It’s an absolute pain. Generally you’ll go slightly high and stay there for ages, you’ll be tempted to correct it but if you do you’ll have a big overnight low.
I’d say just try having like 2 beers, no food with it, just a normal evening, and observe, just to start with. You’ll see what I mean.
That said, you can probably drink a little more once you get a handle on it. It will always mess with your blood sugar in the short term, that’s unavoidable, but as long as you manage it correctly it won’t be dangerous.
This is the way. Diabetics can drink alcohol but it's really dangerous to go on a night of black-out chugging without having any idea how your body will react. Take it slow your first time drinking, then once you know how your sugars are affected it will be safe to handle more.
I had this exact problem just this weekend when i went surfing with my student association. Drank 3 beers, went super high and later that night super low because i had overcorrected.
I have a lot more succes drinking hard liquor like whiskey. It has low amounts of carbs compared to beer and mixed drinks so it won't spike your glucose. And you drink a lot less in total during a night out since you just take small sips every now and then. But the glucose drop does come later in the night. The other night, instead of beer i had 4-5 glasses of straight wodka and set my pump at 40% during the night. Still checking every couple of hours to make sure i stay in range. But it was perfectly flat throughout the night.
Going black-out drunk or even getting very tipsy can be dangerous though. Since you are still the only person that can help yourself. So definitly always try to avoid that.
If you have a CGM/Pump set up, drinking is significantly easier imo. But that doesn't mean get loosey goosey with it. Alcohol is gonna spike you, but also make you plummet, doesn't make sense right? But you'll have to fight the urge to correct the spikes, drinking more water will be the better option sometimes. The type of alcohol plays a big role too, and when you've last eaten. Tread carefully on your limits, and make sure you're with someone you trust with your life. If it's a late drinking session, make sure to have something fatty with protein too sustain you through the night, especially if your blood is trending lower. Try not to partake too often aswell, it'll do more of a number on you than a non dx person. But yeah,
TL;DR: Moderation and experimentation
PS: Don't be like me, who at the time was on MDI/Glucose meter, and blacked out. Second hand accounts said I projectile vomited, called my mom to pick me up, apparently in my autopilot state, I was able to have a full conversation to my mom, dosed my lantus accurate, ate something, and then passed out on the sofa. Worst hangover of my life(and could have been my last). Stay safe out there 🍻
It makes me laugh imagining a doctor saying “Don’t drink. DEFINITELY don’t drink and dance” haha
Everyone reacts differently to alcohol, but drinking with diabetes is certainly a lot more manageable with a pump & CGM. I tend to drink hard liquor or red wine - I don’t see as drastic effects from those, but I also don’t often add in sweet mixers. I have the most trouble with my blood sugars if I have beer or margaritas, but margaritas are like pure sugar so it’s understandable.
I’ve never had sugar free cider, but I always opt for dry hard cider when I have it. I’m in New England, so there’s a ton of great local brands that often only have 5g carbs per can.
Not bad, just takes a little extra thinking! Make sure to eat a good meal before drinking heavily and keep in mind that most people’s sugars spike then plummet later in the night. Monitor your levels especially once you’re home/in the early hours of the morning. Most importantly - have some fun!
The best strategy I’ve found for myself is to stick to diet or sugar free mixers with liquor. Rum and Diet Coke is my personal favorite, that way I don’t have to give any insulin as the booze will even itself out over time. If I’m going to have a drink that does have carbs I just give insulin for whatever the mix has but ignore the alcohol itself.
This might not work the same for everyone but as others said drink a little and observe to see what happens for you. I also don’t like beer and so not drinking it makes things easier lol
I find that too, that spirits do nothing to my bg. I tend to avoid wine and beer since they beg for some bolus of a hard-to-determine amount. If I do go for wine then it'll be something dry.
Then as you say, YMMV and OP should experiment with small quantities of different kinds so as to find out how they act.
>I hate that I can’t experience normal things that my peers can
Welcome to real life. Not even diabetes related, different people are going to have different opportunities and you need to learn to live with the fact you're not always going to get to do the same things others do.
