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Bolus for drinks

nessa1970

Well-Known Member
Messages
386
Location
New Zealand
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Can you bolus for drinks? Since Christmas I have been drinking coke again. Silly I no.
But I'm now in that bad routine of bs readings of Hi. All the time. I've tried to have water but it's just not cutting it. I'm craving cold coke... to the point I drunk 2 litres in 3 hours. It's so hard to get off it. So I'm taking my lantus morning and night but haven't been bolus for the coke or correcting it. As its a bit hard to when it's a drink an you have alot of it... I don't no how to get of the ride I'm stuck on. Drink an pee is all i do.
Oh and could high bs cause thrush in my mouth??? Thank you...
 
Haven't had a red label coke since diagnosis but if I did I'd bolus for it as it's not just carbs but very quickly absorbed carbs. Ever tried Coke zero very similar taste, mind you it's full of sweeteners. It's hard to resist cravings though!
 
Hi @nessa1970 you should bolus for sugary drinks like you bolus for anything else that contains carbs. 2 litres of full sugar coke contains 200g of sugar so you should bolus accordingly. If you have drunk a 2 litre bottle in 3 hours then you have put yourself at high risk of DKA, and it's no wonder that your glucose meter is showing "Hi".

High blood glucose levels can cause oral thrush, yes.
 
Hi @nessa1970 Sorry to hear things have gone off track again {hug}

Yes, you should bolus for sugary drinks using the carb info on them, but it's very hard for injected insulin to cover the very swift rise from a big drink of sugary Coke. That's why it makes a great hypo treatment - it will push your bloodvsugar up very fast.

Can you swap to Diet Coke? Same taste, no sugar.

It's very common to crave lots of sugary drinks when your blood sugar is high. It's a combination of the thirst and dehydration you'll be suffering, and also your body crying out for food/glucose because your blood sugar is high and your body chemistry is disrupted. Just before diagnosis, I had huge cravings for high carb foods. They went when my blood sugar came down.

Yes, high blood sugar can cause thrush everywhere, including the mouth. If you get your blood sugar down and get some meds from a doctor that should clear the thrush up.

I understand how hard some 'rides' are to get off. But it IS possible. You can give in to the diabetes or you can take it by the scruff of the neck, put it back in its cage and stop it messing up your life and your health.

Speak to a doctor and get some help in getting yoyr readings down to a safe level.

Take care - you're not alone X
 
Yes of course you can bolus for drinks, if it's litres of full sugar coke you really should bolus for it. 100ml of Coca-Cola classic contains 10.6g of carbs.

If you loading yourself up with sugar without blousing for it, that will be sending you high. It's the high blood sugar making you thirsty and making you wee - your body is desperately trying to get rid of all the excess sugar. It's the high blood sugar causing oral thrush.

I don't see why it's hard to bolus for it because it's a drink and your having lots of it? It'll have the nutritional info right on the packet telling you how many grams of carbs you're taking in.

I would suggest you stop drinking coke while your blood sugar is unreadably high.

Have you tested for ketones when you are getting HI readings?

Have you considered switching to Diet Coke?
 
Hi @nessa1970
sorry to hear you're having such a bad time with cravings. I'd definitely bolus for the coke. Coke Zero tastes very similar but without that carbs you could try it? Xx
 
Hi. I'm trying to have wter then a small coke to wean off it. I should have known better to bolus for it but didn't think it safe to have so much insulin as I was drinking down large amounts in hours an didn't want to risk go low. I am on it today tho ... I think I'll have to not drink it atall ever. It was my hardest thing to give up, having been a bottle a day lady for 30+ years. Happy new year an thank you
 
Thanks an I have tried the other safe options. I can tell the difference immediately. I'll just cut it out forever.
 
I new coke was bad but I didn't bolus for it because of how much I was having and all day... I'm trying to get off it and I'll bolus for it and I'll drink water. Thanks for the reply
 
It's pure sugar! What do your blood sugar readings look like when you drink that much sugar???

I usually try not to tell people what to do, but seriously stop drinking it now..!

Either drink the diet stuff or try sparkling water. Cold sparkling water hits your throat in the same way and is much better for you as a human and as a T1 diabetic.
 
Yes I understand it's terrible an today I had water an 2 glasses only of coke which I bolus for. Tomorrow I'll try for one glass only.
 
Of course you should bolus for drinks! Anything with carbs/sugar needs insulin does not matter if its liquid or solid - I bolus 0.5units for a coffee every morning so you should certainly be doing it for coke.

One of my new years resolutions was to go the entire year without drinking any soda pop at all - its going to be super hard since i usually drink a couple cans of diet coke each day But so far its been 5 days clean lol You can do this!
 
nessa1970 said:
Yes I understand it's terrible an today I had water an 2 glasses only of coke which I bolus for. Tomorrow I'll try for one glass only.
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Good on you for getting a hold on this I'm sure it can only help in the long run
 
Yep! ditch the coke! It won't be long before you get the taste for diet coke! There is just something about coke! I think if you persevere you'll get that same taste, our taste buds do adjust! My downfall is cider! Causes havoc with my sugar levels but if I had my drink of choice.....And I do bolus when I succumb to it....but alcohol is a whole different matter!
 
mahola said:
When I have cravings, which is stupidly often, I go and brush my teeth, Nobody wants to eat something delciously sweet with that minty fresh toothpaste taste in their mouth
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Mmmm, i actually get it the other way round....eat sweet then brush teeth lol.

Regards

Martin
 
I can't stand water and dislike artificial sweeteners, so I totally know where you're coming from. I will give you some other suggestions apart from "quit the coke", even though quitting coke would be best from a diabetes standpoint.

Remember that high BGs make you thirsty. If you get your BGs under control you won't be craving coke as much.

If you can afford a CGM, you can manage diabetes differently. When I went to Thailand on holiday, I did something radical! You can buy a coke or sprite at the side of the road anywhere, so I just kept buying and drinking soft drinks whenever my sugar started to dip below 7 or so. Given the sporadic exercise and constantly eating out, it was impossible to get my insulin dosages correct, so instead I would take a decent amount of insulin and grab a soft drink whenever I needed one. This actually worked beautifully. But it worked because of the heat and the fact I was ready to drink anytime.

Also, remember that Coke gets absorbed VERY quickly, but NovoRapid takes hours to do its work. They're not very well matched. If you take a boatload of insulin your sugar won't spike too much, but in less than an hour the coke will all be gone and all that insulin is going to drag you hypo—unless you eat or drink something else later to counteract it. If you are comfortable with a reasonably stable routine of Coke and food, then this may be the way to go.

Also there are some ways to make insulin act faster, like massaging the injection site. See https://diatribe.org/issues/39/thinking-like-a-pancreas

In the past I have injected insulin into my muscles (I don't advise anyone to try this since there is very little research about its safety), and for a few months I have been using Afrezza with good results.
 
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