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Newly Diagnosed
Went into hypo from drinking alcohol..
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<blockquote data-quote="EllieM" data-source="post: 2119080" data-attributes="member: 372717"><p>I'm 57, and not tee-total, so I've had 4 decades of mixing alcohol and insulin. But I'm T1, so the carbs haven't been as much of an issue as for a T2, other than I've had to balance them with insulin.</p><p></p><p>So, yes, you have to be careful with alcohol and insulin. Two main reasons</p><p>1) when you're under the influence you're less able to make sensible decisions about food, insulin and blood sugar levels.</p><p>2) your liver normally provides some protection against hypos by producing glycogen (a form of sugar) when your blood sugar goes low (and your pancreas signals that you need something to mop up the excess insulin by producing glucagon). Unfortunately when your liver is busy processing alcohol the glucagon gets ignored and you lose that safety net against hypos. </p><p></p><p>When I was 18 and being stupid with alcohol, glucometers had not yet been invented and I'm pretty sure I ran my blood sugars high for those teenage years, so I didn't get into trouble. But I suspect that was more by luck than judgement. </p><p></p><p>Things I know now</p><p>1) drinking on an empty stomach is a really bad idea. If you've been drinking make sure to test your blood sugar before bed so that you don't go hypo at night.</p><p>2) Assuming you're not drinking alone, make sure a friend (or two) knows about insulin and hypos. Just as good friends don't let friends drive when drunk, friends watch out for friends who might have hypos when drunk <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> (or at any other time).</p><p></p><p>Good luck.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EllieM, post: 2119080, member: 372717"] I'm 57, and not tee-total, so I've had 4 decades of mixing alcohol and insulin. But I'm T1, so the carbs haven't been as much of an issue as for a T2, other than I've had to balance them with insulin. So, yes, you have to be careful with alcohol and insulin. Two main reasons 1) when you're under the influence you're less able to make sensible decisions about food, insulin and blood sugar levels. 2) your liver normally provides some protection against hypos by producing glycogen (a form of sugar) when your blood sugar goes low (and your pancreas signals that you need something to mop up the excess insulin by producing glucagon). Unfortunately when your liver is busy processing alcohol the glucagon gets ignored and you lose that safety net against hypos. When I was 18 and being stupid with alcohol, glucometers had not yet been invented and I'm pretty sure I ran my blood sugars high for those teenage years, so I didn't get into trouble. But I suspect that was more by luck than judgement. Things I know now 1) drinking on an empty stomach is a really bad idea. If you've been drinking make sure to test your blood sugar before bed so that you don't go hypo at night. 2) Assuming you're not drinking alone, make sure a friend (or two) knows about insulin and hypos. Just as good friends don't let friends drive when drunk, friends watch out for friends who might have hypos when drunk :) (or at any other time). Good luck. [/QUOTE]
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