OK, so my friend and I bought tickets for a wine tour a few weeks back, and since then, I was diagnosed with T1D. Really unfortunate timing (and right before Girl Scout cookie season, too! I mean, c'mon), but I am trying to figure out how to make this work. The wine tour is in 2 weeks and is an all day (10-5) event, where they are shuttling us around to 3 or 4 different wineries, and providing sandwich lunches.
My endo has me on 20u Lantus and mealtime Novolog as needed on a sliding scale. So I'm not bolusing for meals, it's more of a "reactive" approach I guess than preventative (I'm not wild about it, but I guess he's just trying to observe for a few weeks before he sets up a basal/bolus regimen...I hope)
I've done a little experimenting with a glass or 2 already, but mostly have woken up in the middle of the night with mild lows - one time 65, the other 72 (I know it's not technically a low, but it woke me up)
So, how do you guys think I should approach this? I really don't want to miss out - my plan is to bring plenty of low-GI snacks so I'm not drinking on an empty stomach but also not spiking my BG too high, testing every 2 hours or so, and maybe setting an alarm for the middle of the night to wake up and test. Oh and also, taking just one sip of each wine I taste.
Should I go for it, or just sit back and try to enjoy the SoCal wine country scenery while leaving the tasting to my friend? It's also worth mentioning that this particular friend is a nurse practitioner, so that's an added safety bonus, haha.
Totally doable. Just take your meter (and some alchohol pads because you’ll likely end up with wine on your fingers and no way to clean it). Take some candy or glucose tablets too, you will likely end up needing them. If you drink quite a bit it might be wise to nudge your BG up a bit before you go to sleep to prevent it from going low over night, which can happen with a lot of wine. Just test as much as necessary and have fun.
Ooh, alcohol pads! Totally wouldn't have thought of that. And I just checked my bedtime logs from the nights I went low, and they were both were definitely on their way down already. Makes sense to nudge it higher to be safe. Thank you! :)
I've never had any problems drinking and I think having snacks can make it easier. I usually bolus for about 5G of carbs/glass although sometimes at tasting kind of events, you might get a swig of a few different varieties that might be more or less than a glass. I don't look at alcohol as inherently dangerous but, as with everything else, being prepared is the key. Sam is spot on with alcohol wipes. I didn't use them for years but have started and now probably use them more often than not as I want the tests to be accurate.
When I was younger and got wrecked all the time, most of the times I'd have problems they tended to be the next day. Wake up, bolus and fall back asleep and wake up in the hospital sort of deals. I would think a wine tasting would be reasonable and a good way to show diabetes who's boss!!
One other thing is that we have a wine place in town, aerator things on the tables, the whole 9 yards and I will say that's the place I saw the most trashed people I've seen for a while, like 40-50 somethings staggering around!
i would say you dont have to miss out, especially if youre only taking a sip of the wine, though, thats gonna be a little hard!
if you take your lantus at night you might want to consider giving yourself a unit or two less that night, after you finish tasting all your wine, as that night and the next day you may run low. the liver seems to be a male organ, only doing one thing at a time! i dont usually do this myself, as i like to enjoy the next days eating of carbs.
i would also test a lot and not bolus for any carbs i eat, within reason. your diabetes may vary though.
I take my lantus first thing in the morning - think it might make sense to a slightly smaller dose the morning after? Although I also like the sound of having a few more carbs than usual the next day to make up for it, haha.
Important to note the differences between individuals… He^ needs to bolus for wine, I don’t and would actually take less bolus with any food I was eating if drinking wine. It’s a broad spectrum and you might fall anywhere on it.
He’s exactly right though, wine tasting is generally a euphemism for classy people getting hammered in my observation, so be aware what you might be getting into.
Hahaha agreed - I've been wine tasting a few times before (pre-diabetes) and that's why I'm concerned, haha. I'll definitely be approaching this time very differently, but I'm still determined to enjoy it and not be a stressball the whole day!
With the little experience I've had so far, I've noticed that white wine makes me go high more often than red (all dry wines, no sweet stuff). Worth keeping an eye on, I think.
It is doable and will be fun. However alcohol will interact with the liver. Normally the liver has a constant release rate of glucose. This constant release is covered by the basal insulin. In my case the liver will reduce its release rate significantly while confronted with alcohol. To compensate the missing glucose from the liver I prefer sweeter more mellow wines. Because of this the dryer more "diabetes friendly" wines are causing trouble for me. The next morning might be something to act smart about. This is because the liver will regenerate itself from the intoxication. Again in my case this makes me prone to lows on the next morning. I will have to reduce my insulin dosage by 20% or more to compensate that. But it is easy to forget. For the first time I would recommend to test again in the middle of the night - but perhaps you are still awake then. Do not correct too soon if the numbers seem to be higher than your comfort zone. The alcohol or better the reduced output of the liver will work against these numbers within some hours. Happy wine tasting...
A one day wine event is manageable but you might want to actually follow real wine tasting protocol and smell, swirl the wine in your mouth and spit. Four wineries, 3 wines per winery and 2 oz per pour and you're drinking a bottle. True it's over the course of the day but it is a fair amount of wine.
I went to the Preakness Stakes just a couple months after I was dx’d. That’s a whole new level of ‘classy’ people getting hammered. I lived through that, and you will this;) and hopefully have a great time
Is totally doable, test often, eat as you go, extra protein snacks can help keep you steady. And be sure your travel companion knows what low symptoms look like, knows how to test and treat if necessary. And recognizes that low can look like drunk, but needs a totally different response.
Have fun!
You could always spit it out during the tasting, a lot of people do that. But, wine is packed with sugar. It will push you high, and then low, many hours later, especially if you give insulin for it. This is about the worst alcohol to experiment with in regard to blood glucose, I think, except for maybe schnapps. Hit the white, not the red. sugar content wine. The wine crowd is OK, I've never seen anybody get 'hammered' at a wine tasting, just a bunch of chatty old ladys. It's not what I would consider a rough crowd. Probably a good venue to experiment. Wear medical ID.
Real wine has no appreciable carbohydrates… The grape juice does initially but its consumed by yeast in the fermentation process. (I make and enjoy wine)
Are you saying you can drink a bunch of wine and not see any immediate increase in BG? That doesn't happen to me. I take a 4 - 6 u per glass, but I doubt that I have ever had more than one glass, so this theory hasn't been thoroughly tested. Dry whisky Manhattans have been thoroughly tested by n=1 - immediate increase, prolonged decrease. I tested beer, when I first got a sensor, similar results. I know it can differ, person to person.
I suspect that’s our own body’s metabolism causing a spike rather than the wine, and would certainly think that with a Manhattan too… Nothing but bourbon, a splash of vermouth and ice right? No carbs there.
Correct-a-mundo. No cherry juice or grenadine. Dry vermouth, so not any sugar there, right, its wine wine, or something, and just a splash. I would NEVER imagine someone could do that - a whole bottle? Thats interesting. Does it make a difference between red or white? Which do you make?
