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Christmas time and type1

Jc3131

Jc3131

Well-Known Member
Messages
329
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
How does everyone manage the festive period being a t1d?

I'm starting to feel a but overwhelmed by it all. Seeing people going out and enjoying themselves and me feeling restricted.

I know people say that you control the diabetes and not let it control you, but at the moment (6 months in) I feel that it's took over my life. Does it get easier? I really fancy a good night out with my best pal, Lager. But I am so worried about night time hypos that I feel I cannot have a drink.

Sorry for the festive moan.
 
Hi @Jc3131 . First up, yes it does get easier. With experience comes confidence.
As for your mate Lager:).
Treat it like your diabetes. Control it, don't let it run amok and do it on your terms. By your terms I mean don't get pished.
Enjoy yourself but aim to stay in a position of some control, difficult I know.
Pace yourself, if with mates tell them how to help you if it all goes wrong. There's always one guy or gal who stays more sober than everyone else.
I used to drink big time with diabetes but age and maturity ( boring old git ) have changed me.
If you think you may go to far then try putting some reminders in place before you set out.
A bedtime snack at the bedside, a pint of water next to the toilet, glucose meter on your pillow, anything to help you.
If anything go to bed with higher sugars, not ideal but better and safer than going hypo.
Enjoy Xmas.
 
time will be your friend on this subject-- you won't get it all straightaway -- as you will be learning in real time.
i would try out lager at home and some testing before going out

as @therower says -- better to run a bit high than end up in A&E with a hypo ( done that !! got the t-shirt !
 
I have been trying to ignore what's coming up, it is too horrifying.

I guess I'm not really allowed a social life at the moment, so if I just keep on not having a social life that should be fine... sort of...
 
Hi @Jc3131 ,

Some practical advice from above.. I agree with @therower about "pace." Yer mates will know you're a D & will respect that..
Like @himtoo , I've been in A&E on occaisions too. Lol, but in the capacity of being the most coherent helping a "fallen" member of the party..

One advantage of relative sobriety in my part of the world. It's easier to get a taxi for the gang at the end of the night....
There are advantages! ;)

Just have fun & enjoy the night out & wake up safe! :)
 
Cheers for the replies. I have been out once since i was diagnosed. This was for a meal and a few pints. And although it was an okish night, I didn't really enjoy it because of all the hassle of injecting and testing.

Plus even after two pints i feel rough the next day. Probs down to being out of practice.
 
Jc3131 said:
And although it was an okish night, I didn't really enjoy it because of all the hassle of injecting and testing.
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Time helps with that too. Over time, injecting should become less hassle.
If you want to avoid it when drinking, go for something with less carbs like wine or spirits (without sugary mixers).

And don’t forget, one night won’t kill you.
I think of it like cleaning my teeth. My teeth won’t fall out because I am too tired to clean my teeth a couple of times a year. And I won’t loose my eyesight or have my feet amputated because my BG goes high on the odd night out.

Christmas is a time to enjoy so make sure your diabetes allows you that fun.
 
Jc3131 said:
How does everyone manage the festive period being a t1d?

I'm starting to feel a but overwhelmed by it all. Seeing people going out and enjoying themselves and me feeling restricted.

I know people say that you control the diabetes and not let it control you, but at the moment (6 months in) I feel that it's took over my life. Does it get easier? I really fancy a good night out with my best pal, Lager. But I am so worried about night time hypos that I feel I cannot have a drink.

Sorry for the festive moan.
Click to expand...
I'm confused. Why are you feeling restricted? Do you feel you can't go out and enjoy yourself? The only restriction I can see is having to carry kit (not too bad in winter with coat pockets), and avoiding sugar/simple carbs.
 
I appreciate that being newly diagnosed that going out can feel like skating on ice for the first time, but it still doesn't mean you should avoid these situations because you are newly diagnosed - if alcohol is a cause for concern then don't drink it, you can still have a night out and removing something that could cause anxiety will make it easier to enjoy your night out. Personally if I go out I only drink either gin and diet tonic or red wine as I don't take insulin for either, if i'm dancing then I test every hour and finish the night with something carby like chips so I don't run low in the night, i'm the same as @helensaramay running high on the odd night out isn't an issue for me, also I don't want to miss seeing friends because my diabetes got in the way.
 
The dreaded "pizza effect" is pretty useful after a night on the town. Bit of cheese on toast or slice of pizza, delayed effect kicks in at about the right time to fend off hypos after the liver has finished processing alcohol.
 
