paintballing - anyone been

Status
Not open for further replies.

bev

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent
Hi all,
Has anyone been paintballing? Alex has a party on saturday and it lasts all day! Do these balls hurt - will it damage the pump? Should he wear the pump on the back or front? Any idea about temp basal? Thanks.🙂Bev
 
I've been paintballing Bev. Yes, the paintballs hurt, depending where they hit you and how much protective gear you have on. I just had overalls and protective glasses on the couple of times I did it. At the end I was covered in bruises as was everyone else. I'd personally be very loathe to wear something as precious as a pump whilst doing it as there is no predicting where you might get hit - I saw a friend get shot in the ear! 😱

There is also a huge amount of adrenaline pumping, plus it can be physically demanding too. It's terrific fun, but I wasn't diabetic when I did it and I suspect my levels would be all over the place if I tried it now. I'm not trying to put you/Alex off, but it's quite a rough and tumble sport, so be prepared. Would it be possible for Alex to inject for the day, or for a few hours even?
 
I've been paintballing Bev. Yes, the paintballs hurt, depending where they hit you and how much protective gear you have on. I just had overalls and protective glasses on the couple of times I did it. At the end I was covered in bruises as was everyone else. I'd personally be very loathe to wear something as precious as a pump whilst doing it as there is no predicting where you might get hit - I saw a friend get shot in the ear! 😱

There is also a huge amount of adrenaline pumping, plus it can be physically demanding too. It's terrific fun, but I wasn't diabetic when I did it and I suspect my levels would be all over the place if I tried it now. I'm not trying to put you/Alex off, but it's quite a rough and tumble sport, so be prepared. Would it be possible for Alex to inject for the day, or for a few hours even?

Thanks Northerner, I am not looking forward to it! I can take his pump off for up to an hour or so - then i can put it back on and give a bolus to keep him going - I just wish it wasnt going on all day though! Each game lasts 45 minutes - so at least I can monitor whats going on and give min mars bars when needed! They do wear tons of protective gear - but I want to point him out to the leader in case he has a hypo or needs help - but they will all look the same!😱🙂Bev
 
Thanks Northerner, I am not looking forward to it! I can take his pump off for up to an hour or so - then i can put it back on and give a bolus to keep him going - I just wish it wasnt going on all day though! Each game lasts 45 minutes - so at least I can monitor whats going on and give min mars bars when needed! They do wear tons of protective gear - but I want to point him out to the leader in case he has a hypo or needs help - but they will all look the same!😱🙂Bev

Yes, you don't really want him to stand out in something like this! I think taking off the pump would be very sensible. We were diving on the ground, crawling on our stomachs, all that sort of stuff! Shame it's not laserquest, that would be a bit more manageable!
 
paintballing hurts and causes bruises ....sorry bev and alex :(
 
Hi Bev,

I was paintballing whilst diabetic - although not on a pump.

It is very physically demanding. I followed exercise rules and reduced my fast insulin by about half and my slow by about 10% and made sure I had small snacks throughout the day.

With the overalls on and masks, etc everyone will look the same. The only thing you can use to tell people apart is their footwear! Does he have any unique trainers/shoes that would make him more easily identifiable to someone in his own team? Just an idea.

NiVZ
 
Hey just to say paintballing is major fun, so I hope he has a great time. When I went I kept my pockets filled with packets of dextrose tablets which I regularly munched on between missions… otherwise I would have certainly gone hypo. But there’s plenty of breaks for snacking and testing so that’s all good.

I don’t think I would recommend wearing a pump though. I would imagine if it got shot at that wouldn’t be so good, some of those guns can be pretty strong at short range… and depending on the set-up/mission… you do get shot at a lot… neither front or back are particularly safe. Also, we all ended up covered in paint and mud through to the layers beneath. In fact, my boyfriend lost a trainer to the mud and had to do one section in with just one shoe… that shouldn’t really be a problem with regards to the diabetes, but if falls over in the mud (and lots of people tripped up in the forest)… it could get a little messy…. So that mightn’t be too good for the kit either.

To be honest, hes gonna be running around and having fun all day… so depending on how is blood sugar is when exercising that could be enough to keep his sugars down low (my problem was keeping them up). I think I would have been quite unhappy if I had to not participate to the fullest extent because of diabetes related stuff… my kamikaze suicide missions into enemy territory were key to our teams victory 

Oh yeah… and the paintballs don’t hurt 😛… wimps.
 
I went with some friends a couple of years ago and it was indeed, great fun but I ended up with a fine crop of bruises from diving behind stuff and bumping into things. Rambo Marnoch, that's me.
 
paintballing

Hi

When my daughter went paintballing she wore her pump! We wrapped it in bubble wrap and put it in a case under all the protective clothing both daughter and pump came out unscathed.
We put a temp basal rate on, carried dextrose tabsamd gave a packet to the adult who was playing with them.There was lots of time for snacks and she gave a reduced bolus at lunch.
Hypo'd about 2 hours after !🙂
 
Hi

When my daughter went paintballing she wore her pump! We wrapped it in bubble wrap and put it in a case under all the protective clothing both daughter and pump came out unscathed.
We put a temp basal rate on, carried dextrose tabsamd gave a packet to the adult who was playing with them.There was lots of time for snacks and she gave a reduced bolus at lunch.
Hypo'd about 2 hours after !🙂

Hi Mel,
Thats a good idea - bubble wrap! I am thinking 40% temp basal and also give a small snack before each game?🙂Bev
 
Hi Bev hope he has a good time hun, sorry i cant offer any advice x
 
I loved it.

Not sure about ur pump but do make sure:

-U take water with you (those overalls and face protector do make it hot)

-Let the marshals know ur diabetic

- Its physical excercise so watch them sugars

About the pain:

First time + second time it hurt. Third time I was too caught up with the adrenaline rush to feel any pain.
 
Paintballing

hi Bev

Just looked up what we did a masssive -80% temp rate and a 30g carb snack at breaks , so ate b'fast , snack, lunch ,snack and tea. I would recommend a temp rate after as thats when she hypo'd .
She says its brilliant fun though !
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top