For last week’s practice question, we quizzed participants on low blood sugars and beer. 38% of respondents chose the best answer. We want to clarify and share this important information, so you can pass it on to people living with diabetes and your colleagues, plus prepare for exam success!

Before we start though, if you don’t want any spoilers and haven’t tried the question yet, you can answer it below: Answer Question

Question:

JL is 19 and has type 1 diabetes, drinks a “few beers” on the weekends with their college friends. JL uses an insulin pump, but mostly relies of fingerstick checks to monitor blood sugars.  According to their log, JL experienced a few low blood glucose levels the past weekend of 62, 49, and 51.

Based on the ADA Standards, what is the most important recommendation for JL? 

Answer Choices:

1. Check BG at least 4 times a day when drinking.
2. Make sure to eat carbs when drinking to avoid low blood glucose levels.
3. Get glucagon rescue medication.
4. Decrease or stop alcohol intake.

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Getting to the Best Answer

Answer 1 is incorrect. 12.70% chose this answer, “Check BG at least 4 times a day when drinking.” This is a juicy answer. Although monitoring will help JL detect low blood sugars, it doesn’t necessarily translate into taking action to prevent or treat these frequent bouts of level 2 hypoglycemia.

Answer 2 is incorrect. 32.37% of you chose this answer, “Make sure to eat carbs when drinking to avoid low blood glucose levels.” This is another juicy answer and a solid recommendation. For people with type 1 who experience hypoglycemia when drinking alcohol, eating 15gms of carb along with each alcohol serving can help maintain glucose levels. However, this answer is not based on the ADA Standards of Care.

Answer 3 is correct. 38.22% of respondents chose this answer, “Get glucagon rescue medication.” This is the BEST answer. According to the ADA’s Standard 6 on Glycemic Targets, “6.12 Glucagon should be prescribed for all individuals at increased risk of level 2 or 3 hypoglycemia, so that it is available should it be needed”. JL is experiencing Level 2 hypoglycemia with glucose levels dropping to 49 and 51. (see image from Glucagon PocketCard to right for Hypo Levels). While prevention of hypoglycemia is the long term goal, in the short term we need to make sure JL has access to a glucagon rescue med and that their significant others are trained on how to administer this life saving glucose booster.

Finally, Answer 4 is incorrect. 16.71% chose this answer, “Decrease or stop alcohol intake.” While we might want to have a conversation about alcohol and safety, the ADA Standards allow for 1 alcohol serving a day for women and 2 alcohol servings a day for men. In this situation, we might want to discuss adjusting insulin dosing and carbohydrate intake to prevent future bouts of hypoglycemia. However, for safety sake, JL will need a glucagon rescue med prescribed in case of a severe low blood glucose.

Thank you so much for reading this “Rationale of the Week”. For more information on this topic, we encourage you to join our Online Courses and Virtual DiabetesEd Training Program.

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