As promised, here are some tips to manage diabetes during sports and activities:
Protein is important to sustain blood sugar levels. It also helps prevent low blood sugars during sports and activities. I recommend eating a protein bar, string cheese, peanut butter, or milk thirty minutes to an hour before a practice/game. When I was on my school's cross country team, protein bars were my best friend since it had carbohydrates and protein.
During a sports game or practice, there are usually no time to test. But, when the opportunity presents itself to test, take it. Sometimes I would test during or after warm-ups in cross country practices to double-check that my blood sugar was at a good level before the main workout.
- Always put your health first
Sometimes, it is easy to forget about diabetes and get lost in a game or practice. But, we cannot forget that diabetes is very important. A few times, I had to make hard decisions that in the long run benefited my health. I remember one time my blood sugar went low ten minutes before I had to go to the starting line for a cross country race. That was a hard day for me since I really wanted to compete but, I knew I had to take care of myself so I ended up sitting out. I also learned another important lesson from that experience, to test more and eat more snacks to make sure my blood sugar was not low before a race.
For pump users, there is a hand trick available. Sometimes, I felt so full before a practice that I did not want to eat another snack. So, I would use the temporary basal function on my pump. Depending on my blood sugar, I would set the temporary basal for either 30 minutes to an hour. I did not have a temporary basal for the entire practice because then my blood sugar would go too high. Of course, every child is different so the temporary basal settings work differently for different people.