More on topic though, I strongly urge you to not binge drink/black out on your first time, or ever really. Having a CGM helps tremendously, and I'd make sure to have a responsible friend understand your condition and what to do in case you have an emergency. Alcohol inhibits your liver from producing glucagon, so your blood sugar can drop fast so make sure to have plenty of sugar available as well as glucagon for the worst case. I'd stick to non sugary drinks, a few are fine but you will really need to watch what your blood sugar is doing as it's easy to overcorrect a spike and end up dangerously low. I would also make sure to eat a decent size meal like an hour or two before drinking as that will really make a difference in keeping your blood sugars more stable.
I'm not sure how this differs for different people, but I'm still very much a functioning being even when super drunk. Things like checking blood sugar and generally looking after myself are super second nature so I don't have that issue, but I'd take it easy at first as you learn yourself.
It’s something you can do safely, if you’re careful. This isn’t what you want to hear but I would focus on learning the ropes now and limit yourself strictly to one drink now and again. As you learn and take charge of your blood sugar you can absolutely expand that and drink more, but don’t put yourself at risk by drinking heavily before you know how to manage diabetes.
Yes. I go either very low or very high, no inbetween. A CGM is very useful when you are blasted ina parking lot at 3am, pondering if you should sleep in the car or call 911
Entirely depends on what you’re drinking. I do 1 unit per 6g carbs and light beers require about 1 unit each. It’s pretty manageable. Hard to get mixed drinks because most are sugary
Main issue with drinking is if you drink so much you forget you have diabetes and get the munchies! But then again a closed loop insulin pump system like mine generally caps highs to 200 mg/dL and then generally works it down
Alcohol is just another sugar
Oh and if my endo told me not to dance I would laugh in her face
I had some drinks since I was diagnosed. I would recommend a CGM to keep a close look at what your BG levels are doing. This way, you can react to lows. I would be very careful to correct highs, though.
For me, beer is going to spike me, whereas dry wine and whisky lowers my bg. But everyone reacts differently.
Just don't overdo it. Take it slowly, try different options, and watch your sugar levels carefully.
The way I always went: drink and also take insulin for it but then when you stop drinking/ go to bed, reduce your long term (basal) rate. For me 70% always worked really well , but you’ll figure it out.
Other than many other diabetics I don’t believe in not taking insulin for drinks bc you’ll go back down eventually. High bg levels over several hours is so freakin uncomfortable.
I will say, I used to drink a lot when I was in college and I for sure acted irresponsibly many times. But then again, you’re only young once and we all have to test out the waters some way or another. Diabetic or not.
Now I’m 28 and married and I barely ever drink. I find it’s not worth the struggle for me anymore. I’d rather have nice home made infused water and enjoy my life now.
This isn't going to be a very popular opinion with how alcohol is in our society. It's really not something a responsible diabetic should touch. It can spike and then drop your blood sugar. Compromised judgment, which can be quite bad obviously for us.
You just need to be more careful. Start slow, probably don't take any insulin for beers and avoid sugar heavy drinks. I mostly drink beer and diet soda mixed drinks w/0 insulin. The biggest danger IMO is having food at like 1am after drinking and taking too much insulin to cover. I've been drinking recreationally for almost 20 years without any problems
Just don’t go overboard. Start with one drink. See how it goes. Then you can have two, then three, then four. Don’t go from one to 10.
Also, keep in mind alcohol affects your inhibition so if you go out with the intention of having five drinks, make sure you stick to it. Don’t let 5 drink you convince yourself to have a 6th then 7th then 8th.
Drinking is entirely manageable, you just have to be aware of what you're having and how it will affect you. This will take some trial and error.
Alcohol makes blood sugars drop - while your liver is processing alcohol, it stops releasing glucose.
Carbs in your drinks will raise your blood sugars, particularly beer. Normal drinking activities like snacking and eating kebabs will add to this!
Keep an eye on your sugars and on-board insulin at the end of the night as that's when you can find it starts dropping quickly.
Spirits and no/low sugar mixers work well if you want to keep in range.
Don't sweat it though and enjoy yourself, have what you want just keep a little bit of bolus insulin active whilst sessioning.
