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Do you drink alcohol ?

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Pat91

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I haven't drank since my diagnosis, which is near on 2 months now, just wondering Do you guys drink alcohol and if so what is your go to....
 
Yep!
I usually drink beer or wine as I am not a spirit drinker.

Some care is needed - our livers don't like alcohol. They focus on getting rid of this toxin and, being single-minded, focus on this until it has gone. As a result the liver stops or reduces its usual glucose drip into the blood which we match with our background (long-acting basal) insulin so we risk having a hypo after drinking.

As with everything else diabetes related, we are all different.
I find I can drink moderately (a large glass or wine or a pint of beer) without having to worry about the hypo.More than that and I tend to reduce my basal. This is easy with a pump but if you have an ultra-long acting basal (like Tresiba) you may need to have a snack without a bolus before going to bed.

Some alcohol such as beer but not wine contains carbs which you will need to bolus for. So more to think about.

If you fancy giving it a good, I would recommend starting with something small with negligible carbs (e.g. a glass or wine or a spirit with a diet mixer), keep your hypo close by for the next 24 hours and "practice".

But you do not have to give up alcohol because you have type 1 diabetes.
 
Yes. I have wine or spirits. I stick to 1 or 2 drinks at a time because of the risk of hypos but also because I like to keep my wits about me so I remember to test my blood sugar and can spot if I’m going high or low more easily.

I might have 3 drinks over a period of some hours, but that would be unusual.

I’ve never had a hypo from alcohol, but I like to feel in control so don’t get drunk.
 
helli said:
Yep!
I usually drink beer or wine as I am not a spirit drinker.

Some care is needed - our livers don't like alcohol. They focus on getting rid of this toxin and, being single-minded, focus on this until it has gone. As a result the liver stops or reduces its usual glucose drip into the blood which we match with our background (long-acting basal) insulin so we risk having a hypo after drinking.

As with everything else diabetes related, we are all different.
I find I can drink moderately (a large glass or wine or a pint of beer) without having to worry about the hypo.More than that and I tend to reduce my basal. This is easy with a pump but if you have an ultra-long acting basal (like Tresiba) you may need to have a snack without a bolus before going to bed.

Some alcohol such as beer but not wine contains carbs which you will need to bolus for. So more to think about.

If you fancy giving it a good, I would recommend starting with something small with negligible carbs (e.g. a glass or wine or a spirit with a diet mixer), keep your hypo close by for the next 24 hours and "practice".

But you do not have to give up alcohol because you have type 1 diabetes.
Click to expand...
Very informative, thank you for the reply.
 
As a type 2 I daresay my body works differently to a type 1, but I usually have a couple of glasses of red in the evening. I gave up white when I was diagnosed, and red seems to suit me. Cheers! :D
 
Inka said:
Yes. I have wine or spirits. I stick to 1 or 2 drinks at a time because of the risk of hypos but also because I like to keep my wits about me so I remember to test my blood sugar and can spot if I’m going high or low more easily.

I might have 3 drinks over a period of some hours, but that would be unusual.

I’ve never had a hypo from alcohol, but I like to feel in control so don’t get drunk.
Click to expand...
Oh right, I'm tempted to at least try a beer or glass of wine, as at the moment I'm being very safe so not learning what foods/ drinks do what the my levels.
 
I forgot to say that I usually drink with meals or after a meal. If I was going to drink on an empty stomach I’d have a few crisps with my drink (without a bolus). I find that works for me.
 
Inka said:
I forgot to say that I usually drink with meals or after a meal. If I was going to drink on an empty stomach I’d have a few crisps with my drink (without a bolus). I find that works for me.
Click to expand...
Say if for example I was too have say 2 beers. Would I need to bolus for them the same way I would for the equivalent in carbs for biscuits ?
 
Type1Pat said:
Oh right, I'm tempted to at least try a beer or glass of wine, as at the moment I'm being very safe so not learning what foods/ drinks do what the my levels.
Click to expand...

