Have you talked to your D kid about alcohol and D?

[thebestnest5]

DD is eleven. But, we have talked about why it's different if a person who has Type 1 drinks an alcohol containing drink and bolusing...

I realize, if your child is very young, this woudn't be something on your list to talk about now. But, in the future...

I think this is an important issue and wondering what others say and what they talk about or what they feel would be important to talk about in regards to alcohol and D.

[Amy C.]

My son is 16 and we have discussed this as he has started going to parties.

[thebestnest5]

Originally Posted by Amy C.

My son is 16 and we have discussed this as he has started going to parties.

Amy, do you feel comfortable sharing what you've told him?

[nanhsot]

My son was diagnosed at 15, and it was one of the first topics brought up by almost every staff member who saw him in the hospital!

Just as with any subject, we've educated in bits and pieces, all his life. We enjoy wine and beer so he's around drinking and we are not against allowing sips/tastes of our wine or margarita. Since his diagnosis we've peppered those discussion with how alcohol affects BG, and how the liver reacts. I personally have middle of the night lows if I overindulge, and I keep skittles at MY bedside, so I've shared with him the whys of all that (the liver is busy processing the booze, so it is too busy to add sugar into the bloodstream...that's in a non-D person) and how adding D to the mix will really mix up his system.

We try to mix our hope (that he won't overindulge) with the reality that he probably will try it at some point, so my goal is to educate about the regular perils (drinking and driving in particular) alongside the perils of adding D to the mix. Not just the liver issues but also the judgment, and how if you drink too much you are quite likely to mess up bolusing.

College scares me, no doubt.

[emm142]

Alcohol and diabetes was introduced to me in hospital at dx, since I was 14. I'd just been to my first party involving alcohol about 2 weeks before dx, where I had drunk a little bit, but not a lot.

I still have basically the same attitude towards alcohol as I did before D. In moderation, it's not dangerous. I don't like the taste of a lot of alcohols, and I tend to drink cider if I'm drinking at all, or wine if I'm eating with family. I've never been drunk.

My parents have always been accepting of the fact that I will drink a small amount of alcohol at parties and with meals. They strongly discourage me from getting drunk, but that's not really to do with D (they do the same with my brother). Too much alcohol is dangerous, diabetes or not.

I think the most important thing to say involving alcohol is that it DOES have an effect on BGs, and can cause low BGs all night after drinking any. Like I said, I don't drink large volumes of alcohol. I still find I need to have uncovered snacks and lower temp basals after I've had anything to drink.

Okay, this post makes it sound like I drink a lot. I really really don't! I'm like the most inexperienced person at my school when it comes to drinking. For the record, alcohol drinking legal over here. From the age of five. In private.

[skimom]

Alcohol talks started with endo team when son was dx at 14 - It is a reality that these kids are going to drink - diabetic or not - and they need to be smart. The usual don't drink and drive stuff, we will pay for a cab anytime no questions asked, If they crash at a friends, just text us please so we know you are safe and MOST important - have someone that will come and check on you - We want to be sure that you are not appearing drunk because of a severe low and if you aren't awake by a certain time, someone has to check on you.
So far he ( and we) has survived 2 years of university partying...

[thebestnest5]

For those whose endos have discussed alcohol with them/their teens:

How do they say to approach bolusing for alcohol?

[emm142]

Originally Posted by thebestnest5

For those whose endos have discussed alcohol with them/their teens:

How do they say to approach bolusing for alcohol?

They suggested not bolusing, and just allowing a spike in BG, because the low would likely come later.

Usually nowadays I do bolus a bit, because I hate the BG spike, and I just snack later to stop the low. I try to eat protein to keep my BG more stable, and don't drink on an empty stomach.

I find things a lot easier to manage with the CGM.

[sarahspins]

Originally Posted by thebestnest5

How do they say to approach bolusing for alcohol?

I think this is a VERY YMMV thing, but I don't initially bolus for drinks.. I would MUCH rather chase highs after I'm sure the alcohol has cleared my system than to struggle with a low that you quite literally CANNOT treat without IV dextrose (glucagon will NOT work - the liver prioritizes processing alchohol over everything else, so injecting glucagon will have zero effect). IMO it's just too risky to bolus with alcohol in your system.

So honestly I'm fine with the mid 200's or even higher for a few hours after a couple of mixed drinks. I think it's less dangerous than potentially dying from a low.

[PatriciaMidwest]

My daughter is 13 so we will be talking about this more and more. I'd love to hear what other parents are saying. I think my message will be something like this:

"I am not giving you permission to drink, but sometimes teens make this mistake. If you find yourself in that situation, the most important thing is to keep yourself safe by eating lots of carbs and never being alone or driving a car. I want you to call me no matter what time it is so I can help you through it. You don't want to turn one mistake into a huge crisis"

I don't know that she will call me, and so I guess I want her to know specifically what she should do? Scary stuff.

We have talked about alcohol briefly over the years. She is pretty anti alcohol right now (and gets annoyed with us for an occasional drink). But we all know that could change...