How To Manage Your Child's Type 1 Diabetes During A Basketball Tournament

We won! My nine year old daughter's U10 Girls Basketball Team won their tournament! They are the Charlotte Mecklenburg champions! And my daughter made two amazing baskets, which looked easy during the game, but truthfully hadn't been easy during the season because of her type 1 diabetes.

 

 

Figuring out her best blood sugar level for each of my daughter's sports hasn't been easy. For softball her blood sugar level seemed to work well in the low 200's. Soccer the same. And, I actually thought it was also a perfect number for basketball. But yesterday's basketball championship game proved me wrong.

Every game this basketball season, Madison's blood sugar has stayed steady in the low 200's. Usually around 211 - 226. And we worked hard to get it to that level by making sure she didn't eat certain foods such as pizza, meatball sub, pasta, rice, or a bagel before a game. Those foods keep her blood sugar high for a longer period of time, where she has a harder time focusing and concentrating.

During the game's, Madison appeared fine, blocking shots and trying to make shots. Every so often she would have a delayed response or a puzzled look on her face. I wondered if it was due to her blood sugar (type 1 diabetes) or her not understanding the play. But after yesterday's game, where her blood sugar was 126 at the start of the game, I'm starting to think her puzzled looks and inability to think quick on the basketball court had to do with her blood sugar being too high for this sport.

Madison was like a totally new basketball player on the court yesterday. She was leaping out of no where for the ball. She took shots and even got two in. I was so proud of her, yet so disappointed in myself that she played the entire basketball season with a blood sugar that was too high for her to really perform at her best. My husband and I have kept it higher, fearing it would drop fast and then she'd crash. I hate seeing her shake and her face turn pale when her blood sugar is low. It's scary for her and me. So keeping it higher is a much more comfortable zone for us. At least, I thought. But now I know differently.

Fastpitch U10 softball tryouts are this weekend. And I'm coaching, which gives me the opportunity to be hands on with her type 1 diabetes and do some trial and error. I'm going to try to keep her blood sugar around 130 - 150 for all games. I know that won't be possible all the time; especially because she always seems to go through growth spurts during the spring season and the heat causes her blood sugar to increase, forcing me to make lots of changes to her insulin levels. But I'm not giving up! And I hope every parent who has a child with type 1 diabetes doesn't give up too!

We as parents of children living with type 1 diabetes have a responsibility to teach your child how to eat properly and manage their disease so they can perform at their best academically, intellectually, and athletically now and continue into their adult age.

What I learned:

• Don't feed the disease.
• High carb foods like pizza, fried rice, pasta, and a bagel keep my daughters blood sugar high too long, causing her to not be able to perform at her best in school and sports.
• A blood sugar of 126 worked amazing for my daughter during her basketball tournament. Of course, I was nervous the entire time, wondering if her blood sugar was dipping below 100. It didn't!
• After a sports game, parents need to keep a close eye on their child's blood sugar because it takes hours for it to become stable again. In fact, last night, after my daughters basketball game (4:30 pm), we checked her blood sugar and it was 90, so we fed her dinner. At 8:15 pm it was 227.  I knew it was going to drop a little more, so I didn't treat it. At 11:00 pm, my husband checked her blood sugar and it was 60. He had to wake her up and give her a juice and a few peanut butter crackers.

Type 1 Diabetes Triggers Anxiety Attacks During Soccer Game

I know every family has their worries and concerns, especially when it comes to their children. But parenting a child with type 1 diabetes is so much more complex then anyone realizes. It was this past weekend that I accepted the fact that Madison's type 1 diabetes disease is also triggering anxiety attacks and causing her difficulty breathing when her blood sugar is too low (below 80) or too high (above 225).

It all became apparent for me on the soccer field. As her soccer coach and mom, I constantly worry that she's not going to be able to play up to her potential because of her disease. And the past three soccer games she hasn't been able to. In fact, for three games in a row, she has taken herself out of the game because she wasn't able breathe. The last game she walked off the field when all the kids were still running around. She didn't even yell to me that she needed to be substituted. Her blood sugar made her feel so bad that she just couldn't even yell. She said, "I thought I was going to pass out and you would have to call 911."  I tried so hard to hide my emotions. But I was angry and frustrated. I have really come to hate this disease.

From the sidelines, parents have mentioned how great she's doing. She scores and she's able to make a few good plays. She even gives them the impression that she's running just as much as the other girls. But as her mom and her soccer coach, she hasn't been herself. And she's walking and standing so much more than she has in the past.

Madison was born to run. If she could run all day long, she would. But lately, for unknown reasons, her blood sugar has stayed above 250 during our soccer games, causing her to have a real difficult time breathing if she runs to much. I've tried moving her to defense and even goalie where she can calm down and not run as much. But she feels even worse when she's just standing around. The reason she feels worse is because her blood sugar is already high and when she stands around, she's not burning it off, making it go higher.

