• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Type 1 Diabetic going to live in Halls at Uni

A

amie8607

Newbie
Messages
3
Code:
Hi,

I'm just wondering if there are any tips/advice from any type 1 diabetics at Uni or of that age. My brother is going to be living at University next year in halls of residence. I'm worried as he's had two bad hypo's before at night time which required an ambulance and emergency injection (but he was on a different insulin - was on two a day at the time but is now on novorapid and the basal one).

So I'm worried about him living in halls being alone and the scenario if he's been drinking and has had a night time hypo.

So it could be possible that he drinks and has a night time hypo and then in halls of residence noone notices if he doesn't appear in the morning, and the room doors will be locked. Hopefully there will be someone there at the halls he can ask to keep an eye out for him. But are there any tips for him, like particular drinks he should stear clear of and maybe a snack before bed?

My brother isn't much of a drinker but I know how it can be at uni and he may want the freedom to be able to.

Any advise, hints, tips, experiences would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks
 
Hi Amie

Ultimately your brother is responsible for himself, and if he is smart enough to get to Uni then he is smart enough to be sensible about his diabetes. However,appreciate that this might not be reassuring enough for you so some suggestions, albeit might not be to brothers taste!

Is there a warden/concierge or something similar in the halls that you can ask to check on him (if he doesnt appear by a certain time, given hangovers can leave you lying in that bit longer :wink:)

Maybe a call to him each morning, or ask him to text you by a certain time and threaten him with intervention if he doesnt. If you get to know his new pals in the halls then maybe call in some favours by having them check. Also encourage him to do the same though appreciae he will just want to be normal.

As for alcohol - avoid anything obv sweet such as alcopops, liquers, shots (aftershock, sambuca, etc). Beer is quite high in carbs and can spike your bg. Cider is also not great. Spirits and diet mixer are the best if you are going to drink (JD and diet coke being mine) but of course if you have a real all day session then you can drink quite a few .. Red wine is also good, white wine apparently seems ok though i stand to be corrected.

If he is going to drink then he needs to eat before he does it, preferably something with carbs in it. He should eat whilst drinking, esp if its a real session, and most importantly - snack before he goes to bed if its overnight hypos you are worried about. Bag of chips, kebab, toast should all keep him ok. He might run higher sugars though which whilst not instantly dangerous in, will in the long term cause him probs

It goes without saying that he should be testing before bed, and during the evening/day if he is drinking to see whats going on, Ii he is capable.
I wont preach because I was lucky enough not to be diabetic whilst a teen, or whilst at uni but he should try and avoid getting so incapably drunk that he cant take care of himself.

Nice that you worry though, :)

L
 
Hi, I was at uni many years ago, and I do understand your concerns. I have to say that drinking too much always send my blood sugars up, so although this is not good, it isn't as immediately dangerous. This isn't just me, as used to work in teh student bar, and it is awful teh number of diabetics that I had to call ana ambulance for...but their blood sugar was high, not low. Practical advice is to make sure that he has a stash of glucose close to his bed, that if he feels hypo, he can grab. With me, there was nothing like the realisation that I was on my own in the real world to make me take precautions. I also made good friends with my neighbours and they looked out for me...... and I never has a problem. To be honest, going hyper was more of an issue.
Not been much help, sorry!
 
Thanks to both of you, it seems that hypo's aren't necessarily the danger but hyperglycemia is! well I know it sounds awful but i'm a little relieved as i know hypo's present an immediate danger whereas hypers do not, and hopefully if he is having problems with hypers then he will stop drinking to prevent long term effects.

So, I'm really delving into the details here..say if he went out drinking and he came back and his blood sugars were about 15+ , what should he do..ambulance? insulin? i'm curios as I konw sugar2 you mentioned working in a student bar and having to call ambulance for people having hyperglycemia, so did they collapse or did they just measure themselves and knew they were too high? I've only seen what being too low can do and not what too high can do.
 
