September 2, 2025 • 34 mins
In Episode 50 of Think Like a Pancreas—The Podcast, host Gary Scheiner spends time with former professional athlete, Gary Forbes and 12 year-old Elliot to discuss “Excelling in Sports with Type 1 Diabetes”.
They each share personal stories of their diagnoses, the challenges they faced, and how they manage their diabetes while competing at high levels in sports.
Meet Your Host and His Guest
Gary Scheiner, MS, CDCES, is the award-winning author of Think Like a Pancreas as well as numerous other books that act as guides for people living with diabetes. A Certified Diabetes Care & Education, Masters-level Exercise Physiologist, and person living with type 1 diabetes since 1985, Gary was named 2014 Diabetes Educator of the Year by the American Association of Diabetes Educators. He trained at the Joslin Diabetes Center and has dedicated his career to helping others live well with diabetes through education, advocacy, and innovation.
Gary Forbes is a former pro basketball player turned entrepreneur and advocate. He now leads SOLE SURVIVORS LLC, empowering others to thrive through adversity. Living with Type 1 Diabetes, Gary has used his platform to raise awareness and inspire strength both on and off the court. Through speaking, writing, and strategic leadership, he connects the lessons of sports to life and business.
Elliot is 12 years old and has been living with type 1 diabetes for the past two years. He currently uses an open-sourced automated insulin delivery system to help him manage his diabetes both on the basketball court and on the baseball field.
What you’ll learn:✔️Personal resilience and support systems play a key role in overcoming challenges.
✔️Using technology like CGMs and insulin pumps can enhance diabetes management.
✔️Blood sugar levels significantly affect athletic performance.
✔️Communication with coaches and teammates is essential for managing diabetes during sports.
✔️Traveling and competing can present unique challenges for athletes with diabetes.
✔️Learning from failures in diabetes management is important for growth.
✔️Understanding nutrition is vital for performance and blood sugar control.
✔️Maintaining a positive attitude and confidence is crucial for success.
Chapters
00:15 Welcome and disclaimer
01:43 Meet Gary Forbes
04:26 Meet Elliot
05:35 Diabetes management tools used by Elliot and the Garys
08:31 Were Elliot or Gary Forbes discouraged from competing in high level sports because of diabetes?
12:43 The added preparations when playing sports with type 1 diabetes
14:52 Dealing with coaches and support staff during competition
15:40 Traveling and Competing with Type 1 Diabetes
17:38 Tips to manage your glucose levels while playing sports
23:37 Learning from Failures in Diabetes Management
26:22 The Advantages of having diabetes
28:57 Advice for individuals competing in sports with type 1 Diabetes
Resources Mentioned: Connect with Us🔵Website: integrateddiabetes.com
🔵 Follow on Social Media: @integrated_diabetes_services and @ integrateddiabetesservices on Facebook
🔵To work with the Integrated Diabetes Services Team , visit https://integrateddiabetes.com/how-to-start-the-process/ , or email info@integrateddiabetes.com
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Disclaimer
The information contained in this program is based on the experience and opinions of the Integrated Diabetes Services clinical team. Please discuss any changes to your treatment plan with your personal healthcare provider before implementing.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
Welcome to Think Like a Pancreas,The Podcast where our goal is to keep
you informed, inspired, and a littleentertained on all things diabetes.
The information contained in thisprogram is based on the experience
and opinions of the IntegratedDiabetes Services clinical team.
Please discuss any changes to yourtreatment plan with your personal
(00:36):
healthcare provider before implementing.
Welcome to Think Like aPancreas, The Podcast.
I'm your host, Gary Scheiner,owner and clinical director at
Integrated Diabetes Services.
The topic for today'sdiscussion is excelling in
sports with Type one Diabetes.
If you are the type of personwho's into participation trophies
(00:58):
this is not the session for you.
This is for people who are seriousabout their sports, who like to
compete, who wanna play well, performwell, and really do their best.
So that's what this is all aboutpeople who want to be the best athletes
possible with type one diabetes.
Um, and obviously diabetesmanagement plays a critical
(01:20):
role in this whole process.
So I have two specialguests with me today.
I have Gary Forbes and Elliot, and I mean,I know you guys, but so we might wanna, so
we don't get confused, we'll refer to GaryForbes as Big Gary and me as bigger... No.
I'll be little Gary for thisconversation, but Gary, big Gary, why
(01:43):
don't you introduce yourself to Elliot?
Tell him about yourself.
What's up, Elliot?
My name is Gary Forbes.
I'm from, from Brooklyn, NewYork, but I was born in Panama.
Fell in love with the game ofbasketball when I was two years old.
My dad built me a basketballhoop with his bare hands.
He was a welder in the Panama Canal.
Um, and I watched Michael Jordan playon NBA on NBC one time, and I fell in
(02:06):
love with the game of basketball, thesqueaks, the sounds of net, the ball
bouncing the echoes of fans cheering.
And I had a, I had a dream to make itto the NBA and I was able to do that.
I was able to complete that dreamand that goal, despite all the
challenges that I faced along the way.
My dad was big on optimism andresilience and, you know, I'm trying
(02:28):
to do that now with, you know, mysecond part of life with, uh, with
what I'm doing with my, uh, platform.
Explain the platform.
Well, my platform is, it'scalled Soul Survivors.
It is a comic universe ecosystem thatempowers families or empowers children
with chronic health conditions.
So think a real life X-Men.
So all these characters have a healthcondition, but it's their superpower.
(02:51):
It's the reason how they, you know,save the world and are fighting off
everything that we have to go through--daily challenges of, of living
with a chronic health challenges.
Cool.
How old were you whenyou were diagnosed Gary?
I was 19 years old when I was diagnosed.
Um, it was after myfreshman year in college.
I was playing at the University ofVirginia and I remember, you know, having,
(03:11):
you know, gaining weight during, duringmy freshman year trying to, you know, play
in the ACC and having to get stronger.
Um, after my freshman year,I was around 225 pounds.
I was drinking these Gatorade proteinshakes that had a whole bunch of sugar.
I, I was never good at reading theback of Nutrition Facts, but, you
know, I was able to, you know, I Igained what, 24 pounds in, in one year.
(03:34):
And then after that summer I was,you know, went through the typical,
um, you know, phases of, you know,diabetes with frequent urination,
thirst and all those different things.
And, uh, I had to go back to school.
I was like 198 pounds.
And I remember the doctor rollingdown the blinds and telling me that
I was, you know, type one diabetic.
But I had a different perspective'cause I had my father who
(03:55):
was also a type one diabetic.
He was an Olympic lifter, acyclist, worked on a Panama Canal.
So I seen him be able to do everything.
So I didn't, I'd never had a,you know, I can't do something
mentality with diabetes.
You know, I was diagnosed alsoafter my freshman year of college.
I was playing basketball division threeon the bench, you know, that kind of
(04:16):
thing, but also lost a ton of weight.
I, I was down to about 118 poundswhen I was diagnosed, so I was a rail.
Yeah, I know how that felt.
Big E, Elliot, let's hear your story.
So my name is Elliot.
And.
I was diagnosed was two years ago.
I was 10 years old and I was, therewere like, I never really, there was
(04:41):
never really, so there were definitelysome signs of it, but we never really
like thought type one diabetes becauseat the time we didn't really know what
it was, but we knew like somethingwas wrong because like there was just
like we knew something was wrong.
So we went to the doctor to get it checkedout and then they had me poke my finger,
all that, and then they came back in.
They told me.
(05:01):
I had type one diabetes.
What sports were you playingwhen you were diagnosed?
I was playing baseball and basketball.
Okay.
And what sports do you play now?
Still baseball and basketball.
That's what it's all about.
You didn't let it stop you, did you?
Yeah.
All right.
And uh, where do you live?
I live in Akron, Ohio.
Uhhuh, along with another famousbasketball player by the name of
(05:25):
LeBron James.
