Newly Diagnosed(Sports Player)

[tash12]

Hey,

I was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 late last year(November,2014),my acceptance was not as rocky, since I did great research whilst having the symptoms and remained open minded. The only thing i needed was a physician's opinion and the way forward. Being diabetic so far, has been quite a challenge but with professional advice, I have been able to manage it to the best of my ability. Though I have frequent hypers ( series of high blood sugars) and thrush/UTIs i have managed to find the balance of late though I'm not that perfect. I am a basketball player(active basketball) and almost resuming training ahead of the season's kick off this April 2015. My question is, how will I manage diabetes and sports? The test strips are quite expensive to say the least and according to the advice I picked from the forum's links, a player should test as frequently as possible during a game or a training session.Yes this is for cautionary sake, but realistically, it will be expensive on my side since training is almost everyday and during the weekend we have games. Is there a simple meal plan one can follow before the vigorous training sessions and competitive games, so that it can sustain you through the game? In short how does one stabilize their sugars whilst playing ? Does regular training benefit me or just expose me to further risks?

 

[Lazybones]

Firstly welcome to the diabetes forum. As a Type 1 diabetic on Insulin you are entitled to FREE test strips unlike us Type 2's who are told we generally don't need them (foolish cost cutting excuse by the NHS)
As for what foods to eat, well there is probably someone who will know a lot more than myself, but I would think that over time you will acquire the knowledge to know what type of foods will give you the rapid glucose release that you will require, prior to participating in a highly active sports like Basketball.
Steve Redgreave managed it in competitive rowing to Olympic Gold Levels, so it can certainly be achieved.
Eat and work out accordingly to your test meter would seem to be the secret.

 

[noblehead]

I'm taking it you are outside the UK if you have to pay for your test strips.

There's an excellent website that was set-up for people with type 1 diabetes who enjoy sport, its called Runsweet and you should find some useful information and advice there if you take a look:

http://www.runsweet.com/