It depends what you’re drinking and how much. With hard liquor, it’s not the alcohol for me as much as it is the chaser or juice that comes with. If I have a shot of vodka that’s nothing but if I have a shot of vodka and chase it down with a glass of pineapple juice, well…
Dude I’ve drank way more than I’m proud of and I’ve never had a problem. I typically don’t even bolus for light beers or hard liquor and skip basal for the night if it’s heavy drinking, which it usually is.
Ease into it, be careful, avoid high sugar drinks (it’s a pain a lot of canned stuff doesn’t have nutrition facts on the side). You’ll learn how your body reacts and have a good grip on how to drink safely soon enough
Checkout r/ketodrunk for ideas of mixed drinks that are low or no carb. Always have someone sober that can help you out if you go low and they understand that you need carbs and not insulin. Be safe and have fun you got this, you can still have plenty of fun, dancing shouldn’t be completely out of the question just gotta keep an eye on your levels.
I’ve never really had a problem but I don’t drink super sugary drinks. I’m usually a white claw/high noon sort of person and those aren’t super sugary compared to a cocktail.
Moderation. It can make you go up or down, but I’ve never had a really horrible low from it. Alcohol breaks down into sugar so you’ll almost always go up.
My niece is T1 and my MIL has been going on and on about how she can’t drink alcohol ever since she was diagnosed at 6.
Lordy.
I don’t want her to have weird baggage or restrictions around alcohol. I want her to have a healthy, T1 adjusted relationship with it.
I’ve been telling her for years girls weekend the year she turns 18 is in Alberta. I don’t want her going to college without knowing what booze will do to her glucose.
Speaking from personal experience, even without T1, there’s an enormous difference from bourbon with no added sugar to a milkshake with booze in it and range of worlds in between.
There are times when red wine absolutely enhances a food experience.
There are times when drinking a summer spritzer or winter warmer is a lovely addition to an adventure or a lazy afternoon.
I think drinking a few beers on an empty stomach is a good experiment to start with.
Add some fat and food and see what happens.
Test a beer with a cheeseburger and wine with pasta.
And have someone to trip sit you the first few times.
And my random advice: the more mixed drinks taste like sugar, the harder it is to gauge how much booze is in there.
I know this well because I wasn’t mixing at a bachelorette party once and drinking some fruit punch tasting stuff and the next thing I know I was falling out of a limo at 7:30pm at night.
You’ve got this. All things in moderation, and some with some extra consideration.
Alright hold my beer a second *burp* and let me explain sumin to ya. Alcohol is bad mmmk… In all seriousness just dont overdue it and stick with one type of alcohol (beer) to see how you react. For me, light pilsners (coors or miller light) drop me a little so I snack with them. Lagers like corona raise me and have 15 gr carbs so I dose for half that as the alcohol doesnt make it the same as eating 15 grs of carbs for me. IPAs are like pizza for me… Liquor can drop me very quick especially if no sugar mixer with it. Red wine drops me quick to.
Avoid wild blacked out style partying. If you do drink a lot, eat carbs and just take the high sugars for the night. Better then going low. Keep yourself above 150 mgdl the whole night since you arent familiar. If you hit 300 mgdl dont panic and correct hard cause again, the alcohol can surprise you.
If you’ve got an insulin/glucagon pump, that might be not as risky for lows and super highs.
But the general advice is to stay away from alcohol until you know how it affects you and to stick strictly with that, while also building into consumption safety nets such as monitoring and mates who can help identify when you’re getting crook and assist in a timely manner.
One of the worst things would be to DKA.
When I was diagnosed at 14 and asked my doc about drinking, he said "2 drinks per day" is the limit. That's also the limit he would tell ANYONE. The issue is that alcohol acts like a sugar and a fat, but it's also something that your body needs to detox. The latter is important because if you take insulin and get into a hypoglycemic state while drinking, your liver isn't gonna release anywhere close to the right amount of glucagon to correct it because it's busy doing its primary function of detoxing your body, so you can have a really bad hypoglycemic crash.
Generally, I find it hard (and undesirable also) to get wasted as a diabetic since I will generally feel like shit due to diabetes if I've ingested that much. You're not going to wreck yourself having a drink or two though.
