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Have you ever played a sport while living with T1D? Share in the comments about your experiences managing T1D while playing sports!
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I played tennis and bike ride. When I played in college coach used to have a sweet soda and it got to the point he could tell when I was going low. I used to have candy and juice with me but I could not tell when I was going low. There was no blood glucose testing then. Coach used to say my shots lost speed when I was going low. I had fun and would play again.
Diagnosed in my teens – still continued to play field hockey on school team. Continued skiing then and for years after. Played curling and golf. More recently (pre-pandemic) took cardio and other fitness classes. Never had big problems way back when, as I didn’t know where my BG was, and I believe, looking back, it was generally higher than it should have been – but no way to test at that time. Going forward to more recent times – easier to keep a tab on my BG levels and treat accordingly. Found the most exasperating was during the cardio classes – BG would continually go down through the hour, then, within less than an hour of the class ending, jump precipitously. It was frustrating! But, again, treated accordingly!
Before I was a diabetic I played football and collage wrestling. After diagnosed I found that could not eat enough to last all three rounds. In the third period of the match My body would freeze up and I was unable to move. So I was left with socked and I was too short for basketball
Played tennis for a few years about 25 years ago, in my mid thirties. I always made sure my bg was in the high 100s before playing and practicing. I would keep something on the bench usually a Coke or something in case I needed it, coach and teammates were aware that I had diabetes.
It took me a while to get the hang of it but here’s my go to plan for TENNIS: No insulin on board!! Decrease basal 2 hours prior. I either put in Exercise Mode or I decrease to 70-80% depending on where I am sitting 2 hours and 1 hour prior to match. I eat a good carb/protein/fat (sandwich) before the match and I check sugar between games and will sip on gatorade or protein bar, etc.
When I’m hiking (not exactly a sport but I go for 6-10 miles) I do the same as above but I set a timer for every 15-20 min to remind me to check my watch for number/trend lines. I will eat a few jelly beans, bite of protein bar, gatorade, etc. throughout the hike. Alternating the glucose source is really helpful for me.
I usually try and start with a little higher BG to prevent lows during exercise. Exercise always Lowers my BG
I was never on a sports team (other than briefly, like in school or at camp), but I always enjoyed swimming, bicycle riding and boating – – canoe, rowboat, paddle boat, etc). At camp, my BG always ran high at first, until they adjusted my insulin accordingly – – unfortunately, they always assumed you’d need less insulin at camp and cut your dose. They always had to raise my dose back up!
For any sport, I would eat an extra snack before exercise. That is, until I started on my pump. With the pump, I adjust my basal rate to compensate for the exercise. It took me a while to figure out how much to adjust. I started at 50% of my basal, but often found that I still dropped. So, I go with suspending my insulin (0 basal) to 40% of my basal depending on how strenuously I plan to exercise.
I do Taekwondo. Wear my pump if doing forms. Have to take it off for sparing. Levels change a lot, because I never know. Just have to monitor it a lot.