To the TDFC followers out there who have asked me and others involved about the management of the condition around Football here are a few videos which I recorded with my friend Paul Coker at 1 Bloody Drop ( click here to check the website out ) ! Hopefully they’ll provide some useful tips around managing a complete game day situation. Remember the suggestions I make are from my own experience and should always be accompanied by the support of your healthcare professionals.
Remember what works for me might not work for you so it’s important you learn from Trial and Error and continue to adapt your own preparation and match day routines to get the best from yourself and enjoy playing!
Key Points for Before the Match:
- Early preparation
- Loading up with Carbohydrate the day before
- Consistency of Routine
- Good night’s sleep
- Plenty of time between pre match meal insulin dose and starting the game (3 hours + ideally)
- Lots of Testing
- Small adjustments
Key Points for During the Match:
- More Testing
- Small adjustments take on glucose if required
- Find a quick acting carbohydrate drink (I use Lucozade Sport)
- Try to understand what effect the intensity of exercise has on your glucose levels
Key Points for after the match:
- Watch out for Hypos especially during the night (nothing to be feared, just keep an extra eye out)
- Consider how intense your involvement in the game was and how long you played… This can have a big bearing on how levels respond after. The more intense the more likely you are to dip lower after the game.
- Consider reductions in your bolus doses for meals immediately after games.
- Eat carbohydrates within your post game meal or snack.
- Consider a reduction in basal dosage and think about a bedtime snack.
- Be very careful consuming alcohol after a game as it increases the likelihood of hypoglycaemia even more. It can be done but just be careful.
I hope the advice in the videos and the key points from them are useful to many of you out there. A huge thank you again to Paul Coker at www.1bloodydrop.com for creating this amazing content.
As usual if you have any questions. Give us a shout.
TDFC