S

Sugars – Monitor Carefully

• Some alcoholic drinks are sugary and therefore can cause blood glucose levels to rise. However, consuming alcohol of any type can increase the risk of hypos overnight and the next day, as the usual mechanism of glucose stores being released by the liver when blood glucose levels drop doesn’t work when you’ve had alcohol.

A

activity

• Consider the effect that any activity may have on blood glucose levels (such as dancing, walking home or sex).
• You may need to adjust your basal/background insulin.

F

Friends and family

• Tell your friends that you have diabetes and make sure they know the signs of a hypo, how to treat them and who to call in an emergency.
• Tell someone at home you’ve had alcohol and make sure they check on you overnight/ in the morning. Set an alarm to remind you to check your blood glucose the next morning.
• Carry diabetes ID – such as a wrist band or medical ID on your phone.

E

Eat

• Eat a meal containing carbohydrate before you drink alcohol and take insulin for this as usual
• Eat a carbohydrate snack before bed to reduce the risk of hypos (you may not need insulin for this)