Whiskey and T1

I have a vodka and water or two a night. It does lower my bs so I have a cheese snack with pecans. Any sugary mixers will raise me.

poacher_joe said:

Hi

I am writing because I am having a hard time at the moment. I had my driving licence taken off me in May due to an unexplained loss of consciousness. Since then I have been coping with a good network of friends for commuting and groceries but it is starting to get me down. I regularly will drink 2 or 3 beers a night, I have now moved onto the stronger liquors, Whiskey is the current favourite.

I was wondering if anyone else has struggled and how they have overcome this stage?

Thanks

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Can I ask please, are you asking if alcohol affects blood sugar control or are you asking if any of us have had issues with drinking? If you are asking the former then @Kristin251 has answered. If you are asking the latter then there was a stage in life when I was polishing off pretty much a whole bottle of single malt every Friday night after work. It started off with 2 or 3 shots of whisky and then more and more and more and more. It started becoming a real issue for me and I was losing pretty much my whole weekend. I wouldn't risk driving for the whole weekend at the time for fear of getting breathalysed even 24 hours after drinking so much. I managed to give it up myself as I felt I was starting to spiral downward and very quickly. I do still enjoy drinking periodically, sometimes quite heavily but genuinely can now take it or leave it.

I find with alcohol that surges initially rise a little bit then depending how much I've been drinking they usually drop late in the night so, so if I check before bed after drinking and it's around 4ish then that's a small carb snack time. Having said that I usually only drink spirits such as Gin or whisky with a diet mixer.

The whiskey (Irish - Bourbon ?) won't help at all, although you will find temporary relief but in the morning you will still have the problem plus a hangover. Most people have had traumatising events in their lives and have learned to adapt. You have adapted to diabetes so you know how it is done. You don't give any personal details but I assume you live alone, so why not shop less often (buy more) and get a taxi home or ride a bike with a shopping basket on it.

I hate having this problem very depressing, it rules out all sorts of things that normal people who don't have it find natural to do as a person. Always having to test before you do anything T1 diabetic myself, drink solves nothing,..... but being positive and understanding this disorder can help I've found.

poacher_joe said:

Hi

I am writing because I am having a hard time at the moment. I had my driving licence taken off me in May due to an unexplained loss of consciousness. Since then I have been coping with a good network of friends for commuting and groceries but it is starting to get me down. I regularly will drink 2 or 3 beers a night, I have now moved onto the stronger liquors, Whiskey is the current favourite.

I was wondering if anyone else has struggled and how they have overcome this stage?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Beer has carbohydrates due to the hops etc and so does vodka and other hard liquors. Mixed drinks wreak havoc on my blood sugar levels, since the sugary beverages they are often mixed with really spike my numbers up. (I usually stick with shots, less added sugars that way.) I've found a website that lists the carbohydrate info for pretty much every beer in the world, so I am able to take the correct amount of insulin when I do drink beer. Unfortunately I haven't found any place that lists the carbohydrate info for liquor such as vodka and whiskey etc. Usually I'll have a few shots of Bacardi 151 and call it a night, since that stuff is pretty much all alcohol and not many carbohydrates. Plus I tend to get pretty funny reactions from curious onlookers since I'm only 5'4" and 129 pounds. I always walk, take a taxi or get a ride home though, since I refuse to lose my driver's license for either "drunk driving" or my blood sugar levels getting out of whack. Once I get home I have a snack (bread soaks up the alcohol in my system pretty well) then I'll just relax for the rest of the night. It's hard not to drink, especially after dealing with diabetes for 37 years. And cheesecake is too yummy! (A bit off topic, but it really is.) Just try to keep drinking (or having sweets like cheesecake) in moderation, because anyone, whether diabetic or not needs to do this to remain healthy.

Beer 100 . Com is a good site for carbohydrate info. My doctor actually gave me the go ahead to drink once in a while as long add I don't go overboard. I'm glad she understands that it's hard to stay away from alcohol and sweets completely.

Do any chronic Pancreatic/liver scarred diabetic still partake in 2/3 glasses red wine, dry roasted nuts and cheese daily (on top of very healthy otherwise diet)? T2 pancreatic pathology diagnosed and insulin dependant person would like to know if I'm pushing my luck