My Diabetes - How I Deal With Eating Out

Having explained the difficulties I have experienced with eating out the question is what I have done to try and avoid the pitfalls.  The thing to remember is that its only the carbohydrates that are the issue and have to be taken in balance with my insulin.

If its a night out my partner wants to do with her golf friends that she knows will have no real meal time, then I gracefully decline.  It's nice for the non-diabetics to have a normal mealtime without having to worry about me eating on time.

If I want or need to attend then:

• I eat my carbohydrate allowance as a meal before going out. This is usually something very really simple, fish fingers and oven chips. 
• I then attend the meal and eat everything that doesn't contain carbohydrates in the main course.
• Quite often I get to eat some of the pudding, as it often arrives several hours late and about the right time for my mid evening snack.

As always I carry 3 or 4 biscuit bars (12 - 15 carbs) in my pockets and a bottle of lucozade in the car.  I always carry more carbs than I need for the event so that in the event of a breakdown etc I know I have enough to take me through to the next lunchtime. 

There have been many times when I have been told categorically that the meal will be on time, and that we will be sat down to eat by 7pm only for the fickle finger of fate to step in and mess things up.  So although I often end up paying for a meal I don't get to eat all of, its worth it for my health and my peace of mind.

Learning Points

• Unless I'm cooking the food it may be late
• My urgency has the potential to be an emergency if not planned for
• I don't expect other non-diabetics to understand and even if the do they may not be in control
• I always carry plenty of food and never leave the house without it
• As soon as I get home I test my blood and if its high I taken an extra few units of short acting insulin to bring it back down gracefully

My Diabetes - Angry Diabetic When Eating Out

For me, over the years,  the thing that has been guaranteed to make me edgy and angry is eating out.

I have lost count of the times when we have gone to eat out with friends. colleagues or strangers and it doesn't go to plan. The reasons are really simple for non-diabetics:

• they don't need to worry about when they eat
• they don't need to worry about what they eat
• they don't need to worry about how much they eat
• they don't need to worry if they arrive late
• they usually want to go to the bar for a chat and drink
• they usually want to wait until everybody has arrived before ordering
• they don't need to worry how long they take to ponder the wine list
• they don't worry too much over how long it takes for the food to arrive

It usually goes something like this:

• we make sure those organising the meal out  know I am a diabetic, and we agree a time when we will be sat down and eating, for example 8pm
• we agree that everybody will meet in the bar by 7:30pm
• we agree we will order at the bar and be seated with starters by 8pm

Alas, the reality is often:

• virtually nobody has arrived by 7:30pm 
• by 8pm people are just arriving and are chatting at the bar
• by 8:30pm we are still missing people
• eventually everybody has arrived by 9pm and we go to sit down

As I diabetic I've been in a dilemma for 1 hour, should I eat an extra biscuit whilst waiting for the others or will they be here as they promised.  If I eat and extra biscuit I will have to leave some of the expensive food on my plate or risk having a high blood sugar.

So at 9pm we are seated at the table, then the fun begins:

• Everybody wants to discuss the menu, should I have x, y or z
• Then the huge wine debate breaks out
• before we know it, its 9:30 as we place the orders

The issue we now have is the restaurant which was relatively empty at 8pm with quick kitchen response times is now running flat out with delays.  It's 10pm before the food arrives and I've been getting increasingly annoyed with the situation for the past 2 hours.

Unfortunately those that don't know me most likely think I'm a grumpy person without knowing that if we had one stuck to the plan of 7:30 meet 8pm eat we have all been happy.

Of course due to the extra carbohydrates I've eaten due to the delays and my blood sugar rising naturally as my lunchtime insulin has long since disappeared. When the food arrives I have no idea how much carbohydrate, garlic and other blood sugar changing herbs are in the food.  One thing I can be certain of is my blood will be high by the time I get home. 

Learning Points:

• non-diabetics can eat when they want and there is nothing I can do to change it
• with the best will in the world people get delayed
• some people are naturally always late
• I can never tell how long the restaurant will take to serve me
• I have no idea what the carbohydrate level of the food is

This is a lot of unknowns.  Also, I have had a 32 year joke with Debbie, wherever we sit in a restaurant for some reason I am always the last to be served. LOL  Therefore, if I am invited out to an important meal I have to think very carefully in advance how you are going to deal with the delays.

Luckily as an insulin diabetic, if I test my blood and it is high, I can give myself some extra short acting insulin to bring it back down in a few hours. Then begin my normal routine.

TBC

My Diabetes - Angry Diabetic Syndrome

One of the most common things I hear about diabetics and I have experienced it myself many times is what I will call my 'Angry Diabetic' syndrome.

I liken this to a real life Jackal and Hyde situation.  One minute I am a kind rational person and the next even the most simple thing anger me.

By monitoring my blood glucose and my moods I very quickly noticed there is a direct correlation between my mood, rationality and my blood sugar levels. As the blood sugar drops and the amount of sugars available in my brain also drops.  I become angry, anxious, confused and my higher reasoning functions seem to drop away and I become a like an aggressive animal.

I put this down to the fact that I as a human being are basically a violent animal and we had to be to survive and end up at the top of the food chain.  But realistically the only thing that separates me from other animals is my larger brain(which needs lots of food) and my associated higher functioning centres. When these higher functions get switched off or suppressed due to lack of sugar then then not surprisingly I revert back to a lower animal state.

I liken this to a 'kill to eat' reflex and if you want to see it in action trying taking food away from a very hungry pet.  If they are not too hungry they will let you, but there becomes a point where they will growl and fight you for it.

The thing which is fascinating about this is that moment the blood sugar comes back even slightly up I am immediately calmer and like nothing has happened.

It's not just diabetics who show aggression there blood sugar levels drop.

It's been know for centuries that a hungry army is more violent, aggressive, less rational and more likely to take risks.  Interestingly, after a great battle and plunder there was often a great feast and the soldiers and commanders became less violent and began to behave with some compassion, until the food ran out?

Some years ago european lager companies brought out strong beers with no sugars in them.  Suddenly there was a massive rise in bad behaviour and violence linked to these beers.  Drinking sugar free alcohol and an empty stomach is a sure fire way to make anybody hypoglycaemic,  out of control and aggressive.

From my own experience I noted that violent drinkers had very poor diets preferring to drink alcohol rather than eat.  Most likely causing a very drunken Hyde to visit.

This is certainly an area requiring study.

Learning Point:

1) To avoid Hyde coming out to play and becoming an angry diabetic, I make sure my blood sugars do not drop too low.
2) It appears to me from my monitoring that if I stick to the very low levels of blood sugar demanded by my medical advisers, then I can quickly become Hyde from the simplest mild exertion.
3) If I have low blood sugar and my meal is delayed for whatever reason, then Hyde comes out to play.

For me there is a definite tradeoff of ultra low blood sugar, hypo and anger. With slightly higher blood sugar I remain calm and rational.

It is up to the reader to decide in discussion with your medical team and family what is acceptable and best for you.  I was making my own life and that of Debbie a misery with Hyde outbursts until I found the best levels for me.

TBC