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Alcohol And Partying With T1

H

hazedsoundz

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hey fellow diabetic survivors/Warriors, I’ve been out the “honey moon” phase for a year now (I’ve had diabetes for almost 3 years now) and I’m worried about partying because I wanna be able to have fun and be care free but also have good blood sugars so I feel great instead of having a high or repeated lows effect my nights. The last year I changed a lot of lifestyle by exercising everyday and eating way more to gain the weight I had been losing caused by high blood sugar. I’m going to uni in a couple weeks and want some advice/stories and experiences from anybody who can relate because when I first got diagnosed I was in Gr 10 and could drink anything with friends, go to parties care free and have a good time, however the last year I stopped going out just beacAjse eveyday my blood was screwd up, bottom line, I wanna have fun and have good diabetes, any thoughts ?

Thanks, Simon

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DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL IF ON BLOOD SUGAR LOWERING MEDICATION.
It messes with your liver so that little or no glucose is released, and in a hypo your brain is more liable to damage.
And diabetics who have been drinking and go hypo have been accused of being drunk and ended up in a police cell whilst their brain cells may continue to fizzle out.
If you are unwise you risk your future and possibly your life. THINK ABOUT (while you still can).
 
All things in moderation.

As you have found out alcohol will drop your blood sugars and lead to hypos which especially if your out in town and get separated from your friends can be problematic.

I have never been a big drinker, go out on a pub crawl and had to start 4 pubs in, other wise I be trashed by the third one.

There is no reason why you can't go out and party and no reason why you can't have drink or two but instead of downing 20 pints and a kebab, you might have to cut down to say 3 or 4 over the whole night. Kebabs still taste the same

Also take @kitedoc info on board as well.
 
Exciting times ahead for you, have fun at uni and make sure all the people you are going partying with know you are type one and what to do if you have a hypo and wear some kind of medical ID. Maybe avoid the heavy drinking sports students! Not everyone going wants to get hammered. Non diabetic grandson is off to uni in a few weeks and over the summer has gone from not drinking alcohol to getting a taste for Captain Morgan!
 
Hi @hazedsoundz the short answer is that it won’t work, drinking anything is going to cause you issues, as Kitedoc has said it’s easy to confuse drunken behaviour with hypos and ending up in a police cell with a criminal record will leave its mark on your future life.

Alcohol affects the liver’s ability to function properly and drinking sugar and alcohol is going to swing you high and low, and either way involves effort, is it worth that to put your health at risk and cause potential damage. There aren’t any shortcuts/tricks to having a party lifestyle with t1, and I have only ever come across hearing night mare stories when it’s not worked out.

Personally i’d rather have a good time with a couple of spirits or red wines, bag of chips afterwards to soak up the alcohol or not drinking at all and waking up feeling like I don’t have a whole day to get my levels back on side again or sort out a bad hangover.
 
Hi @hazedsoundz ,

Speaking as someone who has been involved working in the "leisure industry" wheather as an entertainer (live music.) or the hospitality side. It's a fine tipping point where a T1's meds & alcahol are mixed & there is not always the backup of a liver dump so any lows can drop fast.
Decisions made regarding a routine can also be skewed? It's not just a case of what did I do last night?! It also can be "did I bolus?" Or just how much did I actually inject... You wouldn't want to hand over that sort of resposibillty to one of your drunk mates? So why allow the only person you trust with your diabetes to get hammered...

@kitedoc 's mention of T1's getting mistakenly "blind housed" by the constabulary is unfortunately a well documented cautionary tale for the would be insulin dependant night outer. A good reason alone to carry medical ID & keep yer head together.

Have fun by all means. But play safe!
 