LeBron James, you and LeBron.
That's what-- the two of youmade Akron famous, right?
All right, so I wanna hear a littlebit about your diabetes management now.
Elliot, what do you use tomanage your blood sugar levels?
So I'm on the Omnipod and I use theDexcom G seven and with the Omnipod.
(05:48):
I use something called Looping, whichis basically like, it's kind of like
hacking into the system a little.
Where like, so you connect like yourphone to the Omnipod, so then you
don't need the controller anymore.
And you can just use yourphone to do all that.
And my parents can also use their phonesto like dose me so they don't have
(06:09):
to have the controller or my phone.
So...
That look familiar?
Yeah.
That's my loop.
We're Loop Brothers.
Yeah.
I love the Loop.
So yeah, I also use the Omnipodwith it and the Dexcom G7.
What'd you use before, uh,you went on that Loop app?
So I was still on Omnipod and I was onthe Dexcom G6 'cause I don't think at the
(06:31):
time the Dexcom G6 was-- you could usethose two together so I switched the G7.
Once I got on Omnipod about likea week or two after I got on.
Okay.
All right.
And how did you get to know ourpractice, or who do you work
with in Integrated Diabetes?
Kathryn, uh, I forget her last name.
I worked with her.
How has Kathryn helpedyou or worked with you?
(06:54):
Well, she, so she helped us build Loopand we didn't even know about Loop
until we started working with her.
And she kind of helps me, like ifthere's like a problem, say I'm
going high every night, she likesees the problem and she can fix it.
Yeah, she's pretty amazing isn't she?
Yeah.
(07:14):
She can--it seems like she cando anything And she's also has
type one and she's an exercisephysiologist, which is pretty neat.
She used to do reallyheavy weight lifting.
I don't know if she ever told you that,but she could practically lift the truck.
She's, she's really strong.
Gary, how about you?
Uh, what's your diabetesmanagement look like nowadays?
(07:34):
Uh, currently I am on the Omnipod.
Uh, five and I do have the control.
I'm kind of jealous of Elliot,you know, doing the hacking thing.
So I might have to have some questionsfor you later after this call.
Um, but yeah, I'm on the Omnipod five.
Uh, thanks to uh, big Gover here, Dr. Uh, Scheiner.
(07:55):
Um.
I've previously, I was on manuallydelivered injections for 21 years.
Recently got on a CGM.
I think two years now I've been on a CGM.
Kind of the technology has definitelyhelped with management and you know,
Dr. Scheiner is always on my case everyMonday, uh, checking my numbers and making
(08:18):
sure I have the, you know, correct dosage.
And it's been a, it's been a hugedifference, especially now since I'm
not a, you know, full-time athlete.
I'm not playing basketballevery day like I used to.
So it's, he's helped me with that phase.
Yeah.
Elliot, I'm curious, were you evertold by your doctors, friends, family
that because you have diabetes, youwon't be able to compete at a really
(08:41):
high level in baseball or basket?
So I never was really told that.
And when I first got diagnosed, Iwas wondering if I could still like
play baseball and basketball andthey said, yeah, and I'll be able
to get back, and they said I'll beable to get right back on the field
as soon as I get outta the hospital.
I was released from the hospital on aSaturday and that next Wednesday I was
(09:05):
back on the field playing baseball.
I didn't even miss a single baseball game.
That's amazing.
And you, you catch right?
You're the catcher?
Uhhuh.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think there's two positions onthe field that burn a ton of energy.
That's the pitcher and the catcher.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So have you found, uh, found itdifficult to manage your blood
sugars when you're catching?
So sometimes I have problems with like,sometimes going low 'cause it's a lot
(09:28):
of physical activity, but we just try tolike prevent it as like much as we can
with like what I eat before the game andjust kind of really pay attention to it.
And if like I'm trending down,maybe I'll drink a little bit
before I go out on the field.
Yeah, it's a nice thing about the CGM,so we can know what direction we're
headed and make the right adjustments.
(09:48):
Yeah.
I don't know about you guys, butnothing ticks me off more than
going low while I'm playing ball.
I just, I hate that having to just go off.
Okay guys, I gotta go eat somethingnow and just sit there and wait for
the blood sugar to come back up.
Yeah.
Gary, how about you?
Did anyone ever discourageyou from competing at a high
(10:09):
level because of your diabetes?
Well, the, unfortunately, at the timewhen I was diagnosed in 2004, I had
a, um, I had a physician who came inand closed down the blinds and not
necessarily discouraged me, but, um,he would, I, I would say he didn't
resonate with what I believed in.
(10:29):
Um, he told me I may need to putbasketball on the back burner, to the
side and focus, you know, on my educationand health, which I totally understood.
You know, focusing on healthwas the, the main thing.
If I'm not healthy enough, then Iwouldn't be able to compete anyway.
But I'm, uh, a stubborn kid.
Um, I took that as kind of amotivation, and he may have meant it
in a caring way as a, as a doctor,but I use it as motivation as, and he
(10:54):
doesn't believe that I can do this.
My dad was big on Plan A isPlan A. Plan B, all the way
to Z is to make plan A work.
So there's no plan B. It's only plan A.And I went home and, you know, I looked
myself in the mirror and it's like,man, I can still do this with diabetes.
It's, uh, you know, justhave to figure out that road.
So the, the diagnosis, you know, I had,I had my family and friends who, my,
(11:17):
one of my brothers, he said he wishedthat he could have had diabetes instead
of me because he knew that my goldendreams was to make it to the NBA.
But it was given for me, on my personalperspective on this, it was given to
the right person 'cause I know thatI'm strong enough mentally, physically,
emotionally, for, to deal with thechallenge of carrying on this bur--
not burden, this medal of honor to beable to overcome these adversities.
(11:42):
I like that term, medal of honor.
I'm proud of the fact that I havethis con, this condition that I
gotta work to manage every day,and I can still accomplish a lot.
I'm proud of that.
I think there have been two otherNBA players who've had type one,
so Chris Dudley and Adam Morrison.
Do you know of any others?
Nope.
(12:03):
I just me.
You're the third.
I'm the third, yeah.
You know, when they say you knowthat they discouraged you or not, or
at least not encouraged you to be,you know, a, a high level of sports.
There was a, uh, swimmer, anOlympic swimmer named Gary Hall.
We got all these Gary's in there.
I know man, Gary's a good name.
But Gary Hall was a great swimmer.
His dad was an Olympic swimmer, butGary Hall never won a gold medal
(12:24):
until after he got type one diabetes.
And then he got himself in thebest shape of his life and, and
he won gold, multiple gold medals.
So when you're playing either baseballor basketball, Elliot, everyone else
around you just goes out and plays.
They put on their uniform,their sneakers, their cleats,
whatever they go out and play.
What do you have to do inaddition to all that to be able
(12:47):
to play safely and effectively?
So before the game, I makesure that what I eat, I like
insulin for and I'm, and when.
I'm going to play, I always havelike something to treat low.
If I do go low and if I gohigh, I'm ready to do that.
And yeah, that's about it.
(13:08):
Have you found that your bloodsugar level affects how you perform
either on the court or on the field?
Not really, because some gamesi'll just get done and my parents
were like, did you feel okay?
You were high the whole game andI didn't even know I was high.
Well, I don't, I don't reallynotice it a lot of times.
Okay.
Yeah.
Most people who play sports or atleast play something competitive,
(13:31):
find that it definitely has an effect.
Gary, how about you?
Did you notice blood sugarsaffecting your performance?
Well, obviously trending down, that'skind of a given with, uh, you know, how,
you know your vision and how, you know,how physical or how fast you're running.
So I've definitely had some, somemoments where I was trending down, where
I had to sit out for a second, likeyou said, the, you know, my teammates
(13:54):
joking on me like, oh man, he's, guy'staking the time out but I'm, you know,
really trying to get my blood sugar out.
