Softball and Diabetes

We’ve played 3 softball games so far (well, technically 6, because every day we play is a double header). Every single game, we’ve been mercied. But! I’m having a blast. 

I got hit 3 times in the same spot on my leg in practice one of the first weeks, and it never bruised.. until a week later, when I suddenly had a dark, ugly settling of blood in my foot. It was super weird and took forever to heal (as do all injuries – thanks for that one, diabetes!)

Using my Pebble to watch my blood sugar as mentioned in my previous post has worked very well. However I ran into an unforeseen issue: Tegaderm wasn’t cutting it. We’re having an unusually hot late summer/early fall (it was 83 degrees at the start of tonight’s game!) and I was getting sweaty and gross, and the tape wasn’t staying on. It didn’t help that I was on an old sensor as well, so when I finally pulled it, my skin was a wreck. 

Fortunately, my friend Frank recommended Vetwrap in place of Tegaderm and so far, so good. It confuses people because they wonder why I have a cast on my upper arm (lol!) but otherwise it works great for at softball. I hate how it feels after a shower and it likes to migrate around my arm a little, but it’s a decent trade off. 

The only other major hiccup in softball so far is that I go SKY HIGH while playing. Even though it’s hot and I’m running my butt off for two hours straight, I have consistently hit and stayed at 280-300 for every game. Adrenaline, you suck!

Overall it’s been a great experience. My teammates are all super supportive and when I’m looking ragged, they ask how my sugar is and ask if I need a snack or a break. Nobody makes fun of me or says anything at all about me wearing my flip belt on the field stuffed with my pump, Dexcom, phone, and several rolls of smarties. I’m glad I get to participate – and apparently, I’m halfway decent! 

Apple Watch vs Pebble Time vs …Softball??

I recently joined a softball league that my work is sponsoring. I am NOT sporty/athletic but I had played in middle school on a league and we were really good (we won the city championships both years, the first year as underdogs!) plus my best friend Katie is the one who started assembling the league. 

Of course, things were way different when I played in middle school. I was 12/13 years old – it was literally half my life ago. I was in better shape and I was not diabetic at that time. 

Today is our first game. I’ve been struggling with finding the perfect bg balance during practices. Most times I’m running ultra high even though it’s been 90 degrees and super humid, but one practice I did crash low and had to sit and smash a few rolls of smarties while everyone else kept practicing. That sucked. 

As much as I LOVE my Apple Watch for monitoring my bg during various activities, I have to do what’s best for me out on the field so I can perform at my best. That’s why I made this decision: I will be wearing my Pebble Time while playing softball. Here’s why!

1) Constant display! The Simple CGM Spark watchface updates every time my Dexcom does meaning I have live readings at a glance! 

1a) I have to sidebar and note that the WatchSugar app I have on my Apple Watch is great, but it only updates every 20 minutes or so. This is an issue on Apples side of not updating Complications. It will be changed in WatchOS3 coming out next week where we can have timely Dexcom updates on the watchface. 

1b) Also note, the native Dexcom app gives live updates but it is not ON the watchface. I have to navigate to it. And then wait for it to update. I can’t use that much time staring at my watch while on the ball field!

2) I will be a LOT less devastated if my Pebble gets destroyed by a line drive than if my Apple Watch did. 

2a) The Pebble is pretty rugged. It has a couple scratches on the face, sure, but overall it’s pretty tough! Sadly I feel like my Apple Watch wouldn’t take the abuse as well. 

3) Since I’m only using it for softball, I shut off all the extra stuff on my pebble. I don’t need my calendar, or text message notifications, etc while I’m on the field. That’s a lot easier to do than switching those settings on and off all the time on my Apple Watch!

4) Battery life. The Pebble lasts way longer than the Apple Watch. Plus it charges so fast, I could throw it on the charger 10 minutes before a game and probably have enough juice for the whole game. Not the case with my Apple Watch. 

One of the big Cons to this setup is that my Move goals on the Apple Watch won’t be accurate. Of course I’m gonna be moving during the games and since I’m not wearing my Apple Watch, my “rings” won’t catch that movement and I’ll look super lazy on those days 😉 But it’s a small trade for the benefits of using my Pebble on the field!