What would you do?
Explore two scenarios you may encounter if you have diabetes and you’re going out for the evening.
Find out more about each person by clicking the arrows below the pictures and then let us know what you would do if you were in their shoes. You can post your responses at the botttom of the page. You will also be able to see what others would do.
If you’re not comfortable sharing your thoughts, don’t worry! Feel free to take a look at what others have said. Click on the arrows on the slide show to reveal the scenarios and guidance.
Sarah — reveal guidance
If Sarah knows which restaurant she's going to, she could try to plan what she's going to eat and drink. A lot of restaurants provide carbohydrate information, so if Sarah looks ahead she'll have an idea of how much insulin to give. Find out more in the Eating out section.
Sarah may also want to think about what she's going to drink when she and her friends go clubbing, so she's prepared for the effects alcohol will have on her blood glucose levels.
Dry wines and spirits contain very little carbohydrate but put you at risk of hypos. If Sarah drinks more than 2 units (a large glass of wine or two shots), she will need to either eat bedtime carbs or take less of her background insulin — she may have to do both.
Lager, beer, cider and alcopops have more carbohydrate, so these drinks will increase blood glucose levels.
If Sarah has more than about 4.6 units of alcohol (a couple of pints) she should inject using half her normal ratio or 1 unit of insulin for every 20g. To avoid a hypo in the hours after drinking, she will need a bedtime snack or to take less background insulin (or both).
It is very likely that Sarah will be out later than 10pm if she's clubbing, so she should bear her background insulin in mind and adjust it accordingly.
These are general rules. It is important to test levels regularly when drinking, so she can see how different types of alcohol are affecting her and make changes accordingly.
Sarah should remember that the liver is busy breaking down alcohol, which means it's not focused on releasing glucose. This process is delayed and high blood sugars may crop up later than expected — hypos can occur hours after she's stopped drinking.
Sarah needs to take dancing (and even sex) into account if she's going clubbing — these are forms of exercise and will have additional effects on her blood glucose levels.
She should wear her diabetes ID and tell her friends how to spot the signs of a hypo, so they can help her should she fall ill.
Sarah should make sure she has some carbohydrate and hypo treatment with her. She could contact the club in advance to let them know she'll need to bring her equipment in — she can easily pop this in her going-out bag!
Jackson — reveal guidance
Jackson knows what he wants to eat when he goes out, which is great! He may want to ask the restaurant for carbohydrate information, use an app, or use his previous experiences of eating out to gain a rough idea of how he'll need to give his mealtime insulin, taking alcohol into account.
He should bear in mind whether he'll be having a dry wine or a sweet wine as the sugar content can be quite different. Dry wines tend to contain little carbohydrate and sweet wines have more, so he'll need to adjust his insulin accordingly.
Jackson's girlfriend wants to go for cocktails, which tend to contain lots of sugar. These drinks will increase Jackson's blood glucose levels. To avoid having a hypo after drinking, Jackson will need to have a bedtime snack or take less of his background insulin (or both).
It is important to test levels regularly when drinking, so he can see how different types of alcohol are affecting him and make changes accordingly.
High blood sugars may crop up later than expected, which is why it's important for Jackson to test regularly and remember that hypos may occur hours after he's stopped drinking alcohol.
Jackson could explain a little more about his condition to his girlfriend and let her know the effects that drinking can have on his diabetes.
If Jackson considers his blood glucose and regularly tests his levels, there's no reason he can't enjoy a cocktail happy hour with his girlfriend. However, due to the sugar content, he does need to be careful. Letting his girlfriend know this will help her understand why he may not be able to have too many.
She'll also be able to help him should he have a hypo. Jackson's girlfriend most likely cares a great deal about him, so it's doubtful she'll be anything less than supportive.
Add your contribution and then click on the arrows under each to reveal guidance and compare your ideas with ours:
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Br aware and sensible ,I don’t drink anyway prefer cup tea and biscuits lol
Not loading , I dont drink often but I now know what is best to drink
yes just be aware what you eat and drink
Monitoring my levels, especially with alcohol I’m feeling hungry so i snack .
Wouldn’t go out for drinks safer way I think as would need to do a lot of planing and glucose cheaks
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I rarely drink without food, and I check BS regularly & before bed.
When eating out & trying to limit the alcohol, I’ve found it helpful to request or say yes please to a jug of water for the table, or a diet soft drink to start with, so that I can reserve the wine to have with my meal. If u do shoot up a bit too high, the water helps to dilute & refresh u too,!
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Agree check your levels more frequently adjust if you are sure about your control overnight otherwise don’t over compensate with Insulin just before sleep
Keep checking levels and inject when required
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I have been able to read most of the comments so still useful info
I would check levels and how much carbs are in what I intake before eating limit the drinks and also tell the person you are with about your diabetes and how you treat it.
Complicated situation but as long as they are both aware, don’t over do it, and check his blood glucose level frequently there is no reason why they both cant have a good night.
Let girlfriend no about what to look out for eg hypo etc
I would like to think others that I am with would remind me to be sensible with both alcohol intake and insulin adjustments
Ive always experienced difficulties when alchohol is involved .Challenging is the word
I just check as regularly as possible and keep an eye on what they are doing after every couple drinks or so. I try to keep to 1 or 2 units per beer/rum etc
Jackson needs to tell his girlfriend he is diabetic and explain what she needs to do in the event of a hypo
Keep checking levels and inject when required
For sara I would still check levels and set alarm to go off to take 10pm injection. I would also let my friends know what to do and take dextrose with me. Jackson needs to explain to girlfriend and check levels.
For Sarah I would explain to friends about hypo and how to treat in case keep checking blood sugar
For Jackson explain to girlfriend about effects of cocktails on blood sugar and keep checking blood sugars and treat accordingly
sensible approach to both Sarah and Jackson’s situation. Nobody likes a fuss, but better to be honest and prepared.
I would just take slightly less insulin at night time and keep checking my bgls
Just got to be careful and more aware
Complicated scenarios.
They will both have to do a lot of planning & a lot of blood glucose levels.
I hope Jackson’s girlfriend would understand if he didn’t want the go for cocktails.
It is always a challenge when going out to eat or have a drink.