But in, in terms of being high, I'vehad many times where obviously the
adrenaline and all these things have,you know, shot my blood sugar up,
but, um, yeah, I didn't feel any kindof a difference when I'm going high,
trending high versus going low for sure.
Definitely had a...
(14:15):
I guess it depends how highwe're talking about, right?
I mean, there's a fair amount ofresearch that shows that elevated
glucose once you start getting up intolike the two hundreds, or for people
on millimoles, once you're startingto get into double digits, that it
starts to affect the person's reflexes.
It affects their speed, their stamina,their flexibility, and their strengths.
(14:36):
Pretty much every aspect of sportscompetition can be affected negatively
if glucoses are running too high.
I mean, if you're a little above target,usually there's no noticeable effect.
But when it starts getting wellabove normal, then it starts
to influence how we perform.
How about your communication withcoaches, teammates, Gary did, did
(14:56):
you have to make a special effort toteach them or communicate with them?
Um, I was super, super, super fortunateto have the medical staff at the
University of Massachusetts who kindof gave me a syllabus plan of, you
know, this is what the standard isfor you to be practicing or playing.
(15:17):
We had a certain number that I had tobe at before games checking at halftime.
Had a certain number that I had to beat at halftime, and we would, you know,
check post game to make sure I wastrending in the, the right direction.
But yeah, I had a great, great medicalstaff at the Denver Nuggets as well.
We always had a, like I said, a standard.
The only tough, uh, transition I had waslearning to play while having a managed
(15:40):
type one diabetes overseas by myself,different country, different language,
kind of having to do things on my own.
There's no medical staff having to giveme a baseline of this is what your numbers
have to be, or telling me like, man, youcan't, you can't go out there until you,
you know, your blood sugars are okay.
So that was a, a, a huge learningtransition and it kind of made
me, for me, what I take away fromthat, it made me a, a better, um,
(16:04):
at managing my type one diabetes.
Just learning different aspects of it.
Being able to be in control andresponsible enough to do it myself
and not depend on, you know, theDenver Nuggets or University of
Massachusetts doctors to do that for me.
What other countries did you play in?
Oh man.
Uh, you ready for the list?
I played in Argentina,Panama, Israel, China.
(16:26):
Philippines, Vietnam,Saudi Arabia, said Italy.
Played in Italy twice.
Yeah.
So all over the world.
Canada.
Wow.
Elliot, have you gotten to travelat all, even in the United States?
Have you played in other cities?
Other, other, so we've neverplayed in another state yet, but
in about a week we're going toSouth Carolina for a tournament.
(16:48):
You looking forward to that?
Yeah.
It'll be fun.
That's gonna be fun.
See, I gotta see Elliot on the, onthe, the National Championship, man.
The, uh, little LeagueWorld Series soon, right?
Maybe.
Maybe?
Ah, come on.
You got it.
Either way.
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(17:34):
4 and select option three.
And now back to our program.
Elliot, are there any tricks you'velearned from managing your blood sugar
when you're either playing, well, let mefirst ask you, baseball versus basketball.
Do you see different respo, differentblood sugar responses when you play?
So basketball, it's like a lotmore activity than baseball 'cause
(17:59):
you know you're running a lot.
So a lot of times I'llgo way lower from that.
It'll like cause me to go low more.
But then baseball?
A lot of times, like someadrenaline will just make me go up.
So we just kind of like differentlike settings for that, for
like baseball and basketball.
Okay.
A lot of people think that, you know, ifyou're using one of these semi-automated
(18:22):
systems, whether it be Loop, OmniPod5, Tandem Control IQ, Medtronic, iLet,
these automated systems, a lot ofpeople think it'll just take care of it.
You know, my blood sugar will be fine andI don't really need to think about it.
Elliot, do you think that's true ordo you still need to make adjustments?
We still need to makeadjustment adjustments.
(18:43):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Even using the most sophisticated systemout there, these, these open source like
Loop, you still have to make adjustments.
So you've noticed different activitiesyou, you do see different responses?
Yes.
So let's say with basketball, ifyou expect your glucose to, to come
down from all the running, what haveyou found works best for keeping
(19:03):
your blood sugar from dropping?
So say I have like 30 carbs beforethe game, then maybe I'll only
dose like for 15 of the carbs.
So then like my blood sugar'sgoing up, but then like the
activity kinda evens it out.
Oh, okay.
So you're also lookingat the trend going in,
yeah.
To decide how much carb to have.
(19:25):
That's, that sounds smart.
Gary, how about you?
Have you learned any tricks formanaging your, well, let's go
back to your, your pro days.
I'm really interested in that.
When you played for Toronto andDenver, what, what did you do to keep
your blood sugar in a decent range?
Um, so usually we had shoot around earlyin the morning, like around nine or
10:00 AM eat post breakfast or brunch.
(19:46):
And then before games I would kindof eat-- you know, some kind of
carbs, like a pasta or you know,rice before game so that my blood
sugar could be a pretty much level.
I had a, a sliding scale of anywherefrom 130 to 1 75 that I had to be in to
be able to go out there and, and play.
And in post games, obviously, theywould check my blood sugar and make
(20:06):
sure I would have any post carbsfor recovery, any protein shakes
and those, that kind of, uh, system.
Same thing as in UMass,the same kind of system.
So those two organizations or fromcollege going to pro, uh, it was
kind of the same kind of formula.
Now it's a little different.
Obviously I'm not as activein playing basketball.
I still work out every morning.
(20:26):
Um, I've learned that before Ilift, uh, you know, the, what
is the, uh, the syndrome called?
Foot on the floor syndrome.
As soon as I wake upmy blood sugar spikes.
Um, so I'm starting to eat maybelike a healthy fat or some kind of
carb before meal, I mean, before Ilift to kind of combat with that.
Um, and it's been working pretty good.
(20:46):
I've had stable blood glucose throughoutthe night, you know, using the Omnipod and
just having this tinkered with what I needto eat and, you know, for my workouts.
Yeah.
Elliot, do you do any lifting aspart of your training for sports?
Uh, yeah.
In the off season my teamdoes like two practices a week
and then one day of lifting.
And I work with a guy who, forlifting and I go there once
(21:12):
a week, so like twice a week.
Okay.
I find when I lift my bloodsugars barely move, especially
if I do it early in the day.
It seems like I'm producing adrenaline andyou know when you're lifting, you're only
using isolated muscles at any given time.
So my blood sugar doesn'tseem to drop when I lift.
Elliot, what happensto yours when you lift?
Does your blood sugar goup, down, hold, steady.
(21:35):
So usually, if I'm just like liftingweights, it's just, it kind of just stays.
But then when we go do cardio,that's when it starts to tank.
Yeah.
Like running and all that,that's when it starts to go down.
Have you ever had a low hours afteryou had a really hard workout?
Yeah, that does happen likeeven like after baseball games.
(21:56):
Say I eat dinner after my baseballgame, and uh, I'll be like going still--
because I just got done with likeactivity, I'll still be like going down.
So like maybe I dose, like justnormally for whatever I eat, I'll go
low because like, I'm still, becauseI just was active not too long ago.
(22:17):
So you lower your bolus whenyou're eating after a hard workout.
Okay.
Very creative.
Gary, you ever experienced thosedelayed drops after intense workouts?
Yeah.
And I, uh, learned from you thatthere's a delay in how, uh, you
know, how your body reacts toactivities and your blood glucose.
Um, so that, you know, most ofmy, um, I guess diabetes education
(22:40):
has come from experience, youknow, not necessarily learning.
Especially all the stuff that, youknow, Elliot at a very young age, having
that kind of, and knowing your bodythat early is very, very commendable.
You know, I've had, you know, moments,like I said, where I've gone low after
the game's are almost confusing, youknow, to not understand, you know,
what's the, you know, what's the issue?
