Everyone acts differently to alcohol so what works for me might not work for you but... fries and a daiquiri would send me sky high. Having just the daiquiri and I tend to bolus for half the carbs in it and usually end up a little on the high side or I wait until half way through it and inject for the carbs in it and come out even.

The sugary, syrupy, fruity, "girlie" drinks tend to have more then enough carbs in them to compensate for the alcohol so I just bolus as normal. If I drink straight whiskey, rum, vodka, brandy, or wine I find I go hypo more often.

In both cases the alcohol doesn't make me go low per se - what it really does is just makes the insulin I have in me react faster (which on the fruity drinks works out well as they have a high glycemic index so the insulin peaks when the carbs from the drink hits me). An extreme analogy would be alcohol makes my Lantus act like novolog.

I hate to say it but the first few times I went out drinking (and every time I try a new type of alcohol) I simply have to test every 10 to 20 minutes to see where I was at especially since being intoxicated often looks and acts (especially to those on the outside) like an insulin reaction.

So pack up extra glucose tabs, insulin (as some of those mixes if they go light on the alcohol actually send you sky high - oh and I also hate that they never seem to have the same ratio so one pina colada might leave me level - another high - and the third low because the carb to alcohol was way different in each - talk about a pain!), and test strips and have fun becoming a marathon tester!

Here's to hoping you have a happy and safe trip and manage to find the balance where it feels like you got to eat your cake. ;-)

Hi and welcome

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a 'free week' with t1d.

However, are you currently using some sort of ratio of carbs to insulin? Or otherwise, how do you work out how many carbs to eat, do you just always eat the same amount? Ask your doctor about figuring out a ratio if you don't use one already.

Also ask if you are at all unsure about bolusing - about how much insulin to take in order to bring your blood sugar back down to normal. without risking a hypo. If you are unsure about either of these things I would say do not get drunk at all, It won't be that much of a big deal, you can learn more and then next time you go you can take more risks.

HyPERglycaemia is a high blood sugar, so no, fries would be very wrong for that. HyPOglycaemia is a low blood sugar but again, slow-acting fries would still not be the right thing, some sort of glucose drink or jelly babies or pure sugar thing like that is better. But you are right, you should eat a proper meal before you start to drink anyway.

Since you are new to diabetes and unsure, the best thing is to take it very slowly. Don't get totally drunk as this is very dangerous, if you were low the drunkeness could mask your symptoms. IMHO every 10-20 minutes is too often though, it wouldn't give any insulin you took enough time to work. It is purely personal but I would say every hour would be OK. Nominate a friend (whichever is usually the sensible one who drives you home) to keep an eye on you and remind you to check blood sugars, and tell them what to look out for with hypos and what to do. You might also want to get medical ID jewellery in case you get separated from the group and get into trouble, and a glucagon glucose injection or that glucose someone rubs into the inside of your mouth as well, in case you have a serious hypo and cannot manage to eat. If you feel at all unwell, tell someone and go back to the hotel together. Or if you can't, then tell the hotel desk staff or designated first aider.

As Smith says, with cocktails and mixed drinks it is really hard to keep BGs safe, even if you have experience. So it is best to be cautious.

Also since you normally do not drink the alcohol in the drinks will have more effect on you and you are likely to become drunk with less actual drinks than someone who is more used to it. One thing you could do is to drink different alcohols when you are at home, in a safe environment, and test your BG to see what effect they have.

And don't stop the hourly testing the next day either, some drinks can cause delayed hypos especially if you have reacted and taken insulin for the initial high reading. Even though you feel awful, make sure you keep testing hourly until you are back on a level again. You really do not want to end up hospitalized with either a severe hypo or ketones, that would ruin your holiday. Another thing you can ask your doctor is the extra bolus amount needed when you are ill and get ketones. It would be wise to bring ketone test strips along with you, or there is one meter which tests ketones as well as BG I think.

