Diabetes, alcohol…and hangovers

The drinking has finished but the alcohol is still in your system.

For those with diabetes, this means that the risk of a hypoglycaemic event remains for 24 hours after drinking. So, keep checking your blood glucose, both before and after sleeping.

This is especially important because hypoglycaemia could occur during sleep. If you feel like you may have had one too many, try setting alarms throughout the night in order to regularly check blood glucose.

If you have high blood glucose, there is a risk of ketoacidosis, which is a build-up of acid in the blood stream, so check your ketone levels too. Before going to sleep, prepare some water and food (in case you need carbs) to have ready by your bedside when you wake up. Finally, the dreaded hangover may arrive. A hangover may sometimes feel like hypoglycaemia – so it's important to keep testing your blood glucose throughout the day.