(23:00):
I'm eating and I'm dosingcorrectly for what I'm eating.
Why am I going low?
So definitely, definitely commendablethat you understand that about your body.
Yeah.
Learning from experience is,is really valuable, but we
also can coach people along.
You know, just based on our experience,our, our practice Integrated
Diabetes, we, we have a whole teamof clinicians who live with type one
(23:21):
and we work out ourselves and havea lot of experience in this field.
So anybody who's listening, you know,feel free to reach out if you're looking
for some additional help, some coachingon managing your diabetes effectively,
because it does affect performance,it really does make a difference.
I wanna flip things a little bit.
I'd like to hear about somethingyou did with your diabetes that
(23:42):
just flopped and failed completely.
It's always great tolearn from our failures.
I've got a poster on my warwall with Yoda from Star Wars.
In this quote, it says, the greatestteacher failure is, and we can
learn a lot from our mistakes.
Gary, is there anything, what haveyou tried in terms of your blood sugar
management that just didn't work.
(24:03):
That really didn't do the job.
For me, another experience was when Ichanged what I'm eating, my, my nutrition.
So when I was playing overseas, I decidedto go plant base, try to eat pretty much
clean, not understanding that the foodoverseas is completely different than,
you know, what, what it is over here.
(24:24):
So I'm dosing the same amounts forthe carbs overseas that I would for
over here and repeatedly every singleday post practice or post games, I
would have, you know, tanking lows.
And so that was, um, you know, kind of a--man, I would say it was a, I wouldn't say
it was a failure, but just not being awareof, you know, knowing what I'm eating.
(24:45):
You know, reading the back of nutritionlabels overseas, even though, so
I would have to get a translator.
But, um, you know, not having atranslator, being able to screenshot
and take pictures at that time,um, you know, wasn't there.
So now I read the back of nutritionlabels all the time so I'm in a
grocery store for about an extra hour.
Yeah.
You didn't speak 11 languageslike Kobe and know how to read
(25:07):
the labels in every country?
No, man.
No, man.
I just got, I got something.
I got stuff that lookedlike what I would get.
Elliot, anything that you've triedthat just kind of blew up in your
face and didn't work so well?
So last year, um, I, when I was like,only like a year, I've had it before,
games to prevent lows, I would try tohave like zero carbs or insulin on board.
(25:30):
So I would just eat like, like Iwould eat before games a little,
but I would have like no carbs.
And then it somewhat worked forlike, not going low, but then like
now we realize that you need likecarbs and that to-- it'll like help
you perform better if you're like,if you're like nutrition properly.
Yeah.
(25:51):
Just for the energy, right.
That's carbs are our main energy source.
Yeah.
So yeah, you do need them.
Mine was, it took me forever torealize that early morning workouts
didn't affect my blood sugar, thesame as working out later in the day.
So if I'd work out after breakfast,I'd cut my insulin in half and I kept
going up and up and up and doing thatover and over again until I realized,
(26:14):
you know, I gotta at least take thenormal dose, if not a little extra
for those early morning sessions.
So yeah, we all try tolearn from experience.
Elliot, have you found thathaving diabetes has given
you an advantage in any way?
Before I was diagnosed, I didn't reallyknow anything about like nutrition and
all that, but now I like know how to likeeat properly and like helps me perform
(26:42):
and learn how, I learned how to like,like read labels on the back of packages.
So it kind of just helped me learn whatI should be eating before games and
just like in general what I should do.
That's awesome.
You're in what, second grade now?
What are you...
Six going into seventh grade.
I'm kidding.
I'm kidding.
Uh, how many guys in middle schoolknow as much about nutrition as you do?
(27:07):
Not many.
I have
Not many is right.
A friend who's type one diabetic andI think he does, but not any of my
friends really like worry about whatthey eat on game day and before games.
And it does matter.
It does help to know.
That's an awesome answer, Elliot.
Gary, what, what aboutdiabetes gives you an an edge?
(27:27):
I think my perspective of havingor managing type one diabetes
gave me a chip on my shoulder.
Every team I played on, every countryI played in, I was the only one.
So it almost gave me a sense ofconfidence that, hey, you guys
are not dealing with the samecondition that I'm also dealing with.
I'm also winning these sprints.
(27:48):
I'm also scoring a lot of thesepoints, getting all these rebounds.
So it gave me a, a sense of, you know,I wore it with a, with with a, a sense
of pride, confidence, and, um, yeah,I walked with my head up high and,
you know, I'm, I'm managing Type onediabetes and I'm better than you.
Yeah, it gives us an attitude I thinkthat can give us, give us that edge.
(28:10):
Gary, you gotta tell Elliot first howtall you are and what your wingspan is.
I'm 6'6" and my wingspan is 6'11".
So he can like touch the oppositeends of the wall in any room.
Long arms, long arms, long arms.
How old were you when youcould first palm a basketball?
I was, I wanna say 13.
So Elliot, you got a year to go.
(28:30):
You gotta be able to palma basketball by next year.
Elliot was telling me hisstrength is his inside game.
Driving to the hoop.
What was your, what wasthe strength of your game?
Scoring the basketball.
I just had a knack for scoring threelevel score, post-op drive shooting.
You know, I just loveto score the basketball.
Forget defense.
Let's just score.
(28:51):
Uh, I mean the name of the game isto have more points than other teams.
Alright, fair enough.
Okay, so I, I'd like to see,Elliot, do you have any advice
for kids with type one who want tocompete at a high level in sports?
What advice would you give them?
Just don't let it affect you.
Just, it can be annoying and like justa minor inconvenience, but just don't
(29:14):
let it affect you and just manage it.
Just do your best to manage itand just don't let it affect you.
I love that big Gary, what advicewould you give adults who wanna
compete at a high level with type one?
I'm a big cliche guy, so I'mbig on one liners, so doubt your
doubts before you doubt your faith.
(29:35):
Um, I'm big on confidence.
I'm big on optimism and believein yourself and anyone managing
type one diabetes, I kind of lookat it as in a childlike mentality.
Uh, know Elliot plays video games, soif you choose, you know, if you choose
a video game and you're, you're choosingexpert level, you're gonna get expert
level conditions and experiences, andyou'll get expert level rewards too.
(29:57):
So, you know, don't be, you know,don't feel the, oh whoa is me attitude.
Feel very confident.
You know, you're, everyone is,everyone that's given the challenge
of managing type one Diabetes has a,has a real, a big role to play and I
believe in everyone that's managing it.
Um, I believe in their confidence.
I believe in their optimism to, youknow, manage it at the high level.
(30:18):
Either of you guys ever play Guitar Hero?
I did.
I did.
I'm, I was really good.
Uh, but that was like years ago, so I'msure it's, it's totally different now.
Elliot, do you ever play?
I haven't.
You know, you know what it is?
I think so.
I've heard of it, but I don't,I I think I know what it is.
I might.
You press
They got, they got, they got, everythingis on like, you know, apps and switches
(30:40):
now they don't have the, you know, thefingers and, and machinery anymore.
Everything's different.
Well, the first time I played, I figuredbecause I played guitar a little bit
and I'm a music buff, so I figuredI'm putting this thing on advance.
I'm playing the highest level.
Oh my God, that was so embarrassing.
Yeah.
That thing goes fast.
(31:00):
The fans were booing and walking out.
It wasn't pretty.
So let me just see if I cansummarize some of our key points.
First off, having diabetes shouldnot get in the way of competing
at the highest level in any sport.
There are men, women in, that playvirtually every sport who have type one
and do amazing things, great things.
(31:22):
Championship level kind of stuff.
But not everybody has to achieve that.
You can just work out.
You can play for fun, but you do needto manage your diabetes when you do it.
And sports is sort of a two way street'cause the exercise affects blood sugars
and the blood sugars affect the exercise.
So they do work together and it'simportant to have a plan in place.