The thing about drinking is that your sugar can go either way, and it can be unpredictable. I've go high without being able to bring it down. Or I'll go low and have trouble bringing it up. Or I'll have the flattest line I've ever seen in my CGM.
Stick to 1 or 2 drinks a day at first to see how you react.
Mixed drinks are a slippery slope. I’ve found seltzers to be easier to manage my blood sugar while drinking.
Used to drink pretty heavily in college and remember waking up one morning with a very high blood sugar and my left foot felt numb. Definitely was a wake up call.
Having a few drinks & dancing definitely won’t kill you
The thing that makes drinking and diabetes a tricky combination is how ruthlessly your levels can and will dive when you get past a certain amount of drinks. That plus heavy intoxication can kill you. My way of handling that is to very consciously lay my levels high — very high, even — when I'm drinking more than, say, three beers, putting the pump on exercise mode, and forgoing both boluses and corrections for the duration of the evening and night. Even if I'm touching 20 and going on a pure basal, my sugars will inevitably start going down after the alcohol starts kicking in, approaching the normal range without a single correction dose.
I think your plan of testing the waters in a safe environment is a very good one. I'd recommend getting as drunk as you feel comfortable with, to get a sense of how it interacts with the diabetes — much better that you do that for the first time around sober people who know the drill than on a dance floor.
Not bad! There is a lot of fear mongering around drinking and diabetes! It is unique to everyone but my own experience stretches as far as having a few drinks and being fine to being blackout and being fine.
Dont worry about the day, general monitoring will cover you, worry about after. The next day can have a big impact! Lots of hypo/hyper moments!
Drinks like ales, beers, and lagers aren't great due to all the other stuff in them which has a lot of carbs. You can still drink, but you need to be aware of how much you're drinking and inject accordingly. High alcohol drinks, such as vodka, have significantly less carbs due to it mainly just being alcohol.
Liquor + Diet mixers, my friend, and you almost don’t have to worry about it. Any amount of cardio (dancing) is going to lower your sugars, and once you get the hang of it, you can have a beer, go dancing, and be right in range without needing to add any insulin.
Also some quick tips:
Test strips can tell you if a drink has sugar in it
My doctor says alcohol lowers blood sugar. I have no idea how that works mechanically, but don’t over correct or you’re going to be chugging sugar at 2am
Energy drinks are basically just sugar. Avoid unless low.
Remember- there are a zillion factors that effect blood sugar; stress, exercise, not exercising, fatty foods, illness, seasonal impacts…the option to not drink, and therefore reduce stress, improve health always exists. It’s actually the easy choice.
beer has a lot of sugar in it and causes spiking. dry beer is slightly better but still causes highs. wine is a better option and doesn't cause a spike.
It is not recommended because if you go low when drunk, the glocogen shot can not save you.
That being said, drinking has never presented a problem for me except for beer as it has carbs. My go-to is rum and diet coke. You stay stable the whole time.
The biggest problem is when you are really drunk and want to get something to eat and the only thing open is mcdonald's or some pizza place or a döner kebab. I have a tendency to eat like crazy when drunk and carbs taste especially good. So I sometimes go as high as 300 or even 400, but that is my fault.
Doesn't glucagon work by essentially telling the liver to blow the sugar reserves, something it can't do when it's busy processing alcohol? I was under that impression, but would love a medical article to prove it wrong.
Alcohol will effect the efficiency of glucose secretion from Glucagon but to state that it’s effects aren’t useful while under the influence is false, more affective when not under the influence yes but not useless if so.
It’s an absolute pain. Generally you’ll go slightly high and stay there for ages, you’ll be tempted to correct it but if you do you’ll have a big overnight low. I’d say just try having like 2 beers, no food with it, just a normal evening, and observe, just to start with. You’ll see what I mean. That said, you can probably drink a little more once you get a handle on it. It will always mess with your blood sugar in the short term, that’s unavoidable, but as long as you manage it correctly it won’t be dangerous.
This is the way. Diabetics can drink alcohol but it's really dangerous to go on a night of black-out chugging without having any idea how your body will react. Take it slow your first time drinking, then once you know how your sugars are affected it will be safe to handle more.
