went on to set 15 records in two years — without his help! It was very disappointing but I forged ahead without him.
Not sure what you mean exactly. I go on hikes, ski, play tennis but not competitively. When I do this things I change my pump to exercise mode or turn it off and have juice handy.
I was active in gymnastics when I was diagnosed 49 years ago at age 14. I don’t recall many problems (though, at that time, I only tested at home with unwieldy test tubes and tablets.) I usually felt low at the end of a practice and it was a great treat to buy a Fanta Orange soda for the ride home. these days I walk, so yoga, and dance.
Dxd in 1974 at the age of 8 when I was a competitive swimmer and gymnast through 1979. We only had pee tests back then and my mom always had OJ for me to treat lows. I did find gymnastics more difficult when dealing with my BGs just because it varied so much. I do believe my BGs ran much higher than they should have been back then. I started brisk walking as a teen and it’s still my favorite for staying healthy.
Enjoy staying fit! Although I no longer will do them, I completed a few marathons and triathlons before “retiring”. Still enjoy, swimming, hiking, and the gym, among other healthy exercise, 😉
Btw, low bs naturally was/is the challenge. Cgm use and appropriate sugar supplements are the key!
I was never an athlete but I am a group fitness instructor. Wearing a Dexcom is important to me. I always have to start my classes with a high blood sugar (around 180) because the workout will drop it 50-60 points. Of course, I have glucose shots right next to my water should my blood sugar go low.
I was diagnosed at age 5, then played team sports through high school. When I was very young my parents signed me up for rec soccer and had to fight to allow me to play after my T1D was disclosed during registration. Little League and city basketball were easier to deal with, and after getting on a team I might let the coaches know that I was going to keep snacks with me on the sideline just in case. Or I only revealed T1D if a coach asked why I was eating a granola bar during a timeout. I made excuses and skipped the postgame trips to Dairy Queen. It was best to keep a low profile. This was the early 80’s before pumps and CGMs. think I got a BG meter when I was in about 9th grade but I kept it at home because it wasn’t portable or fast. Likewise, I didn’t carry supplemental insulin back then. I would play sports, and if I felt low I would secretly eat something and continue. I probably misdiagnosed myself several times when the sweating, exhaustion, and anxiety from a competitive high school game felt like hypoglycemia. In the dark ages of diabetes, it was best to stay hidden. I was no pioneer like Ron Santo, but it was very different then.
My brother and I played in Kory league baseball/softball; my niece does the same softball along with school basketball & volleyball.
I was diagnosed in 1963. I have always liked to eat so I started cycling in 1971. Soon I started racing and learned that I could eat a LOT. It was often difficult to eat enough, but I tried. I remember buying Baskin and Robbins ice cream by the tub! I always carried orange juice in my water bottles and frequently stopped at little stores on the road to purchase cookies (they were a lot more convenient to carry in my jersey pockets). Eventually Boehringer Mannheim produced chemstrips that allowed me to monitor my CBG while riding. I often found that I would actually become HYPERglycemic on long rides (these were often rides of several hours in length) so I actually carried regular insulin and an insulin syringe and would take insulin while I rode. Now I’m old and decrepit and no longer ride, but I no longer have the desire to eat as much as I did when I was much younger. I also now wear an Abbott freestyle CGM. My most recent hgb a1c was 4.7.
I played competitive sports in high school but never considered myself an “athlete”. I guess it depends on your definition.
I played football and ran track as a scholarship athlete at the University of South Carolina. After graduating, I competed in road racing and ran one marathon. I next competed in the sport of Olympic weightlifting. I still compete at the age of 69 in USA Masters Weightlifting.
I was diagnosed aged 6 and feel that I have always had “sugar and salt” in my blood. I was fortunate enough to go to a school where dinghy sailing was an option (just a normal state school). At 17 I was part of the top all-girl crew in that class. Not just young women, not just working class, but one Black, one disabled. In the 1970s UK … I returned to sailing a decade ago, and have a fondness for traditional vessels and warm waters.
i have participated in many sports, but was never very good. Has nothing to do with diabetes, though.
My answer was no, as I am athletic enough to get out of bed after usually ten hours of sleep. If friends are involved physical sports/ activities are fun but less than monthly. Didn’t deal with diabetes until I was thirty.
I have been active in dance activities since my early childhood before and after diabetes diagnosis. Through my teens – ballet, jazz, tap, international folk dance, Irish clogging, and musical comedy performance dance. In my 20s and 30s I was a semi-professional dancer and choreographer in musical comedy productions and dance collective performances; in my late 30s to mid-50s I taught creative movement dance classes for women and girls of all ages and abilities, performed and choreographed dances for spiritual gatherings, and was part of a tribal style belly dance troupe for several years Throughout my adult years I have been active as a student and teacher of creative movement and modern dance styles, belly dance, yoga, tai chi, and folk dancing. In my youth I always sucked at athletic sports activities – I did not have the speed, coordination and was always the last one picked for a team in gym classes. But I was dedicated to intense dancing for most of my life and it has given me inner discipline strength and stamina that has helped me to live well after all these years with diabetes. Now I do Sliver Sneakers movement and fitness classes on Zoom – as a participant, not as a teacher.
Played soccer in college. Coach required note from doctor. Team trainer was aware of my condition & I gave him hard candy to hold for me & I think he kept can of coke & an orange for me in his supplies. I don’t recall needing glucose very often. I was not a starter so need would have most likely been at practice.
A few years after I was diagnosed I finally managed to quit smoking and then decided to buy a serious bicycle for long distance riding. I had always loved riding bicycles but never really rode that far. I decided on a road bike and single track off road bike spending near $2500 on 2 bicycles, mainly the road bike costing me 3/4 of that price.I got up with a group of people and over the period of a few months I was riding daily 25 to 30 miles after work and sometimes as much as 100+ miles each day on the weekends. I got married and my mileage tapered off. My daily work routine took a toll on me as it was a hard daily grind on the body physically with very heavy manual labor. Surgery started happening regularly on my joints and then was forced into retirement from injuries sustained from military service required cervical and lumbar fusion causing some serious stiffness and really slowing down my daily bike riding. 35+ years later I’m now a weekend rider when the weather is good. Onward I go many surgeries later still fighting the Big T1D