If you have drinks in the day, at least some of them should be non-alcoholic. If the point of drinking them is to stay hydrated as you say, alcoholic drinks will do the opposite of this. You could have fruit juice or other drinks with carbs and count them into your carb ratios and take relevant insulin to cover them. Or diet fizzy drinks if they have those.

I hope I am not scaring you with this, you will probably be fine as long as you take things slowly and test, test ,test.

My friend that passed away in recently was Type1 since 8 months old, she was 68 and was an alcoholic , she just went into low blood sugar, then a coma, she did not eat anything while drinking . She usually ate something, this time did not. So my advice is....have your cocktail. Like a Bloody Mary, or something mixed with a fruit juice, limit yourself and eat something like crackers and cheese or celery even pop corn or nuts.

Also adjust your insulin, and as was stated do test often and you will be OK, except the fact you just may put on an extra pound.

Whatever you do have a great time dear.

The testing every 10 to 20 minutes for me is to catch the low and not to do correction boluses for being high. I still only bolus for the initial carbs and then about four hours afterward will correct for the high if I have one.

Each person is different though and finding the balance you are comfortable with is the key. It might be 10, or 30 minutes, an hour, or even two.

However, for me I am usually hit with the low within the first 30 minutes (especially if I bolus for the carbs right away instead of delaying it till half way through) so I would be face planting if I waited a full hour to check.

Thank you for your responses , I have some follow up questions.
Which is worse, bolusing multiple times a day to counteract the carbs or just letting my BG go high for a week. When I was dx my BG was 582, I just thought I had a uti. After a few days of insulin I was down in the 100's. I have been an A+ student since then. So I don't really don't know what it feels like to be in the high i also have never had a low. it seems like one week of high numbers (because of food) isn't bad. I am taking in all of the info on the alcohol i know that it is a different risk. I just hate the idea of sitting on the beach with my water. ( i don't drink carbonated water, soda is not my thing). I also don't want it on my "record" if I ask my doctor about drinking. I know how to handle the meals. I just want to enjoy a Cosmo with dinner.
Smith, explain what you mean that your Lantus acts like novolog. I know novolog is short acting, and Lantus is long lasting. But I don't understand how it relates to alcohol.
I feel stupid, I have given up so much in the last year, I just want to go vacation with my husband and feel normal. I have never been drunk, just had a couple of drinks on vacation a couple of times.
Someone asked, my ratio for carbs is 18 for each units.
Anything that anyone wants to ask or advise is welcomed
Thx

Generally speaking novolog starts acting in 15 minutes, peaks in 45, and is out of the system in 4 hours. Lantus starts working in about 60 minutes and last about 22 hours with no peak.

The analogy of alcohol turning my lantus into novolog is because it tends to make the acting, peak, and out of the system times for me much, much quicker. So instead of my novolog taking 15 minutes to start it takes more like five and peaks for me in 20 versus the 45. It makes my quick acting insulin react even quicker. It's not that my carb ratio changes it's that it's time frames changes.

For me when doing the holiday graze days I tend to keep a running tally of the carbs I eat and then bolus for them every two hours. I don't do corrections as I could just be seeing the peak of the carbs hitting my blood stream and "supposedly" the insulin I took for them should bring it back into range. I then cut myself off at a certain time from grazing - say 8PM, and then test two to three hours later, and do a correction bolus so that I am not riding high through out the night. I also tend to set an alarm for 2 or 3 AM though to catch if I overcorrected. Kind of sucks but I at least get to graze with the rest.

Thank you Smith101, that is good info and makes sense :)

I would say bolusing is the best way. Letting your sugars run high is VERY dangerous. You could end up in ketoacidosis, far from home in an unfamiliar country.

Don't worry about it being on your 'record', the doctor is there to help you and as an adult alcohol drinking in moderation is perfectly normal and is something you should know about. Don't be afraid to ask the doctor anything, they are not a schoolteacher judging you and marking you down. It really is important to know as much as possible.