Feeling weak and fatigued from start of football.

[Liamo]

Hi

I have just joined the forum. Just wondering has anyone experienced the same as me. I play football for a club and my problem is trying to have a good blood sugar range while playing without the worry of a hypo. If I start with a blood sugar between 6 and 7 I'll have bags of energy and feel good. However the chances of going hypo are high. I've been trying to get the balance right by eating the right amount of carbs etc. If my blood sugars are above 10 I don't have to worry about hypos but I feel weak in the legs and fatigued from the very start which is frustrating because I could prepare well the whole week for the match like eating well and good blood sugars etc but at kick off if my sugars are high my preparation feels pointless as I feel unfit. I'm 31 and I have a very good team of dieticians and nurses looking after me yet I feel it difficult to do the right teams they tell me. I always take insulin with carbs beforehand to make sure I have glucose being carried to the muscles. I suffer with cramps in calf muscles regularly too.

Regards
Liamo

 

[stoney]

Hi Liamo

I can sympathise with you as my son who is 15 has been playing football since he was 5 and diabetic since he was 3 and has constantly struggled to get the balance right for football matches and he was on just two injections up until February last year He then went on to MDI’s and thought it would be better for him but it wasn’t. Like you if he was over 10 which was the case for most matches, he would feel lethargic and continue to rise and had to be taken off sometimes due to his energy levels but later on it was a case of treating him for hypos as he continually dropped later on in the day. He was very frustrated with it all as he really loves his football. His turning point has come now since he has been on the pump for just ONE MONTH and we have noticed a big difference in his energy levels and now he can last a whole match and with a bit of tweaking his pump his readings are really fantastic pre match and during, but we are still getting the hypos later on. We are going back to clinic to sort this out in the next two weeks.

Sorry I cannot come up with an answer for you, but thought that you would like to know that it's not only my son but I have read others who constantly battle with their BG’s when exercising.

Hope you can sort something out. :thumbup:

 

[Liamo]

Hi stoney

Thanks so much for reply. Yeah I have considered the pump and might have another look into again. I know some people that are on it and they wouldn't be without it now. Just need to see if that would help overall with my problem. Thanks again for info and hope your son can get the best out of himself now.

Kind regards.
Liamo.

 

[Spirit of Eden]

I was at 7.0 and ate a bar of chocolate just before my hour of 5-a-side last week and felt great for the whole hour. Cramped up in last 10 mins though. Just to put in context we are bunch of 50 somethings who were OK players back in the day 8)

 

[Liamo]

Ha ha great stuff spirit of Eden. Yeah the 5 -a-side will keep ya fit. Funnily enough if I'm lucky enough to start a game with about 7.0 I'll be flying around. If I keep it like that I'll be grand but it's not often. So the cramps you get too. Very frustrating!!

 

[paulioajordio]

Hi, I have had exactly the same problem, I have was only diagnosed with diabetes type 1 in May last year.

I have been trying to solve the lathargic problem as I love football too, I have found that if I inject before playing it helps a great deal, the key is getting you blood right before I find. I eat 3 hours before a gameand test my blood about 2.5 hours later. If my blood is up between 7 and 10 I inject without eating, as i find my blood rises once i begin. If im below 7 i generally do the same but eat a couple of dextrose.

I always make sure i inject 40 minutes before kickoff so that the insulin is peaking about 20 mins in, hence the reason i eat a few dextrose as the insulin begins to work within the 40 mins prior to kick off. If you are playing ninety minutes, i would inject again, and eat a breakfast bar with a few more dextrose as soon as the 1st half ends.

I am 30 and have had a few tough years with football prior and since being diagnosed with diabetes, but now i feel like 26 again! Top scorer this season!

FYI - I use nova rapid and levemir.

 

[Liamo]

Hi paulioajordio

That's brilliant to hear. Yeah having fresh insulin on board is vital I have learnt over past few years. I did DAFNE a few years ago ( not sure if you are aware of DAFNE but its great. It's a week course about carb counting with insulin dosage etc) . But yeah I will try what you wrote there and give that a go.