Appreciate it, I’m not from the uk I’m from Canada so you’d say 3-4 coronas wouldn’t be an issue since I’m out of the honey moon phase
 
hazedsoundz said:
Appreciate it, I’m not from the uk I’m from Canada so you’d say 3-4 coronas wouldn’t be an issue since I’m out of the honey moon phase
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3-4 Coronas should not be an issue. If anything they will likely raise your blood sugar a bit and then you will go lower later. Don't expect to have perfect blood sugars if you're drinking heavily or drinking beer, you won't. Are you on a pump or MDI? If you're on a pump you can lower your overnight basal rates to avoid going low, or if you are using Levemir as your MDI basal you can take a smaller dose overnight. You can also compensate by eating food that is high in carbs, fat and protein so that you will have a steady release of carbs for hours after eating. I try to stay away from beer these days, especially IPAs, because they can really spike blood sugar. I find wine and whiskey are okay, but if you have too many you will have lows later on and will need to compensate with food and/or less basal insulin.
 

I think some people should not drink if it is dangerous for them, but most type 1s can exercise caution and do so responsibly. I definitely had fun in university and never had a problem because I've always been aware of the risks and prepared. I think it might be worse to tell someone they can't, because if they decide to indulge one night they won't know how to do it safely and will end up in danger.
 
hazedsoundz said:
Appreciate it, I’m not from the uk I’m from Canada so you’d say 3-4 coronas wouldn’t be an issue since I’m out of the honey moon phase
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I don't know to be honest I have never got a taste for lager, which I think in the UK is what it is classed as or beer, these days I drink wine or cider. I would go by the advise from scotteric.
 

I feel like I can never be a beer pong typa guy at parties I guess but it’s so fun
 
scotteric said:
Can't say I never played beer pong...
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I suspect we’re all to old to even know what it is...

I like drinking, I must confess. I suspect luck has been on my side as I’ve not had any diabetic emergencies that I know of while under the influence. I look back in horror now at the amount I used to put away, to be honest. I seem to recall making sure I had plenty of chips or biscuits before bed. I also recall some quite poor choices being made

Nowadays I stick to dry wine, as the alcohol in a bottle pretty much evens out the carbs, so I don’t inject or snack for it. I sometimes have a mild low the following morning at around 8am, but a dextrose tablet and a half hour suspend on my pump deals with that without me over-correcting and ending up high. I’ve got a Libre+MiaoMiao so I get alarms if I go low, which gives me a measure of security. I do get massive hypos if I drink too much by way of spirits, so have to take the single malt and rum very easily. I don’t drink beer or cider any more, they’re just too high in carbs for the way I choose to live these days.

So you can enjoy a beer or three, just keep an eye on your levels, both of alcohol and glucose.
 

Do you think 3-4 beers will bring my levels high ? Like ****** high
 
hazedsoundz said:
Do you think 3-4 beers will bring my levels high ? Like ****** high
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All depends on how much insulin you have sloshing around, the type of brew, the alcohol content, and the carb content - beers are all so different. You basically need to experiment on yourself to work out what you can safely drink, what precautions you need to take, and the effect it’ll have the day after. Many people find they are prone to hypo for 24 hours after a session, as the live is too busy detoxifying the alcohol to release any glycogen to keep your levels up. As brilliant as the liver is, it can only do one thing at a time, and getting rid of alcohol will be it’s first priority.
 
hazedsoundz said:
Do you think 3-4 beers will bring my levels high ? Like ****** high
Click to expand...

Just experiment, test and experiment some more. When I got a CGM I realized how high some beers can spike blood sugar, especially IPAs which were my favourite some time ago. If I'm going to have a few drinks these days I would stick with wine or rye whiskey (either with ice or mixed with diet/coke Zero) which doesn't raise blood sugar but can lower it later which is the risk. I don't find 1-2 and maybe even 3 drinks has any effect, but everyone is different. I find light beers and lagers don't have much effect, and if you're having a beer with a meal sometimes the meal bolus will cover beer well enough not to worry about it.
 
Im sure when i was younger on some nights out i would have probably got through atleast 10-20 pints or worth that in other drinks It can be hard to keep the blood sugar controlled I wouldn't recommend
 
Davie_sett said:
Im sure when i was younger on some nights out i would have probably got through atleast 10-20 pints or worth that in other drinks It can be hard to keep the blood sugar controlled I wouldn't recommend
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Did U wake up with hypos?
 
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