tips for alcohol

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So I've never really addressed this before because although I go low the next day after having some alcohol I'm never that bad until recently. I don't even drink that much, usually half a bottle of wine at most or 3 or 4 pints and a takeaway the same night so I sit on the higher side overnight. But lately I'm noticing the next day as soon as I inject insulin for breakfast I plummet fast. This sets me up for more hypos throughout the day. I had half a glass of wine last night, sat fine all night and then this morning from 7 to 1.8 after injecting, that is my lowest recorded soo far. Breakfast normally causes a spike to about 8 or 9 on other days , I always pre bolus with 4 units about 20 to 25 mins before. Any suggestions on preventing these lows? Experience of this happening with alcohol?

Thank you
 
I’ve never had that happen with a small amount of alcohol such as half a glass of wine. Have you tried having a late breakfast to see what happens with your blood sugar then? Does it dip without insulin?

If you’re sure it’s the alcohol, then I’d experiment with reducing my breakfast bolus the day after you’ve had a drink. I’d experiment, eating the same breakfast each time (to remove one variable) and see what bolus works best.
 
@Inka I sometimes have breakfast late when I work from home but haven't after a drink previous night. I guess I could try that. Never tried breakfast without insulin, think I'd freak out a bit. Could it be bolus time aswell ? I was thinking maybe but surely even reducing 10 mins would still see it go down so must be the dose size. I'll try eat the same breakfast then and reduce bolus. I had exercised yesterday evening so maybe that combo wasn't good. Though I figured I'd see an immediate problem rather than one later. Just looking back through libre it's the days after alcohol for definite. I had also thought about eating the same thing for breakfast everyday just to figure out best bolus dose and timing in general. Then same thing for lunch and dinner. Think Ive tried guessing and adjusting with too much for too long. Need to simplify or I'm gonna end up like this my whole life, it's exhausting. Sorry I just needed to vent a bit, i wish I could switch off at times. Thanks for the tips
 
No, don’t eat your breakfast without insulin! I mean get up, don’t eat breakfast for a while, don’t bolus obviously - and see if your blood sugar dips. That way you might get an idea if the dip would happen anyway or if it’s a reaction to your breakfast bolus.
 
Eating the same breakfast is a great idea 🙂 It makes life simpler. I do that most days. I’ve worked out very similar breakfasts just to stop it being too boring, then I know how much to bolus without thinking, which is ideal in the morning!

For lunch, I tend to do the same - have a main option with a small variety eg in sandwich filling, but keep things as similar as possible. I also have a salad option, but, again keep that as similar as I can.

Doing this, I never have to carb count my breakfast or lunch on the vast majority of days. No problem with venting 🙂 Type 1 is a giant pain in the behind, and any reasonable way to simplify things is good.
 
@jazzchicken do you have a Libre to check that you are not going low overnight and rebounding after drinking?
It may be worth dropping your basal insulin a little if you find yourself dropping ... this is common
 
Oh I get you now, smart idea. I will say this, this morning for instance I did get a wee jump when getting out of bed as I normally do. So just need to see if it changes once I'm wondering about for a while.

Yes I need to get to that stage, I do have a number of go tos for breakfast and lunch but mix them up all the time. Still counting everything and logging it all in an app which is time consuming. I've dosed for dinner many times only to realise when counting that I need more carbs and add in random stuff to make up the total, end up stressed out and then even extending my bolus time too long because I'm spending too much time faffing about.

Thanks . Id just like to accept it more. If it's not a week of mad spikes, it's a week of hypos or exercise strategy having to change. Just when I start feeling good something happens is what I mean. Is it really this random through the years ?
 
@helli not going low overnight. Usually bit higher when I fall asleep then dropping a wee bit before waking but I'll not be below 5( still to try splitting dose to stop that rise when I fall asleep) Used to be in 4s waking all the time but sit in 5s and 6s now which I'm happier with. I'm down to 4 units again, once a day before I go to sleep. I've never had to reduce the basal before unless I was drinking alot more but I have a limit now. Think the issue would also be because it's such a small amount I'd see it run out quickly next day if I reduced it to say 2. I say this but don't know that for sure.
 
