Hey guys! I’m back with a question regarding drinking. I know as a type 2 drinking can raise your BG levels but I recall reading something that mentioned it could also possibly make you hypoglycemic, without it showing on your BG machine? Can’t seem to find the article again. I guess, in short I’m asking, if becoming hypoglycemic, even after I’ve eaten well today and my numbers are healthy, is a possibility. And some tips on how to go about having a couple drinks safely would be appreciated. Thank you guys!
Hi. My experience is that alcohol lowers my BG, but not to hypo territory. I've succeeded in never going out of normal levels (which these days for me is 4.0-6.0) - I think you're in the US so apologies in advance for using the UK measurements I'm familiar with..
Things get complex with a high carb item like beer. After some controlled testing it seems that on one pint of 5% beer (estimated 18g carb) I initially have a rise in BG - from 4.6 to 5.8 after one hour followed by a fall to 4.3 after two hours. My analysis is that this represents an initial hit of glucose causing the rise, then the liver switches off processing glucose to deal with the alcohol, causing the fall. If I drink a non-carb alcohol (whisky etc) , there's no rise, only a fall. This might or might not happen for you, you'll have to test and see. You might well have a different experience, and have to adjust expectations accordingly.
There is a halfway decent low-carb (3.5g/bottle) beer in the UK called Marston's Resolution, and several more which are watery and almost undrinkable. I have read that there are low-carb beers available in the US but have never tried any. I'd be interested in any US info you might find.