Diabetes and alcohol

[Beth_Robinson]

The subject is self explanatory really - I'm 15, going to a house party soon and I'm not sure how much I can drink

I have moderate control over my diabetes but I don't drink very often (the occasional low % drink, you get the picture)

So my question is: How much is it safe for me to drink? Advice would be very much appreciated

Taa

 

[Engineer88]

a safe amount would be nothing.

However if you are going to drink remember alcohol will stop you liver releaasing sugar, so if you have a hypo you cant 'bounce back'. secondly your going to be dancing and larking I expect so snack and test if you remember! dont forget to take long acting insulin, from experience that one and lastly expect to have unusual readings the next day just deal with them as best you can

 

[paul-1976]

a safe amount would be nothing.

However if you are going to drink remember alcohol will stop you liver releaasing sugar, so if you have a hypo you cant 'bounce back'. secondly your going to be dancing and larking I expect so snack and test if you remember! dont forget to take long acting insulin, from experience that one and lastly expect to have unusual readings the next day just deal with them as best you can

+1 Follow the advice above,be careful and enjoy yourself! :thumbup:

 

[Engineer88]

oh yeah forgot that bit def enjoy yourself! but dont be tooo silly. You'll make the rest of us jealous!

 

[iHs]

Hi

From experience I will say if you can, avoid white wines unless they are dry. Also try and alternate between alcohol drink and diet lemonade or sparkling water with a slice of lemon. Its important to water or lemonade etc to stop the dreadful hangover effect the next day. Vodka and diet lemonade/coke is fairly kind to bg levels and doesn 't tend to affect them too much although of course vodka if drunk too much will make you have a hangover so try to limit yourself a bit.

 

[whompa73]

First of all we have all been 15 but as the responsible adults that we are we would have to advise no alchohol.

Alchopops, alchoholic ginger beer (my personal fav ) and their like tend to be full of sugar as do many mixers eg red bull
Some shots can be verry sweet aswell and should be avoided.
It would also probably be a good idea if you have a couple of friends going or people you can trust to tell them the signs and what to do (I would not surgest showing them how to inject insulin but maybe how to do bg levels) and at what level you need taking to one side to do what you need to do and at what point to get professional help eg bg levels or dont think your judgement is sound. Also they may need to know the diffrence between a hypo and hyper as the 2 have very difrent treatments and if mixed up could be disastrous. Remember alcohol will alter you perseptions and judgment itwould be silly to get drunk. I can not and will not advocate you drinking but I have a feeling it is probably going to happen regardless. In wich case we all wish you to be as safe as possable and hopefully the advice you receive from here will help you stay that way.

 

[paul-1976]

First of all we have all been 15 but as the responsible adults that we are we would have to advise no alchohol.

Alchopops, alchoholic ginger beer (my personal fav ) and their like tend to be full of sugar as do many mixers eg red bull
Some shots can be verry sweet aswell and should be avoided.
It would also probably be a good idea if you have a couple of friends going or people you can trust to tell them the signs and what to do (I would not surgest showing them how to inject insulin but maybe how to do bg levels) and at what level you need taking to one side to do what you need to do and at what point to get professional help eg bg levels or dont think your judgement is sound. Also they may need to know the diffrence between a hypo and hyper as the 2 have very difrent treatments and if mixed up could be disastrous. Remember alcohol will alter you perseptions and judgment itwould be silly to get drunk. I can not and will not advocate you drinking but I have a feeling it is probably going to happen regardless. In wich case we all wish you to be as safe as possable and hopefully the advice you receive from here will help you stay that way.

I agree and I don't advocate drinking underage either(even though I did) and I have a son that age but as you say and I know,it's going to happen anyway so all we can do is just advise so hopefully all will be well.

 

[iHs]

Beth

As you are only 15 although you will feel fairly grown up, unfortunately, your liver isn't. If you try to drink too much booze in order to be the same as your mates, the fact that you are diabetic will make you unwell the next day and on top of having bg levels that are a bit up the wall, you could well find yourself over the bathroom sink being sick for a few hours, so don't overdo it, enjoy yourself (you don't need booze to do that anyway), drink plenty of fizzy water to hydrate you and remember to eat some food before bed just in case the alcohol makes your bg levels drop in the night..

 

[Jenn1f3r]

i dont suggest this as any kind of long term approach, however i cut back on insulin before drinking and dont adjust for any cp's in alcohol then generally drink the night away and expect a sugar of around 15 in the morning. also if u have a 2:1 ratio in the morning id sugest that gets put back to a 1:1 the morning after coz from experience any alcohol for me means insulin sensitivity is way up the next morning. also - dont drink a full bottle of disoronno. its not safe. and not fun :sick:

 

[elaine77]

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to PURCHASE alcohol when you are under 18 but that there is no law that says you can't DRINK it so I'm not going to give u a lecture on underage drinking

What I will say though is that ur medical condition is a serious one and so I agree with previous advice about having a diet soft drink in between alcoholic drinks, snacking and checking blood regularly. I am not using insulin yet and so I can't comment upon what to do with regard to ur injecting but have fun and don't let diabetes control ur life...u control it


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 22 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

 

[noblehead]

Strongly advise that you don't drink alcohol Beth, you can still have a good time without it