Dealing with Alcohol

Hey guys - I'm doing some research for Amy Tenderich's blog on drinking and alcohol, and I was wondering if you could share with me your tips and suggestions for handling alcohol with your diabetes. Do you drink certain kinds of beverages? Skip it entirely? Eat pretzels? Test a million times?

Whether you're type 1 or type 2 I want to hear from you! Please respond by tomorrow a.m.!

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Permalink Reply by nel on March 15, 2009 at 11:37am

Yes, I drink alcohol, dry red wine ONLY( how I enjoyed liquors prior to being diagnosed in 1983 ;-) ) , yes I test regularly
( wear a sensor most of the time ) , and have my regular meal , including some nuts prior to meal , excluding pretzels , put driving on hold .I do not bolus for the dry wine .So enjoy my glass of wine...or 2 , while prepping supper .My Health Team is aware I enjoy my red dry wine .My weight stable at 137 pounds , 5 feet 61/2 inches .Would not have wine tonight , if I were to do a Half Marathon tomorrow !
Is this helpful for your research ?

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Permalink Reply by Michael on March 15, 2009 at 11:51am

I am so happy you posted this!

I was thinking about doing so myself over the past few days. Information seems very hard to come by. Dr.'s and diabetic educators seem cautious to talk about this subject as they guidelines for drinking in people without diabetes is only a couple of drinks per day. In my opinion, if I am going to have drinks, I want about six to make it worth my while. Again, anything over five is considered binge drinking in non diabetics, so that is another reason health care professionals don't want to discuss this openly.

I am very interested in how others handle this.

I haven't had any alcohol since diagnosis almost a year ago. But this is what I have accumulated.

1. While drinking, eat snacks to prevent your blood sugars from going low. Fatty foods like pizza would be best as it takes carbs are released into the blood stream over an extended period of time. You need to eat because as your body metabolizes alcohol your liver does not put out glucose as it normally does.

2. Bolus for what you do eat. (Think like a pancreas, by Gary Scheiner)

3. If pumping, turn off basal insulin for two hours for every drink you consume (Think like a pancreas, by Gary Scheiner) Obviously this would be a problem if you are on multiple daily injections. The presence of long acting insulin in your system makes drinking even more risky.

4. Test, Test, Test, then test some more.

A couple other things. Drinking heavily while being a diabetic can be very dangerous. From what I understand, if you go low and are unable to eat (for example if you are in a heavy sleep) the only course of action would be an ambulance call to get some glucose via I.V.

Please understand that the information above is not medical advice, I have no experience in this matter. But I would also like to hear others input.

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Permalink Reply by Kat on March 15, 2009 at 12:13pm

I drink and sometimes I get drunk (although never to the point I loose control). I mostly drink dry wine (tastes great, has little sugar and least effect on my bg) and beer and avoid anything too sugary. I just make sure to eat a lot of protein before I start drinking and then I test every two or three hours, especially during the night. And if I notice that my bg starts to drop, I eat some carbs and never let it drop below a certain point.
I realize that drinking alcohol is not the smartest thing for someone on insulin (T1) but I'm careful about it and I simply refuse to give it up entirely. It would make me feel as if the D had somehow won, if that makes sense.

Cheers,
Kat

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Permalink Reply by Greg on March 15, 2009 at 12:21pm

That's a good question for the "Diabetes & Beer" group on tudiabetes! I think those topics (along with opinions on good ales) are commonly discussed by the 80+ members.
I don't eat pretzels but don't drink on an empty stomach, don't drink to excess, and I test a lot. No prob.

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Permalink Reply by Kat on March 15, 2009 at 12:25pm

How come I didn't know about this group? *wanders off to join*

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Permalink Reply by John on May 31, 2009 at 9:46pm

ditto

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Permalink Reply by Suzanne on March 15, 2009 at 12:57pm

I am type I and I have only drank dry red wine since getting on a pump. As I get more comfy with the pump I will add mixed drinks back in. I always drink it with a meal as I do notice it makes my sugars drop somewhat. I will drink 2 glasses of wine with a moderate carb load meal (50-60g) and then test at least once every hour. I do find that my 3am sugar reading will either be low or moderately high (150 to 180) after drinking. Not sure why it does this as I often eat the same foods for dinner and snack when I have wine.

My doc has been really cool about discussing drinking with me. I just let her know it was something I was not willing to give up forever and I wanted her input to be smart about it. I drink about 2 times a month, 2 glasses each time, when I can drink. I am on steroids right now so I can't drink till I am off them. Been on them for 3+ months now and I can't wait to be off so I can enjoy a nice glass of Kendal Jackson Cabernet.

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on March 15, 2009 at 1:34pm

I'm Type 1. I drink mostly dry red wine & never more than two glasses (usually just one). Every now & then I may have distilled liquor (zero carbs), but only one drink. No fruity stuff, no beer.

Only drink wine with meals & it lowers my BG. Yep, I test when I drink.

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Permalink Reply by dino on March 15, 2009 at 2:11pm

Jack Daniels + Coke Zero is my drink of choice. Jack & Diet when I'm out, every bar can make one.

Little to no effect on my BS but I only have one or two per night. Maybe more on some nights. Someone take my keys.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Park on March 15, 2009 at 2:17pm

Wow,
I feel out of place - as the comments here are VERY cautious!
I'm 25 and was diagnosed when I was 7, so I've gone through the stages of growing up and rebellion, so I've learned my lessons.
The doctors and Nurse educators shied away from the booze issue with young teens (I see this as a somewhat negligent healthcare tactic). I was lucky enough to have a social worker who made sure I was well equipped to understand what booze does to the system.
Long story short is - if I drink to excess, I run my sugars high before bed. I am comfortable going to bed with sugars around 10 (180) or slightly higher.
Like all beverages, I lean toward the sugar free like my standard Rye and Diet, but Amaretto is just so delicious, haha!
As eating is inevitable while drinking, I generally do half-bolusing - I count carbs (ish) in both food and liquor and I take half what I would normally take. That works for me, but everyone is different. The more liquor you have in your system, the more sugar lowering effect there is, so I don't do the same thing if I simply have a glass of wine with dinner.
As with everyone else here, I always keep my tester nearby and do it fairly compulsively!

To those parents who might be reading this - diabetes or not, kids will be kids. Assume that your kids will rebel against you and make sure they understand what effect that rebellion will have on their sugars!
If I came home drunk, my mom would simply throw me a granola bar and say goodnight - the lecturing and grounding would come the next day.

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on March 15, 2009 at 2:22pm

You had a smart mom!

If only there was sugar-free Amaretto.

Scary thing to me about drinking too much is going too low, or having lowered inhibitions to pig out on something I shouldn't eat.