(31:44):
'cause Elliot, you know whatyou said, diabetes, living
with it is a pain in the butt.
There's extra work to do.
There's extra time and effort we haveto put in on top of everything else.
It's not like they say, oh, yougot diabetes, so we're gonna spot
you five points, or we're gonna,you know, make, we're not gonna
let anyone steal bases on you.
They're gonna try to steal anyway.
So having diabetes, we gotta work hard, wegotta manage it and we gotta perform well
(32:08):
in our sport and a lot of it is attitude.
Just don't let it get in your way.
Gary, like you said, your sights high.
Don't limit your, your goals and yourambitions because of the diabetes.
If anything, set them even higher.
So we need to prove ourselves out there.
Exactly.
And if anybody says you can't dosomething, just show 'em wrong.
(32:29):
Show 'em that you can do it.
All right, we are gonna haveshow notes for this program.
And Gary, we're definitely gonna includesome soul survivors information in there.
And Elliot, you gotta check this out.
I mean, these are literally likesuperheroes who have all kinds of
health conditions and including diabetesand, and they do some amazing things.
(32:50):
Gary didn't do the cartooning.
He's not quite to that point, but
yeah, not, not, not yet.
In, incredible stories he's put together.
So Elliot and Gary, thank you so muchfor taking time outta your busy schedules
and, uh, spending some time with me today.
I'd love to hang and just talk forhours about sports and diabetes.
Hey, we all got things to do, right?
(33:12):
I want to thank all of ourlisteners for joining in, and I
wanna remind everybody out thereto keep thinking like a pancreas.
thinking like
a
pancreas.
Welcome to Think Like a Pancreas,The Podcast where our goal is to keep
you informed, inspired, and a littleentertained on all things diabetes.
The information contained in thisprogram is based on the experience
and opinions of the IntegratedDiabetes Services clinical team.
Please discuss any changes to yourtreatment plan with your personal
(00:36):
healthcare provider before implementing.
Welcome to Think Like aPancreas, The Podcast.
I'm your host, Gary Scheiner,owner and clinical director at
Integrated Diabetes Services.
The topic for today'sdiscussion is excelling in
sports with Type one Diabetes.
If you are the type of personwho's into participation trophies
(00:58):
this is not the session for you.
This is for people who are seriousabout their sports, who like to
compete, who wanna play well, performwell, and really do their best.
So that's what this is all aboutpeople who want to be the best athletes
possible with type one diabetes.
Um, and obviously diabetesmanagement plays a critical
(01:20):
role in this whole process.
So I have two specialguests with me today.
I have Gary Forbes and Elliot, and I mean,I know you guys, but so we might wanna, so
we don't get confused, we'll refer to GaryForbes as Big Gary and me as bigger... No.
I'll be little Gary for thisconversation, but Gary, big Gary, why
(01:43):
don't you introduce yourself to Elliot?
Tell him about yourself.
What's up, Elliot?
My name is Gary Forbes.
I'm from, from Brooklyn, NewYork, but I was born in Panama.
Fell in love with the game ofbasketball when I was two years old.
My dad built me a basketballhoop with his bare hands.
He was a welder in the Panama Canal.
Um, and I watched Michael Jordan playon NBA on NBC one time, and I fell in
(02:06):
love with the game of basketball, thesqueaks, the sounds of net, the ball
bouncing the echoes of fans cheering.
And I had a, I had a dream to make itto the NBA and I was able to do that.
I was able to complete that dreamand that goal, despite all the
challenges that I faced along the way.
My dad was big on optimism andresilience and, you know, I'm trying
(02:28):
to do that now with, you know, mysecond part of life with, uh, with
what I'm doing with my, uh, platform.
Explain the platform.
Well, my platform is, it'scalled Soul Survivors.
It is a comic universe ecosystem thatempowers families or empowers children
with chronic health conditions.
So think a real life X-Men.
So all these characters have a healthcondition, but it's their superpower.
(02:51):
It's the reason how they, you know,save the world and are fighting off
everything that we have to go through--daily challenges of, of living
with a chronic health challenges.
Cool.
How old were you whenyou were diagnosed Gary?
I was 19 years old when I was diagnosed.
Um, it was after myfreshman year in college.
I was playing at the University ofVirginia and I remember, you know, having,
(03:11):
you know, gaining weight during, duringmy freshman year trying to, you know, play
in the ACC and having to get stronger.
Um, after my freshman year,I was around 225 pounds.
I was drinking these Gatorade proteinshakes that had a whole bunch of sugar.
I, I was never good at reading theback of Nutrition Facts, but, you
know, I was able to, you know, I Igained what, 24 pounds in, in one year.
(03:34):
And then after that summer I was,you know, went through the typical,
um, you know, phases of, you know,diabetes with frequent urination,
thirst and all those different things.
And, uh, I had to go back to school.
I was like 198 pounds.
And I remember the doctor rollingdown the blinds and telling me that
I was, you know, type one diabetic.
But I had a different perspective'cause I had my father who
(03:55):
was also a type one diabetic.
He was an Olympic lifter, acyclist, worked on a Panama Canal.
So I seen him be able to do everything.
So I didn't, I'd never had a,you know, I can't do something
mentality with diabetes.
You know, I was diagnosed alsoafter my freshman year of college.
I was playing basketball division threeon the bench, you know, that kind of
(04:16):
thing, but also lost a ton of weight.
I, I was down to about 118 poundswhen I was diagnosed, so I was a rail.
Yeah, I know how that felt.
Big E, Elliot, let's hear your story.
So my name is Elliot.
And.
I was diagnosed was two years ago.
I was 10 years old and I was, therewere like, I never really, there was
(04:41):
never really, so there were definitelysome signs of it, but we never really
like thought type one diabetes becauseat the time we didn't really know what
it was, but we knew like somethingwas wrong because like there was just
like we knew something was wrong.
So we went to the doctor to get it checkedout and then they had me poke my finger,
all that, and then they came back in.
They told me.
(05:01):
I had type one diabetes.
What sports were you playingwhen you were diagnosed?
I was playing baseball and basketball.
Okay.
And what sports do you play now?
Still baseball and basketball.
That's what it's all about.
You didn't let it stop you, did you?
Yeah.
All right.
And uh, where do you live?
I live in Akron, Ohio.
Uhhuh, along with another famousbasketball player by the name of
(05:25):
LeBron James.
LeBron James, you and LeBron.
That's what-- the two of youmade Akron famous, right?
All right, so I wanna hear a littlebit about your diabetes management now.
Elliot, what do you use tomanage your blood sugar levels?
So I'm on the Omnipod and I use theDexcom G seven and with the Omnipod.
(05:48):
I use something called Looping, whichis basically like, it's kind of like
hacking into the system a little.
Where like, so you connect like yourphone to the Omnipod, so then you
don't need the controller anymore.
And you can just use yourphone to do all that.
And my parents can also use their phonesto like dose me so they don't have
(06:09):
to have the controller or my phone.
So...
That look familiar?
Yeah.
That's my loop.
We're Loop Brothers.
Yeah.
I love the Loop.
So yeah, I also use the Omnipodwith it and the Dexcom G7.
What'd you use before, uh,you went on that Loop app?
So I was still on Omnipod and I was onthe Dexcom G6 'cause I don't think at the
(06:31):
time the Dexcom G6 was-- you could usethose two together so I switched the G7.
Once I got on Omnipod about likea week or two after I got on.
Okay.
All right.
And how did you get to know ourpractice, or who do you work
with in Integrated Diabetes?
Kathryn, uh, I forget her last name.
I worked with her.
How has Kathryn helpedyou or worked with you?
(06:54):
Well, she, so she helped us build Loopand we didn't even know about Loop
until we started working with her.
And she kind of helps me, like ifthere's like a problem, say I'm
going high every night, she likesees the problem and she can fix it.
Yeah, she's pretty amazing isn't she?
Yeah.
