Originally Posted by
b_young
I don't like the glucose tablets by themselves for him because they don't last. We only use them if he needs a quick spike up. But that is just us. A half cup of OJ and he is above 400 in minutes but will be on a roller coaster ride for days with his BG levels
If his blood sugar is spiking to 400, you're giving him
way too much orange juice! Glucose tablets are nice because they give you relatively precise doses of fast-acting carbohydrates. If your son has low blood sugar during exercise and wants to continue exercising, then he will
definitely need more carbs to sustain him through the end of the activity. A bit of fat or protein, to help maintain your blood sugar, doesn't hurt either. For me,
CarboRocket and
Hammer Gel both work
great for maintaining glucose levels during exercise. For me, the carbs in both products seem to get absorbed relatively slowly so my blood sugar doesn't drop or spike during a moderate- to fast-paced ride. In a pinch, I'll use peanut M&Ms for carb maintenance, though I wouldn't use them to treat low blood sugar. One 250/calorie package per hour is about the right about for a fast-paced ride.
I would like to know what pumps you use. He has the Omnipod and likes it but we have had some issues with bad pods. We had the Medtronics before this, it was fine but he wanted to go cordless.
I use a Medtronic insulin pump and have for the last 15-20 years. Also use their continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS). Very happy with both products! I don't mind the tubing that connects the pump to the infusion site. Almost everyone I meet assumes that my pump is a pager, so it's not like I stand out. If I was worried about that, I'd conceal the pump somewhere and use one of the remote-control devices to program it (though they're not quite as easy as using the pump's own keypad).