How do you deal with the effects of alcohol on your sugars? I don’t bolus for wine as it lowers me naturally.
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I don’t tolerate alcohol well anymore. Seldom ever have more than 1 drink, and usually only a half glass of wine diluted with seltzer. (we call it “fukitol”, LOL). I never bolus for it, but I’ve never been a fan of sweet drinks that would require it, either.
I do enjoy the occasional margarita, which definitely needs a bolus!
Really fun video:
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I only drink on special occasions, so it could be a glass or two of champagne, a glass of wine with a special dinner, a beer, or maybe even a cosmo premeal at Thanksgiving dinner. Since there are so many different permutations and combinations, the minimal amount of alcohol I drink is di minimus vis-a-vis my blood sugar compared to the accompanying meal and dessert. For those special occasions, I check my CGM BG every 15 minutes or so for at least 8 hours and adjust my insulin according to how my BG is trending.
I don’t drink alcohol unless a meal accompanies it.
Alcohol will flatten out your sugars because your liver can’t dump glycogen while it’s working on removing alcohol . I will have a glass or2 of wine from time totime but I’m in no way a heavy drinker
Thank you all your replies. Anyone who does have alcohol - their input would be great!
First, I’ve recently seen the studies that clearly indicate that alcohol is likely unhealthy — at any dose. Whether the individual has diabetes or not. So I’m aware that recommending consumption of any would probably be irresponsible.
With that out of the way, I enjoy drinking, generally in moderation, for several reasons. It’s social: again, provided it’s in moderation, I experience a slight loosening of the social bounds. Too much, however, and one can be unintentionally mean, which is one reason for moderation. My good fortune is my speed of falling asleep if I have more than a couple drinks. I’m sure that has spared me some embarrassments!
I enjoy the taste of a nice IPA (beer). I will have a Cocktail or mixed drink on occasion: right now I’m having a Rum & (diet) Coke with lime, after a day of skiing. A glass of wine with dinner (or even sharing a bottle!) is less common but still enjoyable, both for the taste and the sensation.
It’s rare for me to have enough not to be able to drive.
I steer away from sweet cocktails and never liked sweet wine. I have sugar free pop if I’m mixing (except for the rare G&T — I have never found a sugar free Tonic water that I like).
How does all of this impact my blood sugar? Negligibly, to be honest. Provided I don’t let my guard down and snack at the same time, I usually see an early flight dip and then leveling out. Occasionally there must be some unmeasured carbs and things go up slightly before leveling out.
Using Dexcom with Tandem pump, and not overly aggressively treating an upward trend should one arise, I don’t personally see much impact if any on my glucose. I drink 6-8 standard drinks on an average week, sometimes much less, rarely more and almost never none.
That’s my experience!
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@Lorag that is a really good question, so far it looks like a lot of variability. I hope more people respond so you can see the wide range of experiences.
95% of the time, when I drink it is beer only. I like wine but usually stick to ice cold beer. I gave up hard liquor 40 years ago so can’t comment on that.
I rarely have more than 3 pints of beer in an evening. I avoid the high test IPA’s so 3 pints of lager is probably equivalent to 2-3 glasses of wine. Even at that level of drinking I have not seen BG drop, but the carbs in the beer will cause my BG to rise. It is a short term rise similar to fast carbs or glucose tabs, which will not linger but will drop back down to where I started within an hour or two. Perhaps that is the alcohol correcting the carb driven rise? Not sure
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I will drink beer on occasion, and I bolus for the beer’s carbs. I then (if I remember to) tune my basal rate down before I go to bed by 20% so I don’t go low in the night. Alcohol tends to push my insulin sensitivity up (or the liver is grabbing all the sugar for its stores after the alcohol is gone).
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I enjoy a couple of glasses of wine two nights on the weekends. The only other times I drink are at concerts during the summer and then it’s normally beer. I rarely drink liquor, though I might have a few drinks during the holidays.
It lowers my BG, so I am very careful and always eat something. I wouldn’t drink alcohol without a CGM, due to the drops I have seen. I’ll usually lower my Basal rate too. I watch my BG very carefully. I’ve watched the TCOYD videos about drinking alcohol safely and they are quite informative.
With alcohol, be aware that a drop in BG can occur hours after you drink, so if you don’t wear a CGM, I’d set an alarm in the middle of the night, so you can finger stick and check your BG. Some people may need to bolus when drinking, but that has not been my experience. I actually need to consume more carbs.
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Lorag, you really answered your own question. You KNOW how wine affects your blood sugars, and you act accordingly. The same, I would assume, would hold true for any alcoholic beverage that you choose. You will monitor your blood sugar and take whatever action is needed. Since we all are unique in our physiologies and thus our reactions to alcohol, and since the variety of cocktails is endless, the best any of us can do is to try something, monitor the result, and take whatever action is needed to remain in range. Knowing how others react really does not matter since only you can react to your unique response to anything – alcohol or food – that you ingest.
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