This came up in another discussion, and I was wondering, how do you all deal with Drinking and Diabetes?
We all know that some alcohol, even though overflowing with calories, will actually lower your BG over an extended period of time… How do you handle it?
I shared a story of mine, it went something like this...
I lost some insulin in a very remote location due to a number of days at an unintentional 100+ degrees...I was about 200 miles from a pharmacy that carried more than an ace bandage, let alone any sort of insulin. I was in a pickle, with a number of close friends. We could have left our weekend away early, abandoned our (rather expensive) tickets to Dave Matthews Band, and rushed to the nearest town. Instead, I drank.
I had figured out early into the whole Diabetes Game exactly what different alcohol does to my system, and so I knew what I needed to drink to cover my carbs for the 24 hours I would be without fast--acting insulin (luckily my Levimir was still OK!) I covered my carbs with cocktails made with no-carb mixers, and while I got a good buzz on, I also keept my BG almost exactly in range until I made it back to Civilization.
Perhaps not FDA (or Endo!) approved, but it worked, and now I've got drinking with the big D down to a science...
My question is, how do you all approach Drinking with the Big D?
When I drink (beer) I notice my sugars rise and if I test I don’t usually bolus, when i wake up my sugar is usually within range the next day. I do notice some beers, like those made with honey or something odd do make your sugars rise fairly quickly and you need to give yourself some insulin so your sugars don’t go up so high. My best bet is to stick to light beer and I stay O.K.
high fat, high carb meals just turn out better if I drink wine with them… it works a LOT better than an extended bolus, and seems to combat the sloooooooooow raise in my sugars well…
now that I have a CGM we will see how well the curves of the two match up…
My formula for beer is first to look at alcohol content, then the color… the darker the beer, the more it will raise my sugar, the higher the alcohol content the more it will lower it… since clear american beer (think…PBR, Coors Light or Busch Light) has almost no carbs, it will normally drop my BG a teeny bit… an IPA is about even, and a Stout or Porter will normally bump up my sugars a bit…
Do you know what makes me excessively happy? The carbs in Tonic Water balance out the Gin almost perfectly as long as you muddle some lemon in your G&Ts…
“I bolus for Beer!” Now that’s funny. haha. I rarely drink, but when I need to have a couple I eat and check. When I met with the nutritionist when I started the Pod I asked about planning for alcohol. I also carry around the carb book, and count it.
Ahhh finally something I know a little about…LOL!! Great Story Maia–Did you know that in the old days they had 2 ways to treat diabetics before they really knew about what it was and how it worked…1) Liquour them up 2) Starve them. So you went back to old medicine in a pinch…like your attitude.
I have changed my approach slightly but I still love to have a rum punch (Capt n diet coke drink of choice-0.5 Crbs per serving in case youwant to know,it’s spiced rum not sugar flavored) with people around a campfire and solve the world problems. In fact it was one of my top issues of “how do I do that” when I got dx’d that I discussed with my Endo. She cautioned against excessive drininking which I try not to do so as not to be to incoherent and not be able to check myself. and make sure and eat some snacks as it does bring your BG’s down as your liver starts to try and get rid of the alchol in your system which is sees as a poison to your body. In the process it also sheds excess sugars stored up and in your system…Always wondered why I craved a Cheeseburger the next day after a night out in college as it was your body trying to put reserves back that it had dumped that night before!
As for drinks if I have 2 or 3 I don’t need to bolus for them if I stay with the light colored stuff…Mich Ultra the best that I’ve found for taste (2.6 Crbs), if not availible I go to Busch Light (3.2 Crbs) and stay away from Bud light as it uses rice and is 6.6 or if having clear stuff (vodka, Gins, Rums–stay away from flavored as they are higher) Love dark beers but they are to higher in carbs. I have people give me crap for drinking an ultra until I tell the the ratings, why I’m drinking it and that it’s about quanity and not quality fo me, we have a laugh and go on to solve the worlds problems. But like Maia I know how the drinking affects me, but I always make sure I check before I go to sleep! If lower I eat or snack and I’ve always been good in the morning. Gotta Go…It’s Friday night here and after 5 o’clock somehere!!! Be good ~Schmutz!
I don’t bolus for booze. I try to drink spirits (rum, whisky, etc.) with diet soda when I am out. I do crave Margaritas, so I make them at home with unsweetened lime juice, tequilla, triple sec and splenda or equal to make them on the sweet side. I know there is sugar in the triple sec, so I usually only drink one. If I were in a bar or restaurant, I would only drink a margarita if they used fresh lime juice instead of a mixer. My niece used to work at Ruby Tuesdays, and duing the low carb diet trend years ago, RT has a low carb margarita mix!
I developed a taste for beer 7 months before being diagnosed - the story of my life. There is a Belgian beer called Caulier that is very low carb - 7 grams. It is available in a light (blonde) and a darker (brune). I think they have a nice full taste. They are not easy to find and not that cheap. I found a 4 pack of brune at my local Whole Foods for about $14.00.
