Managing diabetes is a challenge at any age, but youth comes with extra pressures. Those rites of passage most take for granted – long parties, late nights and weekend music festivals – can be hard to handle when you’re watching your blood glucose.

Diagnosed with type 1 at a young age, BRAYDEN SCOTT says he has learned to be prepared for anything when heading out for a big one.

How do you prepare for a night out with friends? Do you have a plan in place if something were to go wrong?

It depends on the night out. In my late teens and early 20s when my friends and I were the typical up-all-night type it meant keeping a closer eye on what my glucose levels were doing when up later than usual. It also meant making sure I have things handy like a small pack of jellybeans in my pocket in case of a hypo.

What could go wrong? Do you have people to help you if you were unable to help yourself?

All sorts of things can go wrong. You were out later or ate more than expected and didn’t bring enough insulin or needles.

Maybe your blood glucose levels dip and you don’t have anything on hand quickly to fix it. I’m fortunate that my friends are quite understanding and while they probably couldn’t tell you exactly how diabetes works, they have learnt from me what I need at various times.

I feel like due to fear I missed out on that whole stage of life where people would go out and drink and party.

If you are going out to a night club or a pub that sells alcohol, how do you manage your intake?

When I was younger and going out more, I was scared to death of it because I had received no education, no resources, nothing.

The idea of what to do when drinking while living with type 1 diabetes was confusing and foreign to me.

I would try to research but get thousands of different answers based on people’s personal experiences. Because of that, I would only ever have one or two alcoholic beverages on special occasions and watch my levels like a hawk for the rest of a night.

I feel like due to fear I missed out on that whole stage of life where people would go out and drink and party.

Does peer pressure play a role at times or are your friends understanding of your condition?

Not at all. In my experience most people, even those you don’t know very well, will back off after the initial “go on, have a drink!” once you explain you have a medical condition.

I think the second you give someone legitimate reasoning, especially around health concerns, the fear that their encouragement might lead to serious consequences tends to make them back off so thankfully I’ve never felt peer pressured in my life to drink.

I’ve done all night events, all weekend events and day long events with friends and besides one hiccup, I have been completely fine.

Have you ever felt unwell while out and what did you do about it?

I remember one year at the Soundwave festival we used to have every year I had brought the wrong pen and brought one that was almost empty but had enough left for one meal which I was intending to use the last of at home.

Unfortunately, by the time I had lunch at the festival and realised, it was too late to do much as if you left the grounds, you couldn’t return.

I went to the medical tent, and they offered no help at all except for the advice of “drink plenty of water and keep your fluids up to flush out ketones if you get them”.

By the time 5-6pm hit I was needing to use the bathroom every 10-15 minutes and deteriorating. I remember by about 9pm as the main band were set to come on, I had to leave one of my friends alone in the mosh pit just before it started because I felt so sick.

I ended up watching from a distance and running to the portable toilets every few minutes. Once the festival ended, we raced to the train station, took the train two stops over to where there would be significantly less crowding and took a taxi the rest of the way just to get home as fast as possible. It definitely ruined the key parts of what should have been an amazing festival.

I’ve done all night events, all weekend events and day long events with friends and besides that one hiccup (which was definitely a well learnt lesson) I have been completely fine.

If you prepare, act sensibly and make sure you put your health first there is nothing that prevents you from going out and enjoying life as much as any other person.

Do you think there are enough drinking options for people living with type 1 diabetes? 

Back when I was first diagnosed the options were limited, these days with so many people being health conscious there are so many sugar-free options for both pre-made drinks, mixers and low carb beers.

Almost anything you enjoy you can find a suitable option for.

Do you have a question about going out and drinking alcohol when you have diabetes? We are here to answer your questions, so call the Diabetes WA helpline for a confidential chat on 1300 001 880.