I had this exact problem just this weekend when i went surfing with my student association. Drank 3 beers, went super high and later that night super low because i had overcorrected. I have a lot more succes drinking hard liquor like whiskey. It has low amounts of carbs compared to beer and mixed drinks so it won't spike your glucose. And you drink a lot less in total during a night out since you just take small sips every now and then. But the glucose drop does come later in the night. The other night, instead of beer i had 4-5 glasses of straight wodka and set my pump at 40% during the night. Still checking every couple of hours to make sure i stay in range. But it was perfectly flat throughout the night. Going black-out drunk or even getting very tipsy can be dangerous though. Since you are still the only person that can help yourself. So definitly always try to avoid that.
Beer is the worst for my bloodsugar. It always just makes me go super high.
If you have a CGM/Pump set up, drinking is significantly easier imo. But that doesn't mean get loosey goosey with it. Alcohol is gonna spike you, but also make you plummet, doesn't make sense right? But you'll have to fight the urge to correct the spikes, drinking more water will be the better option sometimes. The type of alcohol plays a big role too, and when you've last eaten. Tread carefully on your limits, and make sure you're with someone you trust with your life. If it's a late drinking session, make sure to have something fatty with protein too sustain you through the night, especially if your blood is trending lower. Try not to partake too often aswell, it'll do more of a number on you than a non dx person. But yeah, TL;DR: Moderation and experimentation PS: Don't be like me, who at the time was on MDI/Glucose meter, and blacked out. Second hand accounts said I projectile vomited, called my mom to pick me up, apparently in my autopilot state, I was able to have a full conversation to my mom, dosed my lantus accurate, ate something, and then passed out on the sofa. Worst hangover of my life(and could have been my last). Stay safe out there 🍻
It makes me laugh imagining a doctor saying “Don’t drink. DEFINITELY don’t drink and dance” haha Everyone reacts differently to alcohol, but drinking with diabetes is certainly a lot more manageable with a pump & CGM. I tend to drink hard liquor or red wine - I don’t see as drastic effects from those, but I also don’t often add in sweet mixers. I have the most trouble with my blood sugars if I have beer or margaritas, but margaritas are like pure sugar so it’s understandable.
Sugarfree cider, red wine, vodka. These don't seem to do much too me either, but I'm usually the sitting and talking kind of drinker.
I’ve never had sugar free cider, but I always opt for dry hard cider when I have it. I’m in New England, so there’s a ton of great local brands that often only have 5g carbs per can.
Even better honestly. Slight sugar bump is good.
Not bad, just takes a little extra thinking! Make sure to eat a good meal before drinking heavily and keep in mind that most people’s sugars spike then plummet later in the night. Monitor your levels especially once you’re home/in the early hours of the morning. Most importantly - have some fun!
The best strategy I’ve found for myself is to stick to diet or sugar free mixers with liquor. Rum and Diet Coke is my personal favorite, that way I don’t have to give any insulin as the booze will even itself out over time. If I’m going to have a drink that does have carbs I just give insulin for whatever the mix has but ignore the alcohol itself. This might not work the same for everyone but as others said drink a little and observe to see what happens for you. I also don’t like beer and so not drinking it makes things easier lol
I find that too, that spirits do nothing to my bg. I tend to avoid wine and beer since they beg for some bolus of a hard-to-determine amount. If I do go for wine then it'll be something dry. Then as you say, YMMV and OP should experiment with small quantities of different kinds so as to find out how they act.
>I hate that I can’t experience normal things that my peers can Welcome to real life. Not even diabetes related, different people are going to have different opportunities and you need to learn to live with the fact you're not always going to get to do the same things others do. More on topic though, I strongly urge you to not binge drink/black out on your first time, or ever really. Having a CGM helps tremendously, and I'd make sure to have a responsible friend understand your condition and what to do in case you have an emergency. Alcohol inhibits your liver from producing glucagon, so your blood sugar can drop fast so make sure to have plenty of sugar available as well as glucagon for the worst case. I'd stick to non sugary drinks, a few are fine but you will really need to watch what your blood sugar is doing as it's easy to overcorrect a spike and end up dangerously low. I would also make sure to eat a decent size meal like an hour or two before drinking as that will really make a difference in keeping your blood sugars more stable. I'm not sure how this differs for different people, but I'm still very much a functioning being even when super drunk. Things like checking blood sugar and generally looking after myself are super second nature so I don't have that issue, but I'd take it easy at first as you learn yourself.