(07:14):
She can--it seems like she cando anything And she's also has
type one and she's an exercisephysiologist, which is pretty neat.
She used to do reallyheavy weight lifting.
I don't know if she ever told you that,but she could practically lift the truck.
She's, she's really strong.
Gary, how about you?
Uh, what's your diabetesmanagement look like nowadays?
(07:34):
Uh, currently I am on the Omnipod.
Uh, five and I do have the control.
I'm kind of jealous of Elliot,you know, doing the hacking thing.
So I might have to have some questionsfor you later after this call.
Um, but yeah, I'm on the Omnipod five.
Uh, thanks to uh, big Gover here, Dr. Uh, Scheiner.
(07:55):
Um.
I've previously, I was on manuallydelivered injections for 21 years.
Recently got on a CGM.
I think two years now I've been on a CGM.
Kind of the technology has definitelyhelped with management and you know,
Dr. Scheiner is always on my case everyMonday, uh, checking my numbers and making
(08:18):
sure I have the, you know, correct dosage.
And it's been a, it's been a hugedifference, especially now since I'm
not a, you know, full-time athlete.
I'm not playing basketballevery day like I used to.
So it's, he's helped me with that phase.
Yeah.
Elliot, I'm curious, were you evertold by your doctors, friends, family
that because you have diabetes, youwon't be able to compete at a really
(08:41):
high level in baseball or basket?
So I never was really told that.
And when I first got diagnosed, Iwas wondering if I could still like
play baseball and basketball andthey said, yeah, and I'll be able
to get back, and they said I'll beable to get right back on the field
as soon as I get outta the hospital.
I was released from the hospital on aSaturday and that next Wednesday I was
(09:05):
back on the field playing baseball.
I didn't even miss a single baseball game.
That's amazing.
And you, you catch right?
You're the catcher?
Uhhuh.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think there's two positions onthe field that burn a ton of energy.
That's the pitcher and the catcher.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So have you found, uh, found itdifficult to manage your blood
sugars when you're catching?
So sometimes I have problems with like,sometimes going low 'cause it's a lot
(09:28):
of physical activity, but we just try tolike prevent it as like much as we can
with like what I eat before the game andjust kind of really pay attention to it.
And if like I'm trending down,maybe I'll drink a little bit
before I go out on the field.
Yeah, it's a nice thing about the CGM,so we can know what direction we're
headed and make the right adjustments.
(09:48):
Yeah.
I don't know about you guys, butnothing ticks me off more than
going low while I'm playing ball.
I just, I hate that having to just go off.
Okay guys, I gotta go eat somethingnow and just sit there and wait for
the blood sugar to come back up.
Yeah.
Gary, how about you?
Did anyone ever discourageyou from competing at a high
(10:09):
level because of your diabetes?
Well, the, unfortunately, at the timewhen I was diagnosed in 2004, I had
a, um, I had a physician who came inand closed down the blinds and not
necessarily discouraged me, but, um,he would, I, I would say he didn't
resonate with what I believed in.
(10:29):
Um, he told me I may need to putbasketball on the back burner, to the
side and focus, you know, on my educationand health, which I totally understood.
You know, focusing on healthwas the, the main thing.
If I'm not healthy enough, then Iwouldn't be able to compete anyway.
But I'm, uh, a stubborn kid.
Um, I took that as kind of amotivation, and he may have meant it
in a caring way as a, as a doctor,but I use it as motivation as, and he
(10:54):
doesn't believe that I can do this.
My dad was big on Plan A isPlan A. Plan B, all the way
to Z is to make plan A work.
So there's no plan B. It's only plan A.And I went home and, you know, I looked
myself in the mirror and it's like,man, I can still do this with diabetes.
It's, uh, you know, justhave to figure out that road.
So the, the diagnosis, you know, I had,I had my family and friends who, my,
(11:17):
one of my brothers, he said he wishedthat he could have had diabetes instead
of me because he knew that my goldendreams was to make it to the NBA.
But it was given for me, on my personalperspective on this, it was given to
the right person 'cause I know thatI'm strong enough mentally, physically,
emotionally, for, to deal with thechallenge of carrying on this bur--
not burden, this medal of honor to beable to overcome these adversities.
(11:42):
I like that term, medal of honor.
I'm proud of the fact that I havethis con, this condition that I
gotta work to manage every day,and I can still accomplish a lot.
I'm proud of that.
I think there have been two otherNBA players who've had type one,
so Chris Dudley and Adam Morrison.
Do you know of any others?
Nope.
(12:03):
I just me.
You're the third.
I'm the third, yeah.
You know, when they say you knowthat they discouraged you or not, or
at least not encouraged you to be,you know, a, a high level of sports.
There was a, uh, swimmer, anOlympic swimmer named Gary Hall.
We got all these Gary's in there.
I know man, Gary's a good name.
But Gary Hall was a great swimmer.
His dad was an Olympic swimmer, butGary Hall never won a gold medal
(12:24):
until after he got type one diabetes.
And then he got himself in thebest shape of his life and, and
he won gold, multiple gold medals.
So when you're playing either baseballor basketball, Elliot, everyone else
around you just goes out and plays.
They put on their uniform,their sneakers, their cleats,
whatever they go out and play.
What do you have to do inaddition to all that to be able
(12:47):
to play safely and effectively?
So before the game, I makesure that what I eat, I like
insulin for and I'm, and when.
I'm going to play, I always havelike something to treat low.
If I do go low and if I gohigh, I'm ready to do that.
And yeah, that's about it.
(13:08):
Have you found that your bloodsugar level affects how you perform
either on the court or on the field?
Not really, because some gamesi'll just get done and my parents
were like, did you feel okay?
You were high the whole game andI didn't even know I was high.
Well, I don't, I don't reallynotice it a lot of times.
Okay.
Yeah.
Most people who play sports or atleast play something competitive,
(13:31):
find that it definitely has an effect.
Gary, how about you?
Did you notice blood sugarsaffecting your performance?
Well, obviously trending down, that'skind of a given with, uh, you know, how,
you know your vision and how, you know,how physical or how fast you're running.
So I've definitely had some, somemoments where I was trending down, where
I had to sit out for a second, likeyou said, the, you know, my teammates
(13:54):
joking on me like, oh man, he's, guy'staking the time out but I'm, you know,
really trying to get my blood sugar out.
But in, in terms of being high, I'vehad many times where obviously the
adrenaline and all these things have,you know, shot my blood sugar up,
but, um, yeah, I didn't feel any kindof a difference when I'm going high,
trending high versus going low for sure.
Definitely had a...
(14:15):
I guess it depends how highwe're talking about, right?
I mean, there's a fair amount ofresearch that shows that elevated
glucose once you start getting up intolike the two hundreds, or for people
on millimoles, once you're startingto get into double digits, that it
starts to affect the person's reflexes.
It affects their speed, their stamina,their flexibility, and their strengths.
(14:36):
Pretty much every aspect of sportscompetition can be affected negatively
if glucoses are running too high.
I mean, if you're a little above target,usually there's no noticeable effect.
But when it starts getting wellabove normal, then it starts
to influence how we perform.
How about your communication withcoaches, teammates, Gary did, did
(14:56):
you have to make a special effort toteach them or communicate with them?
Um, I was super, super, super fortunateto have the medical staff at the
University of Massachusetts who kindof gave me a syllabus plan of, you
know, this is what the standard isfor you to be practicing or playing.
(15:17):
We had a certain number that I had tobe at before games checking at halftime.
Had a certain number that I had to beat at halftime, and we would, you know,
check post game to make sure I wastrending in the, the right direction.
But yeah, I had a great, great medicalstaff at the Denver Nuggets as well.
We always had a, like I said, a standard.
The only tough, uh, transition I had waslearning to play while having a managed
(15:40):
type one diabetes overseas by myself,different country, different language,
kind of having to do things on my own.
