Myth? BG "a little high" okay during competitions?

[Mary Lou]

Brian had a gymnastics meet on Saturday. It lasted 3 hours (which is average for right now), he was unhooked from pump the whole time.

Since the beginning of this competitive season, we've been replacing the missed basal with an injection of Humalin Regular, an intermediate-acting insulin with a life-span of 5 hours.

Brian has been complaining of feeling "out of focus" when his BG gets high during a meet, and whether it is from excitement or missed basal, the end result is the same -- a performance far below his "usual" practice routine (and a very anxious and upset kid).

This past Saturday, I think we finally got it figured out. After replacing different percentages of the missed basal throughout the season, 30% kept his BG at a pretty even 120 throughout the meet (with only a small dip at the beginning, which was easily fixed with 10 carbs of gatorade). for all other consumed carbs -- gatoradade and a snack half way, I covered fully with pump at usual carb ratios (in the past, I would've under-bolused).

He said it was his best meet ever, and it was. He said he felt "in control" and able to "focus" on his routines. He has never looked better!!

so it just got me wondering if we're doing our kids a disservice by allowing them to "run a little high" during sporting events in which performance matters.

Granted, gymnastics isn't highly aerobic during a meet, there is a LOT of waiting your turn. But still, I think what we learned here could easily be applied to swim meets or other sports in which short burts of energy and focus are needed.

Different sports totally need to be managed differently, but still I wonder -- where do you like to see your child during sports and competitions for BG and what do your kids say about the way it affects them?

[ROVERT81402]

Trevor races ATVs, he was dxd at the end of the season last year, but I remeber when he would go out on the track,he would be above 180, and when he would come off the track (about 7 min. later), he would be above 250! I'm not sure how its going to be this year, but the first race is this Fri. so we will soon see.
So, to answer your question, where do you like to see your child during sports and competitions for BG and what do your kids say about the way it affects them? We will soon see. I just hope he doesn't go low,,,he's been riding in the back yard, and he's been "dropping" slightly, hopefully when we put competition in the mix, it will at least keep him steady.

[Jensmami]

It is funny but I was thinking about the same thing too lately. I used to let Jenny run a little higher during performances, because I was afraid she would drop. Like you if it was iffy I would give her uncovered snacks or even disconnect her from the pump.

But in the last couple of weeks I made a point of her being in range and cover for most of the snacks, except for the occasional sip of a soda (she hates gatorade and is not too crazy about juice anymore either) when she feels that she drops fast and I am amazed how good this works for her, and we don't have that many swings anymore - at least for now:rolleyes::D

[frizzyrazzy]

Brian had a gymnastics meet on Saturday. It lasted 3 hours (which is average for right now), he was unhooked from pump the whole time.

Since the beginning of this competitive season, we've been replacing the missed basal with an injection of Humalin Regular, an intermediate-acting insulin with a life-span of 5 hours.

Brian has been complaining of feeling "out of focus" when his BG gets high during a meet, and whether it is from excitement or missed basal, the end result is the same -- a performance far below his "usual" practice routine (and a very anxious and upset kid).

This past Saturday, I think we finally got it figured out. After replacing different percentages of the missed basal throughout the season, 30% kept his BG at a pretty even 120 throughout the meet (with only a small dip at the beginning, which was easily fixed with 10 carbs of gatorade). for all other consumed carbs -- gatoradade and a snack half way, I covered fully with pump at usual carb ratios (in the past, I would've under-bolused).

He said it was his best meet ever, and it was. He said he felt "in control" and able to "focus" on his routines. He has never looked better!!

so it just got me wondering if we're doing our kids a disservice by allowing them to "run a little high" during sporting events in which performance matters.

Granted, gymnastics isn't highly aerobic during a meet, there is a LOT of waiting your turn. But still, I think what we learned here could easily be applied to swim meets or other sports in which short burts of energy and focus are needed.

Different sports totally need to be managed differently, but still I wonder -- where do you like to see your child during sports and competitions for BG and what do your kids say about the way it affects them?

I totally agree with you. I've never understood the running a little high during activity thinking. We keep Ian hooked up during baseball - actually mostly during baseball practice since it's so much more intense and then we
snack to keep his bg up. We've noticed right from the beginning that his focus is much much better if he's in range rather than high. Plus, if he's high, and he messes up, it's an instant cry fest, which isn't fun for a 7 year old boy. So that alone is enough for us to notice that we have to keep him in range.

I think most competitive athletes will tell you the same - in range at all times is waaaaay better than high when you're trying to do your best work.

[MamaC]

I guess it depends somewhat on what is "high" for your child, and when it's too high to allow proper concentration on the task at hand.

Put me firmly on the side of running higher as opposed to risking a low (seizures seriously scare the crap outta me). We haven't seen, and Tom hasn't complained of, an effect on his performance. This may change, of course, as he comes out of the honeymoon. And maybe then we will actually be able to keep him in range at all times!

As always, not only YDMV, but MODMV (My Own Diabetes May Vary)!

~~Becky~~

[rachabetic]

Whenever I play tennis and I am over 200, it is not a pretty sight!:D I can't control what I am doing, even when I try to. I play best when I am about
100-150. I ususlly suspend my pump (if I start out at a good number), but keep it on(hard for some sports though), and I can feel when I am going high, so I just 'un-suspend' it and keep on playing, until I can go check. I totally agree about it being much harder to do sports when bg is high.

[TripleThreat]

i cant stand being high when im playing sports i get frustrated easy and cant seem to consintrate as easy so i have been trying to be tight on my numbers during these times since going on pump and cgms i have found it a valuable tool to keeping me at good numbers when active even when i do disconect from pump i remove the tubing and keep pump close so can use cgms arrows i was always told when younger to run high for activity so it was hard for me to start doing this but have found it a great thing it did take a bit to get to know how much carbs and insulin to cover though but well worth it glad you figured it out mary lou

[Mary Lou]

Wow! I am so glad you all replied!!! I was very nervous about Brian's BG hovering around 100, but with the CGMS I could keep a close eye on him throughout the meet.

I seriously couldn't believe the difference in his attitude and in his performance. I feel terrible for all the times I thought it was "OK" for him to be 200+ during meets or even practices!

I totally understand the fear of seizures and of going too low. Seeing Brian sitting on the sidelines to treat a low during a soccer match isn't a pretty sight at all :eek:

I am greatly encouraged to hear from all of you, especially those who keep their BG in range during sports and notice an improvement.

Thank you!!!