@Scott-C . Cheese on toast!!!!!!!!!!!!! Probably the best bedtime snack after a few to many ever.
Always struggled with the bendy over to check the state of the melted cheese under the grill.
Quite often took 3 steps/ stumbles to the side and end up looking in the washing machine.:hungover::hungover::hungover:
 
I just bought some of these sugarfree things we put them on the xmas tree, no idea how its called in english but I ll add a picture. The green is marzipan, yellow is nougat (I already opened that one) brown is.. Im not sure I just picked it, but they have lots more flavors. They r delicious and one has only 0.4 gr carbs in it. I wanted to try these bcoz even tho I already learnt to restrict all these during them holidays, but grandma likes cheating quite a lot and bcoz of grandpas death shes very depressed now. So I thought I would pack some safe options for her in case.
I hope u feel better, at 6 months I was getting very upset about diabetes too, I was diagnosed at last year christmas and spent the holidays in hosp. There r still many christmas meal options for diabetics too. Hope u doing okay. X
4762c156295a8cf207cba07fb90a0008.jpg
 
miszu said:
I just bought some of these sugarfree things we put them on the xmas tree, no idea how its called in english but I ll add a picture. The green is marzipan, yellow is nougat (I already opened that one) brown is.. Im not sure I just picked it, but they have lots more flavors. They r delicious and one has only 0.4 gr carbs in it. I wanted to try these bcoz even tho I already learnt to restrict all these during them holidays, but grandma likes cheating quite a lot and bcoz of grandpas death shes very depressed now. So I thought I would pack some safe options for her in case.
I hope u feel better, at 6 months I was getting very upset about diabetes too, I was diagnosed at last year christmas and spent the holidays in hosp. There r still many christmas meal options for diabetics too. Hope u doing okay. X
4762c156295a8cf207cba07fb90a0008.jpg
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Where do you get them? I like them for the wrapping, and lack of high sugar’s the icing on the cake - yes, the paradox is intended - and yes, feel free to groan.
 
Fairygodmother said:
Where do you get them? I like them for the wrapping, and lack of high sugar’s the icing on the cake - yes, the paradox is intended - and yes, feel free to groan.
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In a bio food shop in Budapest. I ll ask whats the brand next time I go there. Its around £20-25 for one kg (one piece was £0.20). Im not sure if its sold in the UK aswell but i can send some over there if anyones tempted to try it.
 
Thank you miszu, and I hope that your Grandma has a happy, treat filled Christmas with you. I’ll have a look in the bio healthfood shops here in the uk
 
therower said:
@Scott-C . Cheese on toast!!!!!!!!!!!!! Probably the best bedtime snack after a few to many ever.
Always struggled with the bendy over to check the state of the melted cheese under the grill.
Quite often took 3 steps/ stumbles to the side and end up looking in the washing machine.:hungover::hungover::hungover:
Click to expand...

DAFNE world:
Do not drink in excess of the recommended limit; do not bolus for alcohol; eat carbs before bed.

Real world:
Get wasted; try not to burn hand on the grill or faceplant white goods
 
I've found it's harder and harder to control my T1, the longer I've had it. However, Christmas food generally has not caused any problems as long as I know how much I'm eating. Last year I ate plenty of chocolate on top of my usual breakfast, and stayed around the 5's all morning. Just don't eat too much, a few treats should be fine with careful monitoring and dosing.
 
I am currently in Los Angeles where the only thing anyone ever does socially is go out and eat. Which I can do, but then I wreck everyone else's evening by forcing them to go to the lacto ovo vegan carb-free low-calorie restaurant that serves only 101 types of mineral water (and don't joke, it probably exists here)

I used to love travelling, it looks like it is now better to avoid doing it altogether, although right now I do get to feel OK through the evening because lantus is now midnight rather than 8am!
 
Bertyboy said:
I'm confused. Why are you feeling restricted? Do you feel you can't go out and enjoy yourself? The only restriction I can see is having to carry kit (not too bad in winter with coat pockets), and avoiding sugar/simple carbs.
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It's more a confidence thing with me. The whole thing of having to keep check on bloods etc is a pain. As a newby I do find it hard at times to test and even worse to inject.

I worry about ending up doing damage to myself. If I didn't have kids I would probably be a little more carefree and would experiment more with different situations.

Cheers for the replies everyone.
 
You will get used to testing. It's a necessary evil (but it's not really that bad). You don't have to draw attention to what you're doing, just test under the table.

Drinking dry wine or spirits with sugar free mixer means you don't have to test as often as with lager or other beer.

Just remember to eat a snack before bed, so you don't go hypo during the night ( with me, that's normally been 15 to 30g of carbs with no bolus).

For years I have found that some Christmas food affects me in strange ways. For instance, mince pies which are 30 to 40g of carbs, will send me hypo, so I give insulin for about 15g carbs. This could just be me. I was diagnosed coeliac in 2015 and thought that this could be the reason I was going hypo after eating mince pies. I've now been gluten free for 22 months and after my first mince pie this year, was hypo later, even though I gave myself less than half the amount of insulin I should have. With me it just seems to be mince pies that are the problem. Other Christmas treats don't have the same effect.

Everyone is different. You might find that you need to take all the calculated insulin for all Christmas snacks.

Socialise just like pre-diabetes but remember to test. Friends will be understanding, just be sensible
 
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