Alcohol

Entirely your choice. I probably wouldn’t recommend the cider. Personally I’m teetotal but I had my fun with booze when I was younger, and diabetes was as good a time as any to give it up

Paulm80 said:

Hi there me again! New to all this and still waiting to hear whether I have type 1 or 2, just a quick question about alcohol , I like a few whiskeys during the week and maybe more than a few on the weekends! But have a big day out planned early July which could get quite boozy - ciders and whiskeys etc.... it’s ok now and then surely to get a bit smashed?
Thanks

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If you turn out to be a T1 then you might want to think about starting to look after your health a bit better, Not sure how T1 life would be with a dodgy liver as well as a failed pancreas. (Not that I'm leading by example you understand )

Edited to add:-
The other aspect of drinking alcohol and being T1 is that you need to retain sufficient control to take your readings and administer insulin or glucose as required.

Hi. I’ve definitely cut right down on my alcohol consumption since diagnosis, but if I am going or socialising, I’ve found that Guinness really works for me and doesn’t spike me at all. Not sure if that’ll be the same for you (or if you even like it!) but if you are having a big day out, this could be the way to go. As mentioned above, avoid cider at all costs!

Paulm80 said:

Don’t like Guinness , what about red wine??

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Again, if you turn out to be a T1 then you'll be on insulin as a default. Wine can drop your blood sugars and take you into hypo' territory. You would need to test your blood sugars and find out how your body reacts.

What others have said - try some and test really.

I'm Type 2 - I find that whisky (any spirit 40%+ other than liquors) and champagne barely move the BG, often lowering it. Zero carbs in the spirits, 1g per glass for champagne. Red wine, I guess it depends on the grape - but tends to be 2g ish per 125ml glass (for dry reds, not sure about huge reds like the Italian Negroamaro, valpolicella ripasso, Amarone, etc.. I'd guess maybe more) . Michelob Ultra lager at 2g per bottle (330ml) works well, and I'll only see a very slight rise over a few pints.

That said - be aware that your body will grab the alcohol content to burn for energy, so weight loss may be stymied. Also, if you've been following LCHF, alcohol doesn't half hit fast and hard! Also be prepared for lowered inhibitions and potentially eating some stuff you should probably avoid. That said, some red hot face melting spicey pork scratchings go well with beer

Use your meter and test - same as if trying a different food; only you will know what works for you.

I drink straight spirits (not liqueurs as they’re full of sugar), red wine and dry white and rosé - they don’t seem to affect my levels unless I really overcook it and then I get a bit of a hypo to wake up to the next day. My biggest diabetes problem is if I get too drunk, eating the fridge and not calculating the appropriate dose, because you just don’t, do you? I’d suggest taking it gently and seeing how a couple of drink affects you, setting alarms to check on yourself and keeping hypo treatment on your bedside table.

I drink red wine, white wine and beer (not all at the same time).
The impact on my BG depends on how much.
Wine does not raise my BG.
Beer will raise my BG for the first couple of pints so I will take insulin for these.
If I drink more beer or about half a bottle of wine, there is a risk of overnight hypo. So I take no further insulin.
Thankfully, alcohol does not cause munchies for me ... just sleepiness. So my main risk is forgetting to take my BG and correct before bed.

My advice for someone who is newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes is to drink in moderation and test a lot for the next 24 hours to see what impact it has on you (we are all different).
Unless you experience a major problem, I would not allow diabetes to take control of your lifestyle.
If you feel you would like to reduce your alcohol intake, diabetes diagnosis maybe a useful catalyst.

@Paulm80 you ask if it is ok to get smashed now and then - binge drinking is generally not seen as a good things regardless of whether you have any medical condition. But, if you want to, make sure you are not alone but with someone who is sober enough to help you out with your diabetes.

An ex-colleague told me a story of his teenage years with type 1 diabetes. He went on "Type 1 camp" and, as you would expect from a group of teenage boys away from their parents, they got hold of some alcohol and had a "session". One of the group passed out with a hypo. Thankfully, one of the group was sober enough to get assistance from one of the doctors on the camp (there were a few as this was a type 1 camp). As a result, the rest of the gang were given the job of keeping an eye on their mate and making sure his BG did not go too low.
Some may say the lads should not have been able to get the alcohol. However, the environment was as "controlled" as possible and the experience certainly left its mark on my ex-colleague. He drunk alcohol but never to the point of passing out.

I take a good drink pretty regularly and its perfectly manageable with the diabetes.....but only because I have got the experience and my doses are right.....

until you're at the point, its all trial and error and of course safety first....

Ivokay said:

Hi, I have been diagnosed as T2 since April 2018, the GP prescription was I should take Metformin. I only took 18 tablets and I decided stopped taking it after did my own research on diet, exercise, and life-changing activities. After two weeks I went to my GP to test my BS, and it was down to 5.1. And I told y GP that I had been stopped taking metformin.

Ever since I have been taken CBC for three times and my HbA1c level is 5.2 and 5.6. The GP said that it's the normal range.
It has been more than a year now I am off metformin, no symptoms and things running well.
Does that mean my Diabetes has gone away or put into remission?

Reply please, as I am newcomer in this forum.

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Hello you are spamming old posts. You have the option to open up a new thread. We can’t say if you are in remission or not. That is up to your gp and diabetics in remission are still diabetes with normal non diabetic readings. You are doing well, keep it up.

i’ve switched to clears, vodka, tonic, tequila

lime soda with splash of tonic

t2 no problems

Your body, your health, your choice, your risk.
On injected insulin ( as in Type 1 after diagnosis or leading up to diagnosis maybe)alcohol impairs the liver's ability to release stored glucose if a hypo occurs.
Add in vomiting or nausea or falling asleep and thus inability to take in sugar/ glucose plus delay in ambulance arriving or being put in the click for mistaken drunkedness the risk of brain damage increases.
Driving, hypo, plus alcohol and risk of car accident and your life and health and of others maybe including children
So your risk!