42 Comments
If you (or your child with T1D) celebrate Halloween, how do you balance blood sugar levels, physical activity, and candy during the festivities?
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I don’t believe in that holiday at all
I have a glass of wine while sitting by a fire in our driveway. Maybe a piece of chocolate. But it’s not an excuse to go crazy.
Wine raises my sugars just as bad as candy, unfortunately. Wish I could have a glass a bit more often. Enjoy one for me!
No participation.
I enjoy a cup of herbal tea and read a book while waiting for the kids!
I try as little as possible to eat anything. There was a time I did not care. I was a kid then and I am sticking with that excuse. Nowadays I try to eat the stuff my kids, now grandkids hate like chips. They want the candy and know Nana can’t have the sweets. I appreciate the sharing and candy is excused when walking around trick or treating and my blood sugar reading starts to drop. Smarties are just like glucose tablets. Those are my work arounds and the new smarties flavors sound fun.
I pick one special treat and dose for it then enjoy.
Bolus accordingly
We let her have some candy and bolus for it.
SWAG
What’s SWAG?
We have save some candy to eat later, like a piece a day with lunch / other food and bolus for it. The rest goes to the Switch Witch in exchange for a toy. Then we use that candy for low treats.
Afrezza helps with the spikes. Stay away from pure sugar candies…stick to chocolate . Slowed absorption rate.
Watch my CGM and take lots of doses of insulin.
Exactly!!
Before going trick or treating with my kids and now my grand babies I eat a higher carb meal like spaghetti or lasagna for all the walking we will do. As far as treats go as soon as we get home after going through the candy everyone is allowed one small piece as a late dessert. The rest I freeze or hid until later use.
When I was young I either did trick or treat for UNICEF, or I got money for candy.
That was the dark ages of diabetes management, so candy was off limits, unless you were low.
I just don’t bother with any of it! I don’t even care for sweets anymore.
I TRY to save eating the candy for when I go low. Perhaps I might have ‘accidentally’ given myself more insulin for a meal and then, voilà, I need candy. 😉
I throw caution to the wind and walk a lot and eat candy. Always have, always will. It’s Halloween!!
I look for carb content and bolus accordingly.
When I was a child I got the chips and fruit. Brothers and sister got most of the candy. I got an occasional piece of candy.
I hand out candy but don’t eat any that night.
My mom always bought single bags of mini pretzels which had the carbohydrate content labeled and that is what I know give out. Luckily I never was never into candy (perhaps because of my diabetes ?), and I always liked pretzels.
I’m 84, but live in a home with children. I stay in my room and listen to the festivities, and let myself have chocolate (I only cheat for chocolate!) items and bolus for them.
My son actually goes low with all the walking. He usually has one piece of fast acting candy followed by something chocolate to help stabilize. He sorts it all when he gets home. He keeps some small pieces of fast acting (he does not like smarties or skittles), a few tootsie pops, and Reese’s. The rest gets donated.
Personally, I don’t celebrate Hallowe’en, but I do celebrate Samhain, which is the end of the Witch’s year. i.e. tomorrow is New Year for me.
We do have Trick or Treaters coming to the door, and we do provide candy AND sugar-free variants for any kids that happen to be diabetic.
Blessed Samhain, my brothers and sisters. 😉
Check your Dexcom before you leave. Check it while you’re out if with all the activity, the sugar drops Google a small piece of candy and the sentiment set the child aside to make sure they’re OK.
I was diagnosed as an adult, but when I’ve gone to Halloween parties, I’ve cautioned myself with what I eat or drink and take the appropriate amount of insulin.
My brother and I were allowed to pick out some for lows or a treat and then our parents bought the rest of it. Dad took it to work with him for his co-workers to enjoy.
Eat 1 or two pieces of candy and bolus accordingly. Moderation is the key.
I have Breathsaver mints that are sugar free, if it’s necessary to put something in my mouth. Junk food has no draw for me. I know how sick I’ll get and don’t want to take more insulin. Think of this stuff as socks.
I turn off the lights and don’t answer the door 😆
When I was a child, I didn’t go out and collect sweets. If they aren’t around, no need to deal with them. (Good advice, difficult to achieve, with any other problem food as an adult) I was at my Grandma’s house and hand out sweets to trick or treaters. She said sweets weren’t necessary and we were having our own fun handing them out.
Dose sufficient insulin to allow some candy for desert
For me that a while back, but I used to have a hard time not eating the candy my kids brought home. Those were the days befor glucose meters. I just ate some.
More insulin to cover the candy. My kid is grown now so I am no longer walking the neighborhoods with him.
When I was a child after being diagnosed in 1972, I was allowed candy as long as I was doing something physically active. There were no ways to monitor blood sugar at home back then. Just urine testing.
No child with td1
I don’t give out candy per se, but small snack-sized bags of chips, fritos, popcorn etc. The carb content is 15 grams. I bolus for those when there are leftover bags and exercise, but the snacks aren’t eaten every day and when I do, the 15 gr. of carbs isn’t too hard to handle.
Poorly
Diagnosed as a toddler in the “dark ages”, I definitely took part in Halloween but, I never ate/eat candy. Never learned to like it, never wanted it… no problem. Traded all my collected candy with my older brother for stuff; broken games, stickers, stamps. And as usual, then or now, worrying, fear of (sic. some foolish number) is the dead wrong idea. Live…. and figure it out.
I eat some candy and bolus for it!