1st hypo

Hi cereal bars will be ok as long as they are about the 20g carb value. If your son is running about a lot then he will need that carb to keep him ok especially if he is on the low side.

Mini Mars bars, mini Snickers etc would also do the trick. I often had a Snicker before playing badminton with no ill effect :mrgreen:

I think you need to experiment with snacks and take into account how intensive the exercise will be. I think everyone is different as to how much they need. My 8 year old daughter will have 1 digestive biscuit (9g carbs) before a half hour swimming lesson, or a 45min tennis lesson, or a 30 min PE lesson at school and that seems to see her through without any problems, provided she's not low to start with. I (or the school teacher) always test her before the exercise to see where she's at and again afterwards to make sure she's okay. Ask your son's teachers for a copy of the class timetable so you know which day and at what time he will be doing PE. If you test before and after the exercise then you'll have a good idea how much your chosen snack boosts his blood sugars and whether or not you need to give him more or less carbs. Also keep an eye on his readings for the rest of the day and evening to see how exercise affects him. My daughter can tend to run low later in the day and through the evening if she's done lots of exercise that day, this I can take care of by adjusting her carb ratio for the next couple of meals if necessary. Another thing I've noticed is that if she exercises soon after a meal with an injection then the insulin seems to work much more quickly and her readings will drop quicker than usual. Rather than an extra snack, she wouldn't want one anyway if she's eaten not so long ago, I adjust her carb ratio so that she takes on board less insulin. For us it's been a matter of trial and error and taking lots of readings to see what works for her.

Hi Shaza
do the staff at the school know about the diabetes? and does your son carry glucotabs or something like shortbread on him?
Hana

Glucotabs are a must with exercise... a very intensive sport can drop you quite quickly, and if you're concentrating and really going for it you can go quite low before you realise.

Banana's are good for me, sounds odd, but rice-crispie cakes too. Bit of chocolate, lots of dried fruit, and they tasted sooo much better.
The most important hting is to make sure that he enjoys whatever he has...
It's no good saying x is great, and y will work, because if he doesn't like it he just won't eat it.

Biscuits, granola bars, anything that's carby that he likes.

Experimenting with food before, during and after exercise - as well as glucotabs, jelly babies or or jelly sweets are good. I make up packets of 10g CHO equivalents in small zip lock plastic bags - I got mine from a research unit where I was working, but they are sold for holding jewellery or small craft items. Always best for the child or adult with diabetes to carry their own sources of CHO (pockets), rather than relying on anyone else - they might not be within reach when needed!

I've found that my BG needs to be around 7 before any exercise, else I get a rise to around 14. As has been mentioned around here a few times a "liver-dump", according to my doc. So if I'm low I just take a drink of orange juice, around 15min before my run or whatever, and that seems to keep it all under control. It's taken me a while to work out what BG levels I need before exercise though, so that my BG level stays ok after.

I was diagnosed in April and have gone back to hockey at the start of the season (last few weeks).

I have noticed that no matter what I start at, my sugars always increase (the last game was as high as 16), but they come down quite quickly after the exercise has finished.

Could this be an adrenaline effect? or should I actually look into increasing insulin before exercise?

My lad, now 12 and diagnosed nearly six months ago (blimey as long as that!) takes a mini mars bar to school on PE days. He has this when they go of to get changed.

Hypo kit consists on Glucose tablets (always in the pocket) and a cereal bar as a starchy snack to follow. He always has a couple of these in his school bag. In addition he has a lockable box that lives in the school office which has spare snacks and glucose tabs in it should they be needed. He also keeps and injection pen in there and a week supply of needles so he doesn't have to carry these to and from school each day. Sharps bin also resident in the school office.

Any change of routine or activity level, such as going back to school, will mean you need to adjust things. Hopefully though you should soon get his doses broadly right. You may notice he needs different doses on school days compared to weekends. Its difficult with youngsters due to growth, puberty etc affecting their sensitivity to insulin. Also their expected activity level may change at the whim of the school. E.g. if instead of say a drama lesson where although not exactly exercising he's on his feet the whole lesson, they may suddenly decide everyone's going to sit and watch a film instead. Or he may need more insulin at exam time due to stress raising his bs. Over time though you and your son will get to know what adjustments he's likely to need.

As to having to change doses week to week, all I can say is we're all different. Some find their doses hardly vary, others may need to change both long- and short-acting insulin every few days(especially females, menstrual cycle can play havoc).

Don't worry though, we're here to help you when it gets frustrating.