While I am not an Olympic athlete and not as young as I used to be, I love to swim. I use to swim at least a mile or more but since I have been diagnosed and got my pump every time I swim, I drop way low. Last Saturday I ate 10carbs before swimming but only swam for about 20 minutes then after at a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and bolus for 1/2 of carbs. 3hrs later fell to my knees at a friends house at 50 and dropping. The rest of the day and evening was shot. This happens EVERY time I swim no matter what I try. I disconnect my pump too.
Does anyone have any advice? I really want to get back into the pool and I am so frustrated!
Yes, my 14 year old daughter has swum for about 8 years. She is sidelined now from patella tendonitis and I can't wait till she gets back in the water!!!!
Here's her protocol, after much deliberation and years of experience. My daughter swims about 3,000 yards for a workout (I think) or for about 1 1/2 hours. They also do drylands, so that may add 1/2 to 1 hour to the practice.
For a 5:30 practice, the basal rates go to -0- at 3:00 (2 1/2 hours before swimming). She still wears the pump, becasue she wants to snack and eat and all before getting in the water and she has to have the pump to bolus. She does her regular practice, and she checks proactively every 45 minutes. She makes it through the practice now without getting low. She should (but doesn't becasue she's 14) check and make up some insulin when getting out of the pool since there's no IOB for so long. I think that piece is critical to not go high later in the evening.
Now we met a gal from Australia at Children's Congress in 2007 who did the exact opposite. She said she got HIGH during practice...go figure. It makes much more sense to cut back on insulin for a practice than give more insulin. For meets, she did get high, probably due to the adrenalin.
Hope that helps. I should get my daughter to join juvenation to chat with you. How old are you? AS I said, my daughter is 14. She was swimming Seniors when she got injured. Watch the breaststroke!
Oops, I forgot to say that you have to try a lot of different times to adjust basals get your BG right, during practice, but IT CAN BE DONE! And you can keep swimming, because it is one of the best sports you can do. And leave the pump on the sidelines!
Also forgot to mention stacking (which I think I may start a forum for). My daughter ate snacks at multiple intervals before practice started, and once I remember that she kept tanking and could never get her BG up. My friend who also has Type 1 looked at her pump and asked why she kept bolusing about 20 or 30 minutes apart for 3 times? She called that stacking, and it affected my daughter so bad one night that I had to rush to practice and practically carry her home! Now, she boluses once and eats the snack.
I love to swim also! I have to turn my pump down to a temp basal of 60% one and a half hours before I get in the pool. Depending on my blood sugar will still sometimes take in a granola bar or something also before jumping in the pool. This seems to help stave off those lows. I had to figure out my insulin peak acting time, and that is about how long before I needed to start a temp basal, so that reduced basal is what I was swimming on. There is a bit of trial and error with figuring out what works. Another thing- within about 30-45 minutes after swimming- drink some chocolate milk (I have to bolus when I do this-again depending on my blood sugar), this will help you stave of lows later on by replenishing the glycogen stores in your muscles.