Diabetes in Sport

[188qxkJM]

Hi my name is Jason Milligan, I am a student at City of Glasgow College and i'm doing a project on diabetes in sport and I was hoping anyone on this site who has played sport would be willing to answer these questions for me.
How much of an effect do you think diabetes has on sporting performance? Have you been injured and if so do you feel diabetes changes the recovery process compared to athletes without the disease? In reference to injury is there certain medications you’re not able to take during the recovery process because of the disease? What health procedures and precautions do you have to take before, during and after training or competition and do you feel this disadvantages you in any way? How much of an impact have medical advancements made on people with diabetes who want to take part in sport and have you noticed a difference since you started playing sport?
If there's anything else you'd like me to include in the project about your experience in sport feel free to include it.
Also to prevent clogging up the thread feel free to email your answers to me. Feel free to PM me for details.

Email removed.

 

[Janet_rabbit]

Hi Jason. I have had T1 diabetes for 40 years and have been a keen runner for over 20 years. I think the diabetes has quite a large effect on my sporting performance. I started running in the first place to prove that I could, despite my diabetes! However, my performance varies greatly depending on my blood sugar levels. When they are nearly in the 'normal' zone (4.5 - 8 mmol) I run much better and it takes a lot less effort. I have often felt greater amounts of lactate acid building up and felt sluggish when my sugars are between 8 and 13. Sometimes my sugar is too high to be able to run and I have missed out on taking part in races, or had to jog until the sugar came down a bit. Having an insulin pump has made things much easier, especially due to the temporary basal feature, which means you can plan for extra exercise at fairly short notice. One problem I have is that adrenaline increases my blood sugar and so often it peaks before a race. This means I often need to take an extra small dose of insulin to compensate, or start running with sugars that are too high. After endurance running (training and competition) I usually need to reduce my overnight basal rate to avoid going hypo. I always need to carry glucose tablets and usually need to have about 2 tablets a mile to avoid going hypo, even with very little basal insulin (0% - 50% depending on starting sugars and intensity of training/ race). I use a Freestyle libre flash glucose monitoring system, which is another great advantage as I can test my sugar as I run, although it often doesn't work when I'm running or cycling because the sensor becomes too cold with windchill! I recently sustained a mild foot fracture and sprained ankle in a fall and couldn't run for 3 months, but I managed to get back to my usual competitive speed fairly quickly after that and I don't think the diabetes slowed down my recovery much, but I found it very hard not to be able to run! I was able to do lots of useful physio exercises and gently walking etc. to try and avoid losing too much fitness and flexibility while injured. I didn't really need any medications to help the recovery - just time, physio and patience. I think having diabetes makes me realise the importance of keeping fit and healthy and setting aside time for exercise and sport.
I hope this is useful.
Janet

 

[Amy993]

I am 17 and have only been diagnosed for 7 months. I live an active life, and haven't let diabetes stop it. I went back to exercise the day i came out of hospital! My main sport is horse riding and working on the yard. For all of this, i halve my bolus insulin. I need to keep checks on my blood sugar, and monitor regularly. I check it straight before and after riding, and then during if it's a long ride. Afterwards i always need to have a snack of 10-15g (an apple) to keep it up in range. I also have been advised by my nurse to keep my levels above 5. I also like to go to the gym and fitness classes in the evening while at college. Therefore, when i do this i usually have a 10g carb snack before to keep my levels up, and then need to use my exercise setting so i only take 70% bolus with my meal after.

I hope this has helped a bit, and if you need anything else just ask.