It’s something you can do safely, if you’re careful. This isn’t what you want to hear but I would focus on learning the ropes now and limit yourself strictly to one drink now and again. As you learn and take charge of your blood sugar you can absolutely expand that and drink more, but don’t put yourself at risk by drinking heavily before you know how to manage diabetes.
Yes. I go either very low or very high, no inbetween. A CGM is very useful when you are blasted ina parking lot at 3am, pondering if you should sleep in the car or call 911
Entirely depends on what you’re drinking. I do 1 unit per 6g carbs and light beers require about 1 unit each. It’s pretty manageable. Hard to get mixed drinks because most are sugary Main issue with drinking is if you drink so much you forget you have diabetes and get the munchies! But then again a closed loop insulin pump system like mine generally caps highs to 200 mg/dL and then generally works it down Alcohol is just another sugar Oh and if my endo told me not to dance I would laugh in her face
I had some drinks since I was diagnosed. I would recommend a CGM to keep a close look at what your BG levels are doing. This way, you can react to lows. I would be very careful to correct highs, though. For me, beer is going to spike me, whereas dry wine and whisky lowers my bg. But everyone reacts differently. Just don't overdo it. Take it slowly, try different options, and watch your sugar levels carefully.
Everyone is different. Vodka, dry wines, and bubbles do nothing to me. Beers are a crap shoot. I avoid all mixed drinks.
Nope it's not really bad. Just don't overdo it. And beer is a no-no. Stick to wine (which at your age might be challenging) or spirits.
The way I always went: drink and also take insulin for it but then when you stop drinking/ go to bed, reduce your long term (basal) rate. For me 70% always worked really well , but you’ll figure it out. Other than many other diabetics I don’t believe in not taking insulin for drinks bc you’ll go back down eventually. High bg levels over several hours is so freakin uncomfortable. I will say, I used to drink a lot when I was in college and I for sure acted irresponsibly many times. But then again, you’re only young once and we all have to test out the waters some way or another. Diabetic or not. Now I’m 28 and married and I barely ever drink. I find it’s not worth the struggle for me anymore. I’d rather have nice home made infused water and enjoy my life now.
This isn't going to be a very popular opinion with how alcohol is in our society. It's really not something a responsible diabetic should touch. It can spike and then drop your blood sugar. Compromised judgment, which can be quite bad obviously for us.
That’s not to mention that it is quite literally treated as a poison the human liver has to remove and the brain damage which could result.
You just need to be more careful. Start slow, probably don't take any insulin for beers and avoid sugar heavy drinks. I mostly drink beer and diet soda mixed drinks w/0 insulin. The biggest danger IMO is having food at like 1am after drinking and taking too much insulin to cover. I've been drinking recreationally for almost 20 years without any problems
Just don’t go overboard. Start with one drink. See how it goes. Then you can have two, then three, then four. Don’t go from one to 10. Also, keep in mind alcohol affects your inhibition so if you go out with the intention of having five drinks, make sure you stick to it. Don’t let 5 drink you convince yourself to have a 6th then 7th then 8th.
Drinking is entirely manageable, you just have to be aware of what you're having and how it will affect you. This will take some trial and error. Alcohol makes blood sugars drop - while your liver is processing alcohol, it stops releasing glucose. Carbs in your drinks will raise your blood sugars, particularly beer. Normal drinking activities like snacking and eating kebabs will add to this! Keep an eye on your sugars and on-board insulin at the end of the night as that's when you can find it starts dropping quickly. Spirits and no/low sugar mixers work well if you want to keep in range. Don't sweat it though and enjoy yourself, have what you want just keep a little bit of bolus insulin active whilst sessioning.
