Gaming and type 1

Luke2

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Type 1
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Hi all,

A bit of a random one, but does anyone with type 1 do online gaming (pc, Xbox, ps, etc)?

When I play first person shooters, such as call of duty my bloods go through the roof!! Does this happen to anyone else?

I’ve actually tried pre-bolusing for it and it basically doesn’t do anything (obviously does a bit as I’m sure I’d go higher). Then when I stop, I’m fighting off a hypo

Here is an example - I hadn’t actually eaten since breakfast at this point!

My control is very good as well, I can eat 200g of carbs and not have this reaction - makes me think twice about gaming!
 

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jaywak

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Why think twice , if it does that don't do it, give it a rest for a couple of days and see what happens .
 
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Rokaab

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A bit of a random one, but does anyone with type 1 do online gaming (pc, Xbox, ps, etc)?

I've done online PC gaming for years now - though its more PvE rather than PvP fps's - my reactions aren't even close enough to not lose very quickly (and apparently I cant shoot straight anyway! :)).
Personally for me gaming doesn't increase my sugar levels, though PvP can be very different to PvE

Are said games causing you a lot of stress, that's my only thought, or it could be something else entirely, I couldn't see timestamps on your graph at all so cant tell if the spike is morning or afternoon - if its morning it could just be DP or 'foot on the floor' issues
 

Luke2

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Type of diabetes
Type 1
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I've done online PC gaming for years now - though its more PvE rather than PvP fps's - my reactions aren't even close enough to not lose very quickly (and apparently I cant shoot straight anyway! :)).
Personally for me gaming doesn't increase my sugar levels, though PvP can be very different to PvE

Are said games causing you a lot of stress, that's my only thought, or it could be something else entirely, I couldn't see timestamps on your graph at all so cant tell if the spike is morning or afternoon - if its morning it could just be DP or 'foot on the floor' issues
the gaming session was around 12.30pm - I usually eat lunch at around 2. I hadn’t eaten anything since around 9am.

I’d say it’s probably stress related as call of duty is one of those games that can frustrate the hell out of you!
 

Rokaab

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I’d say it’s probably stress related as call of duty is one of those games that can frustrate the hell out of you!
Yeah I've heard some of those fps's can get very toxic as well
 

ClappyLizard

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Adrenaline rush and presumably glucagon dump to get you ready for battle, deal with it by correcting sugars as needed.

There will be different triggers for people, should I stop working because my blood sugars may rise in a heated meeting? Should I stop all my hobbies as the excitement triggers a change in blood sugars? Rhetorical questions, the objective is to learn and manage diabetes instead of becoming a slave to it and just giving up on things you enjoy.
 
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Luke2

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Adrenaline rush and presumably glucagon dump to get you ready for battle, deal with it by correcting sugars as needed.

There will be different triggers for people, should I stop working because my blood sugars may rise in a heated meeting? Should I stop all my hobbies as the excitement triggers a change in blood sugars? Rhetorical questions, the objective is to learn and manage diabetes instead of becoming a slave to it and just giving up on things you enjoy.
Thank you for the reply!

I absolutely don’t want to give up something I enjoy. Life is for living at the end of the day :)
 

ArtemisBow

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Fellow gamer here! I don’t have spikes from gaming but I don’t play a lot of FPS, and I certainly do get spikes from adrenaline in other situations so I wouldn’t be surprised.

Don’t give up something you enjoy because of diabetes - maybe different times of day are better than others? Could also be the sitting down so maybe try moving around between games?
 

EllieM

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Funnily enough I notice a similar thing, when I play bridge at my local club. I definitely suspect it's stress related.... Not going to give up the bridge though, might just up my insulin a bit....

I haven't noticed online bridge having the same effect though :) (Probably because I can just turn the computer off when I play badly)
 
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Jaylee

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Hi,

Long time since I PC gamed..
American McGee's Alice was the last time?
Had no sensors beck then in the early 2000’s

But I do get spikes of between 3 & 5mmol with either driving or in one case a rather intense manager I once had at work.
But I could understand if you are totally engrossed in the game trying to achieve the objective that it could cause a liver dump?
 

ArtemisBow

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Actually @Jaylee when I get really engrossed in a game I have given myself a hypo from concentrating too hard! Played Outer Wilds recently and had to keep hypo treats to hand for when my brain got too busy…
 
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Jaylee

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Actually @Jaylee when I get really engrossed in a game I have given myself a hypo from concentrating too hard! Played Outer Wilds recently and had to keep hypo treats to hand for when my brain got too busy…
That can happen too.
:)
When I’m engaged with producing & mixing audio tracks.. :banghead:
 
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Juicyj

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Yes anything that causes a stress reaction will spike bg levels - it's your liver giving you the extra umffffhhh...!!!

Only way to avoid is to stay calm or pre bolus if you see this as a regular occurrence, no need to avoid something you enjoy, just look at ways of managing the response and reaction
 

ClappyLizard

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Thank you for the reply!

I absolutely don’t want to give up something I enjoy. Life is for living at the end of the day :)
I'm a PC gamer btw, well a casual PC gamer, there's a battle for spare time, nowadays it's a case of playing Grim Dawn so that doesn't get me animated ...

Though I find if I'm about to play leccy guitar live, as the nerves kick in, I definitely get an adrenaline rush and naturally a spike.
 

Jaylee

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Though I find if I'm about to play leccy guitar live, as the nerves kick in, I definitely get an adrenaline rush and naturally a spike.
Are you in a band?
If so.
Sounds like liver dump from “stage fright?”
Common phenomenon.

I sing in a band.. (2 bands these days.)
 
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ClappyLizard

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Are you in a band?
If so.
Sounds like liver dump from “stage fright?”
Common phenomenon.

I sing in a band.. (2 bands these days.)
No I'm definitely not that good, only picked up the hobby a year ago, I'm merely an amateur wanna be shredder. My Mrs however can hold bit of a note so we dabble in musical shizzle and produce online content
 

Jaylee

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No I'm definitely not that good, only picked up the hobby a year ago, I'm merely an amateur wanna be shredder. My Mrs however can hold bit of a note so we dabble in musical shizzle and produce online content
Did a bit of that during lockdown. Guitarist would send “stems.” Ideas he’d had for a while. Or maybe "can we cover this?"
I’d write for the originals.
He'd mix the tracks.
I'd edit the video.

My bemused wife would hold tha camera whilst doing the green screen stuff.

It all became apparent at the "premiere."

Good fun.
 
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ClappyLizard

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Did a bit of that during lockdown. Guitarist would send “stems.” Ideas he’d had for a while. Or maybe "can we cover this?"
I’d write for the originals.
He'd mix the tracks.
I'd edit the video.

My bemused wife would hold tha camera whilst doing the green screen stuff.

It all became apparent at the "premiere."

Good fun.
Haha, similar interests for sure. I do all the recording (video/audio) and first line mixing, until it's handed over to a friend of ours who adds the finishing touches or remixes (corrects my work hehe)

Here's an example and the last video we put together:
 
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Jaylee

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Haha, similar interests for sure. I do all the recording (video/audio) and first line mixing, until it's handed over to a friend of ours who adds the finishing touches or remixes (corrects my work hehe)

Here's an example and the last video we put together:
Just gave it a listen, sounds great.

People never realise how much time goes into a 3 or 4 minute vid..
 
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