How does drinking alcohol work

Vaper said:

Hi All,

I'm not really a drinker as in alcohol maybe once a year but recently I've really fancied a beer. I'm type 1 and as yet have avoided alcohol. My question is this, if you have a drink do you bolus as you go or wait till you finish drinking. It seems a bit fussy to bolus for each drink and what if say I have crisps with the beer do I bolus for them straight away.
I fine with my meals and snacks on normal days it's just if I'm out and the mood takes me.

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Alcohol can be very dangerous with type 1 diabetes (as well as T2 treated with insulin) if you're bolusing to cover the carbs in the drink.

If you plan on drinking a fair bit to get a decent wobble on, then I'd advise you not to take any insulin as your BG may crash during the night and you may be too incapacitated to notice the hypo symptoms and not wake up... Also if you were to bolus for each drink, and happen to be putting them away at a good rate, you could end up stacking your insulin which can also result in a nasty hypo.

Your best bet would be to consume one of whatever beer you plan on drinking and then test to see what is happening with your BG. Whether you decide to bolus or not is your decision.

If I go out to drinking pints in the pub with my friends, I just need to accept that I'm going to have high BG for the duration. And I always make sure that I have some carbs without insulin before bed to keep my BG up.

FYI, you shouldn't need any insulin at all for spirits and typically very little for red wine. The latter is my drink of choice in the house as it means less hassle and roller coasting with my BG.

GrantGam said:

FYI, you shouldn't need any insulin at all for spirits and typically very little for red wine.

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Don't overlook any mixer you may have with the spirits.

Squire Fulwood said:

Don't overlook any mixer you may have with the spirits.

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Good point @Squire Fulwood, it's always best to state the obvious

Vaper said:

Thank you, that seems to be good advice, as my levels are good generally the very odd high level from a drink won't hurt to much. It's very rare I drink but didn't want to be the lemon if the situation arises

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Although it's best not to have high or low BG - I'd take higher over lower on the odd occasion when you'd like to have a liquid lunch or a night out