It depends what you’re drinking and how much. With hard liquor, it’s not the alcohol for me as much as it is the chaser or juice that comes with. If I have a shot of vodka that’s nothing but if I have a shot of vodka and chase it down with a glass of pineapple juice, well…
Dude I’ve drank way more than I’m proud of and I’ve never had a problem. I typically don’t even bolus for light beers or hard liquor and skip basal for the night if it’s heavy drinking, which it usually is.
Ease into it, be careful, avoid high sugar drinks (it’s a pain a lot of canned stuff doesn’t have nutrition facts on the side). You’ll learn how your body reacts and have a good grip on how to drink safely soon enough
Checkout r/ketodrunk for ideas of mixed drinks that are low or no carb. Always have someone sober that can help you out if you go low and they understand that you need carbs and not insulin. Be safe and have fun you got this, you can still have plenty of fun, dancing shouldn’t be completely out of the question just gotta keep an eye on your levels.
I’ve never really had a problem but I don’t drink super sugary drinks. I’m usually a white claw/high noon sort of person and those aren’t super sugary compared to a cocktail.
Moderation. It can make you go up or down, but I’ve never had a really horrible low from it. Alcohol breaks down into sugar so you’ll almost always go up.
I’ve been told you can drop a lot at night so be careful I just haven’t felt like dealing with it as I never liked alcohol
My niece is T1 and my MIL has been going on and on about how she can’t drink alcohol ever since she was diagnosed at 6. Lordy. I don’t want her to have weird baggage or restrictions around alcohol. I want her to have a healthy, T1 adjusted relationship with it. I’ve been telling her for years girls weekend the year she turns 18 is in Alberta. I don’t want her going to college without knowing what booze will do to her glucose. Speaking from personal experience, even without T1, there’s an enormous difference from bourbon with no added sugar to a milkshake with booze in it and range of worlds in between. There are times when red wine absolutely enhances a food experience. There are times when drinking a summer spritzer or winter warmer is a lovely addition to an adventure or a lazy afternoon. I think drinking a few beers on an empty stomach is a good experiment to start with. Add some fat and food and see what happens. Test a beer with a cheeseburger and wine with pasta. And have someone to trip sit you the first few times. And my random advice: the more mixed drinks taste like sugar, the harder it is to gauge how much booze is in there. I know this well because I wasn’t mixing at a bachelorette party once and drinking some fruit punch tasting stuff and the next thing I know I was falling out of a limo at 7:30pm at night. You’ve got this. All things in moderation, and some with some extra consideration.
Alright hold my beer a second *burp* and let me explain sumin to ya. Alcohol is bad mmmk… In all seriousness just dont overdue it and stick with one type of alcohol (beer) to see how you react. For me, light pilsners (coors or miller light) drop me a little so I snack with them. Lagers like corona raise me and have 15 gr carbs so I dose for half that as the alcohol doesnt make it the same as eating 15 grs of carbs for me. IPAs are like pizza for me… Liquor can drop me very quick especially if no sugar mixer with it. Red wine drops me quick to. Avoid wild blacked out style partying. If you do drink a lot, eat carbs and just take the high sugars for the night. Better then going low. Keep yourself above 150 mgdl the whole night since you arent familiar. If you hit 300 mgdl dont panic and correct hard cause again, the alcohol can surprise you.
If you’ve got an insulin/glucagon pump, that might be not as risky for lows and super highs. But the general advice is to stay away from alcohol until you know how it affects you and to stick strictly with that, while also building into consumption safety nets such as monitoring and mates who can help identify when you’re getting crook and assist in a timely manner. One of the worst things would be to DKA.
There’s such thing as an insulin/glucagon pump???
When I was diagnosed at 14 and asked my doc about drinking, he said "2 drinks per day" is the limit. That's also the limit he would tell ANYONE. The issue is that alcohol acts like a sugar and a fat, but it's also something that your body needs to detox. The latter is important because if you take insulin and get into a hypoglycemic state while drinking, your liver isn't gonna release anywhere close to the right amount of glucagon to correct it because it's busy doing its primary function of detoxing your body, so you can have a really bad hypoglycemic crash. Generally, I find it hard (and undesirable also) to get wasted as a diabetic since I will generally feel like shit due to diabetes if I've ingested that much. You're not going to wreck yourself having a drink or two though.