Seeing my daughter take herself out of the game is heartbreaking. Tears filled her eyes last game. And the only words that entered my mind was hers. When she was five years old she said, "Mommy, I want to be an Olympic soccer player." And ever since she was diagnosed (November 4, 2011), I feel as if her dream may not become reality. I'm not giving up and I hope she doesn't too. But boy this disease has really been the greatest challenge she and I have ever had to face.

Many of you may be thinking, Just change her diet. Wish it was that simple. This past Saturday, the morning of her game, she had eggs, bacon and a half of banana. I wanted her to have some carbs (the banana) so her blood sugar wouldn't drop so fast. But it didn't matter that she had a low carb breakfast. Her adrenaline and stress kept her blood sugar above 260 the entire game. After the game it went up to 300. Then within 30 minutes it dropped to 80. I was angry that her blood sugar was outsmarting me. I literally have a competition going with her blood sugar and I'm going to win!

We have two games left in the season and then our tournament starts the weekend of November 9th. This disease isn't going to control us or win! I truly believe there has to be a way to help my daughter do the things she loves to do at her potential.

The following is what I'm going to try this week.
This week I'm going to have her visualize seeing herself running and scoring and playing up to her potential. I'm going to work with her on breathing techniques. And then on Saturday, I'm going to eliminate the banana from her breakfast and have her eat a bowl of cereal (1/2 of a cup of Honey Nut Cheerios) along with eggs and bacon.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the above will work. If you have had any experience with type 1 diabetes and anxiety, I would love to hear how you have been able to manage anxiety and difficult breathing for a type 1 diabetic.

Thanks so much for your support!

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I Gave My Daughter Too Much Insulin

Madison, my type 1 diabetic daughter who has lived with type 1 diabetes for almost 19 months now, woke up this morning so tired. We both thought it was because she stayed up so late last night. We had a mommy and daughter fast pitch softball game and then went out for a TCBY ice cream to celebrate. We had a blast! But when she checked her blood sugar this morning, both of our faces turned pale. It was 388. I felt like I failed her. She needs me to help her control and manage her blood sugar so she stays healthy. And last night, it was almost impossible for me to do it.

Our night started off normal. Before our game, Madison checked her blood sugar. It was perfect-156. Knowing her blood sugar was going to drop after playing, I lowered her basal. (just in case you don't know what basal is, it's the insulin she gets from her insulin pump to keep her blood sugar under control at all times)

Madison receiving tropy from her coach

After the game, the girls wanted to go to TCBY. It was 7:45 pm. I never feed Madison carbs after 5:30 pm during a school night, unless she needs it to bring up a low blood sugar. It's just too hard for me to manage her blood sugar if she has insulin still in her body when she goes to bed. But it was such a special night and I could see it in her eyes how much she wanted to go with her team, so I said, "Let's go get you an ice cream!" She gave me the most warm-loving hug, which brought the biggest smile to my face.

We got home around 9:00 pm and checked her blood sugar. It was 160. I was so proud of myself that I was able to keep her blood sugar at such a great number. But then I remembered, she had just eaten an ice cream, which meant she still had insulin in her body. We checked her meter to see how much insulin was still on board. It read 2.98. I was speechless. I wanted to cry, because I had given her way too much insulin for the amount of ice cream she ate and now I had to feed her disease to make sure she didn't crash. Madison gets 1.0 unit of insulin for every 15 carbs. So basically, with 2.98 units of insulin still in her body, she needed to eat about 45 carbs to ensure her blood sugar didn't go too low while she slept. Taking precautionary measures, I gave her a juice and five crackers, and also lowered her basal to where she was almost getting no insulin from her insulin pump for an hour and a half. Then I sent her to bed.

At 10:00 pm, I checked her blood sugar and it read 89. Too low to let her continue sleeping, so I woke her up and gave her a couple sugar tablets and a few more peanut butter crackers. I then checked her an hour later and her blood sugar was 130. Perfect! And now I could go to sleep. Around 3:45 am, Madison woke up to use the bathroom. She does that often, even if her blood sugar isn't high, so I didn't think much of it.

My alarm went off at 5:45 am. I tried waking Madison up, but she was giving me a hard time. I nudged her a few times and slowly she opened her eyes. I could tell she was exhausted. Never did I think her blood sugar was off the charts high. I just assumed she was tired from staying up so late and having me wake her up. She got ready and we headed down the stairs.

As soon as we got into the kitchen, she sat at her normal spot at the kitchen table and checked her blood. She turned slowly, looked at me with this pale expression and said, "My blood sugar is 388." I had her check it one more time and it read the same. All those awful feelings shot through my body and mind. I wanted to swear. I wanted it hit something. I wanted to cry. But instead, I said half-smiling, "That's okay, I'll just make you a non-carb breakfast. How does bacon and eggs sound." She smiled and said, "Great!"

I HATE THIS STUPID DISEASE! All I want to do is keep her healthy and the poor kid can't even have an ice cream and run around after 7:00 pm at night without a crazy night of blood sugar highs and lows. Too many highs is so unhealthy for her. And too many lows is again, unhealthy for her. This disease really never gives you a break. But I'm a fighter. And this disease is not going to win the war!