retaining good control and eating out

[mary123]

I am generally now very pleased with my BG control but I notice that my control when off my regular pattern goes awry even though I am estimating my CHO consumption and adding some. Could it be the alcohol that goes with it that is causing the problem? I would appreciate other pumper's experience with this. When I talk alcohol I am only talking one to three glasses of wine (white or sparkling in this case) taken with food and spread over a number of hours; hardly excessive. :?:

 

[ebony321]

I am generally now very pleased with my BG control but I notice that my control when off my regular pattern goes awry even though I am estimating my CHO consumption and adding some. Could it be the alcohol that goes with it that is causing the problem? I would appreciate other pumper's experience with this. When I talk alcohol I am only talking one to three glasses of wine (white or sparkling in this case) taken with food and spread over a number of hours; hardly excessive. :?:

Hi,

It probably is the alcohol i'm afraid. When you drink alcohol your body mainly the liver is too busy trying to get the alcohol out it's system it doesnt release any extra glucose thats stored. so thats why usually you would lower your insulin when drinking. Not so much if it's one glass but if you are having a few i would reccomend lowering your ratio's alittle a maybe setting a temporary basal rate.

Like food in general it's experimenting and tweaking your insulin to suit your body when different situations arise!

I'm not on a pump (yet) but when i drink... which is more than 3 glasses. i always eat before i go out but go down from a 3:1 ratio to a 2:1. i also cut my nightime background insulin by 50% and cut the following morning's background by 25% (i split my background insulin)

But this is after a few nights of getting it wrong, and sometimes i wake up higher and occasionally have a ahypo in the night. i also have a small snack before bed too

I know you asked for pumpers advice but i would say the concept is the same, just how you tackle it would be a little different, like when adjusting ratio's and basal rates in an everyday setting

goodluck

 

[iHs]

Hi Mary

White wine unless it's dry will make yr bg levels go up for a fair few hours but will then possibly make them drop sometime in the middle of the night. so yr bg levels will go up sharply and then drop (so a great big zig zag effect).

In general, there's nothing like alcohol to cause problems for diabetics. It messed me up and was the cause of some minor changes to the back of my eye which worried the life out of me. As soon as I stopped the booze and paid a bit more attention to my bg levels, my eyes sorted themselves out.

 

[mary123]

Thanks for that although it sounds as though you are going down whereas I'm going up! However, the principle may well be the same. Interestingly, or not, I had the same problem when on injection regime of lantus and novorapid so clearly the way my body handles alcohol? I have heard that white wine sends up BG's whilst red drops them. Question is, can it be mastered. I would hardly describe my drinking habits as anything other than frugal.

 

[iHs]

My days of going out every weekend with the girls consisted of Liebfraumilch which did make my bg go way way up. I often got up the next day not only with a hangover but with high bg levels. I always felt so dehydrated. Vodka made me go low so nearly always I ate a burger when piling out of the clubs.

You might be better to alternate the wine with a glass of diet lemonade or fizzy water as no one is going to be any the wiser

 

[cugila]

I am generally now very pleased with my BG control but I notice that my control when off my regular pattern goes awry even though I am estimating my CHO consumption and adding some. Could it be the alcohol that goes with it that is causing the problem? I would appreciate other pumper's experience with this. When I talk alcohol I am only talking one to three glasses of wine (white or sparkling in this case) taken with food and spread over a number of hours; hardly excessive. :?:

Alcohol and Diabetes are not really a good mix. Have a read of this netdoctor Q and A:

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/diabetes/201565.html

You should be drinking no more than 21 units of alcohol a week (14 for women), with one unit being equivalent to a glass of wine, a single spirit or half a pint of beer.
and liqueurs

However, people with diabetes should always avoid sweet wines and liquers.

Ken

 

[Alanem]

Some good advice knocking about and my general rule of thumb is the higher the % alcohol content the lower the level of sugars remaining in the bottle. The problem is you can lose control quicker...but in a different way and perhaps with other consequences!!!

Alan