going out socialising with diabetes

[Charliewatch]

Can anybody take me through how they would prepare for a night out and l am going to be really honest l might have 3 pints of lager as l did last time a few weeks ago l went out,Are alarm bells ringing out there,are people thinking to themselves don't do it you will be sorry and answer for it later.Or prepare properly with a diet coke and some peanuts as you drink and you might get away with it be honest and truthful do not hang back tell me your experiences or advice thank you Charlie.

 

[novorapidboi26]

Type 1 so a bit more flexibility than you, but I don't think you should completely eradicate the things you enjoy.........just observe the effects and try to manage them the best you can....

 

[Charliewatch]

Thanks Novo for replying to my query.

 

[pav]

Only recently managed to get a few nights out, when not driving I will have about a 1 1/2 pints of lager. If driving and other times will have diet coke, though have been caught off guard when they have given me full fat coke.

I always carry some sweats (going through a wine gum stage), got caught out on my first night out and went hypo on the walk back home, should of checked earlier

Friends have got used to me testing, and don't bat an eye lid, as to what others think I don't really care as its my life, though had no comments when have been seen to test.

I was on the road all day Sunday and the person I was with just checked to see if I need to stop and test or eat, and showed an interest in what my levels were. Tested in several service stations and not a problem there.

If out on a cold night and you use a meter, keep it some ware warm as I got caught out when the meter said to cold to test.

 

[Northerner]

Lager is better than beer for your levels. As long as it's not every night and you're not on any medication that suggests avoiding alcohol, I wouldn't personally see anything wrong with having 3 pints on a night out - enjoy! 🙂

 

[Charliewatch]

socialising and diabetes

l mentioned this to my misses the other week Pav you could be given full fat coke by mistake by the bar staff or if it is set up wrong in the cellar l suppose its the risk you take.l think the it comes in a bag to clip onto the pipework.

 

[Charliewatch]

socialising and diabetes

Will they sell any lager at the meet on saturday in manchester or barrels of diet coke🙄

 

[Northerner]

l mentioned this to my misses the other week Pav you could be given full fat coke by mistake by the bar staff or if it is set up wrong in the cellar l suppose its the risk you take.l think the it comes in a bag to clip onto the pipework.

I was given full-sugar coke at the London forum meet last Saturday! I tested it first by wetting my finger in it and letting it dry, then feeling if it was sticky - if sticky, it means it's got sugar in it (thanks to LeeLee for the tip!). I confirmed it by testing with my meter and it came up as 2.4 - proper 'diet' comes up as about 1.1 🙂 Took it back to the bar and they poured me another one. 🙂

 

[delb t]

How did you test with meter? drop on blood strip? dip in glass ?I Never knew that -would it be the same for diet pepsi/ full pepsi I wonder- usefull tip

 

[Clo]

Wow coke tip really helpful. Sometimes I know for definite if its fat coke or not but there are times just not sure will use that tip for sure! Thanks🙂

 

[delb t]

Well Ive just tested- Fruit twist fanta H,s mate round and has a 2 litre bottle with him !!!!! 15.6
...........Diet coke- meter says LO

 

[Northerner]

How did you test with meter? drop on blood strip? dip in glass ?I Never knew that -would it be the same for diet pepsi/ full pepsi I wonder- usefull tip

Just put strip in meter then dipped the end in the glass 🙂 You can also get Glucose test strips, which are more economical to use if you drink the stuff often - no meter required, they are really for testing pee! 😱

 

[Pine Marten]

I'm off soon to visit my friend for a few days - how much red wine is ok? She is a good cook so doubtless I'll be having more than my usual food! I don't think I'll go mad with the testing though as it could drive both her and me up the wall if I'm querying her spuds and pasta!

 

[DeusXM]

Can anybody take me through how they would prepare for a night out and l am going to be really honest l might have 3 pints of lager as l did last time a few weeks ago l went out,Are alarm bells ringing out there,are people thinking to themselves don't do it you will be sorry and answer for it later.Or prepare properly with a diet coke and some peanuts as you drink and you might get away with it be honest and truthful do not hang back tell me your experiences or advice thank you Charlie.

What's your concern? Is it a generalised "I don't think I can drink because I have diabetes" one or is it a specific one about managing your blood sugar level?

My preparation for a night out is as follows:

*Draw some cash out of the cash machine
*Find out where everyone is going
*Put a pack of painkillers somewhere I'm likely to find them when I get home

And that's about it. Oh, sure, I'll have my blood sugar monitor, insulin and glucose tablets on me but that isn't any different from any other time. When drinking, I'll test and correct as required (although I tend to 'under'-correct when drinking as I know the booze switches off my basal output). But when I'm out, you won't be able to tell the difference between me or anyone else in the pub, aside from my pint of preference being the cloudiest, driest cider available because I'm from the area where cider is supposed to put you in mind of a urine sample from a circus animal, not berries and ice cubes. Oh, and I'll ask if they've got sugar-free Red Bull before hitting the Jaegerbombs. After 15 years of having diabetes and 11 years of being old enough to buy my own booze (including 3 years of uni and several festivals here and in Spain), no health issues yet!

More seriously, the best advice I can give you is TEST. Before and after your drinks. Find what works for you. As a T2 you're less likely to have issues with hypos, so it's high blood sugar you need to watch for and therefore I would have thought the usual blanket advice about eating something starchy before going to bed is less likely to apply.

 

[BigMalc]

As a fellow Type 2, my Dr's advice was always along the lines of when you are going to have a drink, try not to have too much, try to drink some water as well, wine is better than beer, red better than white, spirits best of all (but not by the pint!) but the main point was NEVER, EVER drink on an empty stomach.

It can give lows afterwards, so have some emergency foods around overnight, but it wasnt anything to be particularly worried about if it is only an occasional few beers.

I do like the coke tips too, but if not drinking I tend to go with mineral water and lime, or sometimes slimline tonic and lime as I am not tempted to try to drink at the same speed as I would a pint.

 

[Charliewatch]

socialising and diabetes

thank you for going to the trouble to reply to my post l tried the diet pepsi test with the BG tester last night mine kept saying ERR in big letters l wonder what l did wrong.

 

[cazmod]

My lesson was not to have a brandy after a meal out...I took enough insulin to cover the food and had a couple of gasses of red wine with the food. under normal circumstances this is fine...but...got cocky and had a brandy with my coffee ay home. This is unusual as I rarely have brandy....my blood sugar dropped like stone to 1.8 at bedtime. This gave my partner a real fright as I was not really coherent and couldn't remember where my emergency jelly babies were. Note to self...no more brandy for me that being said a couple of red wines with a meal out seems to be ok for me and I am not giving the red wine up...no chance 😉

 

[Mark T]

I tend to buy a packet or two of dry roasted nuts to nibble in the rare event when I'm out for a drink (Whoopsie Calories!)

The biggest issue I've had is when out with a group from work and them taking about an hour of wandering around a city centre before deciding on which restaurant to stop and eat at (there was lots of choice!). I suspect I would have found myself starting to get low if I had tested myself.