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First pint of real ale (beer) since D (diagnosis) Day)

J

JIS

Active Member
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So my BG appears well under control with 90% of readings around 6 or less. Today, we decided to stop at out local and I treated myself to a pint of my favourite real ale (lovely!). Came home, had a light lunch but still expected the beer to have had an impact; nothing. A very low reading of 5.0.
So we went for a walk in the afternoon; came home and had supper being the re-heated roast of yesterday (which had no impact at all). However tonight's reading was 8.6.
We are confused. Could my pint at lunch time be having an impact some 9 hours after drinking? Or us something else going on?
Thanks
John


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Hi Jis

It sounds like you have very good control. I think it is very unlikely that one pint of beer would have an impact 9 hours later. Beer is quite high in carbs (about 25g per pint I think), higher than lager, but only marginally.

I have done some intensive testing of alcohol's affects on my blood sugar, and it is very marginal.

I have been testing for a year, and you do get the occasional strange reading, high or low, but I would not be too concerned about one reading, especially in the 8's.

Diabetes is a pain, but you also have to live. If you enjoy the odd pint, have one!
 
This sort of stuff happens and pinning down the cause is usually a lot of speculation. It's unlikely to be the beer and is probably linked to the walk or dinner. Did you have roast potatoes wih it? I always have small new potatoes now and never more than 3 as a roast spud, or mash, would be like spooning in sugar for me. Also, the walk before the meal may stimulate a request for energy which you then supplied with a meal which it eagerly metabolised, more quickly than normal.

Also, if you are losing weight, it often comes in fits and starts and I often get some raised readings when my weight is stuck but which then drops a couple of days after. The main thing is, how long did yuor BG remain at 8.6? My guess is it would be down in the 6s an hour later. When carbs are released, they don't get evenly dispersed in the blood as glycogen and having a sweeter pool of blood circulating so to speak is quite common when levels are low. They disperse within a short period of time though.

Or it could just be a bad finger prick sample. 1 in 20 are. The requirement is only that 95% of readings are within 20% of the true value which means that a 6.3 is as valid as 7.7 if the true value is 7 for 19 out of 20 readings. On tests done on meters, no single reading has been shown to be true but it is the average which is accurate.
 
I have always found that alcohol lowers my BS, quite a lot, so be careful. When I was first diagnosed 14 years ago, I was told to always snack when having a drink, as this would help keep the BS levels up. So I have always followed this advice. I am suffering from high readings at the moment and drinking the odd glass of wine helps to keep my BS down a little. Not, however, the best way to control BS levels. All things in moderation helps and I like the odd malt Whisky.
 
I too find that by having a glass (or 2) of dry white wine in the evening really lowers BG. Very helpful for me as in the evenings mine tend to be higher than mornings. Still under 7 but thus far wine with Dinner really helps.


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