July 26, 1999
Exercise and Sports, Hypoglycemia
Question from Oregon, USA:
My son is 14, was diagnosed 2+ years ago, is type 1 and is growing like a weed. I have been reading many question categories for the last three hours or so and have three questions:
We have used glucose tabs for lows, find that boxed fruit juices are better, think the gels are okay (better than tabs), will try your suggested cake icing, but are still wondering if the electrolyte/high-energy/sport-type/nutritional products had a record with your staff/team.
Also when, when my son exercises, there are times when we don’t treat because it takes 6-8 hours for the drop to come. The intensity/type of exercise or blood sugars don’t seem to matter, but it’s tough to figure in or accommodate — any ideas?
Lastly, he does not feel symptoms of a low coming. For a while, I thought he was concentrating on something else so he missed it. He has had A1c averages of 7.2 or so, and even after a (high blood sugar) week in Mexico, his (lack of) sensitivity has not changed. I read over the info on being brittle, but am still left with many ideas. Is there a training/biofeedback possibility?
Answer:
Regarding your questions:
We find the glucose tabs are easy to take with you, unlike juices and icings. Also, the flavored kinds are quite good-tasting, but not so good-tasting that people will overdo it. We do not use the sports drinks. I guess the cost or maybe inconvenience is the reason, but we just never considered its use.
Post-exercise hypoglycemia is quite common and so we recommend having a snack before bed, especially one with protein, as a half sandwich or yogurt and crackers to prevent nighttime hypoglycemia.
His excellent blood glucose control may make him more prone to hypoglycemia and unawareness of hypoglycemia. We usually feel these individuals are not “brittle”, but if they lessen up on the tight control a bit, oftentimes their awareness of a low blood glucose is increased. We strongly suggest that these folks always wear an ID bracelet and have glucose tabs with them and if they exercise a lot, be sure there is a partner who knows what to do with a low.
LSF