There's no medical staff having to giveme a baseline of this is what your numbers
have to be, or telling me like, man, youcan't, you can't go out there until you,
you know, your blood sugars are okay.
So that was a, a, a huge learningtransition and it kind of made
me, for me, what I take away fromthat, it made me a, a better, um,
(16:04):
at managing my type one diabetes.
Just learning different aspects of it.
Being able to be in control andresponsible enough to do it myself
and not depend on, you know, theDenver Nuggets or University of
Massachusetts doctors to do that for me.
What other countries did you play in?
Oh man.
Uh, you ready for the list?
I played in Argentina,Panama, Israel, China.
(16:26):
Philippines, Vietnam,Saudi Arabia, said Italy.
Played in Italy twice.
Yeah.
So all over the world.
Canada.
Wow.
Elliot, have you gotten to travelat all, even in the United States?
Have you played in other cities?
Other, other, so we've neverplayed in another state yet, but
in about a week we're going toSouth Carolina for a tournament.
(16:48):
You looking forward to that?
Yeah.
It'll be fun.
That's gonna be fun.
See, I gotta see Elliot on the, onthe, the National Championship, man.
The, uh, little LeagueWorld Series soon, right?
Maybe.
Maybe?
Ah, come on.
You got it.
Either way.
Either way,
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(17:13):
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(17:34):
4 and select option three.
And now back to our program.
Elliot, are there any tricks you'velearned from managing your blood sugar
when you're either playing, well, let mefirst ask you, baseball versus basketball.
Do you see different respo, differentblood sugar responses when you play?
So basketball, it's like a lotmore activity than baseball 'cause
(17:59):
you know you're running a lot.
So a lot of times I'llgo way lower from that.
It'll like cause me to go low more.
But then baseball?
A lot of times, like someadrenaline will just make me go up.
So we just kind of like differentlike settings for that, for
like baseball and basketball.
Okay.
A lot of people think that, you know, ifyou're using one of these semi-automated
(18:22):
systems, whether it be Loop, OmniPod5, Tandem Control IQ, Medtronic, iLet,
these automated systems, a lot ofpeople think it'll just take care of it.
You know, my blood sugar will be fine andI don't really need to think about it.
Elliot, do you think that's true ordo you still need to make adjustments?
We still need to makeadjustment adjustments.
(18:43):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Even using the most sophisticated systemout there, these, these open source like
Loop, you still have to make adjustments.
So you've noticed different activitiesyou, you do see different responses?
Yes.
So let's say with basketball, ifyou expect your glucose to, to come
down from all the running, what haveyou found works best for keeping
(19:03):
your blood sugar from dropping?
So say I have like 30 carbs beforethe game, then maybe I'll only
dose like for 15 of the carbs.
So then like my blood sugar'sgoing up, but then like the
activity kinda evens it out.
Oh, okay.
So you're also lookingat the trend going in,
yeah.
To decide how much carb to have.
(19:25):
That's, that sounds smart.
Gary, how about you?
Have you learned any tricks formanaging your, well, let's go
back to your, your pro days.
I'm really interested in that.
When you played for Toronto andDenver, what, what did you do to keep
your blood sugar in a decent range?
Um, so usually we had shoot around earlyin the morning, like around nine or
10:00 AM eat post breakfast or brunch.
(19:46):
And then before games I would kindof eat-- you know, some kind of
carbs, like a pasta or you know,rice before game so that my blood
sugar could be a pretty much level.
I had a, a sliding scale of anywherefrom 130 to 1 75 that I had to be in to
be able to go out there and, and play.
And in post games, obviously, theywould check my blood sugar and make
(20:06):
sure I would have any post carbsfor recovery, any protein shakes
and those, that kind of, uh, system.
Same thing as in UMass,the same kind of system.
So those two organizations or fromcollege going to pro, uh, it was
kind of the same kind of formula.
Now it's a little different.
Obviously I'm not as activein playing basketball.
I still work out every morning.
(20:26):
Um, I've learned that before Ilift, uh, you know, the, what
is the, uh, the syndrome called?
Foot on the floor syndrome.
As soon as I wake upmy blood sugar spikes.
Um, so I'm starting to eat maybelike a healthy fat or some kind of
carb before meal, I mean, before Ilift to kind of combat with that.
Um, and it's been working pretty good.
(20:46):
I've had stable blood glucose throughoutthe night, you know, using the Omnipod and
just having this tinkered with what I needto eat and, you know, for my workouts.
Yeah.
Elliot, do you do any lifting aspart of your training for sports?
Uh, yeah.
In the off season my teamdoes like two practices a week
and then one day of lifting.
And I work with a guy who, forlifting and I go there once
(21:12):
a week, so like twice a week.
Okay.
I find when I lift my bloodsugars barely move, especially
if I do it early in the day.
It seems like I'm producing adrenaline andyou know when you're lifting, you're only
using isolated muscles at any given time.
So my blood sugar doesn'tseem to drop when I lift.
Elliot, what happensto yours when you lift?
Does your blood sugar goup, down, hold, steady.
(21:35):
So usually, if I'm just like liftingweights, it's just, it kind of just stays.
But then when we go do cardio,that's when it starts to tank.
Yeah.
Like running and all that,that's when it starts to go down.
Have you ever had a low hours afteryou had a really hard workout?
Yeah, that does happen likeeven like after baseball games.
(21:56):
Say I eat dinner after my baseballgame, and uh, I'll be like going still--
because I just got done with likeactivity, I'll still be like going down.
So like maybe I dose, like justnormally for whatever I eat, I'll go
low because like, I'm still, becauseI just was active not too long ago.
(22:17):
So you lower your bolus whenyou're eating after a hard workout.
Okay.
Very creative.
Gary, you ever experienced thosedelayed drops after intense workouts?
Yeah.
And I, uh, learned from you thatthere's a delay in how, uh, you
know, how your body reacts toactivities and your blood glucose.
Um, so that, you know, most ofmy, um, I guess diabetes education
(22:40):
has come from experience, youknow, not necessarily learning.
Especially all the stuff that, youknow, Elliot at a very young age, having
that kind of, and knowing your bodythat early is very, very commendable.
You know, I've had, you know, moments,like I said, where I've gone low after
the game's are almost confusing, youknow, to not understand, you know,
what's the, you know, what's the issue?
(23:00):
I'm eating and I'm dosingcorrectly for what I'm eating.
Why am I going low?
So definitely, definitely commendablethat you understand that about your body.
Yeah.
Learning from experience is,is really valuable, but we
also can coach people along.
You know, just based on our experience,our, our practice Integrated
Diabetes, we, we have a whole teamof clinicians who live with type one
(23:21):
and we work out ourselves and havea lot of experience in this field.
So anybody who's listening, you know,feel free to reach out if you're looking
for some additional help, some coachingon managing your diabetes effectively,
because it does affect performance,it really does make a difference.
I wanna flip things a little bit.
I'd like to hear about somethingyou did with your diabetes that
(23:42):
just flopped and failed completely.
It's always great tolearn from our failures.
I've got a poster on my warwall with Yoda from Star Wars.
In this quote, it says, the greatestteacher failure is, and we can
learn a lot from our mistakes.
Gary, is there anything, what haveyou tried in terms of your blood sugar
management that just didn't work.
(24:03):
That really didn't do the job.
For me, another experience was when Ichanged what I'm eating, my, my nutrition.
So when I was playing overseas, I decidedto go plant base, try to eat pretty much
clean, not understanding that the foodoverseas is completely different than,
you know, what, what it is over here.
(24:24):
So I'm dosing the same amounts forthe carbs overseas that I would for
over here and repeatedly every singleday post practice or post games, I
would have, you know, tanking lows.
And so that was, um, you know, kind of a--man, I would say it was a, I wouldn't say
it was a failure, but just not being awareof, you know, knowing what I'm eating.
