Swimming for the first time since 'pumping'

[Niamh's Mum]

Hi,
Wondering if anyone can give me some advice please?

My 13 year old daughter has been on an animas pump since October. We have decided to go swimming over the half term and just need some general advice on how to adjust her basal before and after. We are going to be in the water for 9am and she is a heavy sleeper as most 13 year old's are!! so she wont be rising until 8am-ish.

Many thanks in anticipation for any help......

Gayle

 

[Cheryl]

I used to reduce my basal by 50% for an hour up to one hour before swimming. Now though I find it easier to just add carb. I assume that she'll be removing her pump for swimming.

My routine is to swim front crawl for 35 mins or 1 mile. I need about 50 grammes of carb before & during my swim. I eat a banana before I get in & add lucozade in bits during the swim, though the amount depends on my BG before I get in the pool and the size of the banana.

You can expect her BG to rise after swimming as the lack of basal from being disconnected will start to show. However, I don't add a correction dose as around 2-3 hours after swimming my liver starts to replace the used glycogen & for the next 24 hours I run on a Basal 20% below normal.

I'm an adult of course & I don't know how hard she will swim & how much energy she'll use. But I hope this helps. I do occasionally get out half way through & test my BG. As a rule one's BG should start to drop about 20 mins into exercise, so a banana is good beforehand.
I felt very self conscious of the cannula under my costume the first couple of times I went swimming, it seemed the size of a brick to me, but I doubt anyone ever notices it, the feeling soon faded.