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Alcohol Xmas party question

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astbury1

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi all, first Xmas party with diabetes and wondering whether you can answer a question?

I know you are meant to eat before you drink however as my anxeity is through the roof I was wanting to drink a couple before the evening dinner as am sure everyone else will be. Now am wondering what is best?

Should I eat some toast to line my stomach and bolus for it. Have a few then eat the xmas dinner and bolus again? (bearing in mind best not to correct as insulin probably still in system working?
 
Hi Astbury I'm not sure what to suggest because I can drink quite a lot
of white wine without it affecting my bgs. Whatever you do I hope that you have a great time at your Christmas do.
 
I had my work one on Saturday. Didn't do anything differently then I would have normally - had lunch, got ready, went to party night.

Tested blood before meal - bloody 18.6 or something stupid!! FFS. Think it was the stress thing for me, anxiety also bad (see other post just posted!)

So I had to have a large correction for that, plus bolused for my roll with the pate.

Had main course, and once pudding was there (they were fast to serve courses) I bolused for the potatoes I had eaten with main meal, and guesstimated the dessert I was about to eat.

Wasn't great numbers but I refuse to let it spoil a night out, so just went with it. I was drinking wine and G&T's so figured the alcohol would also keep figures a bit lower too overall so am always cautious.

Tested a few more times throughout the night too just to keep an eye on things.

Hope you have fun x
 
I think you deserve your one night off - Or partly off. Maybe take your bg monitor with you and just do a coulple of tests, 1 before you go out, one before the meal. Something like that, and one when you get in. But enjoy the doo. Its just one night, and you deserve it.

That would be my thinking anyway..
 
Is it ok to drink the alcohol before I eat?

I think I have got it in my head that I must eat big dinner before drink alcohol?

To be honest I think I wont care about the numbers as long as they dont go low! lol I will most likely over test!
 
astbury1 said:
Is it ok to drink the alcohol before I eat?

I think I have got it in my head that I must eat big dinner before drink alcohol?

To be honest I think I wont care about the numbers as long as they dont go low! lol I will most likely over test!
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I'd say it was OK to have a couple of drinks before eating. The reason alcohol tends to lower BG levels is because it spends more time processing the alcohol rather than releasing glucose into the blood, so the effects are usually experienced (if at all) some time after drinking. My levels tend to rise initially, depending on what I'm drinking, especially beer, but less so with lager or spirits. 🙂

Enjoy! 🙂
 
Beer will raise my bloods too intially, infact ill bolus a unit for every couple of pints. These days I'll limit myself to only a couple then move onto the spirits and diet mixers, or the Ri o ja, Im sophisticated me :D
 
It's fine to drink alcohol before eating, generally.

The BG lowering effect of alcohol tends to take at least 4 hours to kick in, so there's no immediate need to eat before drinking. However if you're the sort of person who gets drunk easily, then something to line the stomach wouldn't hurt - but bolus for it accordingly and then factor this in when calculating further boluses if you're having additional food later on.

Overtesting is fine but don't worry too much if you're going a bit high - just make sure you're ready to catch any lows.
 
🙂I know it is really bad, but I dont mind it going high while out drinking. It is the lows am scared of. Never had a hypo and I feel rough all the time, dizzy, tired anxious so not sure whether I would regognise one. But yes I am a light weight. I get drunk fast and then somehow manage to continue drinking. Luckly though I rarely drink and go out partying so my control of BGs is ok most of the time! Well ok for someone who has had it 6 months
 
You'll want to try and avoid both highs and lows, but yes, it's much better to run high than low when drinking. As you get more experience, you will definitely be able to tune your treatment regime and your drinking to so you can maintain good control and enjoy a tipple. Getting drinking right is one of the hardest things to do with D but it does get better with practice, and the practice is usually fun as well....
 
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