Advice for This Weekend: Food, Alcohol, etc

Hi! I am new to DM so I haven’t really been living my life since my diagnosis. I hope to change that this weekend. I need some alcohol/food/comfort advice.

Friday: Concert and drinks
I have been sticking with wine or diet coke and rum and guessing on how much I should snack so I don’t get low. I usually am a little high (150) because I don’t want to take too much insulin. The one time I did drink 2 glasses of wine with food I went to 50. What is your usual ratio?

Saturday: Hangout with friends in different parts of SF Bay… I guess just extra snacks since I will be away from home all day?

Sunday: SuperBowl!! I will probably go to a bar with friends. Any types of more DM appropriate snacks at a bar?

I guess my big question is what I’ve stated before: how do you bolus while drinking?

Do you ever get uncomfortable testing in a bar? Do you ever bring your own snacks?

Thanks!

I was a pretty heavy drinker at the time I was diagnosed. I completely quit for the first year and then, being tired of not fitting in with the rest of the world that drinks, I began having 1-3 drinks when out with friends for a couple of months. I found I completely lost all control of my blood sugar when alcohol was introduced. My blood sugar would drop 10 points with every low carb beer I would drink. My BS would skyrocket when I drank corona and also when I drank wine. I didn’t even attempt hard liquour. The whole deal was frustrating and it also made it hard for me to maintain any stability the whole next day. I would crash unexpectedly several times the next day. I just threw in the towel and embraced sobriety. It’s what works for me. I remember asking these questions too but never got anywhere. It is all so based on your body chemistry and what works for me would not work for you. Basically, no one can tell you a tried and true method.

I count the carbs in the booze, there’s charts in the Calorie King Book. Most of the straight liquors are only a couple G of carbs so if my BG is lowish or I am not eating as much, I will get a Bloody Mary which I think works out to maybe 10-15G of carbs depending on the amt of tomato juice? If my BG is up there and I’m not that concerned about it going down, I will just have whiskey or something like vodka and soda. Maybe test 45 minutes later and if it’s low, have something more ‘substantial’ like carbier beer? Guinness has 9G of carbs on those big cans. Some of the wheatier beers (there’s a Sam Adams Coastal Wheat?) seem to have more carbs than that.

If the drinking is with food, I would just add 5-10G of carbs for some partaying. I pretty much will eat any snack. It’s also not a bad idea to sort of pace yourself and scout out the food for a few minutes so you can see If the wings are breaded or the salad looks lighter or heavier? Sometimes even stuff like fried broccolli (there was a place where we used to live that had REALLY good fried broccoli) isn’t too carby if the breading is thin.

I don’t get uncomfortable testing in bars. It is way more of a buzzkill for people getting a load on if you pass out and they have to turn the lights up to revive you than if you test in a bar. These days I mostly lug along Starburst jelly beans. I got a bunch of little bags @ hobby lobby and can just have couple in my pocket and am pretty secure it will cover me? I don’t make a big deal out of it. I have a CGM now and am perhaps too old to get out that much but that’s pretty much what I did in the past too.

Thanks for the reply! Hopefully I can figure out something for me!

haha that would be a buzz kill or too many people would be distracted by the game and not notice me on the floor… :wink: Thanks for the tips!

YDMV. When I drink beer - I don’t bolus for it. I learned this quickly. I go low much later. I instead make sure I have eaten carbs first (and bolused for them), and then have my beer. In terms of hard liquor, rum, etc - I use diet Coke as a mixer, don’t bolus for the alcohol, and back off on the amount of insulin I would normally take for the carbs I have with it (i.e. appetizers, dinner). If I don’t back off on the coverage for the food, I will go low later. You just have to find out what works best for you. I am not embarassed to test at a bar - I test OFTEN if I am drinking and afterwards - just about once an hour pre-CGM and still often even with CGM as it lags behind actualy BG by 20 min or so. If I am high afterwards for some reason, then I take a small correction. Again, YDMV!

Okay…rookie question…what is YDMV?

Check out my Blog post Cheers to Alcohol and Diabetes
If I am no too tipsy I try to test, but back in the bar hopping days, I didn’t test a whole lot. I would have 1 regular to two diet ratio, and you always have access to food, or pop, juice in a bar. The problem is feeling when you are low can be tricky for folks when the alcohol level is wee bit high. Any chance of having a designated D-friend? Cheers

Type 1 28 yrs-pump
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3 Non-D
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Hi Jackie. I got my first-ever hypo after dx after a wine-tasting so I know very well where you’re coming from.

Best to keep a level head, arm yourself with the carb counts + appropriate carbs on the side, and keep testing! Everyone’s experience is very individual so you shouldn’t really go by anyone else’s routine. Enjoy in moderation, keep testing, and have a great time, would be my advice.

Your diabetes may vary

I rarely drink (maybe three times per year) but a couple of weeks ago I had some wine and I got deathly ill.



I’m pretty sure I’m over drinking for good. It wasn’t that important to me in the first place, but after getting so sick, I’m pretty sure that my body can’t handle it any more. I felt like I’d been poisoned on just a couple of glasses of wine after dinner.



How did it go at the Super Bowl party?



I think bringing your own snacks to a bar or party would be a good idea. Something like a couple of protein bars to shore you up if you start going low. You can always get a soda at a bar for fast sugar if you need it, but it would be good to have something more substantial to follow-up the fast sugar, too – in your pocket for the trip home, just in case.



I carry a backpack (socially acceptable in Seattle…heh…) and I always have dextrose tabs, glucose gels and a couple of protein bars somewhere in my backpack, plus a couple of cases of bottled water in my car.

What is YDMV? I hope that isnt a silly question. I keep seeing all of these letters on posts and can’t figure out what they stand for. I know CGM. But so many others…???

What is MDI?

What is DX…? Oh my gosh, I am sooooo LOST!!!

Mulitable Daily Injections

Diagnoses or the day you were diagnosed.

Thanks for the tips! I don’t really care about being socially acceptable (I bring a giant purse with supplies everywhere!!!) as much as grossing people out while testing. haha But I do need to have extra supplies in my car, at work, etc. The Super Bowl party went well. I made my own health chicken finger/veggie platter. I do think that I need to look into this gel!