Wine and Insulin

[Shazza74]

Hi

I have been told by my DN that if i am having wine with my meal that i should adjust my insulin (take less). I was only diagnosed at T1 in May this year and so am still learning. I am going out for a meal tomorrow night with a friend and would like to enjoy some wine with my meal as a treat.

I have just had a conversation with an experienced T1 in work and he said that i should take more Insulin! Now i am confused!

I understand that the sugar in the wine would make me spike but i worry about having hypos during the night. Also, i don't fancy the idea of a bedtime snack after having a large enough meal.

What shoud i do? Are there any experienced wine drinkers out there?

Thanks in advance!

 

[noblehead]

Go along with what your DSN says just to be safe, if you experience high bg levels then report back to them and they will advise further.

With alcohol it can have the tendency to raise bg levels and drop them back down to hypo levels many hours later, hence why they say you should have a small snack before bed. I drink red wine without any problems, but as with most things with diabetes, one persons experience doesn't always mean another will follow suit, so best that you follow what you DSN says and learn from the experience.

Have a great evening and enjoy your food and wine.

 

[yingtong]

It's very individual,unfortunately you will have to learn from experience.I have been type1 for over 50 years and still learn daily from my experiences,please do plenty of testing and this will help you build up your knowledge.

 

[Shazza74]

Thanks! Do you adjust when you are having red wine or do you snack with it?

 

[noblehead]

Thanks! Do you adjust when you are having red wine or do you snack with it?

I don't adjust my insulin dose but do have a snack before bed, it really is very individual on how people react to alcoholic as Yingtong and I have both said, so it's best that you do take the advice of your DSN and report back with your findings, from there they will advise you further for the next time you go out drinking. Just be sure to test frequently and carry fast-acting glucose, it's also a good idea to maybe set your alarm for 3am to test your bg.

 

[Shazza74]

Thank you! That is very helpful.

 

[Daver]

Hi Shazza,

Different types of alcoholic drinks work differently for me, but you will soon get used to how it works for you - so don't worry.

Alcohol on its own tends to bring my levels down but keep in mind what type of drink you're having. For example (for me) - wine is quite a sugary drink (even the nice dry whites) and I find that my levels go up in following morning after I've had a few glasses. A gin and slim-line tonic (no sugar) will bring my levels down and I need to be aware of potential hypos so would test during the evening to see if I should swap a slim-line for a normal tonic to keep myself on track. Jack Daniels, port, Pimms (even with diet mixers) are all quite sugary too.

I've only been diagnosed a few years myself and I was apprehensive when I first had a drink afterwards. With wine, I decided not to take more insulin whilst I was drinking it and just see how it affected my levels - with me and wine I am more likely to go higher than lower so no risk of hypos and not drinking enough to be too high that I can't iron out any slight issues in the morning.

My advice would be to test as you go to keep a good idea on what's what - you'll soon discover your own pattern following different types of drink. I would; however, not drink heavily and as already advised - keep some fast-acting sugar (Dextrose or small carton of orange juice) next to your bed.

Hope this helps - try not to worry and enjoy your night out.

All the best

Dave

 

[novorapidboi26]

White and Red Wines have no carbs in them to take insulin for.............

However, alcohol will reduce your blood sugar by causing an inhibiting effect on the livers normal glucose release, this is why you should consider taking less insulin.

Everyone is different though..........I personally would do nothing for one glass with my meal as the alcohol from that glass could be processed by my liver without a significant effect to the livers glucose release........a bottle however would require a small reduction in my basal dose, not my bolus.

its my basal insulin because the effect from the alcohol for me personally comes many hours after I have drank, and occasionally in to the next day.

you will be different so you will need to simply test it out, trial and error.........do nothing the first time round and see what happens, make sure you are prepared for hypos of course..........

good advice so far from the OPs....

 

[Daibell]

Yes, alcohol stops the liver producing background glucose and can make blood sugar go up or down depending on timing, type of alcohol, food etc. I wouldn't worry if it's just a glass, otherwise as others have said just check as needed. I must admit I don't change my insulin when drinking but I'm aware that if I go hypo the liver can't dump emergency glucose as it's busy clearing alcohol. BTW a lot of alcohol drinks don't have much sugar left in them following fermentation e.g. wine but will still have some calories.

 

[Shazza74]

Thanks everyone! Sore fingers on Sunday from testing

 

[Shazza74]

I'm getting my flu jab tomorrow morning. I just remembered. Anybody know if this has an impact on your BS levels?

 

[novorapidboi26]

some say yes...

 

[Lucyloo19]

yes sometimes

 

[Shazza74]

Up or down or it depends on the individual?

 

[novorapidboi26]

well, its a dormant version of the virus that is injected into you, and this triggers a response from the immune system to produce antibodies......

that's how I understand it anyway, so you could presume that the process of producing these antibodies is going to require more resources/fuel which in body terms mean more glucose from the liver........

so you could also assume this may mean higher blood sugars, but diabetes is never a simple as that unfortunately......

 

[Lucyloo19]

ok im having my flu jab Monday and my bg always go up when i have it,

how is it normally

 

[Emmotha]

Helo,

I've been danosed since June ad hve tesed alcohol mny times.

I would say go with yur nurse's advice. Dry white wine only has 1g carb per glass where as sweet can have 10g. So go for dry

 

[SamJB]

I can't really add to what's already been said, some good advice here. All I will say is that dry white and red wines don't affect my levels at all, so I don't need to adjust my insulin.

If you're having 1 or 2 glasses with dinner, then I'd say you wont' need to adjust your insulin. You'll just need to test to find out.

 

[Charles Robin]

As mentioned above, you should be fine with a couple of glasses of dry white wine, but should slightly reduce your insulin, and make sure you have some fast acting glucose at hand just in case. Alcohol impairs your liver's ability to raise your blood sugars while it is in your system, meaning you will probably go a bit lower. It's a good idea not to drink too much for this reason, I usually drink a maximum of half a bottle of dry white once or twice a week. And avoid dessert wines like the plague, they can have plenty of sugar lurking in them. This will cause your blood sugars to spike at first, and then the alcohol will make them crash later.

In terms of flu jab, I had mine on Monday, and did not adjust my insulin. I had the jab at midday, and my blood sugars were as follows: 12.15- 5.6. 15.34- 4.2. 17.44- 4.9 19.33- 5.0. 21.59- 5.1.
Blood sugars on Tuesday lowest was 4.5, highest was 6.1. In my experience my blood sugars don't rise, but doing some extra testing might be a good idea. My example might not be completely relevant, because I did not feel ill after the jab. Some people get mild flu symptoms, and it's possible this can cause a rise in blood sugars. Just speculation on my part though.

 

[moz1]

For wine depends on how much you are drinking whether you will get much of a drop in bg later on. I personally would not take extra insulin for wine as not a great deal of carbs in it. If you look on carbs & cals app which I use for reference a large glass of red wine has 1g of carb! So long as you are not drinking excessively and eating a meal as well I don't think you will have too much of a problem. Just test a little more than usual for peace of mind as if you are a little tipsy can mask hypo symptoms a bit. Once you get to know how alcohol affects your bg you can adjust things as necessary. Have fun!