I can’t drink beer or cider which helps a lot….for other alcohol I don’t bolus unless I’m forced to drink non-diet mixers or I’m having cocktails. 35 years of diabetes and 14 years on a pump have taught me the following routine for drinking.
I don’t bolus for alcohol (but when I used to drink beer, I’d bolus approx 1 unit (15g carbs worth) per pint. Bolus as usual for any non-diet mixers. Bolus as usual for the meal. After about 3-4 hours of drinking, I probably want a slightly lower temp basal or some carb-based snacks. Bedtime – if BG is below 10, a few grams of carbs won’t go amiss (hot chocolate works well for me as it also helps battle the dehydration in the night!). If that’s a problem, e.g. I’m at someone else’s house or don’t have snacks to hand, and/or if my BG is below 5, I also set a temporary rate of zero for half an hour. More than about 4 units of alcohol, and I definitely need to turn down my nighttime basal rate by a unit/hour (typically just over 10% of my usual rate). Next day, especially in the morning, I can guarantee I’ll also be more sensitive to insulin. I usually combat this by eating more rather than the sensible solution of turning down my basal.
My solution for curries, chinese etc is simple. Either eat lots of rice and not much else (boring) or eat lots of the rest but not too many carbs (much more fun). It’s the combination of carbs+fat+protein which is a real killer.