(24:45):
You know, reading the back of nutritionlabels overseas, even though, so
I would have to get a translator.
But, um, you know, not having atranslator, being able to screenshot
and take pictures at that time,um, you know, wasn't there.
So now I read the back of nutritionlabels all the time so I'm in a
grocery store for about an extra hour.
Yeah.
You didn't speak 11 languageslike Kobe and know how to read
(25:07):
the labels in every country?
No, man.
No, man.
I just got, I got something.
I got stuff that lookedlike what I would get.
Elliot, anything that you've triedthat just kind of blew up in your
face and didn't work so well?
So last year, um, I, when I was like,only like a year, I've had it before,
games to prevent lows, I would try tohave like zero carbs or insulin on board.
(25:30):
So I would just eat like, like Iwould eat before games a little,
but I would have like no carbs.
And then it somewhat worked forlike, not going low, but then like
now we realize that you need likecarbs and that to-- it'll like help
you perform better if you're like,if you're like nutrition properly.
Yeah.
(25:51):
Just for the energy, right.
That's carbs are our main energy source.
Yeah.
So yeah, you do need them.
Mine was, it took me forever torealize that early morning workouts
didn't affect my blood sugar, thesame as working out later in the day.
So if I'd work out after breakfast,I'd cut my insulin in half and I kept
going up and up and up and doing thatover and over again until I realized,
(26:14):
you know, I gotta at least take thenormal dose, if not a little extra
for those early morning sessions.
So yeah, we all try tolearn from experience.
Elliot, have you found thathaving diabetes has given
you an advantage in any way?
Before I was diagnosed, I didn't reallyknow anything about like nutrition and
all that, but now I like know how to likeeat properly and like helps me perform
(26:42):
and learn how, I learned how to like,like read labels on the back of packages.
So it kind of just helped me learn whatI should be eating before games and
just like in general what I should do.
That's awesome.
You're in what, second grade now?
What are you...
Six going into seventh grade.
I'm kidding.
I'm kidding.
Uh, how many guys in middle schoolknow as much about nutrition as you do?
(27:07):
Not many.
I have
Not many is right.
A friend who's type one diabetic andI think he does, but not any of my
friends really like worry about whatthey eat on game day and before games.
And it does matter.
It does help to know.
That's an awesome answer, Elliot.
Gary, what, what aboutdiabetes gives you an an edge?
(27:27):
I think my perspective of havingor managing type one diabetes
gave me a chip on my shoulder.
Every team I played on, every countryI played in, I was the only one.
So it almost gave me a sense ofconfidence that, hey, you guys
are not dealing with the samecondition that I'm also dealing with.
I'm also winning these sprints.
(27:48):
I'm also scoring a lot of thesepoints, getting all these rebounds.
So it gave me a, a sense of, you know,I wore it with a, with with a, a sense
of pride, confidence, and, um, yeah,I walked with my head up high and,
you know, I'm, I'm managing Type onediabetes and I'm better than you.
Yeah, it gives us an attitude I thinkthat can give us, give us that edge.
(28:10):
Gary, you gotta tell Elliot first howtall you are and what your wingspan is.
I'm 6'6" and my wingspan is 6'11".
So he can like touch the oppositeends of the wall in any room.
Long arms, long arms, long arms.
How old were you when youcould first palm a basketball?
I was, I wanna say 13.
So Elliot, you got a year to go.
(28:30):
You gotta be able to palma basketball by next year.
Elliot was telling me hisstrength is his inside game.
Driving to the hoop.
What was your, what wasthe strength of your game?
Scoring the basketball.
I just had a knack for scoring threelevel score, post-op drive shooting.
You know, I just loveto score the basketball.
Forget defense.
Let's just score.
(28:51):
Uh, I mean the name of the game isto have more points than other teams.
Alright, fair enough.
Okay, so I, I'd like to see,Elliot, do you have any advice
for kids with type one who want tocompete at a high level in sports?
What advice would you give them?
Just don't let it affect you.
Just, it can be annoying and like justa minor inconvenience, but just don't
(29:14):
let it affect you and just manage it.
Just do your best to manage itand just don't let it affect you.
I love that big Gary, what advicewould you give adults who wanna
compete at a high level with type one?
I'm a big cliche guy, so I'mbig on one liners, so doubt your
doubts before you doubt your faith.
(29:35):
Um, I'm big on confidence.
I'm big on optimism and believein yourself and anyone managing
type one diabetes, I kind of lookat it as in a childlike mentality.
Uh, know Elliot plays video games, soif you choose, you know, if you choose
a video game and you're, you're choosingexpert level, you're gonna get expert
level conditions and experiences, andyou'll get expert level rewards too.
(29:57):
So, you know, don't be, you know,don't feel the, oh whoa is me attitude.
Feel very confident.
You know, you're, everyone is,everyone that's given the challenge
of managing type one Diabetes has a,has a real, a big role to play and I
believe in everyone that's managing it.
Um, I believe in their confidence.
I believe in their optimism to, youknow, manage it at the high level.
(30:18):
Either of you guys ever play Guitar Hero?
I did.
I did.
I'm, I was really good.
Uh, but that was like years ago, so I'msure it's, it's totally different now.
Elliot, do you ever play?
I haven't.
You know, you know what it is?
I think so.
I've heard of it, but I don't,I I think I know what it is.
I might.
You press
They got, they got, they got, everythingis on like, you know, apps and switches
(30:40):
now they don't have the, you know, thefingers and, and machinery anymore.
Everything's different.
Well, the first time I played, I figuredbecause I played guitar a little bit
and I'm a music buff, so I figuredI'm putting this thing on advance.
I'm playing the highest level.
Oh my God, that was so embarrassing.
Yeah.
That thing goes fast.
(31:00):
The fans were booing and walking out.
It wasn't pretty.
So let me just see if I cansummarize some of our key points.
First off, having diabetes shouldnot get in the way of competing
at the highest level in any sport.
There are men, women in, that playvirtually every sport who have type one
and do amazing things, great things.
(31:22):
Championship level kind of stuff.
But not everybody has to achieve that.
You can just work out.
You can play for fun, but you do needto manage your diabetes when you do it.
And sports is sort of a two way street'cause the exercise affects blood sugars
and the blood sugars affect the exercise.
So they do work together and it'simportant to have a plan in place.
(31:44):
'cause Elliot, you know whatyou said, diabetes, living
with it is a pain in the butt.
There's extra work to do.
There's extra time and effort we haveto put in on top of everything else.
It's not like they say, oh, yougot diabetes, so we're gonna spot
you five points, or we're gonna,you know, make, we're not gonna
let anyone steal bases on you.
They're gonna try to steal anyway.
So having diabetes, we gotta work hard, wegotta manage it and we gotta perform well
(32:08):
in our sport and a lot of it is attitude.
Just don't let it get in your way.
Gary, like you said, your sights high.
Don't limit your, your goals and yourambitions because of the diabetes.
If anything, set them even higher.
So we need to prove ourselves out there.
Exactly.
And if anybody says you can't dosomething, just show 'em wrong.
(32:29):
Show 'em that you can do it.
All right, we are gonna haveshow notes for this program.
And Gary, we're definitely gonna includesome soul survivors information in there.
And Elliot, you gotta check this out.
I mean, these are literally likesuperheroes who have all kinds of
health conditions and including diabetesand, and they do some amazing things.
(32:50):
Gary didn't do the cartooning.
He's not quite to that point, but
yeah, not, not, not yet.
In, incredible stories he's put together.
So Elliot and Gary, thank you so muchfor taking time outta your busy schedules
and, uh, spending some time with me today.
I'd love to hang and just talk forhours about sports and diabetes.
Hey, we all got things to do, right?
(33:12):
I want to thank all of ourlisteners for joining in, and I
wanna remind everybody out thereto keep thinking like a pancreas.
thinking like
a
pancreas.
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