Alcohol and diabetes

Want to get drunk as a type 1 diabetic? Well you go ahead and do it, armed with all my boozy knowledge from YEARS of practice.

Drinking gets you drunk. When you’re drunk you make bad decisions. Let sober you make good decisions to help you out later on.

Can type 1 diabetics drink alcohol?

Yes. We can drink as much alcohol as anyone else. We should drink it responsibly but, on those rare occasions when we fancy drinking a truck load, we can.

But there is a but.

Some alcohol can affect your blood sugar. Lager, cider and any flavoured spirits can all mess with your levels. So you can drink as much as you want, you'll just need to keep an eye on your digits.

Also, too much drinking of any alcohol will impact your levels. That's why we get hangovers - sugar is raised while drinking, then plummets the morning after, leaving people feeling shit.

Be careful, friends.

Can type 1 diabetics get drunk?

Speaking from personal experience, yes, we can. Your alcohol tolerance isn't impacted by diabetes. If you're a lightweight, you'll stay a lightweight. If you're a tank, you'll stay a tank. If you're the kind of person who likes to drink too much and put a traffic cone on their head, well, diabetes is the least of your worries.

Can diabetes cause bad hangovers?

Oh god yes. Day ruining hangovers. Hangovers that deserve to be written about in an epic novel. Hangovers that will be passed down in legend to generations to come.

Hangovers are caused by alcohol raising your blood sugar levels, then dropping them as the alcohol is soaked into your system. That's how it happens in everyone, so you can imagine how it happens in us.

As your body absorbs the alcohol, it also stops being able to properly absorb sugar. You could find yourself slipping into a hypo easier than usual, so be sure to have some fast acting sugar close to hand.

Having something to eat after you've had a drink might help, and it's good practice to check your levels before you go to sleep. Be careful though - it could be a lot harder to do when you can see three of everything.

Can sugar help a diabetic hangover?

If your blood sugar levels are low when you wake up, that could feel a lot like symptoms of a hangover. However, having high blood sugar can feel like that too, so before you do anything - check your blood sugar levels.

As the day progresses, your levels might keep dipping or rising, so you need to monitor them closely. Your body will start craving some kind of food, but don’t give into those urges without checking the carb count, checking your blood sugar and taking the right amount of insulin.

A hangover day is just like any other day for a diabetic, just with a bigger headache.

What alcohol can you drink if you have type 1 diabetes?

Different drinks will do different things to your blood sugar. There’s no hard and fast rule on what you can drink, but there are a few things worth looking out for.

• Lagers and ciders may raise your blood sugar levels.

• Cocktails tend to include syrups with high sugar content.

• Flavoured drinks - like chocolate stouts or fruit beers - will contain sweeteners that may raise your blood sugar.

• Hard liquor will do nothing to your blood sugar but may get you drunk, fast.

I’ve found trial and error is the best way to figure out what works for you. I used to drink lager without any worries, but now it sends my blood sugar through the roof. Rum, however, is delicious and causes me no bother. Well, no diabetic bother. It causes me bother after a couple when I start talking with a weird accent and thinking I’m much funnier than I really am.

Does drinking increase the risk of diabetics passing out?

Drinking has a history of making people fall over, and with diabetics this is no different. Initially, most alcoholic drinks will raise your blood sugar, but they could quickly drop off later on. This is because alcohol stops your liver from turning proteins into glucose, which your body needs to stay upright. You’ll often find your blood sugar goes low during your sleep as the alcohol starts to work its way through your system, so it’s always wise to eat some food and have some fast acting sugar nearby.

If you do start to feel rough, always check your blood sugar levels before doing anything about them. Drink can play tricks on you, giving you some of the symptoms (dizziness, confusion, blurred speech) you might get from low blood sugar.

How can you take all your diabetic kit on a night out?

• Take a bag, or trust a friend who's taking a bag. Make sure they’re not the kind of friend to run off in a club.

• Wear clothes with good-sized, safe pockets. Choose substance over style.

• Get some tech such as the Freestyle Libre system. Your doctor can tell you how to get one.

• Explain to the bouncer if they ask. You won’t be the first diabetic they’ve seen.

• Remember there’s a good chance you’re not the only diabetic in the club. There’s nothing weird about what you’re doing.

• Become robotic. There’s tech out there now that vastly reduces the kit you need, and I want all of it.

One thing you should always take is sugar. Sugar sweets will fit in your pocket or your purse, and you'll feel much safer having them close to hand.

What if you get so drunk you forget to take insulin?

Slow acting insulin is the main victim of forgetful drunk diabetics. You're meant to take it at the same time every night (or morning, or whenever your doctor recommends), but if you're absolutely smashed at that time it could easily slip your mind. Here’s how to make sure you remember it:

• Do it before you go out. If you're meant to take it at 10pm, but take it at 8pm before heading out instead, it won't be the end of the world. The challenge then is remembering you've already done it when you get back... don't double dose.

• Set an alarm. That beeping sound is going to really piss you off when you're lying in bed trying to stop the room spinning.

• Put your insulin in a handy place. You could even leave it out on your bed if you're paranoid.

After a while, this kind of shit will become muscle memory. It'll be like breathing; you'll just know you need to do it. But while that isn't the case, it's always good of sober you to help drunk you out.

You might want to read about: Food | Exercise | Sexual health | Holidays