Go for half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine. I find some beers and ciders need a small bolus. If it was me, I’d try the wine first.
 
Type1Pat said:
Say if for example I was too have say 2 beers. Would I need to bolus for them the same way I would for the equivalent in carbs for biscuits ?
Click to expand...

No, don’t bolus to start with. You need to see what happens. We’re all different. Try one beer to start with maybe.
 
Inka said:
No, don’t bolus to start with. You need to see what happens. We’re all different. Try one beer to start with maybe.
Click to expand...
Is it because alcohol lowers blood sugar, but the carbs in a beer raise it ? Sort of counteracting one another ? Is that why I may not need to bolus for a beer ?
 
I only drank once after diagnosis & read about alcohol lowering blood sugars so, had a very sweet liqueur of Irish Cream thinking the sugar would counter that but, the sugar is gone very quickly & the alcohol effect lasts much longer than the sugar so, I had the munchies the whole night & ate everything in sight! 😱 So, keep those hypo treatments close to hand until you know how you react!
 
Type1Pat said:
Is it because alcohol lowers blood sugar, but the carbs in a beer raise it ? Sort of counteracting one another ? Is that why I may not need to bolus for a beer ?
Click to expand...

Yes, and because it’s always better to err on the side of caution as far as hypos are concerned. Remember too that you’re newly diagnosed so will probably still have some of your own insulin working randomly too.

Some beers have more carbs than others too, so until you drink them, you don’t know how you’re going to react. For me, pub cider is the one I almost always have to bolus for. It’s far ‘sweeter’ than old-fashioned scrumpy. Lager it depends how much I’m drinking, and beer it very much depends on the type.

You’ll gradually learn what works for you. Always be careful and test lots. Start with one drink and see how it goes.
 
My preferred tipple is red wine. I don't adjust my QA as the effects are inconsistent, and BS quite often high even with no alcohol.
It might take a while to find what suits' you.
And enjoy it is the main thing.
Cheers.
 
Rum and low cal cola or gin and slimline tonic are my favoured poison or a glass of wine or port with some cheese at bedtime. I have not needed to bolus any of those and for me I have not seen any drop in BG with them either. The port usually causes a slight rise in BG but not enough to warrant injecting insulin for it, especially not at bed time.
 
I drink G&T and wine, which are both low in carbs. On a pump I would reduce my basal overnight depending on how many units I had drunk. (In a simplistic way) The liver can only cope with one job at a time, and prioritises processing the alcohol over delivering glucose, so there is a chance of a hypo afterwards.

It depends how you manage your Diabetes, as to how you might adapt to account for this. On MDI I used to reduce my night time basal (I was on a split Levemir), in my previous pump I would use a Temporary Basal Rate to reduce my basal insulin, in my current pump I use a temporary target overnight if I have gone over two units. Each system seems to work fine, and I chose appropriate management my trial and improvement. ( One of the more enjoyable tests I have done on my Pump).
 
Type1Pat said:
Say if for example I was too have say 2 beers. Would I need to bolus for them the same way I would for the equivalent in carbs for biscuits ?
Click to expand...
Beer is a lot higher in carbs than wine, so you might need to Bolus after a few units. The only way of knowing what works for you is to try it and carefully monitor your levels. As @Fagor said this can be an enjoyable experiment.
 
Beers and ciders are trickier. Wine and spirits (slimline mixers) mostly leave my BGs alone as long as I don’t have too many.

But I realise that some people have more BG crashes after alcohol so I get it pretty east in that respect.
 
I like Barcardi and Diet Coke, no carbs and occasional glass of rose. Everything in moderation
 
Lemmy from motorhead. (R.I.P). Became diabetic in later life. He drank a bottle of jack daniels everyday with coke. Apparently he did this for 40 years. When he was diagnosed with diabetes he switched his coke to diet. Not recomended but he was a walking miracle. Should've died years ago.
 
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