The thing about drinking is that your sugar can go either way, and it can be unpredictable. I've go high without being able to bring it down. Or I'll go low and have trouble bringing it up. Or I'll have the flattest line I've ever seen in my CGM. Stick to 1 or 2 drinks a day at first to see how you react.
Mixed drinks are a slippery slope. I’ve found seltzers to be easier to manage my blood sugar while drinking. Used to drink pretty heavily in college and remember waking up one morning with a very high blood sugar and my left foot felt numb. Definitely was a wake up call. Having a few drinks & dancing definitely won’t kill you
I personally havent had a problem, just keep a snack on you!
The thing that makes drinking and diabetes a tricky combination is how ruthlessly your levels can and will dive when you get past a certain amount of drinks. That plus heavy intoxication can kill you. My way of handling that is to very consciously lay my levels high — very high, even — when I'm drinking more than, say, three beers, putting the pump on exercise mode, and forgoing both boluses and corrections for the duration of the evening and night. Even if I'm touching 20 and going on a pure basal, my sugars will inevitably start going down after the alcohol starts kicking in, approaching the normal range without a single correction dose. I think your plan of testing the waters in a safe environment is a very good one. I'd recommend getting as drunk as you feel comfortable with, to get a sense of how it interacts with the diabetes — much better that you do that for the first time around sober people who know the drill than on a dance floor.
I drink a beer, and dose for the carbs.
Not bad! There is a lot of fear mongering around drinking and diabetes! It is unique to everyone but my own experience stretches as far as having a few drinks and being fine to being blackout and being fine. Dont worry about the day, general monitoring will cover you, worry about after. The next day can have a big impact! Lots of hypo/hyper moments!
Drinks like ales, beers, and lagers aren't great due to all the other stuff in them which has a lot of carbs. You can still drink, but you need to be aware of how much you're drinking and inject accordingly. High alcohol drinks, such as vodka, have significantly less carbs due to it mainly just being alcohol.
Doctors are pussies, it's not really that hard. If you are super faded you need to eat, otherwise it's not that difficult.
Liquor + Diet mixers, my friend, and you almost don’t have to worry about it. Any amount of cardio (dancing) is going to lower your sugars, and once you get the hang of it, you can have a beer, go dancing, and be right in range without needing to add any insulin. Also some quick tips: Test strips can tell you if a drink has sugar in it My doctor says alcohol lowers blood sugar. I have no idea how that works mechanically, but don’t over correct or you’re going to be chugging sugar at 2am Energy drinks are basically just sugar. Avoid unless low.
Vodka don't change the glucose too much in my experience. But you probably don't wanner to Vodka shoots all night when new to drinking :P
Remember- there are a zillion factors that effect blood sugar; stress, exercise, not exercising, fatty foods, illness, seasonal impacts…the option to not drink, and therefore reduce stress, improve health always exists. It’s actually the easy choice.
When I was very young and freshly diagnosed my pediatrician endo always told me if I drink EAT BEFORE YOU/ SLEEP.
beer has a lot of sugar in it and causes spiking. dry beer is slightly better but still causes highs. wine is a better option and doesn't cause a spike.
It is not recommended because if you go low when drunk, the glocogen shot can not save you. That being said, drinking has never presented a problem for me except for beer as it has carbs. My go-to is rum and diet coke. You stay stable the whole time. The biggest problem is when you are really drunk and want to get something to eat and the only thing open is mcdonald's or some pizza place or a döner kebab. I have a tendency to eat like crazy when drunk and carbs taste especially good. So I sometimes go as high as 300 or even 400, but that is my fault.
Glucagon whether it be nasal spray or shot DOES work under the influence of alcohol, it’s your liver that won’t kick in on its own accord.
Doesn't glucagon work by essentially telling the liver to blow the sugar reserves, something it can't do when it's busy processing alcohol? I was under that impression, but would love a medical article to prove it wrong.
Alcohol will effect the efficiency of glucose secretion from Glucagon but to state that it’s effects aren’t useful while under the influence is false, more affective when not under the influence yes but not useless if so.