Alcohol

Hi Dave, I've read a lot on the topic of drink, and to be honest, you should leave beer out all together.....it's like someone else quoted ''beer is like eating a loaf of bread''.....You might wake up feeling normal, but when your liver kicks in again, you'll see a big spike in your BS.....Not good!! And drinking water is not gonna help......Sorry!
If you want to drink with your mates, try vodka or Gin with Coke Zero (Clear distilled drinks have no sugars or carbs). For me there is no change in my BS readings. But we are not all built the same.....Try it and test if it works for you....Hope this helps.

For beer you need to bolus. I would go for red wine or spirits with diet coke or lemonade

Hi. Although beer does contain some residual carbs don't confuse the carbs before fermentation with the alcohol after fermentation. Alcohol has little effect on blood sugar although it is still high in calories. Use the meter to check your favourite beer and how your liver behaves.

Dave skate said:

Keeping up with my diet and taking my insulin soon as you go out with friends for a quiet drink just two pints of larger my glucose sugar was up to 29.2 shock to me but just one time having a drink.
Is drinking water after this situation going to cut the sugar down ?

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Personally I found the easiest thing to do was stop drinking alcohol all together. It's up to you, alcohol does affect BG just not in the same way as carbs. This explains it quite well and I'm sure there's loads of other pages just waiting to be read.
http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_and_nutrition/page4.htm

I'm not a beer drinker (apart from the odd small lager in Italy) but usually stick to spirits or dry wine.

I used to be OK with both red and white wine but I've now given up white wine (unless it's very dry i.e. a 1). If I drink any other dry white wines, like Pinot Grigio, my blood sugar goes into double figures so I've given them up and stick to red. I don't know why this has happened - just as well I prefer red (except on REALLY hot sunny days!)

Alcohol, like so many other things, is a case of trial and error. What works for one diabetic won't necessarily work for another. Like me and white wine, things can change over time.

One important thing to remember is the possibility of hypos when you drink. This can also change over time so be careful.

Dave skate said:

Keeping up with my diet and taking my insulin soon as you go out with friends for a quiet drink just two pints of larger my glucose sugar was up to 29.2 shock to me but just one time having a drink.
Is drinking water after this situation going to cut the sugar down ?

Click to expand...

I haven't drunk alcohol since 2010 and definitely feel better for it. My sugars were bad after drinking and decided to take it out of my diet.

Well, if you don't want to give up drinking altogether and like a beer, or as like myself like a cider (even worse!!) You do probably need to inject for it, I actually take 2 units for a can/pint of cider, (the carbs/cal book gives you references for alcohol), just be aware if you are injecting for alcohol you will usually need a snack sometime after! Don't ply in the insulin for every unit and then go to bed!!! Take a snack before bed and make sure you have a sweet snack to hand should you need it during the night.
Sounds like a hassle but hasn't put me off having a drink yet!!!

Also don't 'diss' the drinking water after!! Rehydrating after drinking is always a good idea!!

Dave skate said:

Keeping up with my diet and taking my insulin soon as you go out with friends for a quiet drink just two pints of larger my glucose sugar was up to 29.2 shock to me but just one time having a drink.
Is drinking water after this situation going to cut the sugar down ?

Click to expand...

I have the opposite effect with alcohol, mine usual drops very quickly, often to below 4.0, so I have to watch it. Haven't drunk beer for quite a while now, but I know that 4 or 5 single Gin and Sugar free tonics makes the glucose drop very rapidly, so I try to avoid booze most of the time - always carry some dextrosol, just in case.
Can't see that the water will help myself, other than for hydration purposes as alcohol is a diuretic.

Yes, I have had that happen too, usually if drinking on an empty stomach!, don't mean to sound like a hardened drinker but I have been a diabetic since childhood so have gone through my student years!! Now in my 40 somethings, still enjoy the odd drink, but had training in my youth and found out the hard way!! We are only human after all and should be able to enjoy times with our friends, as long as we know how to deal with it.