Early on during the honeymoon period you’ll be making your own insulin erratically so that can make your blood sugar ‘spiky’. That does smooth out a bit after the honeymoon, which sounds good, but in reality is still a pain but just in a different way. You become more prone to highs rather than lows, I found, and control seems to need more of a ‘push’ from the insulin whereas in the honeymoon it often didn’t.

I wouldn’t call it ‘random’ but I would call it annoying and tiresome. For me, this is one of the biggest things about Type 1. You count carbs, you work out ratios, you do your insulin at the right time, etc etc - you do everything right - and yet for all that hard work you can still get crap results through no fault of your own. Coming to terms with that mentally takes time. What I do is try to be objective and try to correct the problem not judge myself. I also don’t dwell over ‘bad’ results at all. See them, deal with them, and move on. Nobody will ever be perfect.
 
Yes that's what it seems like, erratic. I feel the good days are more to do with a balance between what im still producing releasing at the right time and the injected insulin rather than good control from myself(though maybe just being too hard on myself) . I could have the same meal taking the same bolus at the same time with a big spike on one occasion and another just a blip. I hope that when the time comes Im ready. The highs freak me out, I know lows are just as bad but unfortunately I've read too much and listened to too many low carb advocates claiming it's their way or no way. Saying spiking high after meals needs to be removed to stop complications. And because I'm not willing to accept that diet yet I feel like crap when my levels aren't playing ball and I blame myself. Sorry maybe waffling a bit here.

"See them, deal with them, and move on"

I think I might need to keep saying that to myself. I like that
 
Ride with some spiking during the honeymoon (how high do you go?) as you’ll probably find your own insulin will bring you down later. Low carb is most definitely not the only way nor, IMO, the best way. Did you know that some Type 1s eat 600g+ carbs a day yet only take small amounts of insulin? Their ‘trick’ is to keep their insulin sensitivity good. This can make a big difference. Moderate carbs is good and what most Type 1s eat, I think. I do and my HbA1C is very good.

Don’t blame yourself. We’re trying to do the job of an organ and it’s a damn hard job! You don’t appreciate your pancreas until you get Type 1. Insulin is only one part of the system that, in non-diabetics, keeps blood sugar in range. The real body system is highly tuned and very responsive. We can’t replicate that, we can only do our best.

Think of it as a longterm project. This is a series of recurring hoops to jump through, not a one-off high jump. The hoops move and sometimes we’ll miss them, but we just need to keep on going steadily day after day, looking forward not back 🙂
 
On a good week I'll spike at spike at 8 or 9. Bad weeks 12 but haven't figured out why that happens. I have read about the high carb diets, it seems crazy but works. All I've done is exchange the carbs I eat to healthier options and always pair them with a certain amount of fat and protein, never carbs alone. Only exception is having a takeaway which is very carb heavy, full of fat etc. I hope whatever I learn now is going to be useful for when I stop producing my own insulin.

Yes its crazy trying to mimic the natural production of insulin. I think a lot about life before, particularly the eating. I know I didn't have the best diet and thought as soon as I was told I had diabetes it was all the sweets! Never knew the difference between type 1 and type 2. In a way diabetes has been a good thing for me. It forced me to stop eating bad and stick to exercising more.

Anyway thank you
 
Only tip is not to spill it.

Joking aside, only really drink wine & odd whisky, sometimes Guiness with bar meal. Found wine whisky has zero effect on bg so kinda lucky that way.
 
Those are very normal results @jazzchicken I got similar when I was diagnosed almost 30 years ago. Remember that people without diabetes can spike into the 10s occasionally, and that diabetes used to be diagnosed with two random blood tests over 11.1. So you’re doing well - honestly.
 
@nonethewiser good tip haha I mainly stick to wine now, beer tends to rise my bloods initially and then drop, little more unpredictable

@Inka thanks. To be fair I did test my partner's one night to see and there was a reading of 8.5 after a meal. But I assumed that was the sugary dessert she had. The test was about 30 mins after eating.
 
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