advise please

[grogans]

Hi,
I am going out to dinner tonight it's going to be later dinner what should i do ?
eat a snack (slice toast) about normal tea time 5 ish and then wait to give my nova rapid with my dinner later on.
Alcohol should i drink and if i do roughly how many units ?

 

[Caroline]

I can't advise on insulin as I don't inject, however I think I'd be inclined to have a light snack (some toast or fruit) to tide me over.

Alcohol is a personal thing as we all have different tolerances to it. One thing others have reported is their sugar levels seem to drop during and after drinking. This is because the liver is busy dealing with the alcohol and is too busy to put any glucose into your system. If it is possible keep an eye on things and above all enjoy the meal.

 

[shiv]

Hi grogans,

The good thing with novorapid is that in theory you don't have to eat if you don't want to. A slice of toast contains roughly 10 - 20g carbs (depending on brand, thickness, etc!) which for most people would need novorapid to cover it. Of course, if you find you need to snack then because otherwise you'll hypo, then go for it 🙂

As Caroline said, alcohol does different things to different people so you really will have to play it by ear. A lot of people find a few hours later their levels will drop due to the liver dealing with the alcohol and not kicking out its usual glucose - a snack before sleep usually prevents this - but again, something you would need to test for and work out what works for you.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi,
I am going out to dinner tonight it's going to be later dinner what should i do ?
eat a snack (slice toast) about normal tea time 5 ish and then wait to give my nova rapid with my dinner later on.
Alcohol should i drink and if i do roughly how many units ?

As has been said, if your basal level is right you should be able to wait as long as you need to eat your meal and your lantus/levemir should keep things steady until then, so you shouldn't need the toast.

Since you are eating out, it might be harder than usual to estimate the carbs in your meal, so you will probably need to wait until th emeal is in front of you to estimate it and inject. I would do this at the table (I often try to sit with the table between me and other diners so that an abdomen shot is pretty unobtrusive).

Regarding alcohol, T1s (like everyone else) are recommended to drink no more than 3 units a day. Alcohol reduces the body's ability to metabolise sugars and can reduce your bg. Some drinks, like beer or lager contain 10-15g or more of carbs per pint so depending on what you are drinking, and how much, you may well find that your levels shoot up for a while then crash down into hypo. The other slight complication is that the symptoms of going hypo are much harder to spot when you've had a few, and might be mistaken by others for drunkeness.

Sorry if this is sounding a bit bleak! We go out to eat fairly often, and I've certainly gone way past the recommended limit for daily intake occasionally with no apparent ill effects diabetes-wise. Best to be aware of all the potential problems though I think so you can keep an eye on things.

Hope you have a great time!
M

 

[grogans]

Thank you so much x