[minnesotadiabetic]

... im nervous guys, I like to drink like once a month but always been told not to drink if a diabetic. Is there anyone out there that can tell me what booze is going to do to me.. I know my body very well like before I have been diabetic for 10 years now I know when my bgs are dropping. But why is booze so bad!

 

[Shanny]

Alcohol can drop your blood sugar VERY fast, so don't rely on what you usually feel for this situation. Be sure to eat food while you drink, and test a LOT! Be sure there's a buddy with you who knows about your diabetes & knows what to do if you drop too low. Other type 1 members can prob'ly give you a lot better advice, so I'll just sum up by saying - don't just wing it - TEST frequently.

... im nervous guys, I like to drink like once a month but always been told not to drink if a diabetic. Is there anyone out there that can tell me what booze is going to do to me.. I know my body very well like before I have been diabetic for 10 years now I know when my bgs are dropping. But why is booze so bad!

 

[ThoseBackPages]

it's not a good idea. do something else.

 

[minnesotadiabetic]

I do have friends that watch me already.I drink sometimes now but I never have much a beer here and there can't hurt? Right?

 

[Jeremymc1]

I do have friends that watch me already.I drink sometimes now but I never have much a beer here and there can't hurt? Right?

For me, and we are all different, if I am going to have a drink while out it is generally wine, but that is only if I'm going to have one glass. If I was going to be having a few drinks, it would be beer with carbs. If I have wine, I will see my BGL drop fairly quickly, thus the one glass rule. If I have a beer or two, the carbs in the beer generally even out the effect of the drop in alcohol. If I have more than 1 or 2 beers, the alcohol wins and I will drop too steeply.

As others have said, be very careful when drinking.

Cheers,

Jeremy

 

[julian]

In my experience: stick to something you know. E.g. Beer (it has carbs in it and not that much alcohol) and just test a lot while you drink. You will become more experienced soon.

Definitely avoid the hard stuff that is mixed with sugary sodas (eg vodka red bull or cocktails) as these will take your BG sky high and then cause them to drop a lot.

I have a couple of beers on the weekend. It raises my blood sugar slightly.
I'm used to the amount I drink and normally do not exceed that amount so I do not have any problems with dropping too low during the night/early morning.
Sometimes I need to cover the beer with a little bit of insulin.

Take it slow, and test & learn.

 

[Patdart]

I'm afraid we know way too little about you and your type and which meds you are on to really answer this question for you. I'm type 2 on no meds now, and after testing for months, I allow myself a bit of wine or even a Vodka martini now and then, but knowing as little as we do of you and your circumstances, I think we have to tell you the safest thing and that is no alcohol until we know more. To say more is not safe for you. Tell us more and some wisdom will come.

Welcome,

 

[gphx]

A single shot of relatively pure spirits such as vodka, gin, or rum can drop the bg nicely. My favorite is rum in diet cola.

Beyond one the bgs can start dropping pretty fast. Beyond one impaired judgment due to alcohol intoxication and low bgs compound one another. Beyond one inhibitions go out the window and inappropriate behaviors such as ordering and eating a large pizza become greater likelihoods.

In college one of my friends was diabetic. He drank too much and laid down, unable to talk. I couldn't tell if he was drunk or hypo so I called an ambulance. Turns out he was both but mostly hypo. The paramedics got his motor running again with glucose tabs. If I'd known that we might not have needed the paramedics. If he didn't drink to excess we definitely wouldn't have.

As others have said let someone competent and preferably not drinking know what the situation is and test, test, test.

 

[diabetes86]

To answer your question
What happens is your liver is fast at work taking care of the alcohol in your system and postpones processing carbs into sugar so your BG can drop. eating while drinking doesn't do much because your liver is still busy with the alcohol.

 

[beefy]

To answer your question
What happens is your liver is fast at work taking care of the alcohol in your system and postpones processing carbs into sugar so your BG can drop. eating while drinking doesn't do much because your liver is still busy with the alcohol.

Yup, sounds about right. Only the liver can metabolize alcohol...

I'm guessing that you've got some friends that want you to 'party' with them for your 21st... that's pretty commonplace. If that's the case, and if you WANT to go with them, my suggestion is go with them, but before you get anywhere and during discussions about the event, flat-out TELL THEM that you have diabetes - that alcohol can affect your health, possibly to life-threatening levels - and you need to stick to ONE DRINK for the sake of your health.

Personally, I don't drink any alcohol - but many find that one drink does them just fine. That being said, everyone's different, so be prepared to test.