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Diabetes & Alcohol

type two paul

Well-Known Member
Messages
121
Location
Somerset
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diabetes
Have you had to give up alcohol on diabetes diagnosis, or maybe change what you drink. I enjoy a beer but they are packed with carbs. Also, it's not helping the Pancreas or Liver.
 
type two paul said:
Have you had to give up alcohol on diabetes diagnosis, or maybe change what you drink. I enjoy a beer but they are packed with carbs. Also, it's not helping the Pancreas or Liver.
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I went teetotal, but that was because I had a rather bad case of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I didn't take in a lot before that, maybe a few coffee liqueurs a year, maybe a few hot chocolates with rum or something... But I responded to them worse and worse, and once the diagnosis came in I realised why. The bulk of T2's have metabolic syndrome, and NAFLD is part and parcel for a lot of us because of that. If you drink and you notice pain in your side afterwards, it might be time for a rethink. That said...

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/alcohol

The hard stuff is usually better for blood sugars than beers, and if you can go for a diet bacardi coke you'd be fine too, depending on whether your blood sugars spike over sweeteners. Your meter'll let you know. And you can ask your doc for a liver function test, should you be concerned about a fatty liver. Then base your decision on the results.

Good luck,
Jo
 
There are lower carb beers (Michelob Ultra seems to be favourite, but has become unobtanium. Bud Light isn't bad, carbs-wise.) If your alcohol doesn't have to be beer, then spirits with diet mixers are probably your safest bet.

I gave up smoking 25 years ago. Now I've given up eating what I want, and all for the sake of lower blood sugar, since the weight loss has stalled just over half a stone in. If I were on a weight loss diet (rather than a diabetes control one) I'd be about ready to throw the towel in, right now.

So they can pry alcohol out of my cold, dead hands. I'm allowing myself this one vice.

I know I shouldn't, since my ALT levels are elevated (which could simply be NAFLD, but alcohol probably doesn't help. Though to be fair, I was tested after 3 months of drinking every night during lockdown, and my ALT is actually lower than it was 10 years ago.) But quite frankly, if I can't have a few beers at the weekend, then I'm not sure I can be bothered with the whole thing at all. I think that's the last straw that'll push me into a life of debauchery, determined to go out early, but with a bang, rather than a whimper.

Give it another 5 years, and maybe I'll change my mind. I've watched far heavier drinkers than me turn almost teetotal with age.

The possibility of alcohol related hypos bother me, which is one of the reasons I'm trying to do this on diet, rather than accepting the medication I've already been prescribed. One of my favourite nights out involves getting hammered on the Friday night, staying over in a hotel, checking I'm good to drive with a decent quality breathalyser, and then 80 miles home. "A hypo might happen any time within 24 hours of consuming alcohol" is not something you want to hear. Likewise, travelling for work, and them being willing to pick up a reasonable bar bill.

In fairness, if I tested and took glucose if I was below a 5 the following morning, I'd probably be good to drive.

As for how you respond to the carbs in alcohol, you'll probably find that varies between individuals. The theory at least is that they won't spike you immediately, since your liver will prioritise the alcohol. Once it's mostly dealt with that, it begins processing the carbs. My own experience is that alcohol doesn't spike my levels while I'm drinking it and, if anything, tends to give me slightly lower fasting levels the following morning, even if I blow a 0.00 on the breathalyser. Perhaps there's a spike sometime through the night. One of these days, I'll invest in Libre and find out for sure.
 
Haven't had any alcohol since pre diabetes days, over 12 years now.
Easiest thing to give up - smoking and sweet were far harder.
 
I’ve given up drinking altogether since type 1 diagnosis early this year. Hangovers were getting pretty bad in my forties anyway and I’m too anxious of hypos to be able to enjoy it I think. I do miss wine and beer though, maybe I’ll have some one day but never as much as I used to drink I imagine
 
Buzzer81 said:
Currently
On my 5th pint? Now I’m feeling bad?!?? Hope I’ll be ok
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That's a lot of carbs... And liquid ones at that. Those'll hit the system fast and hard. If your blood sugars have a very steep rise, it can make you feel very ill. Any time you feel off, test. You need to see what the beers are doing to your blood sugars, so you can decide whether it's worth it to feel the way you are. Remember, anything over 8,5 mmol/l does damage to arteries and organs.
 
Thanks Jo. Good advice, definitely regretting that poor decision now..... feel terrible today as well. It’s the hardest part for me to stop partaking in alcohol and I’ve done so well in all other areas....

I think the problem is I’m not seeing any rose when I drink..... I tested this morning and was 5.6 mmol.... I know it must be having an effect I just don’t know how much....

Also found out I have background retinopathy yesterday so that didn’t help
 
I swopped beer for a mix of wine with lots and lots of fizzy water so I get to drink the volume of liquids but with much lower carb content. I find this helps in a social setting too
 
Much prefer life without alcohol. I now realise that the beverages I used to think I liked were little more than excuses to lean on alcohol as a crutch. Much like people don't realise they are addicted to bread because it's cake without the fructose, and not because it actually tastes good to a normal human palate.

Once teetotal it's also remarkable how quickly you realise that people's behaviour is seriously affected even after just 'one or two'. Each to their own of course but I do not regret giving it up.
 

Yes, I know this to be true and I did 6 weeks teetotal. The sheer boredom of lockdown and stress of work (again, a crutch to lean on) meant I went back the other way. I think I will have to follow your path but I know it will take a huge effort.
 
I'm so sorry to hear that. I think that'd make me fall off the wagon for a bit too, just to get it out of my system.

Mind you, teetotal isn't your only option... https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/alcohol plenty of suggestions here, from wine to wodka. But I'd basically keep that list for emergencies, when a drink is the only thing that'll save the world. Let your body heal a little. Alcohol is a toxin, after all, and you've got enough to contend with already.. (And you'll probably feel better tomorrow. It's not the alcohol so much as it's the carbs that were in there.).
 
As my contribution.. .

I've never been much of a drinker - maybe once a month I would go out and have three or four pints with friends over a lot of talk.

But during lockdown and since my diagnosis (both of which occurred at more at the same time) I've actually enjoyed drinking a lot more. Because I love the interaction between alcohol and food. A steak with a glass or two of a good red, followed by a whisky and some good cheese all enhance each other. The whole is more than the sum of the parts... Plus none of it spikes me at all.
 
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