Beer

It's not naughty, it's natural and good.
I'm sorry I can't advise on insulin, I refused it 4 years ago.

Alcohol does seem to play a part in keeping BS levels down, it certainly does for me.
The only downsides for me are a thumping great headache, loss of memory, and a collection of traffic cones !

I am sure that an insulin user will be along shortly to give you some more coherent advice !

Good luck Superchip

Can't help as I don't use insulin, BUT, I do know that all alcohols lower my Bgs with no compensating rise later. I've seen posts from T1s who say they don't use insulin to compensate for alcohol. But best wait for some who have more knowledge than I on insulin matters to come along.

When I was using insulin, im a T2 that used insulin for about 12 months, I was advised not to inject for the carbs in beer as they have little immediate effect but due to the effect of alcohol on the liver would cause a drop in bg levels after a relatively short period of time.

So rather than injecting fast acting insulin I was advised to eat some slow release complex carbs when drinking (alcohol) and if I had a night out to eat something like a slice of pizza on the way home to help protect against a night time hypo.

Im sure a T1 will give some input soon :thumbup:

Hi, I've been type one for over 21 years. Not much of a beer drinker, but I do Love a cheeky bottle of fruity cider and/or a glass of wine every now and then. I don't adjust my insulin if I am drinking, but do make sure I test my sugars regularly and I sometimes need a correction dose. Alcohol seems to lower my BG but the carbs in beer may cause them to rise. For this reason I prefer to just stick to my usual insulin and correct as and when needed.

Em

Benny, this is a subject that is close to my heart! I'm 28 and have a fairly active social life. I will go out for meals or on the drink once or twice (or more sometimes) per month. I love beer, but now I avoid it because it is incredibly high in GI; shoots my levels up almost immediately. If I'm just out for one or two I will inject as a pint will have around 12g or carbs in it, but its a lottery so as I said I avoid it now. This isn't a good idea when your going out to have a skinful as the alcohol and insulin will lower your levels and I imagine it would be easy to lose hypo signs if your bladdered. There are low carb options, Coors Light or Muller light, but they still cause a rise.

A friend of mine runs his own home-brew shop and has found some zero-carb home-brew. Apparently you can add a specific enzyme to the brew that will remove the carbs, but I've not tried it yet and probably wont to be honest!

I now tend to have wine, a spirit and a mixer or a nice whiskey as these do not cause a rise. I also test frequently whilst out and carry a stash of dextrose just to make sure that everything is ok.

Benny, Im Type 1 and drink on a regular basis, i never inject when drinking alcohol.
Alcohol brings your sugars down so where after a few beers your sugars may rise due to the carbs/sugars. The alcohol will bring them down pretty quickly.
After a binge i could go the next day without injecting at all as the alcohol in my system doing the insulin's job for me.
Thats my experience anyway.

Haha, aslong as i grab a burger/kebab at the end of the night my sugars seem to be more under control the next day

I love beer. I use insulin. I used to not inject but like you, found I was going a bit too high for my liking.
so now I use the rough guide that I jab for the first 2 pints, then I stop (I stop jabbing. I don't necessarily stop drinking). I always jab after the pint not before. A pint of real ale or a pint of (dry) cider is usually about 15 to 20g carbs - about the same as a snack of a whole banana or a small pitta bread.
But everyone's different when it comes to alcohol. Well, everyone's different when it comes to most things to be honest.

ALSO
never jab for spirits (unless you are mixing them with sweet mixers)
never jab for wine (unless it's sweet dessert wine)
..they don't really have carbs and they definitely have hypo-inducing alcohol.

mmmm, beeer.

Mmmmmmm....... Beer

Only became type 1 a year ago and am a big real ale drinker? At first I was told alcohol was a big no NO! But being human and realising that living the rest of my life without beer may seem even longer? I experimented and have found over the last year that for me at least( as other posts have said we're all different ) I can still go down the pub and have 6 or 7 pints and be fine in the morning.

Just takes a bit of planning:

1- have something to eat before you go out, not to high in carbs.
2- drink beer ( this is the good bit! )
3- test regularly through out the night.
4- don't inject insulin ( apart from long acting of course ).
5- when you stop drinking and before you go to bed eat something carby ( I usually have 3 pittas and houmous? I know it sounds a bit middle class but it works for me? ).
6- wake up in the morning and test ( I'm usually around the 7 mark ).
7- take some aspirin and promise not to do it again...... Till next Friday!!

Hope this helps? We all jump through hoops, but being type 1 the hoops are smaller!!

Mmmmmmmm beer!