Just a thought, is there someone he could ask about being put in touch with fellow diabetics in the hall? There are bound to be some.
 
Amie

The danger with hypers is a thing called ketones and risk of diabetic ketoacidosis which is kind of like an imbalance in blood ph due to the body's inability to burn the glucose and it then burns 'itself' and creates ketones. This may need hospital treatment. You can google it for much more in depth info than that.

Some bg meters will tell you when to test for ketones and on the basis of this reading you decide which action to take. Does he have a meter that reads ketones? They dont always and its urine sticks that are often used, which only tell what the case was 2 hours ago so could be misleading. Ketones are usually a problem when you are first diagnosed, but mainly when you are unwell. Alcohol takes about 1 hour for one unit to leave your blood so the high blood sugar would likely not last as long as 'genuine' illness just until the alcohol is cleared from your blood stream. Im not saying not to worry about a high reading but a diabetic hangover is likely to last less time than a bout of flu,for example. Has your brother been unwell before, does he know what to do?

My meter tells you to test for ketones at 16.8 FWIW though that doesnt mean anything over 16 is paramedic stuff!

If it is high then he would need to usually take more insulin to bring it down. I suppose the danger with taking more when you have been drinking is that if things return to 'normal' over time then you risk hypos. When I drink it doesnt go up too much but I do need to watch for hypos on its way back down, so I still tend to eat, even if I am a bit higher before I go to bed.

I think it would benefit your brother to meet with his clinic ( I assume he will be changing GP and clinic when he moves over -if not, make sure he does) and just be honest with them about it and ask for advice. They will of course discourage him from drinking too much but he can at least give them a 'what if' scenario and get some advice on how to lower his bg if he doesnt know how to already. As I say though, i personally would be reluctant to inject more for higher bg related to alcohol but others may say different, so dont take it as gospel!

L
 
Hi Amie,

I can understand that you're worried, but I would suspect that your brother is equally as concerned about living away from home (although he might not let on!) and will look after himself and prevent hypos whenever possible. It is important for his friends to understand diabetes though, I know it can be awkward telling people about it, but once it's done it's done and his friends can look out for him. As for him having night time hypos, I'm told that your body automatically wakes itself up in time for you to take action - although I'm going to find out more about this. As sugar2 said, he must keep glucose tablets or Lucozade close to hand - he can get these on prescription if necessary.

All the best,

Jessie. x
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I'll definately get my brother to sign himself into a clinic when he's down there and to go there and ask questions. I don't think he has a keatones testing kit, he's been high before with being ill and has been tested for keotones which he was fine. So I guess he doesn't need to worry about that then as drinking/hangover don't last long it's only if it's for a sustained amount of time.

Also, the suggestion of living with someone else in the halls who has diabetes is a really good one, I didn't think of that before. When he fills out his halls applications i think he has to put down if he's got any health conditions so they might suggest that he does live in the same halls as another diabetic. That would be great!

But as you all say I've got to leave it up to him and let him do his own thing, but at least i can give him all your suggestions. I'm just a big worrier and always thinking ahead!

Thanks again to you all, you've been a massive help.
 
This might just be me.... But my control wasn't brilliant even before I went to uni let alone when I was actually in my first year! Moving away from home really affects the way you see yourself and your diabetes, and this was the time - for me - that I took much better care of myself and it actually proved to help my control. Your brother has still got to have the chance to have a good time, and drink and do what he wants, but just has to be more self-aware than maybe his other mates are. All the suggestions are really good :) I would be careful of trying to rectify a high blood sugar reading with insulin if you have been drinking as alcohol pulls blood sugars down overnight, and this usually ends up with a hypo in the morning (when you're sober enough to deal with it lol!) so even if your BMs are a little on the high side, it's usually better to have a snack before you fall into a drunken stupor!!
Wish him all the best, uni is brilliant :)
 
Back
Top